Opinion ID: 2520113
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Detective Kemp's contradictory testimony.

Text: The defendant also argued that the trial court erred by allowing Detective Kemp to testify contrary to his police report. The defendant called Detective Kemp to testify during his case, and Detective Kemp acknowledged that he had written in his police report that he observed Kenney draw his weapon and start up the stairs. On cross-examination by the State, Detective Kemp testified that his report was not accurate, and that upon further reflection, and after looking at the evidence custody receipt, he remembered that Deputy Kenney had not taken the gun off his belt. The defendant did not object to this testimony or question Detective Kemp about it but he did offer the police report into evidence. Even if the alleged misconduct was not objected to at trial, the issue will be addressed if it rises to the level of a denial of due process. Pabst, 268 Kan. at 504. Reversible error predicated on prosecutorial misconduct must be of such a magnitude as to deny a defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial. 268 P.2d at 504. For support, the defendant cites State v. Lewis, 238 Kan 94, 708 P.2d 196 (1985). In Lewis, this court reversed aggravated battery and aggravated robbery convictions when a KBI forensic examiner, who had written a report stating that a knife in the possession of one of the defendants did not have blood on it, unexpectedly testified at trial that the knife did in fact have blood on it. 238 Kan. at 95-96. The forensic examiner told the county attorney before testifying that her initial report had been wrong, but the county attorney failed to tell either the judge or defense counsel. 238 Kan. at 96. The court held: Prosecutorial misconduct occurs when the county attorney fails to disclose to both the trial judge and the defense counsel that he intends to introduce into evidence a report which he failed to inform the defense counsel had been corrected. If the corrected statement changes the theory of defense as presented to the jury in opening statement, then neither admonition nor instructions by the trial judge can cure the resulting prejudice. 238 Kan. at 99. This case can be distinguished from Lewis. The court in Lewis stressed that the prosecutor's breach of duty was not his failure to disclose incriminating evidence. 238 Kan. at 98. Rather, the prosecutor's breach of duty was his failure to satisfy his statutory obligation under K.S.A. 22-3212(1)(b) (Ensley 1981), now K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 22-3212(a)(2), to allow the defendant to inspect and copy the results of the scientific test or experiments made in connection with the particular case which are known, or by the exercise of due diligence may become known, to the prosecuting attorney. 238 Kan. at 98. In this case, the State reached an agreement with the defendant to allow discovery of Detective Kemp's police report on May 26, 2000, well before trial. Had Detective Kemp revised his report, the State would have been required to deliver that report to the defendant under K.S.A. 22-3213(2), which states in part: After a witness called by the state has testified on direct examination [at the preliminary hearing], the court shall, on motion of the defendant, order the prosecution to produce any statement (as hereinafter defined) of the witness in the possession of the prosecution which relates to the subject matter as to which the witness has testified. Because Detective Kemp had never formally changed his report or told the State about his new recollection, there was nothing for the State to disclose. The defendant concedes there is no evidence that the State knowingly presented perjured testimony. Instead, he contends that the State knew the testimony was false after it was allowed to go uncorrected in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The defendant cites Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264, 269, 3 L. Ed. 2d 1217, 79 S. Ct. 1173 (1959), in support of his argument. In Napue, the defendant was charged with the murder of a police officer. George Hamer, who was Napue's accomplice in the murder, was the principal witness for the State. Hamer testified falsely that he had not received any consideration for his testimony, and the Assistant State's Attorney, who knew this was not true, did nothing to correct the perjured testimony. At a hearing held after Napue's trial, the Assistant State's Attorney admitted to offering consideration to Hamer. 360 U.S. at 265-67. There is no evidence in this case suggesting that the State knew that Detective Kemp's testimony was false. In fact, there is evidence supporting Kemp's contention that Kenney did not have his gun drawn. The evidence custody receipt which listed the items found on Deputy Kenney's person at the time of his death, included his Beretta .40-caliber handgun. Sheriff Caldwell also testified that as a former police dog handler, he knew that it was common procedure for a dog handler who has backup to leave his or her weapon in the holster. The defendant's claim that the testimonies of Sheriff Caldwell and Detective Kemp were not reliable is not supported by the record. He points out that Sheriff Caldwell was released from his sequestration order and was allowed to watch the trial prior to being recalled by the State. The defendant, however, made no objection to Sheriff Caldwell's release from his sequestration order at trial. The defendant also claims that Sheriff Caldwell's testimony was not reliable because a flashlight was never listed as being recovered at the scene. The defendant claims that Detective Kemp's testimony is disturbing because he testified that his report was inaccurate after watching Sheriff Caldwell, his superior, change his testimony. With the exception of the flashlight, none of these contentions by the defendant are supported in the record, and they are based upon speculation and conjecture. Several officers were at the scene and the victim's flashlight could have been picked up or lost during the investigation at the scene. While there is some evidence that the flashlight's presence would have been noted, the defendant is merely speculating that because it is missing this establishes that the victim had his gun drawn. All these contentions could have been brought up on cross-examination or closing argument, but are not appropriate considerations in this appeal. On appellate review, conflicting evidence will not be weighed, and all questions of credibility are resolved in favor of the State. State v. Moore, 269 Kan. 27, 30, 4 P.3d 1141 (2000). [T]he ultimate conclusion as to any witness' veracity rests solely with the jury. Pabst, 268 Kan. at 507.