Opinion ID: 1889530
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Bad Acts Evidence

Text: Having disposed of the waived issues, we now turn to appellant's contention that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion in limine because the testimony the State elicited was evidence of bad acts and, therefore, inadmissible. Maryland Rule 5-404(b) provides: Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, common scheme or plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. Although our cases have explored the proper analysis to be invoked when a party seeks to admit evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts, see, e.g., Streater v. State, 352 Md. 800, 807-10, 724 A.2d 111, 114-16 (1999); Whittlesey v. State, 340 Md. 30, 58-59, 665 A.2d 223, 237 (1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1148, 116 S.Ct. 1021, 134 L.Ed.2d 100 (1996); Ayers v. State, 335 Md. 602, 633-35, 645 A.2d 22, 36-38 (1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1130, 115 S.Ct. 942, 130 L.Ed.2d 886 (1995); Harris v. State, 324 Md. 490, 496-98, 597 A.2d 956, 960-61 (1991); State v. Faulkner, 314 Md. 630, 634-35, 552 A.2d 896, 897-98 (1989), we never have had occasion to discuss what constitutes a wrong or act under this rule. As noted in the Commentary to Federal Rule of Evidence 404, the wrongs or acts are often referred to by courts as uncharged misconduct or bad acts. [2] For purposes of our discussion, we shall use the phrase bad acts. [3] The most obvious reason for not defining bad acts is that many acts, in and of themselves, are not bad. An act prohibited by the criminal code but which goes uncharged is perhaps easy to identify as a bad act, hence the term uncharged misconduct. Other acts have the connotation of being bad, but until placed in the context of the lawsuit, cannot be said to be bad or good. For instance, this Court has said that although mere possession of a knife and walking behind a woman are not crimes, under certain circumstances, these acts could be construed as misconduct. Whittlesey, 340 Md. at 58, 665 A.2d at 237. A criminal defendant's plan to flee in order to evade prosecution, we held, also could be construed as a bad act. Id. at 63, 665 A.2d at 239. Conversely, even though solicitation of prostitution is a crime in this state, a defendant's statement that he got a girl and had sex, without any indication that the girl was a prostitute or an unwilling partner, did not necessarily constitute a crime or a bad act. See Burch v. State, 346 Md. 253, 270-71, 696 A.2d 443, 452, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 118 S.Ct. 571, 139 L.Ed.2d 410 (1997). Other jurisdictions have had equally varied results. For instance, membership in a gang was considered a bad act in United States v. Robinson, 978 F.2d 1554, 1562-63 (10th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 1034, 113 S.Ct. 1855, 123 L.Ed.2d 478 (1993), [4] and Hoops v. State, 681 So.2d 521, 530 (Miss.1996). Threats made to the victim were considered bad acts and relevant to motive in Pye v. State, 269 Ga. 779, 784, 505 S.E.2d 4, 11 (1998), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 1767, 143 L.Ed.2d 797 (1999) and Wall v. State, 269 Ga. 506, 509, 500 S.E.2d 904, 907 (1998). Similarly, an insurance fraud scheme was a bad act admissible to prove motive in State v. Benn, 120 Wash.2d 631, 654-55, 845 P.2d 289, 302-03, cert. denied, 510 U.S. 944, 114 S.Ct. 382, 126 L.Ed.2d 331 (1993). A criminal defendant's admission in a murder case that he had problems in the past with bank accounts, however, did not rise to the level of [bad acts] evidence. Green v. State, 587 N.E.2d 1314, 1317 (Ind.1992). A bankruptcy filing, under the circumstances of that case, was held not to fall within the scope of Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) in United States v. McMillon, 14 F.3d 948, 955 (4th Cir.1994). The Arizona Supreme Court stated in State v. Crane, 166 Ariz. 3, 7, 799 P.2d 1380, 1384 (Ariz.1990), that a letter detailing the defendant's sexual history with his wife did not fall under the other bad acts rule because consensual sexual conduct with one's wife is not a bad act. Finally, the Supreme Court of Delaware stated in Gattis v. State, 637 A.2d 808, 818-19 (Del.), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 843, 115 S.Ct. 132, 130 L.Ed.2d 75 (1994), that even though it was relevant as background, testimony that the defendant followed the victim to her apartment was not a bad act because the act of following the victim ... does not constitute misconduct[ ] or a bad act. Other courts have had the opportunity to articulate a threshold useful in determining whether the conduct at issue is a bad act. For example, the court in McMillon, 14 F.3d at 955, said that `an act need not be criminal, so long as it tends to impugn a defendant's character.' (quoting United States v. Rawle, 845 F.2d 1244, 1247 (4th Cir.1988)). In United States v. Cooper, 577 F.2d 1079, 1087-88 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 868, 99 S.Ct. 196, 58 L.Ed.2d 179 (1978), the court, first noting