Opinion ID: 1521791
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: ruffin: harmless error

Text: Since Ruffin's oral statement and clothes could properly be introduced in evidence against him, the question is whether the violation of his Fifth Amendment rights in obtaining his written statement was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Derrington, supra note 21, 488 A.2d at 1330; Lewis v. United States, 483 A.2d 1125 (D.C. 1984) (error in admitting voluntary statement obtained in violation of Miranda held to be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt since substance of statement was presented to jury through other, untainted testimony); Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967); see also Milton v. Wainwright, 407 U.S. 371, 92 S.Ct. 2174, 33 L.Ed.2d 1 (1972) (harmless beyond a reasonable doubt to admit statements deliberately elicited after Sixth Amendment right to counsel had attached); Miley v. United States, 477 A.2d 720, 724 (D.C.1984) (improper admission of statement obtained during custodial interrogation harmless beyond a reasonable doubt). Upon review of the trial transcript, we conclude there was not a reasonable possibility that the written statement might have contributed to Ruffin's convictions. Chapman v. California, supra, 386 U.S. at 23, 87 S.Ct. at 827 (quoting Fahy v. Connecticut, 375 U.S. 85, 86-87, 84 S.Ct. 229, 230-31, 11 L.Ed.2d 171 (1963)). The government's evidence against Ruffin was overwhelming without the written statement. It included the testimony of Ruffin's close friend, Donald Mitchell, who saw Ruffin repeatedly stomping Wilson in the face with his booted foot. Mitchell testified that he had seen Ruffin run out of his sister's apartment to look for Wilson after finding his sister crying and hysterical and being told Wilson had raped her and was still in the building. Mitchell had followed in search of Ruffin after others at the apartment told him to find Ruffin, and heard scuffling above as he left the apartment. He went upstairs and saw Ruffin stomping Wilson. Mitchell was permitted to demonstrate for the jury how Ruffin had kicked Wilson. Mitchell also testified that he had to grab Ruffin and pull him away, that there was a lot of blood around Wilson's head, and that Wilson was semiconscious. In addition, Mitchell testified that Shaw told Ruffin not to say anything when the police arrived, to wipe the blood off his shoes, and that he [Shaw] had apprehended the suspect and would take care of everything. Mitchell also testified, after Shaw's sister had testified how abusive Wilson could be, that, on the night (or early morning) in question, Ruffin had not wanted his sister Burnetta and her friend to go with Wilson in his car when they had left the party because [Ruffin] knew how [Wilson] was and said that he would give [his sister] a ride home. [25] Other friends and relatives of Ruffin who were at the apartment corroborated Mitchell's testimony about the circumstances preceding and following Ruffin's confrontation with Wilson. Shaw's sister also testified that when Ruffin returned he told his sister not to worry because everything is taken care of, and that Shaw had said he would take care of everything. A neighbor overhead Shaw instruct Ruffin to stay cool, and confirmed that Ruffin had wiped blood from his boots. The medical evidence was consistent with Mitchell's description of Ruffin's actions, establishing that Wilson had suffered brain damage as a result of being beaten around the head, was comatose upon arrival at the hospital and never recovered consciousness, and that the head injuries were the cause of death five months later, when Wilson contracted pneumonia causally related to his head injuries. Ruffin's oral statement [26] was presented to the jury through Detective Dyson's testimony. Ruffin had said, according to Dyson, that Wilson had attempted to kick him and he blocked that blow and countered with several blows, and then eventually stomped [Wilson]. [27] Ruffin had also admitted being trained in the martial arts and using his martial skills in the incident. Ruffin's written statement was read to the jury by Detective Muse. [28] The statement was exculpatory insofar as it set forth Ruffin's claim of self-defense. On direct examination, Ruffin testified that the written statement did not always accurately state what he had told the police. He explained that he had gone to find the decedent to ask him to return to the apartment to talk things over, but before he could do so the decedent had kicked him in the groin several times and punched him. [29] He disputed Mitchell's testimony that he subsequently had to pull Ruffin off Wilson and that Wilson was not conscious after he kicked him; Ruffin claimed he had decided to stop on his own and that Wilson was getting up as he and Mitchell left. [30] On cross-examination, Ruffin held steadfast to his claim he had acted in self-defense. The only questions by the prosecutor regarding Ruffin's written statement were brief, asking if he had initialed each page, said he did not like Wilson, and had a brown belt in karate. Although the government did not present eyewitness testimony about the initial moments of Ruffin's confrontation with Wilson, the government witnesses' description of the circumstances before and after the incident produced a very strong government case. Ruffin's testimony claiming self-defense was consistent with his oral statement and the material portions of his written statement. To the extent that his testimony differed from his oral statement and the testimony of his relatives and friends, Ruffin's testimony was impeached, and the impeachment provided by the written statement was cumulative. Once Ruffin's written statement was in evidence, the prosecutor's references to it were comparatively brief and summary in nature in the course of a lengthy cross-examination and closing argument. At the beginning of his closing argument the prosecutor told the jury, in accordance with the trial court's instructions to the jury on malice, that it was unnecessary for the government to prove that Ruffin had gone to his sister's apartment with the specific intent to kill Wilson or hated him or felt hostility toward him, because the requisite malice was demonstrated by showing Ruffin had a heart that was reckless of the life and safety of Clifford Wilson. In rebuttal closing argument, nearly all of which focused on the co-defendant Shaw, the prosecutor, in asking the jury to convict Ruffin of second degree murder, and not manslaughter, mentioned Ruffin's remark in his written statement that he did not like Wilson as one of several reasons for a murder conviction, but focused principally on the revenge Ruffin sought for the rape of his sister. Accordingly, in view of the strength of the government's case, and the exculpatory and cumulative nature of the written statement, we conclude that the error in admitting the written statement at trial was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. [31]