Opinion ID: 1842580
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: testimony of parole officer

Text: Prior to the presentation of any evidence in the case at bar, counsel for the defendant, in chambers, objected to the use of the defendant's parole officer as a witness for the State. Counsel stated that, because the case against the defendant was circumstantial, the introduction of the defendant's past criminal record would unduly prejudice the jury, and, furthermore, the testimony was irrelevant. The State responded that the testimony of the parole officer was to be used to introduce relevant evidence and insisted that his employment identification was necessary as it went to the witness' credibility. The trial court found for the State and said: Now, I of course recognize in identifying the witness as a parole officer you are in effect saying that the man has committed a previous crime and therefore he is on parole or on probation but this could be overcome by the cautionary instruction to the jury also. . . . . . . I recognize he has to be identified. It seems to me he can be identified very simply as a parole agent for the State of North Dakota period. I also intend, unless the defense would object to it, to give a cautionary instruction to the jury to the general effect. . . . there is no evidence that the defendant has any criminal record and that they should view the conversation with Mr. Monroe as an ordinary conversation between two persons unrelated to any prior criminal offenses if there are any. . . . Mr. Monroe, the parole officer, was then sworn and he testified that he had had a conversation with the defendant on July 13, 1972, and that he (Monroe) thereby learned, among other things, that the defendant had no money; and, upon further investigation, that he learned that the defendant's employment with the State School at Grafton had been terminated. At the conclusion of the trial, during which the defendant did not testify, a cautionary instruction was not given because of a request by defense counsel that such instruction be omitted. Defense counsel stated: . . . I feel that a cautionary instruction however worded may draw attention to it, to Mr. Monroe's testimony, and I feel at the present time the jury may very well not draw an inference that Mr. Bragg has a previous criminal record.  We hold that the trial court erred in overruling defendant's motion in limine and allowing the prosecution to put before the jury circumstantial evidence from which the jury could reasonably infer that the defendant had a prior criminal record. We further hold that such error was prejudicial and necessitates that the conviction of the defendant be reversed. In State v. Schlittenhardt, 147 N.W.2d 118 (N.D.1966), the defendant moved for a mistrial after the prosecutor had elicited from a police detective testimony that defendant had been identified by the complaining party through discovery of defendant's picture in a book entitled Known Criminals. Further, the book in question was shown to the police detective witness and identified by him as the self-same book he had used. We said, in Schlittenhardt, supra, 147 N. W.2d at 125: There is no question about the fact that the reference in testimony to, and the physical viewability and perhaps unintended exhibition to the jury of, this red-lettered book entitled `Known Criminals', was strongly prejudicial to the rights of this defendant. The trial judge called it prejudicial in the record, in denying defendant's motion and in admonishing the jury. The trial judge did make an effort to correct this situation by a curative statement to the jury, and later by a statement contained in the instructions. However, in the light of practical courtroom atmosphere in a criminal case, as distinguished from esoteric theory, not only did prejudice result to the defendant, but the effect of such prejudice was not cured by what the court said in admonishing the jury and later in its instructions. It would require extreme naivete to hold otherwise. In Schlittenhardt, 147 N.W.2d at 127, we went on to point out that our holding that testimony about and display of a book entitled Known Criminals, which book contained the defendant's picture, was prejudicial to the defendant: . . . has nothing to do with the principle that, under some conditions, prior convictions can be introduced in evidence. It is true that they may be. However, there is no such attempt here, but merely the display, and reference to in evidence, of some book called `Known Criminals', which is used with reference to a defendant. This is comparable to the techniques used in the Middle Ages when criminals were branded with a certain brand to correspond to the nature of their past crimes. Since in this case the defendant did not take the witness stand, the State was deprived of the right to cross-examine him concerning past criminal convictions. In Michelson v. United States, 335 U.S. 469, 475-476, 69 S.Ct. 213, 218, 93 L.Ed. 168 (1948), the United States Supreme Court