Opinion ID: 2517324
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Admissibility of the Threat Evidence

Text: (5) Evidence that a witness is afraid to testify or fears retaliation is admissible because it bears on credibility. ( People v. Burgener (2003) 29 Cal.4th 833, 869 [129 Cal.Rptr.2d 747, 62 P.3d 1]; accord, e.g., People v. Gonzalez (2006) 38 Cal.4th 932, 946 [44 Cal.Rptr.3d 237, 135 P.3d 649]; People v. Guerra (2006) 37 Cal.4th 1067, 1141 [40 Cal.Rptr.3d 118, 129 P.3d 321].) Defendant acknowledges this well-established rule, but raises a series of objections to its application in this case. [4] First, he contends the prosecutor failed to lay an adequate foundation for the relevance and probative value of the threat evidence. Defendant asserts that the admission of this evidence was improperly premised on the assumption that James was telling the truth in his taped statement. This is not the case; James's state of mind when he testified after hearing the threat had no necessary connection with the veracity of his earlier statement. Next, defendant contends the Burgener rationale is limited to cases of discrepancy between prior sworn testimony and later statements in court. This claim is supported by neither the cases cited in Burgener ( People v. Warren (1988) 45 Cal.3d 471, 481 [247 Cal.Rptr. 172, 754 P.2d 218]; People v. Feagin (1995) 34 Cal.App.4th 1427, 1433 [40 Cal.Rptr.2d 918]), nor those following it (e.g., People v. Gonzalez, supra, 38 Cal.4th at pp. 945-946; People v. Guerra, supra, 37 Cal.4th at pp. 1141-1142). Defendant also argues there was no showing that James was indeed afraid to testify. He points to James's later testimony that the threat did not affect him. The court, of course, had no way of anticipating this testimony when it made its ruling. The court was aware of the discrepancy between the statements on the tape and James's testimony, and the relevance of the threat he received immediately before he took the stand was obvious. Defendant claims that in any event, the probative value of the evidence was outweighed by the prejudicial impact on the jury of learning that his sister had threatened a key witness and the witness's mother during trial. That determination, however, was well within the discretion of the trial court. ( People v. Burgener, supra, 29 Cal.4th at p. 869.) The jury was cautioned not to attribute the threat to defendant. Defendant claims the admonition was defective because it followed Detective Stewart's testimony, and the court spoke in terms of the evidence you have just heard and the state of mind of the witness when the witness testified. Defendant suggests the jury would have understood these references to apply to Stewart, and thus the inferences they might draw regarding the threat to James were unrestricted. The suggestion is completely meritless. The detective's state of mind was not at issue, and his testimony was focused on the impact of the threat against James. Defendant also complains that the admonition was not repeated after James was recalled and questioned about the threat. However, the court's cautionary instruction the previous week was lengthy and detailed, and promptly followed Detective Stewart's testimony, which first informed the jury of the threat. The court was not required to repeat the admonition, and defense counsel made no such request.