Opinion ID: 1426512
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: harmless error doctrine

Text: Prior to 1967, neither Tennessee nor federal courts applied the harmless error doctrine to constitutional violations. See State v. Williams, 977 S.W.2d 101, 104 (Tenn.1998); Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 278, 113 S.Ct. 2078, 2081, 124 L.Ed.2d 182 (1993); Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U.S. 279, 306-07, 111 S.Ct. 1246, 1263, 113 L.Ed.2d 302 (1991) (Rehnquist, C.J.). Consequently, when a constitutional error occurred in a criminal trial, reversal was the automatic remedy. Id. In Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967), the United States Supreme Court rejected the proposition that all federal constitutional errors that occur in the course of a criminal trial require reversal. The Chapman Court held that the Fifth Amendment violation of prosecutorial comment upon the defendant's failure to testify would not require reversal of a conviction if the State could show beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the verdict obtained. Id. at 24, 87 S.Ct. at 828. The Chapman standard recognizes that certain constitutional errors, no less than other errors, may have been `harmless' in terms of their effect on the factfinding process at trial. Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 681, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 1436, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 (1986). Since Chapman , the Court has repeatedly reaffirmed the principle that an otherwise valid conviction should not be set aside if the reviewing court may confidently say, on the whole record, that the constitutional error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. Generally, in modern jurisprudence application of the harmless error doctrine is the rule rather than the exception. See Williams, 977 S.W.2d at 105; see also Rose v. Clark, 478 U.S. 570, 579, 106 S.Ct. 3101, 3106-07, 92 L.Ed.2d 460 (1986). Indeed, both the United States Supreme Court [14] and the courts of this State [15] have applied the harmless error doctrine to a wide variety of constitutional errors. As the United States Supreme Court has recognized, [t]he common thread connecting these cases is that each involved `trial error'error which occurred during the presentation of the case to the jury, and which may therefore be quantitatively assessed in the context of other evidence presented in order to determine whether its admission was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Fulminante, 499 U.S. at 307, 111 S.Ct. at 1264. Application of the harmless error doctrine does not signify a disrespect of the constitutional rights which have been violated. Rose, 478 U.S. at 577, 106 S.Ct. at 3105. To the contrary, [t]he harmless error doctrine recognizes the principle that the central purpose of a criminal trial is to decide the factual question of the defendant's guilt or innocence, and promotes public respect for the criminal process by focusing on the underlying fairness of the trial rather than on the virtually inevitable presence of immaterial error. Reversal for error, regardless of its effect on the judgment, encourages litigants to abuse the judicial process and bestirs the public to ridicule it. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. at 681, 106 S.Ct. at 1436 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Howell, 868 S.W.2d at 253. The harmless error doctrine is an embodiment of the fundamental premise that the Constitution entitles a criminal defendant to a fair trial, not a perfect one. Howell, 868 S.W.2d at 253 quoting Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. at 681, 106 S.Ct. at 1436. Despite the strong interests that support application of the harmless error doctrine, the United States Supreme Court and this Court have consistently held that some errors defy harmless error analysis and require reversal. See e.g. Fulminante, 499 U.S. at 309, 111 S.Ct. at 1265; Rose, 478 U.S. at 577, 106 S.Ct. at 3105; Chapman, 386 U.S. at 23 n. 8, 87 S.Ct. at 828 n. 8; State v. Harris, 989 S.W.2d 307, 315 (Tenn.1999). The cases in which the United States Supreme Court and this Court have refused to apply the harmless error doctrine involve errors that are structural defects in the constitution of the trial mechanism. Fulminante, 499 U.S. at 310, 111 S.Ct. at 1265. These errors have an impact upon [t]he entire conduct of the trial from beginning to end. Id. Stated another way, these errors deprive defendants of `basic protections' without which `a criminal trial cannot reliably serve its function as a vehicle for determination of guilt or innocence ... and no criminal punishment may be regarded as fundamentally fair.' Neder, 527 U.S. at ___, 119 S.Ct. at 1833 (quoting Rose, 478 U.S. at 577, 106 S.Ct. at 3101). Only a very limited class of errors have been found to be structural, and subject to automatic reversal. See Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963) (complete denial of counsel); Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510, 47 S.Ct. 437, 71 L.Ed. 749 (1927) (adjudication by a biased judge); Vasquez v. Hillery, 474 U.S. 254, 106 S.Ct. 617, 88 L.Ed.2d 598 (1986) (racial discrimination in selection of grand jury); McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 U.S. 168, 104 S.Ct. 944, 79 L.Ed.2d 122 (1984) (denial of self-representation at trial); Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39, 104 S.Ct. 2210, 81 L.Ed.2d 31 (1984) (denial of public trial); Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 113 S.Ct. 2078, 124 L.Ed.2d 182 (1993) (defective reasonable doubt instruction); State v. Muse, 967 S.W.2d 764, 768 (Tenn.1998) (denial of right to be present at jury selection); State v. Benson, 973 S.W.2d 202, 207 (Tenn.1998) (denial of right to impartial judge); State v. Bobo, 814 S.W.2d 353, 357 (Tenn.1991) (denial of right to trial by jury). [16] Unlike such defects as a complete deprivation of counsel or trial before a biased judge, denial of the defendant's right to testify does not in all cases render a criminal trial fundamentally unfair or call into question the reliability of the trial as a vehicle for determining guilt or innocence. Such an error involves the exclusion of testimony which is evidence that can be quantitatively assessed in the context of other evidence presented in order to determine whether its admission was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Fulminante, 499 U.S. at 307, 111 S.Ct. at 1264. In some cases, the defendant's testimony would have no impact, or