Opinion ID: 1977223
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: witness changed testimony

Text: It would appear that the story which John Proctor told at trial as the state's witness against his cohort, Mrs. Hamm, was not quite the same as the story Mrs. Hamm's counsel expected him to tell based on previous information and an interview. It is the contention of Appellant's counsel that the state's attorney was aware that Proctor was going to tell a new version of his murderous escapade at trial and that this would substantially prejudice their client's case. The changes in Proctor's story included the time Appellant and Proctor were allegedly to have left Custer for Sturgis, the type of shot utilized by Proctor in the killing, the type of vehicle decedent was driving, and the position of the body, among other details of the killing. It is undisputed that Appellant's counsel interviewed Proctor in a Sioux Falls hospital shortly before the trial and that no representative of the state's attorney's office was present. Further, there was no complete transcript made of that interview. The state's attorney argues that it was possible that Appellant's counsel might well have ascertained at that interview the revised story Proctor would present at trial. We are unable to conclude that the admission of Proctor's testimony constituted reversible error. The state's attorney was free to disclose to defense counsel an anticipated change in Proctor's testimony but he had no strict obligation to do so. Furthermore, Appellant's counsel had full opportunity to cross-examine Proctor on the stand and to establish the credibility of their own alibi witnesses before the jury. While defense counsel may have reacted to the turn of events with surprise they were certainly not totally disarmed. Furthermore, we do not believe that the recounted changes in Proctor's original version when viewed as pieces of the total mosaic need necessarily have altered the basic story substantially. The major details remained the same. There is a growing tendency toward more cooperative and broader discovery procedures, even absent a court order, and we encourage this on the part of both defendants and prosecutors, but on the facts of this case we are unwilling to say that the state's attorney violated any duty to disclose or that the testimony in question ought to have been disallowed.