Opinion ID: 1179842
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Physical Abuse of a Family or Household Member

Text: Eastman concedes that Bautista was a family member on September 30, 1994, but he contends that the evidence was not sufficient to prove that he physically abused Bautista. The prosecution introduced into evidence police pictures as well as the testimony of Bautista and Officer Whitten to prove that Bautista's left eyebrow was swollen on the evening of September 30, 1994. As a percipient witness, Officer Whitten further described Bautista's appearance as very incoherent, constantly crying, and very hysterical on the night of the alleged abuse. The most damaging evidence for Eastman was the VVSF, in which Bautista had affirmed that Eastman had physically hurt, harmed, or abused her, and had stated that Eastman had slapped me on the left side of my head[.] Under the Hawai`i Rules of Evidence (HRE) Bautista's out of court statements in the VVSF constitute hearsay because they are statement[s], other than [those] made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. HRE Rule 801(3) (1993). Hearsay is not admissible at trial unless it qualifies as an exception to the rule against hearsay. Shea v. City & County, 67 Haw. 499, 505, 692 P.2d 1158, 1164 (1985); Kekua v. Kaiser Found., 61 Haw. 208, 217, 601 P.2d 364, 370 (1979). However, an exception to the rule against hearsay can be found in HRE Rule 802.1(1), which provides for substantive use of most prior inconsistent witness statements[.] Commentary to HRE Rule 613 (1993). Rule 802.1 Hearsay exception; prior statements by witnesses. The following statements previously made by witnesses who testify at the trial or hearing are not excluded by the hearsay rule: (1) Inconsistent statement. The declarant is subject to cross-examination concerning the subject matter of the declarant's statement, the statement is inconsistent with the declarant's testimony, the statement is offered in compliance with rule 613(b), and the statement was: .... (B) Reduced to writing and signed or otherwise adopted or approved by the declarant; ... .... HRE Rule 802.1(1)(B) (1993). The intent is to include in paragraph (1) all written or recorded statements that can be fairly attributed to the witness declarant. Commentary to HRE Rule 802.1 (1993). The trustworthiness of statements defined in paragraphs (1)(A), (B), and (C) is further assured by the requirement that the witness-declarant be subject to cross-examination concerning the subject matter of the statement. The situation envisioned is one where the witness has testified about an event and his prior written statement also describes that event but is inconsistent with his testimony. Since the witness can be cross-examined about the event and the statement, the trier of fact is free to credit his present testimony or his prior statement in determining where the truth lies. Because the witness is subject to cross-examination, the substantive use of his prior inconsistent statements does not infringe the sixth amendment confrontation rights of accused in criminal cases, see California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149 [90 S.Ct. 1930, 26 L.Ed.2d 489] (1970). Commentary to HRE Rule 802.1 (1993). HRE Rule 802.1 has only been in effect since January 1, 1981, and consequently Hawai`i lacks case authority upholding the substantive use of prior inconsistent witness statements pursuant to HRE Rule 802.1(1). However, in State v. Lincoln, 3 Haw.App. 107, 119, 643 P.2d 807, 816 (1982), superseded by statute on other grounds, Briones v. State, 74 Haw. 442, 456 n. 7, 848 P.2d 966, 974 n. 7 (1993), the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) indicated that after the effective date of HRE Rule 802.1 the substantive use of prior inconsistent witness statements might be allowed. In Lincoln, the ICA rejected a defendant's contention that the trial court had erred in refusing the following proposed jury instruction: Evidence that on some former occasion, a witness made a statement or statements that were inconsistent with his testimony in this trial, may be considered by you not only for the purpose of testing the credibility of the witness, but also as evidence of the truth of the facts as stated by the witness on such former occasion. Lincoln, 3 Haw.App. at 119, 643 P.2d at 816. However, the ICA noted: If this case had been tried after January 1, 1981, then perhaps [the defendant]'s contention would have merit. Rule 802.1(1), Hawaii Rules of Evidence, Chapter 626, Hawaii Revised Statutes (1976, as amended). Since this case was tried prior to January 1, 1981, there is no error in the court's instruction. [Citations omitted]. Id. Hawai`i is not the only jurisdiction which allows the substantive use of prior inconsistent witness statements that have been reduced to writing and have been signed, adopted or approved by the declarant. