Opinion ID: 1182062
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct at the Guilt Phase

Text: (22) Defendant charges the prosecutor with various acts of misconduct during the guilt phase. At the outset, we observe that defendant failed to object to any of the asserted acts of misconduct at trial or to make any motions to strike, for mistrial, or for other appropriate relief in response to the prosecutor's acts. Because no incident cited by defendant was impervious to correction by a timely admonition, defendant has waived his right to challenge the alleged misconduct on appeal. ( People v. Green, supra, 27 Cal.3d at p. 27.) Moreover, each of defendant's charges of misconduct is either without merit, nonprejudicial, or both. (23) First, defendant contends that the district attorney recalled the booking officer as a witness for the sole purpose of drawing a defense objection and creating the appearance that defense counsel was preventing the jury from hearing evidence harmful to defendant, i.e., that an envelope had been listed under miscellaneous property on the booking inventory list. There were other, equally plausible reasons for recalling the officer, including some vagueness in the officer's prior testimony as to his recollection of the contents of the inventory. Significantly, neither defense counsel nor the court drew the inference now suggested by defendant on appeal. The record does not reflect any suspicion of misconduct on their part. Moreover, as a result of the recall of the officer, defendant was able to emphasize a fact beneficial to his case  that there was no notation on the inventory list referring to a white envelope. There is no basis for defendant's assertion that he was prejudiced by the recall of the officer. (24) Second, the prosecutor cross-examined defendant about his financial situation at the time of the murder. In response to one of the prosecutor's questions, defendant denied that he had ever borrowed money from his cousin Robert. The prosecutor presented defendant with a statement, purportedly given by Robert to a prosecution investigator, in which Robert stated defendant had borrowed money from him; the prosecutor then asked whether the statement refreshed his recollection. There is no indication of any bad faith on the prosecutor's part; indeed, the existence of the investigator's statement suggests the prosecutor had a good faith basis to question defendant's denial of ever obtaining loans from Robert. Assuming the prosecutor's tactic to be an attempt to introduce inadmissible hearsay, any error could have been cured by a timely defense objection and admonition; because no such objection was made, any alleged misconduct was waived. ( People v. Bell (1989) 49 Cal.3d 502, 531-532 [262 Cal. Rptr. 1, 778 P.2d 129].) Moreover, the challenged cross-examination was brief; defendant points to nothing in the record to show the prosecutor dwelled on the issue either in further examination or in argument. No prejudice appears. (25) Third, Lorita Adams, a dressmaker who made clothes for the victim, testified at trial that the victim was scheduled to come in for a fitting on a Tuesday, the day after her murder. Adams further stated she planned to have garments ready for the victim to purchase at that time. Adams's testimony thus suggested a possible reason for the victim's carrying cash in an envelope on the day of her murder. Defendant points to differences between Adams's trial testimony and her preliminary hearing testimony, in which she stated she would not have had the garments finished by Tuesday, but would have needed until Thursday to complete them; based on the differences, he charges the prosecutor with deliberate presentation of false and misleading testimony. The differences in Adams's testimony do not suggest prosecutorial misconduct. Initially, the record does not reveal that perjured testimony was knowingly presented by the prosecution. ( People v. Gordon (1973) 10 Cal.3d 460, 473-474 [110 Cal. Rptr. 906, 516 P.2d 298]; In re Imbler (1963) 60 Cal.2d 554, 560 [35 Cal. Rptr. 293, 387 P.2d 6].) Moreover, the critical issue was whether the victim, not Adams, anticipated that one or more garments might be finished and was therefore carrying money in an envelope to pay for them. On that issue, there was uncontradicted testimony that the victim was to wear the garments made by Adams in a fashion show the Friday of the week she was killed; that she was scheduled to come in for a fitting of the skirts on Tuesday; and that if she decided to wait while Adams hemmed the skirts, she would have paid for them then and taken them with her. Based on this testimony, the jury could have inferred a belief on the part of the victim that the garments might be finished on Tuesday and ready to pick up at that time. Finally, defense counsel was given ample opportunity to impeach Adams's testimony and to rebut this inference with other evidence. Neither prosecutorial misconduct nor prejudice appears. For the reasons stated above, none of defendant's rights, including without limitation his rights under the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, or Fourteenth Amendments, was violated by the conduct of the prosecutor.