Opinion ID: 1755027
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence of marijuana in Riedweg's apartment and Cole's marijuana use.

Text: Prior to trial, the State filed a motion in limine to prevent evidence of the marijuana cigarettes found in Riedweg's apartment from being introduced. The defense voiced no objection, and the trial court granted the motion. After the State introduced evidence at trial suggesting that Dessaure was the source of the cigarette ash found in Riedweg's kitchen sink, the defense moved the court to reconsider its ruling on the motion in limine, arguing that the ash may have come from the marijuana cigarettes. The court affirmed its previous ruling and stated: I'm not going to allow it to come in. It would appear, due to the absence of any trace of cannabis in the deceased's body after her death, there not being any showing that they were smoked in the house other than the ashes that were seen in the sink, the picture of the marijuana cigarette appears that just the very end of it was lit and it does not appear that what is in the sink in any way can be tied to the small amount of marijuana that appears to have been burned off the cigarette. During the defense's case-in-chief, the defense proffered the testimony of Daniel Copeland. Copeland was a business partner and friend of Stuart Cole's. Copeland testified during the proffer that Cole frequently used marijuana when they went golfing, and he further testified that Cole went golfing on the day of the murder. The defense attempted to introduce the evidence of Cole's marijuana use as relevant to explain the ashes found in Riedweg's sink. The court held that the evidence was inadmissible, stating: I believe there is insufficient evidence from this witness or anybody else we have heard thus far to tie Mr. Cole to the marijuana cigarettes in the apartment. The mere fact that this witness has personal knowledge that he did, in fact, smoke some dope and routinely did so while they were playing golf, in my mind, no way ties him to what was found in the apartment. Therefore, it's, in my mind, is a violation of some type of character flaw for Mr. Cole. I don't think it's allowed under the Evidence Code. I don't think it's been sufficient to tie it in without doing a lot of assuming and I'm not going to allow it. It's in the record for somebody to look at it if they feel I made a mistake. I think, too, we have got a problem with regard to the ashes in the sink and I think the State needs to look long and hard to see how they need to use that as to, you know, how to, you know, what to say that might mean. But at this point, you know, I'm not going to comment on that. The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it barred evidence concerning the marijuana cigarettes in Riedweg's apartment and Cole's marijuana use. The defendant failed to adequately connect either piece of evidence to a material fact in issue. There was no evidence presented that the ashes in the sink had come from the marijuana cigarettes, that the cigarettes belonged to Cole, or that Cole had smoked marijuana in Riedweg's apartment on the day of the murder. No marijuana was found in Riedweg's system at the time of the autopsy. Additionally, the proffered testimony of Daniel Copeland concerning his general knowledge of Cole's marijuana use was never sufficiently connected to the crime itself.