Opinion ID: 1967394
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: references to defendants' incarceration

Text: Defendant Crosby asserts that the trial justice erred in denying his motion in limine to preclude reference to the fact that he was incarcerated in the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI). Defendant Burke claims as error the trial justice's failure to inform the jury that he was incarcerated only because he was being held for lack of bail. At trial, the state presented the testimony of John Eddy who, along with defendants Burke and Crosby, was incarcerated at the ACI in January, 1985. Eddy testified that while at the ACI, defendants approached him, admitted their involvement in the Foley's Lounge robbery, and, believing that Eddy would be released soon, attempted to enlist his aid in disposing of evidence left near the scene of the crime. The motions in limine were first made prior to the commencement of defendants' first trial. [2] In denying the motions, the justice stated that to prohibit all references to the ACI would make that testimony virtually meaningless. She further observed that Eddy's testimony wouldn't make any sense at all unless it was made known that defendants were confined in prison and were therefore unable to perform the act they requested Eddy to do for them. Prior to defendants' second trial, defendant Crosby pursued the motion in limine made at the first trial. Defendant Burke, however, modified his motion to a request that the trial justice inform the jury that he was only incarcerated at the ACI because he was unable to make bail. The trial justice stated that he would tell the jury that Burke was at the ACI for lack of bail but neglected to do so. In considering defendants' requests, the trial justice noted the relevance of the fact that the ACI was the situs of the conversation between Eddy and defendants. Burke asserts that the trial justice's failure to issue a cautionary instruction explaining the reason for his incarceration constitutes prejudicial error. Burke does not assert, however, that the trial justice refused at any time to give such an instruction, nor does he indicate at what point in the proceedings the instruction should have been given. At no time after his initial request for a cautionary instruction did counsel raise the issue. It seems clear that the trial justice simply forgot to give the instruction and counsel failed to remind him. It is a well-settled rule of appellate practice that this court will not review objections that were not raised at trial. E.g., State v. Long, 488 A.2d 427 (R.I. 1985); State v. Rondeau, 480 A.2d 398 (R.I. 1984); State v. Robalewski, 418 A.2d 817 (R.I. 1980). Claims of error, although briefed and argued at the appellate level, are deemed to have been waived if not effectively raised at trial. State v. Rondeau, 480 A.2d 398 (R.I. 1984); State v. Byrnes, 433 A.2d 658 (R.I. 1981); State v. Duggan, 414 A.2d 788 (R.I. 1980). Since defense counsel failed to object at trial to the trial justice's omission of the agreed upon cautionary instruction, it is deemed to be waived and does not, therefore, merit our consideration. We now turn to defendant Crosby's contention that the motion justice erred in denying his motion in limine to preclude any reference in the course of John Eddy's testimony to the fact that Crosby was incarcerated in the ACI. In State v. Pugliese, 117 R.I. 21, 362 A.2d 124 (1976), we reversed a conviction because a witness made a statement implying that the defendant had been confined at the ACI. In that case, however, we determined that the reference to the defendant's incarceration required reversal because the reference was both irrelevant and prejudicial. In this case, the fact that defendant's were incarcerated at the time of their conversation with John Eddy was highly relevant to the credibility of Eddy's testimony. Without knowledge of defendants' incarceration and, therefore, their inability to retrieve the evidence themselves, the jury would find Eddy's story that defendants asked him to retrieve the evidence for them highly improbable. Eddy's testimony is believable only when the conversation he had with defendants is placed within its proper context. In State v. Cline, 122 R.I. 297, 405 A.2d 1192 (1979), we held that evidence of a defendant's incarceration at and escape from the ACI was not improperly admitted because of its relevancy in clarifying the facts of the case and in establishing a necessary element of one of the crimes charged. Id. at 331-32, 405 A.2d at 1210-11. We emphasized that [t]he state is entitled in any criminal prosecution to present all evidence to the jury which is relevant to the charge. Id. at 330, 405 A.2d at 1210. The prejudicial effect that may arise from the jury's knowledge of a defendant's incarceration results from the likelihood that the jury will infer that the defendant is incarcerated as a result of previous criminal activity and is thus possessed of a general criminal disposition. For this reason, the gratuitous injection of the fact that a person has been incarcerated is forbidden because it is not only prejudicial but irrelevant. When, however, as in this case, the fact of a defendant's incarceration is highly relevant to the prosecution's proof of guilty knowledge, intent, motive, design, plan, scheme, system, or the like, its admission is proper. See State v. Cardoza, 465 A.2d 200 (R.I. 1983); State v. Whitman, 431 A.2d 1229 (R.I. 1981); State v. Delahunt, 121 R.I. 565, 401 A.2d 1261 (1979). Although we have stated that knowledge of a defendant's incarceration may have a serious prejudicial influence on members of the jury, State v. Fenner, 503 A.2d 518 (R.I. 1986); State v. Correra, 430 A.2d 1251 (R.I. 1981); State v. Pugliese, 117 R.I. 21, 362 A.2d 124 (1976), the prosecution is not required to engage in inherently incredible circumlocution in order to protect a criminal defendant. In fact, no doctrine in the law    is designed to insulate defendant from relevant truths, even if such truths might lead the jury to draw less favorable inferences concerning defendant than if they were not exposed. State v. Cline, 122 R.I. at 331, 405 A.2d at 1210; see State v. Diaz, 521 A.2d 129 (R.I. 1987). Since in this case evidence of defendants' incarceration was relevant to the circumstances testified to at trial, its admission into evidence was not erroneous.