Opinion ID: 1275251
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Refusal to Permit Rebuttal.

Text: (13) Defendant contends the trial court erred in refusing to allow him to call a witness, Irdee Williams, on surrebuttal. After both sides had rested and the prosecutor had begun his guilt phase summation, the trial court allowed defense counsel to reopen in order to present two witnesses (Charles Thompson and Albert Ward) to impeach Kenny Mitchell. Defense counsel then sought permission to present the testimony of Williams, making an offer of proof she would testify that she had lived in the Black community of Modesto for a number of years; that at times relevant to the offenses she was engaged in the sale of new and used clothing; and that in mid-December 1980 she possessed about 150 three-piece white suits, of which she sold about 50 to the Black community and of which 8 were stolen from her in the period preceding Christmas. Defense counsel argued Williams's evidence would show the prevalence of white suits within the concentrated Black community of Modesto, which in turn would enable him to argue to the jury the likelihood that it might have been anyone wearing a white suit within that community who entered the home at Locust Street that morning. The trial judge refused to permit the testimony, stating he did not consider the evidence of sufficient probative value to justify admitting it after the evidence had been, for practical purposes, closed and argument had commenced. Defendant contends the trial court's ruling denied him his constitutional right to present evidence relevant to his defense theory, and as such constituted an abuse of discretion. ( Washington v. Texas (1967) 388 U.S. 14, 19 [18 L.Ed.2d 1019, 1023, 87 S.Ct. 1920]; People v. Burrell-Hart (1987) 192 Cal. App.3d 593, 599 [237 Cal. Rptr. 654].) Although a criminal defendant is constitutionally entitled to present all relevant evidence of significant probative value in his favor, this does not mean the court must allow an unlimited inquiry into collateral matters; the proffered evidence must have more than slight relevancy. ( People v. Jennings (1991) 53 Cal.3d 334, 372 [279 Cal. Rptr. 780, 807 P.2d 1009]; People v. Babbitt (1988) 45 Cal.3d 660, 684 [248 Cal. Rptr. 69, 755 P.2d 253].) We review for abuse of discretion a trial court's ruling on a motion to reopen a criminal case to permit the introduction of additional evidence. (§ 1094; People v. Rodriguez (1984) 152 Cal. App.3d 289, 294-295 [199 Cal. Rptr. 433] [factors an appellate court will consider in reviewing the trial court's determination include the stage the proceedings had reached when the motion was made, the diligence shown by the moving party in discovering the new evidence, the prospect the jury would accord it undue emphasis, and the significance of the evidence].) We find no constitutional error or abuse of discretion in the trial court's refusal to permit defendant to present Williams's testimony. The prosecutor had already begun his summation, and Williams's testimony would have increased the disruption already occasioned by the appearance of witnesses Thompson and Ward. While it does not appear defendant failed to exercise reasonable diligence in discovering the witness, that the jury would have accorded her testimony much weight seems very unlikely, because its relevance, in our view, was slight. The primary evidence against defendant, Annette May's identification of him shortly after the shootings, did not hinge on the uniqueness of his white suit. That others in the Black community in Modesto owned white suits did not undermine May's testimony. Accordingly, we cannot say the trial court erred in declining to reopen the case to permit Williams to testify. [5]