Opinion ID: 2054559
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Standard of ReviewDeference to the Trial Court's Evidentiary Rulings

Text: Evidentiary rulings are within the domain of the trial judge, and should not be disturbed unless clear error is found. See Merzbacher v. State, 346 Md. 391, 404, 697 A.2d 432, 439 (1997)(stating that the admissibility of evidence is within the considerable and sound discretion of the trial court). The standard of review, then, is particularly deferential when an appellate court considers issues involving the propriety of admitting, or not admitting, evidence at a trial. See Void v. State, 325 Md. 386, 393, 601 A.2d 124, 127 (1992) (affirming that trial judges are afforded broad discretion in the conduct of trials in such areas as the reception of evidence)(quoting McCray v. State, 305 Md. 126,133, 501 A.2d 856, 860 (1985)). Overturning evidentiary rulings cannot simply be a matter of disagreement with the trial judge in the outcome at which he or she arrived. The trial court must have unequivocally abused its discretion by basing its rulings on factual findings which were clearly erroneous or facially incorrect legal postulates. See Williamson v. United States, 512 U.S. 594, 604, 114 S.Ct. 2431, 2437, 129 L.Ed.2d 476, 486 (1994)(stating that the trial court's determination on whether a statement should be admitted under the statement against penal interest hearsay exception is fact-intensive); State v. Booze, 334 Md. 64, 68, 637 A.2d 1214, 1216 (1994)(explaining that a trial judge's rulings regarding the conduct of trials, including that which constitutes rebuttal testimony may be reversed only when it constitutes an abuse of discretion, i.e., it has been shown to be both `manifestly and substantially injurious')(quoting Mayson v. State, 238 Md. 283, 289, 208 A.2d 599, 602 (1965)). Accordingly, in our appellate review, we generally extend the trial court great deference in determining the admissibility of evidence and will reverse only if a clear abuse of discretion has been shown. Robinson v. State, 348 Md. 104, 121, 702 A.2d 741, 749 (1997) (referring to evidentiary determinations regarding relevancy). It is, in part, in accordance with and pursuant to the deferential standard of review required of appellate courts that I differ from the majority's decision today. Pursuant to Maryland Rule 5-802, hearsay generally is inadmissible at trial unless the statement qualifies as a recognized exception to the hearsay rule. Maryland Rule 5-804(b)(3) recognizes declarations against penal interest as a hearsay exception if the declarant, in this case Gatton, is unavailable and the trial court finds the statement to be reasonably trustworthy. [1] Specific to the hearsay exception employed in this case, the trial judge has a duty to evaluate the trustworthiness of the statement; stated differently, whether the evidence is sufficiently reliable for admissibility is a factual determination within the sound discretion of the trial judge. See State v. Standifur, 310 Md. 3, 19-20, 526 A.2d 955, 963 (1987); see also Powell v. State, 324 Md. 441, 453, 597 A.2d 479, 485 (1991). Our brethren in the Court of Special Appeals have correctly stated that when considering the declaration against penal interest exception to the hearsay rule, trial courts must make a factual determination concerning whether the statement is trustworthy or sufficiently reliable for admissibility. See Wilkerson v. State, 139 Md.App. 557, 577, 776 A.2d 685, 697 (2001); see also Jacobs v. State, 45 Md.App. 634, 653, 415 A.2d 590, 600 (1980)(stating that when dealing with the rule against hearsay and [the declaration against penal interest] exception[ ] ... admissibility is a question addressed exclusively to the discretion of the trial judge). Similarly, decades earlier in Brady v. State, 226 Md. 422, 174 A.2d 167 (1961), aff'd, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), Chief Judge Brune, speaking for this Court stated, [t]o what extent a confession or admission of a third party is free of collusion and bears the indicia of trustworthiness is a question which we think should be entrusted in the first instance to the sound discretion of the trial judge. [2] Id. at 429, 174 A.2d at 171. As discussed hereinafter, I believe the trial judge was thorough and thoughtful in his discussion of, and rulings on, Gatton's statements. In the absence of an apparent abuse of discretion, I am unwilling to reverse the trial court's evidentiary rulings.