said: The State may not show defendant's prior trouble with the law, specific criminal acts, or ill name among his neighbors, even though such facts might logically be persuasive that he is by propensity a probable perpetrator of the crime. The inquiry is not rejected because character is irrelevant; on the contrary, it is said to weigh too much with the jury and to so overpersuade them as to prejudge one with a bad general record and deny him a fair opportunity to defend against a particular charge. The overriding policy of excluding such evidence, despite its admitted probative value, is the practical experience that its disallowance tends to prevent confusion of issues, unfair surprise and undue prejudice. In Johnson v. United States, 356 F.2d 680, 684 (C.A. 8th 1966), the Court said: The law is clear that evidence of the commission of other crimes is incompetent  and inadmissible for the purpose of showing the commission of the crime charged. This rule is based on the common-sense proposition that such evidence draws the attention of the jury away from the real issues and injects an additional and confusing burden upon the defense. But, there are broad exceptions to this rule; such evidence is admissible to show motive, identity, a common scheme or plan, guilty knowledge or intent, etc. [Citations omitted.] Generally speaking, such evidence will be found extremely prejudicial and require reversal unless the reference to prior offenses is clear and cogent and an explicit instruction as to its limited competence is given. . . . [Emphasis added.] In the instant case, the reference to prior offenses is not clear or cogent since such reference merely brought to the attention of the trial jury immediately after the start of the trial that the defendant was a parolee. We think that a reasonable juror could have inferred from this that the defendant had a prior criminal record, the extent of which was not known, but the seriousness of which was great since defendant at some time in the past had been convicted of an offense. Otherwise, why would defendant have a parole officer who checked on his activities? We are of the opinion that the defendant's attorney was correct when he stated at the conclusion of the trial that an instruction by the court that the jury should not draw an inference from the fact that a parole officer testified would merely magnify the effect of the error in admitting testimony which served to create the grounds for an inference that the defendant was a person of bad character, especially in light of the fact that the reason for allowing such identification of the parole officer (i. e., the credibility of the witness) was made of such ethereal stuff when placed against the substantial magnitude of the harm done to the defendant in impugning his character. We fail to see why the parole officer could not have been identified merely as a state employee or by some other correct occupational tag (or no occupational tag), creating an innocuous effect on the defendant but sufficiently establishing the credibility of the witness. In the instant case we find no substantial reason justifying the identification of the parole officer when counterpoised against the potential harm to the defendant of the admission of testimony from which the jury could have most reasonably inferred the defendant to be of bad character. We believe that the defendant did not waive his right to object to the admission of such testimony when he demurred to a proposed admonitory instruction to negate the effect of such an inference, for what we said in Schlittenhardt, supra, 147 N.W.2d at 125, is equally applicable here in regard to the nugatory curative effect and inefficacy of such an instruction: The trial judge called it prejudicial in the record. . . . The trial judge did make an effort to correct this situation by a curative statement to the jury, and later by a statement contained in the instructions. However, in the light of practical courtroom atmosphere in a criminal case, as distinguished from esoteric theory, not only did prejudice result to the defendant, but the effect of such prejudice was not cured by what the court said in admonishing the jury and later in its instructions. It would require extreme naivete to hold otherwise. The prosecutor shares equally in the duty of ensuring that a criminal defendant receives a fair trial. Where, as here, he advertently brings to the attention of the finders of fact facts raising an inference as to the alleged bad character of the defendant without a tenable countervailing purpose for presenting those facts, the prosecutor has failed in this duty. Several cases from other jurisdictions have held that it is reversible error to admit  the testimony of a probation officer as a probation officer for the reason that the prejudicial inference as to defendant's character untowardly affects the finders of fact. See People v. McCain, 42 A.D.2d 866, 347 N.Y.S.2d 72 (1973); People v. Kessler, 221 Cal.App.2d 187, 34 Cal.Rptr. 433 (1963).