Opinion ID: 2055865
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Rebuttal Testimony of Thomas Marfeo

Text: The defendant alleges that the trial justice committed prejudicial error in permitting the rebuttal testimony of Thomas Marfeo, brother of the victim, Rudolph Marfeo. Marfeo testified that on several occasions prior to the murder, his brother had related to him that he believed that a great deal of ill will existed between himself and Patriarca and that he believed his life to be in jeopardy because of Raymond Patriarca. The state contends that this testimony was offered to show the state of mind of the victim in rebuttal to the testimony of another brother of the victim, Frank Marfeo, who had testified that the relationship between his brother, Rudolph, and Patriarca was very cordial and friendly. What has been described by the prosecution as the state-of-mind exception to the hearsay rule has a very narrow and limited application. The state of mind or intent of a person, whenever material, may be reflected in his out-of-court statements. Many very fine distinctions have been made with regard to the admission of statements designed to prove the state of mind of the declarant. [5] The victim's declarations regarding fear or threats related in court by a third person fall within the state-of-mind exception, but have been regarded with a wary eye by many courts. The first approach, which has been adopted in Massachusetts, precludes the introduction of evidence of a murder victim's declarations asserting the defendant's threats or other hostile conduct toward the declarant unless the conduct or statements were made by the accused in the presence of the witness. Testimony concerning threats preceding a crime can properly come only from one who heard them or witnessed them. Commonwealth v. DelValle, 351 Mass. 489, 495, 221 N.E.2d 922, 926 (1966). A second approach, which has been adopted in California and which we adopt here, would permit the use of such testimony to demonstrate the state of mind of the victim where the question of fear is in issue. However, even the California rule is restrictive. It requires not only that the state of mind of the declarant be in issue but also that such testimony refer only to threats concerning future conduct on the part of the accused, that such declarations be shown to have been made under circumstances indicating that they are reasonably trustworthy, and that they show primarily the state of mind of the accused at the time the declaration was made. People v. Hamilton, 55 Cal.2d 881, 362 P.2d 473, 13 Cal. Rptr. 649 (1961); People v. Schindler, 273 Cal. App.2d 624, 637-40, 78 Cal. Rptr. 633, 641-42 (Ct. of App.1969); People v. Finch, 213 Cal. App.2d 752, 763-770, 29 Cal. Rptr. 420, 427-30 (Ct. of App.1963). [6] The state of mind of the victim Marfeo was placed in issue inasmuch as the defense offered evidence to show a cordial, friendly relationship between Marfeo and Patriarca. The state offered the testimony now criticized simply to rebut that defense contention. Statements as related by the witness apparently do refer to threats as to future conduct on the part of the accused and do reflect the state of mind of the victim at the time the statements were made. The precise circumstances under which the statements were made which would tend to indicate whether or not they were reasonably trustworthy were not outlined in the testimony. However, defendant made no effort to ascertain whether the circumstances in which these statements were made tended to suggest the unreliability thereof. That being so, we find no error in the admission of this testimony as rebuttal evidence.