Opinion ID: 1296847
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Crime Scene Handbook.

Text: After Russell was questioned by the police, he telephoned one of his roommates and asked her to give the police his copy of Crime Scene Search and Physical Evidence Handbook. The handbook outlines police procedures in gathering evidence from the scene of a crime and contains chapters on fingerprints and body fluids. The book does not contain a chapter on DNA testing. In a pretrial hearing, the State argued the handbook was relevant because it showed knowledge of techniques that were apparently used by the killer of Beethe and Levine. The trial court initially ruled the handbook inadmissible, but noted it would reconsider its decision if circumstances changed. The issue was raised again during trial. The State pointed out that the Beethe murderer had worn gloves; that Levine's bedroom had been wiped down to remove clues; that no semen was left at the Beethe and Levine crime scenes; and that the jury had already heard testimony that Russell had said he worked for the police. The trial court reversed its prior decision, noting that the handbook was relevant given the steps taken to minimize evidence left at the crime scene, and noting reduced prejudice due to Russell's contention he was working for the police. The trial court allowed the State to have a witness summarize and read from the handbook, but did not allow it to go to the jury. Russell contends admission of the handbook evidence was unfairly prejudicial. He cites Coe, 101 Wn.2d at 780, where the court reversed convictions for rape because, among other reasons, the State had cross-examined the defendant about his sexually oriented fiction. He relies additionally on State v. Hanson, 46 Wn. App. 656, 663-64, 731 P.2d 1140, review denied, 108 Wn.2d 1003 (1987), where the court held the defendant was improperly cross-examined about his own fictional writing and cited with approval the statement that [n]o inference of any kind can be drawn about a person's character from the kinds of books that he reads. Hanson, at 663 (citing United States v. Giese, 597 F.2d 1170, 1207 (9th Cir.) (Hufstedler, J., dissenting), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 979 (1979)); see also United States v. McCrea, 583 F.2d 1083, 1086 (9th Cir.1978) (harmless error when defendant charged with possession of unregistered firearm was cross-examined about possession of books entitled Improvised Munitions Handbook and OSS Sabotage and Demolition Manual ). Although the issue is close, this case concerns evidence of greater relevance and less prejudice than was involved in the cases cited by Russell. Unlike the evidence at issue in Coe and Hanson, the handbook related directly to the facts of the crimes themselves. The crime scenes revealed that steps had been taken to ensure certain evidence was not left behind, and relevant topics on these points were covered in the handbook. Moreover, the prejudicial effect of the evidence was moderated in this case because possession of the handbook would have been consistent with Russell's claim to be working for the police. For these reasons, we uphold the trial court's ruling on ER 401 and 403 as being within the range of discretion. As to ER 404(b), the handbook evidence was admitted not to prove Russell's character, but for the purpose of demonstrating Russell's knowledge on a point relevant to the case. In conclusion, we affirm the trial court's rulings admitting the condoms, the scanner, and the handbook. We pause to emphasize, however, that we are not broadly authorizing trial courts to admit evidence of this nature in all criminal trials. Here the trial judge admitted the evidence after carefully evaluating each item's relationship to the issues in the case and after fully considering the restrictions of ER 401, 403 and 404. We commend the trial judge for her detailed examination.