Opinion ID: 2219627
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: wyvonia williams

Text: Next, Ford claims that the trial court erred in admitting Wyvonia Williams' statements, and that these admissions were not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, Ford claims reversal is appropriate. On May 19, 1993, the state called Williams to testify. Defense counsel objected, claiming her testimony would contain inadmissible hearsay. The trial court concluded Williams' testimony did not contain hearsay, reasoning: [W]ith respect to the hearsay portion of it, the Court has ruled with respect to codefendants, out-of-court statements, they are admissible where the codefendant is unavailable or they are refusing to testify. They are admissible if it is a statement against penal interest. Even if it inculpates the defendant in this case as well. And that is exactly the status of these statements from the Court's review. On appeal to this court, Ford renews his objections contending that Williams' statement contained inadmissible hearsay. Specifically, Ford objects to Williams' testimony that (1) McKenzie told her that Sharif put the hit out on the officer and that A.C. Ford was in charge of it; and (2) that McKenzie told her that he rode in a car with Ford and Monterey to the Pizza Shack. In order for the statement against penal interest hearsay exception to be applicable, the quoted witness must be unavailable. Minn. R. Evid. 804(b). Unavailability can be established by a witness deciding to invoke his/her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. State v. Anderson, 284 N.W.2d 360, 361 (Minn.1979). Although it is likely that McKenzie would have invoked his Fifth Amendment right, he was never asked if he would testify. Thus, McKenzie's unavailability was never established and thus Williams' testimony should have been suppressed. Assuming McKenzie's unavailability was established, however, we believe that Williams' testimony as to what McKenzie said should not have been admitted because it was not a statement against his penal interest. The United States Supreme Court recently examined the identical federal counterpart to Minn. R. Evid. 804(b)(3) in Williamson v. United States, 512 U.S. ___, 114 S.Ct. 2431, 129 L.Ed.2d 476 (1994). The Court said: In our view, the most faithful reading of Rule 804(b)(3) is that it does not allow admission of non-self-inculpatory statements, even if they are made within a broader narrative that is generally self-inculpatory. ___ U.S. at ____, 114 S.Ct. at 2435. Simply, Rule 804(b)(3) only allows the admission of the self-inculpatory aspects of a statement, but not other parts of the larger statement. Thus, even if McKenzie's unavailability was established, the trial court should have suppressed Williams' statements as hearsay pursuant to Williamson. The trial court's error in admitting Wyvonia Williams' statements relating to Ford require reversal only if the admission was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Jobe, 486 N.W.2d 407 (Minn.1992). In the past where we have found the weight of the evidence is so great that it justifies the verdict regardless of the erroneous admission, we have concluded the erroneous admission was harmless. See id.; State v. Thieman, 439 N.W.2d 1 (Minn.1989); State v. Hjerstrom, 287 N.W.2d 625 (Minn.1979). Similarly, in this case, we conclude that the weight of the evidence is so great that the admission of this information was at most harmless. [4]