Opinion ID: 1237936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Prior Testimony of Steven Barnes

Text: Outside the jury's presence, the defense informed the court that it intended to present evidence that Steven Barnes, the son of murder victim Richard Barnes, had testified in a previous case that he was not an AB member. The prosecution raised a hearsay objection, which the trial court sustained. (44) Defendant contends that the ruling was error because the evidence was admissible under the hearsay exception for prior testimony (Evid. Code, § 1291), and that the error denied him his rights under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to a fair trial and to present a defense. The proponent of evidence offered under the prior testimony exception to the hearsay rule has the burden of showing that the declarant is unavailable to testify in the current proceeding, and this showing must be made by competent evidence. ( People v. Enriquez (1977) 19 Cal.3d 221, 235 [137 Cal. Rptr. 171, 561 P.2d 261, 3 A.L.R.4th 73].) Unavailability may be established by evidence that the declarant is [a]bsent from the hearing and the proponent of his or her statement has exercised reasonable diligence but has been unable to procure his or her attendance by the court's process. (Evid. Code, § 240, subd. (a)(5).) This court has not decided the standard of review for a trial court's determination on the issue of reasonable diligence (see People v. Hovey (1988) 44 Cal.3d 543, 563 [244 Cal. Rptr. 121, 749 P.2d 776]), and the Courts of Appeal are divided on this issue (see People v. Robinson (1991) 226 Cal. App.3d 1581, 1585 [277 Cal. Rptr. 504], and cases cited). We need not determine the standard of review in this case because the defense did not present any competent evidence of due diligence, nor did it make an offer of proof. In seeking admission of the prior testimony, and in responding to the prosecution's hearsay objection, defendant's counsel did not cite the hearsay exception for prior testimony, nor did they claim they had exercised due diligence to procure Barnes's attendance at the trial. One of defendant's attorneys said, I don't have the time to get Mr. Barnes here. The other defense attorney added, We don't know where he is. The prosecution will not reveal that. Defendant argues that the latter statement is a sufficient showing of due diligence because it was obvious that the declarant could be located only with the assistance of the prosecution. We disagree. The record does not show that Steven Barnes was then in hiding, that he could not have been located by conventional search methods, or that the prosecution knew or should have known where Steven Barnes was then living or how he could be contacted. Defense counsel's unelaborated statements do not establish due diligence.