Opinion ID: 2518344
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Petitioner's Discovery of Dr. Ribe's Involvement in the Helms Murder Investigation

Text: On September 11, 1997, while Dr. Ribe was testifying at petitioner's trial, the Los Angeles Times published a story about the follow-up investigation into Lance Helms's murder and the effort to exonerate Eve Wingfield. The article stated that Dr. Ribe had changed his conclusion and now believed that the fatal injuries were `instantly incapacitating' and quoted Wingfield's attorney as saying that the original investigation was `flawed' in that `[w]hen the medical examiner made his initial conclusion, he did so without a complete picture.' (Blankstein, Report Raises Questions in Child-Abuse Conviction, L.A. Times (Sept. 11, 1997) p. B1.) Based on the article, petitioner's attorney requested an Evidence Code section 402 hearing. Dr. Ribe stated that he was familiar with the newspaper article but, in response to a question whether he had changed his opinion regarding the time of death, asked to see his original testimony in order to refresh his recollection. Neither the prosecution nor the defense had that testimony immediately available. When the court offered defense counsel the opportunity to ask any other questions of Dr. Ribe, counsel said he would await the transcript of the preliminary hearing and the coroner's file. The district attorney offered to obtain the transcript, and the court ordered production of the coroner's file. Later that day, while Dr. Ribe was still testifying, the prosecutor provided the defense with a copy of Dr. Ribe's preliminary hearing testimony in Wingfield. The defense did not request a continuance. (See United States v. Grintjes (7th Cir.2001) 237 F.3d 876, 880.) At the end of his testimony, Dr. Ribe was excused, subject to recall. Defense counsel never recalled the witness, nor did he cross-examine Dr. Ribe about his opinions in the Helms murder investigation.