Opinion ID: 1980807
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Roger Pike's testimony.

Text: Roger Pike testified that he knew Lay from sometime in the 1970's. He also testified that in the time that he had known Lay, from the 1970's until October of 1992, he had often bought drugs from Lay at the local Burger Chef. Lay's lawyer objected and moved for a mistrial, the trial court held a hearing outside the presence of the jury. After hearing considerable argument by both defense counsel and the prosecutor about whether Pike's testimony was admissible to show a common scheme or plan, the trial court overruled Lay's motion for a mistrial. The trial court did, however, on Lay's motion, admonish the jury that it was to disregard Pike's statements about Lay's drug dealing at the Burger Chef and that it was not to consider them for any reason. Lay's lawyer argued that an admonishment was insufficient to protect the proceedings. What the trial court said in ruling on Lay's motion for a mistrial was the following: I'm going to deny the motion for a mistrial. I will admonish the jury to disregard Mr. Pike's last statement. But I think, you know, this is of the nature of the type of evidence that certainly could be grounds for a mistrial. And if there is repetitive evidence or statements like this, then I will consider declaring a mistrial. I'm very, it makes me very concerned when we get into prior uncharged conduct here. And I think that again without a specific showing that it is admissible outside the presence of the jury, we should not even come close to raising those issues before the jury. We need to try Mr. Pike (sic), or Mr. Lay on the events of October 30th only and leave out all this extraneous material. Whether to grant a mistrial lies within the discretion of the trial court. Campbell v. State (1993), Ind., 622 N.E.2d 495, 501 (citing Carter v. State (1987), Ind., 512 N.E.2d 158). This court will reverse a trial court's denial of a motion for a mistrial only if an appellant demonstrates that he was so prejudiced that he was placed in a position of grave peril to which he should not have been subjected. Campbell, 622 N.E.2d at 501. When the alleged ground for a mistrial is the exposure of the jury to evidence of prior bad acts, the gravity of the peril is to be judged by the probable persuasive effect of such evidence on the jury. James v. State (1993), Ind., 613 N.E.2d 15, 22, appeal after remand, (1994) 643 N.E.2d 321. In Lannan v. State (1992), Ind., 600 N.E.2d 1334, 1339, this court adopted, in its entirety, Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). That rule provides: Other Crimes, Wrongs, or Acts. Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident, provided that upon request by the accused, the prosecution in a criminal case shall provide reasonable notice in advance of trial, or during trial if the court excuses pretrial notice on good cause shown, of the general nature of any such evidence it intends to introduce. Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). [4] See also Campbell, 622 N.E.2d at 500 (Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) is an inclusive rule that allows evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts, for purposes such as `proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident,' if reasonable notice is provided.). In this case there was a motion in limine that the trial court had granted prohibiting the prosecution from bringing up Lay's previous convictions. The trial court specifically noted that Pike's comments about Lay's drug dealing at the Burger Chef was not covered by the motion in limine since that conduct was not the subject of prior convictions. Thus, there was no prior notice requested by the defense that the prosecution was going to attempt to use this particular kind of evidence. At the same time, the prosecution deliberately elicited Pike's testimony about Lay's drug dealing at the Burger Chef and argued strenuously that Pike's testimony about these earlier transactions was admissible as evidence of a common scheme or plan, which it clearly was not. See, e.g., Hardin v. State (1993), Ind., 611 N.E.2d 123 (1993). Evidence of prior, uncharged bad acts can be highly and unfairly prejudicial, requiring an accused to defend both against the charged crime and the alleged uncharged misconduct. But we think Pike's testimony in front of the jury does not require reversal in this case for three reasons. First, although the prosecution was subject to a motion in limine regarding evidence of Lay's prior convictions, Lay did not request notice that the prosecution intended to use other evidence arguably subject to exclusion under Rule 404(b). Lay was entitled to notice, had he requested it, but he simply did not do so. Second, the trial court admonished the jury to disregard Pike's testimony about his previous dealings with Lay. A timely and accurate admonition is presumed to cure any error in the admission of evidence. James, 613 N.E.2d 15, 22 (citing Green v. State (1992), Ind., 587 N.E.2d 1314, 1317). Third, a trial court is in the best position to judge the potential impact on the jury of such testimony. See James, 613 N.E.2d at 22. When there is sufficient independent evidence of guilt, error in the admission of evidence may be harmless. Id. (Citing Jaske v. State (1989), Ind., 539 N.E.2d 14, 22). In light of the independent evidence of Lay's guilt (see part III below), and especially in light of David Deel's testimony (see part I-C below), we think that there is no substantial likelihood that Pike's testimony about his previous dealings with Lay contributed to the jury's verdict. For all of these reasons, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Lay's motion for a mistrial based on Pike's testimony before the jury about his previous dealings with Lay.