Opinion ID: 1577759
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The State's Character Evidence.

Text: Although the state's motion in limine to preclude the reverse- Spreigl evidence concerning Van Der Molen and Nichols was made prior to trial, the district court did not rule on it until the state had already elicited positive character evidence regarding Van Der Molen and Nichols through the testimony of Nichols. Thus, in addition to the normal reverse- Spreigl analysis, the district court was obliged to consider whether the state had opened the door to Richardson's proffered character evidence regarding Van Der Molen and Nichols by eliciting testimony that painted a positive, and perhaps false, picture of the relationship between Van Der Molen and Nichols. Defense counsel alerted the district court to this additional ground for the admission of the reverse- Spreigl evidence, stating: We also want to point out the credibility question, judge, because she has testified that Mr. Van Der Molen is her protector. And we believe that that also opens up the box that we should be able to go behind. Because every bit of information that my client has about Mr. Van Der Molen comes from her. And now she's claiming, and she claimed that he's been her protector, and I'm boxed out of being able to use any information about her prior involvement with Mr. Van Der Molen and I can't even do it on a credibility issue. In addition to the positive character evidence recited in the dissent of Justice Meyer, I would note that Nichols also testified that she had stayed in close contact with Van Der Molen after their divorce, that he had always provided support for their children, and they had a joyful reunion when Van Der Molen arrived at the Two Harbors' apartment. Richardson was precluded from presenting evidence of a different, hostile relationship between Van Der Molen and Nichols. He was even precluded from asking Nichols, on cross-examination, why she had left Van Der Molen if he was such a wonderful protector. For all of these reasons, I would conclude that the district court erred in excluding the reverse- Spreigl evidence described in Richardson's offer of proof without conducting an evidentiary hearing to determine if it was clear and convincing.