Opinion ID: 2575864
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Admission of conditional examination at trial

Text: The prosecutor argued below, and the Attorney General argues in this court, that even if the prosecution is prohibited from taking conditional examinations in capital cases, that prohibition did not apply here because the prosecutor had not yet decided to seek the death penalty, and indeed had announced the death penalty would not be sought, when the trial court granted the prosecution's application for a conditional examination and when Brian Johnsen was conditionally examined. In response to this argument, defendant argues that even if it was proper to conditionally examine Johnsen because the prosecutor was not then seeking the death penalty, it was error to admit Johnsen's conditional examination in evidence at defendant's capital trial. Because we have concluded that the prosecution in a capital case may conditionally examine a witness whose life is in jeopardy, we need not address this issue. Defendant also argues that admission of Brian Johnsen's conditional examination in evidence at trial denied him his rights under the federal Constitution to due process, confrontation of adverse witnesses, and reliable guilt and penalty determinations in a capital case. But Johnsen testified under oath at the conditional examination, and defendant had a full and fair opportunity to cross-examine him at that time. For purposes of due process, confrontation, and reliability, the situation is no different than if Johnsen or any other witness had testified at the preliminary hearing or at an earlier trial and then, because he had become unavailable, his prior testimony was admitted at trial. When a defendant has had an adequate opportunity for cross-examination and the witness is unavailable at trial, use of prior testimony does not violate the defendant's rights under the federal Constitution. ( People v. Wilson (2005) 36 Cal.4th 309, 343, 30 Cal.Rptr.3d 513, 114 P.3d 758; see Crawford v. Washington (2004) 541 U.S. 36, 55-57, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177.) Defendant asserts that he did not have an adequate opportunity to cross-examine Brian Johnsen at the conditional examination because his attorneys later acquired additional information that would have been useful in cross-examining Johnsen. In particular, he calls our attention to the statements that Johnsen later made, after he had been charged with capital murder, [9] admitting that he was aware of and agreed with defendant's plan to kill Holloway. Again, however, the situation is no different than if Johnsen had testified at defendant's preliminary hearing or at a prior trial of defendant on the same charges. Absent wrongful failure to timely disclose by the prosecution, a defendant's subsequent discovery of material that might have proved useful in cross-examination is not grounds for excluding otherwise admissible prior testimony at trial. (See People v. Samayoa (1997) 15 Cal.4th 795, 851, 64 Cal.Rptr.2d 400, 938 P.2d 2 [admission of prior testimony does not violate the right of confrontation regardless whether subsequent circumstances bring into question the accuracy or the completeness of the earlier testimony.].)