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Ragan, 538 Pa. 2, 645 A.2d 811, 818 (1994); Nance v. State, 331 Md. 549, 629 A.2d 633, 643 (1993); State v. Mancine, 124 N.J. 232, 590 A.2d 1107, 1115 (1991); People v. Hood, 223 Ill.App.3d 157, 164 Ill.Dec. 851, 854-55, 583 N.E.2d 1173, 1176-77 (1991), appeal denied, 144 Ill.2d 638, 169 Ill.Dec. 147, 591 N.E.2d 27 (1992); State v. Whelan, 200 Conn. 743, 513 A.2d 86, 92 (1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 994, 107 S.Ct. 597, 93 L.Ed.2d 598 (1986). For example, where a husband was convicted of murdering a visiting child and attempting to murder his wife (Ms. Poe) with a shotgun, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland followed established case precedent and held that it was proper for the prosecution to offer Ms. Poe's prior inconsistent statements as substantive evidence of her husband's guilt. Poe v. State, 103 Md.App. 136, 652 A.2d 1164, 1173 (1995), cert. granted, 339 Md. 232, 661 A.2d 733 (1995), affirmed, 341 Md. 523, 671 A.2d 501 (1996). On the day of the murder, Ms. Poe recounted to a state trooper (Trooper Gawrych) that her husband had threatened to kill her and her boyfriend, and before her husband began firing his shotgun, Ms. Poe had heard her husband say, Take this, or Eat this, bitch, which Trooper Gawrych reduced to writing. Poe, 652 A.2d at 1173. At the subsequent trial Ms. Poe acknowledged that she had made the prior statement to Trooper Gawrych, but Ms. Poe proceeded to testify that her prior statement to Trooper Gawrych had been based on false information provided by her visiting sister and her visiting sister's boyfriend, who, according to Ms. Poe, had lied to her. Id., 652 A.2d at 1173-74. Accordingly, the Poe court held that Ms. Poe's prior inconsistent statement to Trooper Gawrych met all the requirements for admissibility as substantive evidence of the husband's guilt: [I]t was based on the declarant's own knowledge of the facts; it was reduced to writing by Trooper Gawrych; it was adopted by Ms. Poe when she admitted at trial to making the statement; and Ms. Poe was subject to cross-examination at the trial where the prior inconsistent statement was introduced. Consequently, we hold that the circuit court did not err in instructing the jury that it could consider Ms. Poe's prior inconsistent statement to Trooper Gawrych as substantive evidence of [her husband]'s guilt. Id. at 1174. Likewise, Bautista's prior inconsistent statements in the VVSF met all the requirements under HRE Rule 802.1(1)(B) for admissibility as substantive evidence of Eastman's guilt. HRE Rule 802.1(1)(B) requires the following: (1) a witness must testify about the subject matter of his or her prior statements so that the witness is subject to cross-examination concerning the subject matter of those prior statements; (2) the witness's prior statements must be inconsistent with his or her testimony; (3) the prior inconsistent statements must be reduced to writing and signed or otherwise adopted or approved by the witness; (4) the prior inconsistent statements must be offered in compliance with HRE Rule 613(b) (1993), which requires that, on direct or cross-examination, the circumstances of the prior inconsistent statements have been brought to the attention of the witness, and the witness has been asked whether he or she made the prior inconsistent statements. [3] (1) At Eastman's trial the prosecution directly examined Bautista as a witness and elicited testimony from her about her argument with Eastman on September 30, 1994, the events that caused her to suffer a swollen left eyebrow, and her prior statements in the VVSF alleging that Eastman had slapped her. Thus, the prosecution made Bautista subject to opposing counsel's cross-examination concerning the subject matter of Bautista's