Opinion ID: 2387577
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exclusion of Evidence of Possible Bias in Key Witness's Testimony

Text: Defendant contends the trial court erred by excluding evidence indicating a possible bias on the part of Robert Doyle, a key prosecution witness. On the night of the murder, Doyle was in a nearby parking lot at the shopping mall. He observed what looked to be a routine traffic stop. While talking to some other people, Doyle observed Officer Ganz get out of his patrol vehicle and walk toward defendant's car. Doyle heard a gunshot and looked at the source of the noise, defendant's car. He saw Officer Ganz running away and being chased by defendant. Doyle then saw defendant twice shoot Officer Ganz; for the second shot, defendant pointed his firearm down as if Officer Ganz was on the ground or crouching down. Doyle then observed defendant run back to his car. He tried to catch defendant's car, but then ran over to Officer Ganz to help him. Doyle saw Officer Ganz lying facedown with his arms trapped beneath his body. He raised Officer Ganz off the ground to prevent him from choking. In the year preceding defendant's trial, Doyle pleaded no contest to committing a battery (§ 243, subd. (e)(1) [battery against a current or former spouse, fiancé or fiancée, coparent, cohabitant, or partner]) and was placed on misdemeanor summary probation. The trial court ruled Doyle's conviction did not reflect moral turpitude (and thus could not be a basis for impeachment) and precluded defendant from impeaching Doyle as to any possible bias he might have harbored due to his probationary status. Defendant contends Doyle's trial testimony differed significantly from his original statements to the police and that the trial court should have allowed him to argue to the jury that Doyle sought to curry favor with the district attorney's office by shaping his testimony to match its theory of the case. (2) Defendant's contention lacks merit. Cross-examination may expose facts from which jurors can appropriately draw inferences about the reliability of a witness, including the possibility of bias. The trial court, however, has wide latitude to restrict such cross-examination, and such testimony is properly barred unless the defendant can show the prohibited cross-examination would have produced a significantly different impression of the witness's credibility. ( People v. Smith (2007) 40 Cal.4th 483, 513 [54 Cal.Rptr.3d 245, 150 P.3d 1224].) Defendant made no showing that Doyle actually had been offered leniency or threatened with retaliation by the prosecution. In fact, the trial prosecutor was not even aware Doyle was on probation until his criminal record was checked during the course of defendant's trial. [6] As such, defendant has failed to demonstrate that the prohibited cross-examination would have left the jury with a significantly different impression of Doyle's credibility. ( People v. Chatman (2006) 38 Cal.4th 344, 374 [42 Cal.Rptr.3d 621, 133 P.3d 534].) Defendant's contention that the trial court violated his federal constitutional rights to present a defense and to confront witnesses similarly fails. ( People v. Hamilton, supra, 45 Cal.4th at p. 943.) Even were we to assume the trial court erred in limiting defendant's ability to cross-examine Doyle, defendant fails to demonstrate prejudice under either the Chapman or Watson standard. (See Chapman v. California, supra, 386 U.S. at p. 24; People v. Watson, supra, 46 Cal.2d at p. 836.) The jury was made aware of Doyle's purportedly inconsistent statements through defense counsel's extensive cross-examination of Doyle and through the testimony of Detective Perales. Moreover, the evidence of defendant's culpability was overwhelming, as Doyle was but one of many eyewitnesses to the shooting. [7]