Opinion ID: 1351466
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Attempts to Prove Third Party Culpability

Text: (16a) Defendant proposed to introduce evidence suggesting that a certain Jay-Jay Sheffner might have been the real murderer. The prosecutor made a motion in limine to exclude this line of inquiry, which the court granted. Defendant now argues that the ruling was prejudicial error. During the hearing on the motion, defense counsel told the court that he had been informed by David Pelletier, a friend and associate of defendant, that Joan and her daughter, the victim, had stolen an unspecified sum of money and a painting from Sheffner and then had bragged about it, and that Sheffner had told Pelletier he would get even with both mother and daughter. This incident allegedly took place a week or two before the murder. Pelletier assertedly also told counsel that Sheffner had a past history of child sexual molestation. Both these facts, counsel argued, pointed sufficiently to Sheffner as a possible murder suspect to permit his questioning Joan on the matter. The prosecutor, on the other hand, contended that any evidence of Sheffner's alleged history of sexual molestation was either impermissible character evidence under Evidence Code section 1101, or impermissible hearsay, or both. In addition, the prosecutor claimed that according to his own interrogation of David Pelletier the alleged theft by the victim and her mother and Sheffner's ensuing vow of revenge took place eight or more weeks before the murder. The incident was therefore too remote and insubstantial to link Sheffner with the murder. The principles of law are clear. In People v. Hall (1986) 41 Cal.3d 826 [226 Cal. Rptr. 112, 718 P.2d 99], we rejected the rule that evidence of third party culpability could be admitted only if there was a substantial proof of a probability of guilt. ( Id. at p. 833.) (17) Rather, we held that the standard for admitting evidence of third party culpability was the same as for other exculpatory evidence: the evidence had to be relevant under Evidence Code section 350, and its probative value could not be substantially outweighed by the risk of undue delay, prejudice, or confusion under Evidence Code section 352. (41 Cal.3d at p. 834.) In addition to articulating a general standard in Hall, we formulated more specific guidelines to judge admissibility of evidence of third party culpability: the rule does not require that any evidence, however remote, must be admitted to show a third party's possible culpability.... [E]vidence of mere motive or opportunity to commit the crime in another person, without more, will not suffice to raise a reasonable doubt about a defendant's guilt: there must be direct or circumstantial evidence linking the third person to the actual perpetration of the crime. ( Id. at p. 833.) In the present case the record reveals that defense counsel in effect claimed the right to question only Joan concerning the alleged incident with Jay-Jay Sheffner; even if Pelletier's testimony had been admissible, counsel abandoned any intent to call him as a witness. The most that counsel was prepared to establish was that Sheffner had a motive for being angry with the victim's mother, and possibly with the victim. But such evidence does nothing to link Sheffner to the actual perpetration of the crime, as required by Hall, supra, 41 Cal.3d 826. (16b) We find that the court was within its discretion in concluding that the slight probative value, if any, of this evidence was substantially outweighed by the possibility of jury confusion and undue delay. (18) The prosecution also successfully moved to exclude evidence of the seedy character of the neighborhood where the murder occurred, when defendant offered to raise the further possibility that the murderer was some unknown derelict. Given the above discussion, it is true a fortiori that under the Hall standard ( supra, 41 Cal.3d 826) the court was not compelled to admit evidence of the neighborhood' character, and did not abuse its discretion in excluding it.