Opinion ID: 1852218
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Santiago's Offer of Proof

Text: It is against the backdrop of the foregoing historical evolution of Rule 17.03 that we begin our analysis of whether the district court erred in denying Santiago's pretrial and midtrial severance motions. When determining whether Santiago suffered prejudice because of antagonistic defenses, we must first examine the propriety of the standard used by the district court in determining that Santiago's offer of proof was insufficient. We must do so because when considering Santiago's January 30 motion, the court stated that [h]ad each of the defendants asserted their respectively claimed defenses in a judicially admissible setting, they might be considered potentially `irreconcilable' for purposes of a severance motion. Further, in evaluating Santiago's February 19 motion, the court acknowledged that if the witnesses for Santiago testified as expected, a joint trial would be a problem. [4] Thus, even though the court acknowledged that Santiago had presented information indicating that the defenses were antagonistic, it denied the motions on the grounds that they were not supported by admissible evidence. In essence, the court established a heightened standard for Santiago's offer of proof by requiring that the offer be made in a judicially admissible setting. We now consider whether this heightened standard was appropriate. An offer of proof provides an evidentiary basis for a district court's decision. We review a court's rulings on the sufficiency of offers of proof under an abuse of discretion standard. See State v. Kasper, 409 N.W.2d 846, 847-48 (Minn.1987). There are two principal ways to make an offer of proof. First, an attorney can tell the court what the proposed testimony of the witness will be. Thomas A. Mauet, Trial Techniques 469-70 (5th ed.2000). Second, an attorney can examine a witness and produce the testimony. Id. The first method constitutes a sufficient offer of proof if it is sufficiently specific and there is nothing in the record to indicate a want of good faith or inability to produce the proof. John W. Strong, ed., McCormick on Evidence 220 (5th ed.1999) (citations omitted). The sufficiency of an offer of proof is typically contested when the issue before the district court is the admissibility of evidence. In this context, an offer of proof provides the court with an opportunity to ascertain the admissibility of the proffered evidence and provides a record for a reviewing court to determine whether the lower court ruling was correct. However, in Santiago's situation, the issue before the court was not whether certain evidence was admissible. Rather, the issue was whether Santiago was entitled to a separate trial. We have not held that only admissible evidence may be considered in evaluating pretrial severance motions. In fact, we have not articulated a standard for offers of proof for such motions. Minnesota Rules of Evidence 103(b), which sets forth the standards for making a record of an offer of proof, grants a district court discretion as to the method of the proffer. In practice, Minnesota courts permit an attorney to make a proffer by informing the court of a witness's expected testimony. See, e.g., Shorter v. State, 511 N.W.2d 743, 745-46 (Minn.1994) (explaining that defense attorney made proffer as to the testimony of witnesses and court refused to hear testimony and permitted only argument from counsel); Dunshee v. Douglas, 255 N.W.2d 42, 47 (Minn.1977) (holding that defense counsel's memorandum summarizing expected testimony of a witness was a sufficient proffer). We have previously declined to restrict the discretion of a district court by either imposing or prohibiting a heightened proffer standard. For example, in the context of Spreigl [5] hearings on the admissibility of evidence, a court has broad discretion in determining whether to require the state to call witnesses. State v. Lindahl, 309 N.W.2d 763, 766 (Minn.1981). We have held that it is not necessary to require the state to call a victim at a Spreigl hearing in order to have the court weigh the credibility of the victim, even when the victim's testimony is the only evidence that the offense occurred. Kasper, 409 N.W.2d at 848. In rejecting the requirement of a mini-trial on Spreigl evidence, we observed that the standards for professional conduct helped to insure that prosecutors do not intentionally give an inaccurate statement of what the Spreigl evidence will be. 409 N.W.2d at 847. Similarly, in the context of intrafamilial sexual abuse cases, we have held that a court does not need to conduct a mini-trial before admitting as substantive evidence the out-of-court statements made by a child concerning sexual contact. State v. Dana, 422 N.W.2d 246, 249 (Minn.1988). Thus, a witness who is expected to summarize the child's statements does not need to testify separately out of the presence of the jury before giving trial testimony. Id. Here, the district court imposed a heightened standard on Santiago by requiring admissible evidence to support his defense theory. As previously noted, Minn. R. Evid. 103(b) gives a court discretion regarding the method of proof. To determine whether imposing a heightened standard constitutes an abuse of discretion, we need to ascertain the relevant factors a court must consider when deciding the sufficiency of an offer of proof for pretrial severance motions. Based on our prior cases and also drawing upon the standards articulated by McCormick, a district court, when considering a pretrial severance motion, should first determine whether the proffered evidence is sufficiently specific and whether there is anything in the record to indicate a want of good faith. When the offer of proof is not sufficiently specific or there is something in the record to indicate a want of good faith, a court may impose a heightened proffer standard. However, when a court imposes a heightened standard, it should articulate on the record the reasons for adopting such a standard. In doing so, the court must keep in mind that, in a criminal trial, the defendant may remain inactive and secure, until the prosecution has taken up its burden and produced evidence and effected persuasion.James H. Chadbourn, Wigmore on Evidence § 2511 (1981). The court must also remember that it is bound by the defendant's Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. This procedure is flexible and gives the court discretion to require that the offer of proof meet a heightened standard if representations to the court lack sufficient specificity or reliability. Santiago's offer of proof for his first motion consisted of (1) an affidavit of his attorney listing the witnesses he expected to call at trial, together with their expected testimony, and (2) a memorandum of law which identified statements made by Rodriguez to psychological examiners inculpating Santiago. Santiago's offer of proof for his second motion consisted of (1) oral representations on the record by his attorney regarding the expected testimony of certain witnesses, and (2) a 911 tape. Santiago's proffer for the remaining two pretrial severance motions consisted of oral representations and arguments on the record by his attorney during evidentiary hearings. After reviewing Santiago's offers of proof, we conclude that they were sufficiently specific and that they linked the expected testimony to Santiago's expected defense theory. Further, there is no indication that Santiago's attorney made these offers of proof in bad faith. Accordingly, we conclude that the district court abused its discretion when it imposed a heightened standard by demanding judicially admissible evidence from Santiago.