prior statements in the VVSF. (2) While Bautista testified that her swollen left eyebrow was a self-inflicted wound, Bautista alleged through her prior statements in the VVSF that Eastman had slapped her on the left side of her head. Thus, Bautista's prior statements in the VVSF were inconsistent with her testimony. (3) The record shows that Bautista reduced her prior inconsistent statements to writing in the VVSF, which she signed. At trial Bautista acknowledged that the handwriting and signature in the VVSF were hers. (4) During the prosecution's direct examination [4] of Bautista, the prosecution brought the circumstances of Bautista's prior inconsistent statements in the VVSF to her attention by asking her why her left eyebrow was swollen on September 30, 1994, the night when she and Eastman had argued. After Bautista responded by testifying that her swollen left eyebrow was merely a self-inflicted wound, the prosecution asked Bautista whether she had made the prior inconsistent statements in the VVSF that inculpated Eastman, and Bautista answered in the affirmative. [5] Thus, the prosecution satisfactorily offered Bautista's prior inconsistent statements in the VVSF in compliance with HRE Rule 613(b). State v. Pokini, 57 Haw. 26, 29, 548 P.2d 1402, 1405 (1976) (The foundation requirement is for the purpose of rekindling the witness' memory, and substantial compliance is all that is necessary), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 963, 97 S.Ct. 392, 50 L.Ed.2d 332 (1976). Under cross-examination by Eastman's counsel, Bautista explained that, although she had made the prior inconsistent statements in the VVSF inculpating Eastman, the prior inconsistent statements in the VVSF were not true because she had actually hit herself on her eyebrow after her argument with Eastman in order to deceive the police officers into believing that Eastman had slapped her. The cross-examination of Bautista satisfied constitutional and trustworthiness concerns over admitting Bautista's prior inconsistent statements in the VVSF into evidence, because the cross-examination gave Eastman the opportunity to have Bautista fully explain to the trier of fact why her in-court and out-of-court statements were inconsistent, which, in turn, enabled the trier of fact to determine where the truth lay. Although Bautista recanted her statements in the VVSF by testifying that Eastman had not slapped her, the trial court found that the testimony of Ms. Bautista today was not credible. It was within the trial court's prerogative to believe Bautista's prior inconsistent statements in the VVSF and to disbelieve Bautista's oral testimony in court. It is for the trial judge as fact-finder to assess the credibility of witnesses and to resolve all questions of fact; the judge may accept or reject any witness's testimony in whole or in part. Lono v. State, 63 Haw. 470, 473, 629 P.2d 630, 633 (1981). As the trier of fact, the judge may draw all reasonable and legitimate inferences and deductions from the evidence, and the findings of the trial court will not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous. Id. at 473-74, 629 P.2d at 633. An appellate court will not pass upon the trial judge's decisions with respect to the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence, because this is the province of the trial judge. Domingo v. State, 76 Hawai`i 237, 242, 873 P.2d 775, 780 (1994); Amfac, Inc. v. Waikiki Beachcomber Investment Co., 74 Haw. 85, 117, 839 P.2d 10, 28 (1992), reconsideration denied, 74 Haw. 650, 843 P.2d 144 (1992); State v. Aplaca, 74 Haw. 54, 65-66, 837 P.2d 1298, 1304-05 (1992). Although Bautista, as the alleged victim of physical abuse, was not willing to incriminate Eastman while she was on the witness stand at trial, it is not necessary for a victim of physical abuse to testify against his or her alleged perpetrator in order for the trial court to establish through other evidence that physical abuse has taken place. Cf. State v. Hopkins, 60 Haw. 540, 542-45, 592 P.2d 810, 811-813 (1979) (affirming a harassment conviction although the sole prosecution witness was the arresting officer, and the alleged victims of harassment did not testify against the alleged perpetrators). According to the record, substantial evidence supports the trial court's finding that Eastman physically abused his wife, Bautista.