Opinion ID: 2508644
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Did the District Court Err in Denying Daniels' Motion for Mistrial Based Upon the Misconduct of a Prosecution Witness?

Text: Daniels argues that the trial court erred in denying her motion for a mistrial. A trial court's decision on a motion for mistrial is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard. Before an appellate court will find an abuse of discretion, the defendant has the burden of showing substantial prejudice. State v. Manning, 270 Kan. 674, 696, 19 P.3d 84 (2001). Daniels contends that Detective Brown made erroneous and irrelevant comments which prejudiced Daniels and denied her of her right to a fair trial. According to Daniels, there were three separate occasions when defense counsel had to object to false or irrelevant testimony by Detective Brown. Daniels requested a mistrial after the third such incident, and the Court of Appeals considered only that incident. The first incident to which Daniels refers occurred when Detective Brown, who had interviewed Daniels, testified about what Daniels told him she and D.D. had been doing on the day of the robbery. Brown testified that Daniels said that she and D.D. had been at the law enforcement center just long enough. At this point, defense counsel interjected and asked to approach the bench. Defense counsel was apparently concerned that Brown was going to reveal that Daniels and D.D. had been at the law enforcement center in connection with a diversion agreement involving D.D. The court took a 5-minute recess so that Brown could be instructed not to reveal that information, and in his subsequent testimony, Brown made no mention of the diversion agreement. The second incident occurred when defense counsel was cross-examining Brown about his reasons for believing that Daniels had masterminded the robbery. Among other reasons, Brown stated that Daniels was the only one driving after the bank stop and was identified as the one who did drive up to the alley and let them out. Defense counsel then exchanged words with the prosecutor about whether there had been any evidence introduced that anyone had identified Daniels as the driver of the vehicle. Defense counsel stated, We have an officer that said no one was in the vehicle. We have an officer who clearly stopped her and searched the vehicle, and we have an individual at D & D Tire before the robbery was committed that said he couldn't tell who was driving. The trial court agreed, stating, I think that is true, and the cross-examination proceeded. The third incident which prompted defense counsel to ask for a mistrial requires a bit more background information. The Court of Appeals summarized the facts as follows: At the beginning of trial, the State filed a late motion to endorse Dante Daniels as a witness. The district court denied the endorsement as prejudicial to the defense. Later in the trial, the State produced evidence suggesting that Dante had been involved in the robbery along with Moss. The State examined Detective Brown about his interrogation of the defendant, and the detective explained that the defendant became forcefully unruly when she was told that Dante had been brought to the station for questioning. The detective testified that the defendant shouted to Dante that he should not tell the police anything. Therefore, during the cross-examination of Detective Brown, defense counsel questioned the officer about possibly innocent explanations for the defendant's behavior during her interrogation. One of the questions concerned the police investigation of one of the defendant's sons, Dante, who was suspected of committing the robbery. The purpose of this questioning was to suggest to the jury that the defendant was righteously indignant because she had been cooperative with the police investigation but that the detectives refused to believe her and had even begun to harass her family by interrogating them, unnecessarily. In response, the detective replied: `At the time we told [the defendant], we said we suspected or had a feeling that Dante was involved, but she told us he was in school. To be honest with you, at that time, we didn't know who the second person was. We didn't know who the small black child or the person running with Moss was until we-other interviews firmed that up.' After this statement, defense counsel moved for a mistrial. The district court found that the detective's statements could be cured by a limiting instruction and refused to grant the defense motion for mistrial. Slip op. at 16-17. The Court of Appeals found that the detective's statements, while improper, were a natural attempt to rebut the clear implication of the defense questions. Slip op. at 17. Furthermore, the court noted that the jury had already heard about D.D.'s statements that his mother had dropped off both Dante and Moss in the alley. Thus, the Court of Appeals found it unlikely that the detective's improper comment about Dante's involvement had affected the jury's verdict. Because a reasonable person could agree that the detective's statement did not require a mistrial, the Court of Appeals found no abuse of discretion. Slip op. at 18. Daniels now complains that the Court of Appeals did not consider the two other incidents involving Detective Brown. However, neither of those incidents reveal any prejudice to Daniels. In the first incident, Detective Brown never mentioned D.D.'s diversion agreement, and, in the second incident, the trial court clarified that Daniels had not been identified as the driver of the car which dropped off Moss and Dante. As to the third incident, Daniels has failed to establish that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to grant a mistrial. The Court of Appeals' analysis of the issue was correct.