Opinion ID: 1860459
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Credibility of Jailhouse Informant

Text: Defendant alleges that Goodspeed suffered from such poor character that his testimony was not worthy of belief, and since Goodspeed's testimony is the foundation upon which defendant's conviction stands, the evidence presented is insufficient to support the conviction. We disagree, and find the trial court's decision to deny defendant's motion to suppress Goodspeed's testimony was reasonable; the court was well-informed of Goodspeed's character flaws and determined that his testimony was credible. We afford that decision due deference. Further, we find that the jury's decision to accept Goodspeed's trial testimony as credible was reasonable. Clearly, as demonstrated by Section I, Subpart A infra, the quantum of the State's proof was significantly more than the testimony of Leroy Goodspeed. However, even accepting defendant's erroneous premise, La. C.E. art. 601 establishes the general rule that every person of proper understanding is competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided by legislation. Furthermore, a witness may testify to a matter based on personal knowledge. La. C.E. art. 602. Finally, this Court has never ordered a blanket exclusion of jailhouse witness testimony. See State v. Divers, 94-0756, pp. 3-4 (La.10/11/96), 681 So.2d 320, 322; State v. Martin, 93-0285, pp. 3-5 (La.10/17/94), 645 So.2d 190, 193-94; State v. Carmouche, 480 So.2d 728, 729 (La.1985), rev'd after remand, 508 So.2d 792 (La.1987). Further, this court's authority to review questions of fact in a criminal case does not extend to credibility determinations made by the trier of fact. La. Const. Art. 5, § 10(B); State v. Williams, 448 So.2d 753 (La.App. 2d Cir.1984). A reviewing court accords great deference to a jury's decision to accept or reject the testimony of witnesses in whole or in part. State v. Bosley, 691 So.2d 347; State v. Rogers, 494 So.2d 1251 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1986), writ denied, 499 So.2d 83 (La.1987). In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with physical evidence, one witness' testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient support for a requisite factual conclusion. State v. White, 28, 095 (La.App.2d Cir.5/8/96), 674 So.2d 1018, writ denied, 96-1459 (La.11/15/96), 682 So.2d 760, writ denied 98-0282 (La.6/26/98), 719 So.2d 1048. In State v. Hill , the defendant was convicted of second degree murder for beating an elderly woman to death during the commission of a robbery. State v. Hill, 601 So.2d 684, 686 (La.App. 2 Cir.1992). Similar to the instant case, defendant admitted his role in the murder to his cell-mate while housed in the Ouachita Parish Jail awaiting trial. State v. Hill, 601 So.2d at 688. On appeal, defendant asserted that the trial court erred in denying the defense motion to exclude the testimony, alleging that the informant was placed in his cell for the purpose of eliciting incriminating information. Id at 689. The Second Circuit Court of Appeal found this argument without merit, as no evidence was presented that the statements were not voluntary, that anyone asked the informant to obtain information from the defendant, or that the informant obtained anything of value in exchange for gathering or divulging information about the defendant. Id. The facts in Hill are analogous to those present in the instant case. Prior to Goodspeed testifying at trial, the trial court held a pretrial hearing on defendant's motion to suppress his testimony. During cross-examination, defendant's counsel attempted to portray Goodspeed as suffering from antisocial personality disorder based upon a lifetime of drug abuse. He also argued that at the time Goodspeed was at the Rapides Parish jail, he was awaiting trial for felony theft, robbery, battery, numerous traffic violations, flight from an officer, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Goodspeed admitted at trial that he hated jail with a passion and would do everything in his power to avoid being there. In addition, counsel for defendant pointed out that Goodspeed originally faced a possible sentence of thirty-three years of imprisonment at hard labor, but as a result of his cooperation, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment, with one year suspended. Goodspeed acknowledged that he was released after eleven months, but explained that he was not given a deal for relating defendant's confession. A review of Goodspeed's motion hearing testimony reveals that he spoke intelligently and truthfully articulated his own shortcomings of addiction, arrests, and convictions. At the conclusion of the motion hearing, the trial court took the admissibility of Goodspeed's testimony at trial under advisement, and ultimately ruled to allow Goodspeed to testify as to defendant's confession. At trial, defense counsel reminded the jury that Goodspeed had been arrested 24 times, amassed six felony convictions, is mentally ill, takes Haldol for auditory hallucinations, and has admitted that he will say or do anything to get out of prison, where he has spent most of his adult life. Thus, the defense ensured that the jury heard every possible reason to reject Goodspeed's testimony, and in their capacity as judges of the credibility of witnesses, the jurors gave Goodspeed's testimony whatever value they deemed proper. We find that the trial testimony offered by Goodspeed was not so lacking in reliability that its introduction for jurors to consider in evaluating the question of defendant's guilt or innocence denied defendant a fundamentally fair trial. The trial court, therefore, did not err in finding that Goodspeed's testimony relating defendant's confession was admissible at trial.