Opinion ID: 1239233
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Cross-Examination of Officer Goligowski

Text: Officer Goligowski, an investigating officer at the scene of the crime, interviewed Roderick M. and prepared a written summary of the interview. During Roderick's testimony, defense counsel attempted to ask Roderick about his conversation with Goligowski on the night of Furcron's death. Roderick told defense counsel that he did not recall talking with Goligowski and counsel did not proceed to ask specific questions. Then, during the cross-examination of Goligowski, defense counsel began to question Goligowski about statements attributed to Roderick in the written summary. The State objected, arguing that defense counsel's question was improper impeachment because Roderick had not been given the opportunity to admit or deny the statement. The district court sustained the objection and asked defense counsel to move on. Graham claims the impeachment was proper because Roderick M. stated he did not recall talking with Goligowski. He argues that a witness's failure to recollect is sufficiently inconsistent to allow impeachment under Minn. R. Evid. 613 and State v. Amos, 658 N.W.2d 201 (Minn. 2003). Amos stands for the proposition that a court has the discretion to admit a witness's prior statements as inconsistent when it believes the witness is feigning memory loss. Id. at 205-06; see also State v. Caine, 746 N.W.2d 339, 350 (Minn. 2008). But because there is no evidence Roderick was feigning memory loss, Caine and Amos are inapposite here. In State v. Martin, we said that laying the proper foundation for impeachment requires proof that the statement is actually inconsistent or that the declarant fails to recollect it, but we held that the witness must also be given the opportunity to admit, deny or explain the inconsistency in order for the statement to be admissible to impeach the witness. 614 N.W.2d 214, 224 (Minn.2000) (citations omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted). Roderick M. was asked whether he recalled talking with Goligowski, but he was not given the opportunity to admit, deny, or explain specific statements contained in Goligowski's summary of the interview. Therefore, we conclude that the State's objection and the district court's exclusion of the impeachment evidence were proper.