that [t]he application of Rule 404(b) is as varied as the cases in which it may be invoked, stated: Conceivably within the broad language of the rule is any conduct of the defendant which may bear adversely on the jury's judgment of his character. The Supreme Court of Indiana, noting that a bad act typically was evidence of a defendant's extrinsic activity which reflects adversely on his character, held evidence that the defendant videotaped the young victim's baseball game, allegedly attended a neighborhood Bible study with the child, and took the child fishing were not bad acts because those activities, by themselves, did not illustrate any unsavory character trait with which [the defendant] could have acted in conformity in regard to the victim's murder. Stevens v. State, 691 N.E.2d 412, 423 (Ind.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 550,142 L.Ed.2d 457 (1998). In reviewing the holdings from other jurisdictions and examples of what those courts have construed or not construed as bad acts, the general theme running through each is that a bad act is an activity or conduct, not necessarily criminal, that tends to impugn or reflect adversely upon one's character, taking into consideration the facts of the underlying lawsuit. It is from this general proposition that we evaluate whether the evidence to which appellant protests as erroneously admitted were bad acts under Maryland Rule 5-404(b). As we indicated, supra, appellant challenges witness Twomey's testimony about the nature of the civil estate case. The following occurred at trial: Q: And during this time, this eight years or so that this litigation, we don't want to get into all the details, but what was the crux of [the] basis for the suit? [By Defense Counsel]: Objection. THE COURT: Overruled. We fail to see, and appellant offers no argument other than to baldly state that Twomey testified to the nature of the civil case, how Twomey's testimony demonstrates conduct by appellant that would tend to impugn his character. The fact that appellant was involved in an underlying suit would not shade a jury's view of appellant as a bad person; the witness simply was explaining how he was involved in the case and what the case concerned. Under the circumstances of this case, the nature of the underlying estate case is not a bad act as contemplated by Rule 5-404(b). The prosecutor later asked Twomey about any guns appellant kept at his house. Appellant gave a general objection, which the court overruled. While responding to this question, Twomey described appellant's peculiar conduct while Twomey, accompanied by the police, were searching the home for certain documents. Apparently, appellant usually followed Twomey around the house, but Twomey explained that [t]here was one place [appellant] stood without moving while people went into other rooms in the basement, and fortunately the police were literally right next to him, surrounding him as he went through this exercise. Twomey went on to testify that he was curious why appellant stood in that one location. He later discovered that there was a gun stored in the ceiling tiles above the area in which appellant stood still. As related to the prosecutor's question about the guns, the issue was preserved. We do not believe that Twomey's testimony about appellant standing in one spot described a bad act. To be sure, the fact that the police stood near appellant while he was acting peculiarly imparts a general impression that they feared appellant might act out. But there is no indication that he did. Standing in place without moving, which is the supposed bad act appellant argues should not have been disclosed to the jury, does not impugn his character. Standing and watching while one's house is being searched is probably a common reaction. Therefore, because this conduct to which Twomey testified is not a bad act, the court did not abuse its discretion in admitting it. The only two remaining incidents that appellant avers were improperly admitted evidence of bad acts are appellant's conduct toward Twomey and appellant's possession of two guns and ammunition. We are not convinced that either should be considered bad acts for purposes of Rule 5-404(b). Regarding appellant's conduct toward Twomey, who was the opposing attorney in the civil lawsuit, Twomey testified about how appellant became verbally confrontational and poked Twomey in the chest. Raising one's voice and poking someone in the chest alone is not conduct that tends to impugn someone's character. Similarly, Twomey's testimony that two guns and ammunition were found on appellant's premises, without more, does not constitute a bad act. The Court of Special Appeals noted as much in Wheeler v. State, 88 Md.App. 512, 527 n. 10, 596 A.2d 78, 86 n. 10 (1991). There was no indication that these firearms were obtained or possessed illegally. No evidence was offered at trial that appellant's guns were to be used in the murder. Therefore, under the circumstances of this case, the evidence of appellant's conduct toward Twomey and the evidence of the guns were not bad acts.