Opinion ID: 2544410
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Inadmissible character evidence

Text: Although the vast majority of drawings and writings are admissible under the theories of logical relevance we have discussed, there are a few drawings and writings that are nothing more than evidence of Defendant's violent nature. These drawings and writings do not pair sex with violence, do not fall into one of the five categories of rehearsal fantasy, do not evince a hatred of women, do not reflect specific aspects of the crime, and thus do not reveal defendant's motive, preparation, plan, opportunity, or guilty knowledge. Accordingly, the only possible chain of inference the jury could have drawn from these productions was that Defendant had a bad character and killed Peggy Hettrick because of it. This is, of course, the precise inference prohibited by Rule 404, and the admission of these drawings was erroneous. [9] That error, however, was harmless. CRE 103(a) provides that [e]rror may not be predicated upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected. CRE 103(a). Likewise, C.A.R. 35(e) instructs appellate courts to disregard any error not affecting substantial rights of parties. The harmless error rule is an obvious recognition of the fact that `[a] perfect trial is an impossibility and minor mistakes will inevitably occur.' People v. Gaffney, 769 P.2d 1081, 1088 (Colo. 1989) (quoting Callis v. People, 692 P.2d 1045, 1053 (Colo.1984)). The proper inquiry in determining a harmless error question is not whether there was sufficient evidence to support the verdict without the improperly admitted evidence, but, rather, whether the error substantially influenced the verdict or affected the fairness of the trial proceedings. Id.; accord Callis, 692 P.2d at 1053. If a reviewing court can say with fair assurance that, in light of the entire record of the trial, the error did not substantially influence the verdict or impair the fairness of the trial, the error may properly be deemed harmless. Id.; accord, Tevlin v. People, 715 P.2d 338, 341 (Colo.1986); People v. Quintana, 665 P.2d 605, 612 (Colo.1983). There were more than 1000 pages of Defendant's drawings and writings admitted at trial. Most of the drawings and writings were created in spiral notebooks or kept in three-ring binders which were admitted into evidence in their entirety. Several of these notebooks or binders contained one or a handful of drawings or writings that, under Spoto, should not have been admitted. However, the vast majority of these pages were properly admitted under CRE 404(b). The improperly admitted pages were not emphasized or relied on by the prosecution in presenting its case. In addition to the writings and drawings, the prosecution presented substantial other evidence linking Defendant to the murder. First, Defendant's behavior on the morning after the murder aroused suspicion. By his own admission, Defendant was at the crime scene on the morning after the murder. Rather than report his finding to the police, he went to school as if he found nothing at all. Second, the murder occurred around the fourth anniversary of his mother's sudden death. Both the victim and Defendant's mother had long, wavy red hair and Defendant admitted to seeing the victim around the neighborhood. Third, the crime was likely committed by a left-handed individual. Defendant was left-handed. Fourth, the crime required specialized weapons: a serrated knife and a scalpel. Defendant owned six survival knives and at least one of the knives contained a scalpel. Fifth, Defendant told a detective that he had thought about committing this type of murder in the past. Finally, Defendant knew specific details about the crime scene  such as the color of the victim's socks or the manner in which she was dragged  that he would not have been able to learn solely by seeing the victim the next morning. Many of the inadmissible productions which we find harmless were, admittedly, violent. However, to determine whether the admission of a particular drawing or writing was harmless, we must look at the entire record. The jury received hundreds of pages of drawings and writings which we have concluded were properly admitted under CRE 404(b). These productions contained scenes of sex and violence, blitz attacks, piquerism, attacks against strangers, and violence against women. Obviously, these productions contained a substantial level of violent fantasies. We conclude, based upon the totality of the evidence presented in this case, that this jury, having been exposed to violent images through admissible evidence, was not substantially influenced by similar images of violence contained in the inadmissible productions. We also note that many of Defendant's productions contained evidence of his prejudices. Defendant harbored prejudice, to some degree, against nearly every culture, lifestyle, or ethnicity other than his own. His prejudices were typically exhibited by the sporadic use of ethnic slurs. Occasionally, his productions cast a particular minority group as the target of violence. The trial court, had Defendant requested, would likely have required the prosecutor to redact the inflammatory language prior to presenting the drawing or writing to the jury. Defendant made no such request. Simply because evidence of Defendant's prejudice came before the jury we are not automatically required to find reversible error. The question is whether the jury's exposure to Defendant's prejudices substantially influenced their verdict or affected the fairness of the proceedings. In this case, we conclude that the answer is no. The evidence of Defendant's prejudices was not so overwhelming that it substantially influenced the outcome of the trial or affected the fundamental fairness of the proceedings. We do not believe that the jury's passions were so inflamed by the evidence of Defendant's prejudices that it was unable to overlook the ethnic slurs. The court instructed the jury to reach its verdict based on a fair and impartial evaluation of the evidence presented. We conclude that the evidence supports the jury's verdict beyond a reasonable doubt and we give that verdict its effect. See Stewart v. Rice, 47 P.3d 316, 322 (Colo.2002) (noting that we will defer to a jury's verdict when the jury is properly instructed and the record contains evidence to support their findings). In light of the entire record, we can say with fair assurance that the erroneous admission of the inadmissible evidence did not substantially influence the verdict or impair the fairness of the trial. This error was therefore harmless.