Opinion ID: 1196239
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: testimony of jeanette hopkins

Text: Jeanette Hopkins (Hopkins), who had been Keri's friend since high school, had witnessed Ryan abuse and control Keri several times. The State notified defense counsel in a pretrial motion of its intent to present testimony via video teleconference because Hopkins, a resident of Georgia, was in the midst of a high risk pregnancy and had been advised by her doctor not to travel. Before Hopkins testified, the trial judge advised defense counsel that there is usually a delay inherent in teleconferences and defense counsel should view the procedure himself prior to Hopkins' testimony. Counsel did not avail himself of this opportunity. The Hopkins testimony was transmitted to Western Wyoming Community College, and the jury was seated before the receiving unit. Before testifying, Hopkins was sworn in Georgia. Hopkins testified about instances of abuse that she witnessed between Ryan and Keri, and only after the jury was removed from the teleconference facility did defense counsel move that all of Hopkins' testimony be stricken. Defense counsel asserted that he could not view her demeanor, and that she could not see Ryan, except for the moment when defense counsel stated that he had no questions. Defense counsel argued that the inability of the jury to assess Hopkins' credibility and her inability to see Ryan violated his right to confrontation. The trial judge stated: I will agree with you, [defense counsel], that the three images that we saw, the images of the Green River audience and the attorneys speaking was of one quality. In between was the image from thethe [operator] in [Cheyenne]. . . . . Okay. That was an in-between quality that did have a delayed image, but it was of a better quality picture, I felt, and then the third image, which was of a third quality was the image of thethe witness, Ms. Hopkins, who was testifying. I do not believe that this deprived the Defendant of his right of confrontation, and so I'm denying your motion. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, § 10, of the Wyoming Constitution secure to all criminal defendants the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him. The right to confrontation: (1) insures that the witness will give his statements under oaththus impressing him with the seriousness of the matter and guarding against the lie by the possibility of a penalty for perjury; (2) forces the witness to submit to cross-examination, the `greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth'; [and] (3) permits the jury that is to decide the defendant's fate to observe the demeanor of the witness in making his statement, thus aiding the jury in assessing his credibility. California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 158, 90 S.Ct. 1930, 26 L.Ed.2d 489 (1970) (footnote omitted). Thus, the right to confrontation primarily secures the reliability of the evidence offered by the State. Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836, 845, 110 S.Ct. 3157, 111 L.Ed.2d 666 (1990). While it has been broadly stated that the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment guarantees the defendant a face-to-face meeting with witnesses appearing before the trier of fact, Coy v. Iowa, 487 U.S. 1012, 1016, 108 S.Ct. 2798, 101 L.Ed.2d 857 (1988), it is generally accepted that the confrontation clause actually reflects a preference for face-to-face confrontation at trial. Craig, 497 U.S. at 849, 110 S.Ct. 3157 (quoting Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 63, 100 S.Ct. 2531, 65 L.Ed.2d 597 (1980)) (emphasis in original). The preference must occasionally give way to considerations of public policy and the necessities of the case. Mattox v. United States, 156 U.S. 237, 243, 15 S.Ct. 337, 39 L.Ed. 409 (1895). Where the reliability of the testimony is otherwise assured or an important public policy will be furthered, a criminal defendant may be denied the right to confrontation. Craig, 497 U.S. at 850, 110 S.Ct. 3157. In the present case, Ryan asserts that the State did not show that denial of a face-to-face confrontation furthered an important public policy, or that the reliability of the testimony was otherwise assured by circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness; therefore, he was entitled to a face-to-face confrontation. We agree. Ryan does not, however, assert that had the technology worked perfectly, he would have been denied the functional equivalent of a face-to-face confrontation. Therefore, the question presented is whether poor picture quality can eviscerate the face-to-face character of teleconference technology and, if so, whether such was the case here. In Commonwealth v. Bergstrom, 402 Mass. 534, 524 N.E.2d 366 (1988), the court found that the quality of videotaped testimony was insufficient to allow the jury to properly fulfill its responsibilities. After reviewing the tapes, the court said, Many of the technical aspects of these videotapes are troublesome. The color and sound were not true.... The court reporter, who watched the jury's monitor, at times had difficulty hearing the proceedings, as did we. At one point, the screen went blank. Sounds that ordinarily would be minor background noisessuch as a truck passing outside, or one of the attorneys ripping a piece of paper from a padwhen carried over the audio portion of the transmission were highly magnified and distracting. Often the child [witness] would play with the microphone wire, creating very loud crackling noises that interfered with both sound and concentration. Due to the camera angle, throughout much of the first child's appearance her right hand fully or partially obscured her face; at times, when she leaned back in the chair, her face was nearly out of camera range. The electronic techniques that were used showed neither the face of the judge presiding nor the image of the attorneys. The disembodied voices of the participants in the interrogations were transmitted. Also, unidentified persons were seen on the screen without explanation. Id. at 375. The court went on to conclude that the videotaped testimony was not equivalent to personal observation by the jury. There is a point where insufficient technology can jeopardize substantive rights. That point, however, is not readily ascertainable from the cold record. Whether testimony taken by electronic means sufficiently allows the jury to measure the witness' demeanor and provides face-to-face confrontation between the accused and the accuser lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. The trial judge witnessed Hopkins' testimony, and determined that, while the picture was not perfect, it did not deprive Ryan of his right to confrontation. There was no objection to the quality of the sound, and no one complained that they could not hear the testimony. Moreover, Hopkins' testimony was merely cumulative of other prior bad acts evidence. The district court properly denied the motion to strike Hopkins' testimony.