Opinion ID: 1103294
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: whether the trial court committed reversible error in admitting the alleged confessions of the defendants.

Text: ¶ 51. The Harrises argue that it was reversible error to admit the confessions of the three brothers at trial because it violated their right to confront their accusers. The State counters that no error can be found in admitting Charlie's statement because he took the witness stand. The statements given by Bill and Jason do not implicate one another nor Charlie, so there was no violation of the right to confrontation. The State also argues that the defendants had plenty of time to move for a severance, but failed to do so, and trying the brothers together did not prejudice them. ¶ 52. As authority for finding reversible error based upon the right to confront the witnesses against them, the defendants cite Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968), and Gray v. Maryland, 523 U.S. 185, 118 S.Ct. 1151, 140 L.Ed.2d 294 (1998). A reading of these cases reveals the rule that where a codefendant's statement is introduced at a joint trial which powerfully implicates the defendant in a crime, a jury instruction or reductions which naturally suggest the defendant's name has been removed is not sufficient protection of the defendant's right to confront his accuser where the codefendant does not take the stand and subject himself to cross-examination by the defendant. Gray, 523 U.S. at 197, 118 S.Ct. at 1157; Bruton, 391 U.S. at 137, 88 S.Ct. at 1628. However, where the codefendant's statements do not facially implicate the defendant in the crime, there is no Bruton error. Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200, 208-9, 107 S.Ct. 1702, 1708, 95 L.Ed.2d 176 (1987). ¶ 53. Specifically, the defendants object to the testimony of the investigator concerning what the defendants told him: 1) Bill told him, They dropped me off at the projects at my girlfriend's house. (thus implicating Jason and Charlie) 2) Jason told him, Me ... Bill and Charlie were sitting at the table. Ronnie came over to the table and asked Bill something. Ronnie hit Bill with a bottle. I went outside fighting. I was kicking him. (thus implicating Bill and Charlie) 3) During his testimony, the investigator said concerning Jason's statements, I've got to leave out some of this, so it sounds choppy. I'm not allowed to say all of it.... It's hard for me to explain who he's talking about. (thus implicating Bill and Charlie) ¶ 54. We find that the first statement does not implicate Charlie and Jason in any criminal activity. Read in context, the Harrises contend that this meant Charlie and Bill were in the car, ergo they were present at the club, the scene of the crime. It is not against the law to drop someone off at his girlfriend's residence or be present at a club during a killing. The defendants did not even attempt to make absence from the scene of the crime any part of their defense. All three told the investigator they were there that night, and each eyewitness to the fight testified that they were there. Furthermore, both Charlie and Jason admitted to fighting with Ronnie Travis. Their collective defense was self-defense. Bill's statement did not implicate the other brothers in anything beyond what they had already individually told the investigator. Therefore, we find that the first statement does not constitute a Bruton violation, and it was not error for the investigator to testify concerning it. ¶ 55. The second statement passes the Bruton challenge for the same reason. All eyewitnesses testified that the Harris brothers were present at the club that night, and all three brothers admitted to the investigator that they were involved in the fight. The defense offered at trial was self-defense, not absence. Therefore, the statement by Jason that the three brothers were present that night did not implicate any of them in the subsequent murder. Again, it is not against the law to be present at the scene of a crime when it occurs. Thus, we conclude that this statement does not violate the defendants' right to confrontation. ¶ 56. The third statement, however, is more troubling. The investigator's testimony on the stand naturally drew attention to the fact that some information from the defendants' statements was being withheld from the jury. This was at the judge's instruction, but the defendants promptly moved for a mistrial when the investigator made the omissions known to the jury. The trial court overruled the motion, but it is fair to say that the jury knew that they were not told everything. Unlike Gray, however, this is not a case where a proper name was deleted which would obviously lead the jury to conclude that the defendant's name was the missing one. This is merely a statement made to the jury that portions of Jason's statement had to be removed. When the jury returned from the recess to discuss the mistrial, the trial court told the jury: Ladies and gentlemen, let me explain something to you. In civil trials and criminal trials, as I've told you earlier, my job is to make sure only admissible evidence comes before you. There's been some testimony here today by this particular witness concerning the different statements that he took from the defendants. We have had pretrial hearings on this case outside the presence of any jury, and I have ruled on certain portions of these statements that I won't let in. Okay? This happens in every case. It's nothing unusual about that. This defendant made a comment about it beingI think he said choppy or something. I can't recall. I want to ask you to just disregard that statement made by this particular witness. It has no basis in law, and it doesn't run afoul of my prior rulings on the evidence in this case. There are some things that I have redacted from these statements that simply are not admissible evidence, such as hearsay statements and things such as that. I don't want you to find it prejudicial against either of the defendants that this witness has made the statement. He simply made the statement in a way of trying to explain to you that it could sound choppy when he's relating you the testimony. Its my fault because I have ruled on certain pieces of evidence that are in these statements. So can each one of you tell me that you can accept this explanation from me and disregard the statement of this witness? Can each of you tell me that you'll do that and not hold it against these defendants? Okay. All right. You may proceed. As can be seen from the investigator's statement, no criminal activity was alleged and no defendant was implicated in any portion of the act which occurred that night. It is safe to assume the jury was probably full of natural curiosity. However, we hold that the trial judge's instruction was sufficient to satisfy the jury's curiosity without drawing attention to the fact that the investigator might have been leaving out Charlie and Bill's names from Jason's statement. It is true that the trial judge gave the defendants ample opportunity to sever the trials, the last offer coming as late as the Friday before the joint trial began on Monday. The trial courts and prosecution should be mindful that statements made by codefendants in joint trials face a higher level of scrutiny for violations of the right to confrontation. Where it appears that the evidence, even if revealed inadvertently to the jury, would naturally indicate to a jury that a statement by a codefendant implicates another defendant, it is best to sever the trials. See generally Harrington v. State, 793 So.2d 626 (Miss.2001). Having acknowledged this danger, we find that no Bruton violation attended the investigator's statements that he could not reveal portions of Jason Harris's statement. This issue is without merit.