even a negative impact, on the result of trial. United States v. Tavares, 100 F.3d 995, 999 (D.C.Cir.1996), cert. denied 520 U.S. 1160, 117 S.Ct. 1344, 137 L.Ed.2d 502 (1997); see also State v. Robinson, 138 Wash.2d 753, 982 P.2d 590, 599 (1999). Likewise, in some cases, denial of a defendant's right to testify may be devastating to the defense. However, under such circumstances, a reviewing court will simply conclude that the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The fact that reversal may be required in some cases is no reason to eschew the harmless error doctrine entirely when the error involved is clearly of a trial, rather than a structural nature. Cf. Fulminante, 499 U.S. at 312, 111 S.Ct. at 1266. As such, denial of the right to testify has been appropriately characterized as a trial error which is subject to the harmless error doctrine. Indeed, the vast majority of jurisdictions which have considered this issue have held either that the harmless error doctrine applies when a defendant establishes a denial of the right to testify under the Fifth Amendment or that the prejudice prong of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) must be established if the defendant is to prove ineffective assistance of counsel as a result of counsel's unilateral waiver of the right to testify. [17] See e.g. Tavares, 100 F.3d at 999 (citing other federal cases); Commissioner of Correction v. Rodriquez, 222 Conn. 469, 610 A.2d 631, 636 n. 9 (1992); People v. Johnson, 62 Cal.App.4th 608, 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 805, 820 (4 Dist.1998); State v. Silva, 78 Hawai`i 115, 890 P.2d 702, 712 (1995) (overruled on other grounds in Tachibana v. State, 79 Hawai`i 226, 900 P.2d 1293, 1302-03 (1995); People v. Solomon, 220 Mich.App. 527, 560 N.W.2d 651, 654-56 (1996); State v. Paulsen, 726 A.2d 902, 907 (N.H.1999); State v. Arguelles, 921 P.2d 439, 441 (Utah 1996); Robinson, 982 P.2d at 598; State v. Flynn, 190 Wis.2d 31, 527 N.W.2d 343 (App.1994). [18] Application of the harmless error doctrine to the denial of a criminal defendant's right to testify strikes the appropriate balance between the judicial system's interest in obtaining reliable results and the system's competing interest in having litigation end at some point. [19] Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. at 681, 106 S.Ct. at 1436; Chapman, 386 U.S. at 22, 87 S.Ct. at 827. Once a constitutional error has been established, as in this case, the burden is upon the State to prove that the constitutional right violation is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Harris, 989 S.W.2d at 314. Harmless error review looks ... to the basis on which the jury actually rested its verdict. Sullivan, 508 U.S. at 279, 113 S.Ct. at 2081. However, courts often identify certain factors to aid in discerning the actual basis on which a jury rested its verdict. For example, in Howell , this Court stated that a reviewing court determining whether the denial of effective cross-examination is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt should consider the following factors: (1) the importance of the witness's testimony in the prosecution's case; (2) the cumulative nature of the testimony; (3) the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the witness on material points; (4) the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted; and (5) the overall strength of the prosecution's case. See Howell, 868 S.W.2d at 253 (citing Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. at 684-85, 106 S.Ct. at 1438). Denial of a defendant's right to testify is analogous to denial of a defendant's right to effective cross-examination. In both instances, the defendant is being deprived of the right to present evidence to the jury. While not entirely relevant by their terms in the context of a denial of the right to testify, the factors identified in Howell are indicative of the concerns that arise under harmless error review when evidence has been erroneously excluded. Therefore, courts should consider the following factors when determining whether the denial of the right to testify is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) the importance of the defendant's testimony to the defense case; (2) the cumulative nature of the testimony; (3) the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the defendant on material points; (4) the overall strength of the prosecution's case. As previously stated, the goal of harmless error analysis is to identify the actual basis on which the jury rested its verdict. Sullivan, 508 U.S. at 279, 113 S.Ct. at 2081. Accordingly, the factors identified herein are merely instructive and not exclusive considerations. [20] Complete consideration of these factors is not possible in this Court because the record on appeal does not contain Momon's testimony from his first trial nor does it contain an offer of proof indicating the substance of the testimony Momon would have offered at his second trial if he had not been denied the right to testify. In the trial court, Momon was attempting to establish a Sixth Amendment claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, and the State was attempting to meet that claim. The record is simply not sufficient for this Court to evaluate whether the denial of the appellant's constitutional right to testify was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, we conclude that this case must be remanded to the trial court for a hearing at which the State will bear the burden of establishing that the denial of the appellant's constitutional right to testify was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Compare State v. Phipps, 959 S.W.2d 538 (Tenn.1997) (remanding to the trial court for a hearing at which the State would bear the burden of rebutting the presumption of vindictiveness); McKeldin v. State, 516 S.W.2d 82 (Tenn.1974) (remanding for a determination of whether the denial of counsel at preliminary hearing constituted harmless error). We are confident that the trial judge will carefully consider the record developed at the hearing on remand in light of the factors identified herein as relevant to the determination of whether the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. If the trial court concludes that the State has met its burden of establishing that the error was harmless, the appellant's conviction should be sustained. However, if the trial court concludes that the State failed to prove that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, the trial court must vacate the appellant's conviction. [21]