Opinion ID: 1115282
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: wyoming cases since opie

Text: The heritage of Opie as a Berry case is well established. Justice McIntyre in authoring Opie cited two cases, United States v. Johnson, 142 F.2d 588 (7th Cir.), cert. dismissed 323 U.S. 806, 65 S.Ct. 264, 89 L.Ed. 643 (1944) and People v. Beard, 46 Cal.2d 278, 294 P.2d 29 (1956). In Beard, the probable different result test was specifically included. Johnson specifically discussed the difference between might and probable from Berry and Larrison and differentiated Larrison and then applied Berry. See likewise People v. Sutton, 73 Cal. 243, 15 P. 86 (1887), which had specifically adopted the Berry rule and criteria for occasion with a motion for new trial based on newly discovered evidence. Wyoming has three recantation decisions which predated Opie and two of which the trial court denial of a new trial was reversed and the third affirmed: State v. Bentine, 66 Wyo. 222, 208 P.2d 291 (1949), where assault and battery with intent to commit murder in the second degree was affirmed on the basis that the circumstances of the case, including those of the witnesses testifying on the motion for new trial, left a fair discretion for the trial court to find recanting testimony to be exceedingly unreliable and to affirm the initial decision; Espy v. State, 54 Wyo. 291, 92 P.2d 549 (1939), second degree murder verdict remanded for state election to accept a manslaughter conviction which would be an offense uncolored by perjured testimony or a new trial would be granted; and Thompson v. State, 41 Wyo. 72, 283 P. 151 (1929), homicide with motor vehicle conviction reversed for a new trial. The cases that have followed Opie are variant in character including both civil and criminal with a number involving recantation. Those involving either direct contention of significant perjury or recantation include: Lacey, 803 P.2d 1364  sexual assault  post-trial recantation found not to be credible; King v. State, 780 P.2d 943 (Wyo. 1989)  aggravated assault. Brother confessed, refused to testify and there was no evidence that he would testify if a new trial was granted; Gist v. State, 737 P.2d 336 (Wyo. 1987)  reversed, retried and reversed again. Brother confessed; however, reversed for conflict of interest of counsel. New trial denial approved on basis that the existence of the brother as potential witness was known before trial including what his testimony should have been; Jones v. State, 568 P.2d 837 (Wyo. 1977)  another person admitted to the killing. Court denied recantation status because the affiant who confessed was not a witness at defendant's trial. Furthermore, affiant refused to testify. This case provided a credibility question of any validity to the recantation; and Vialpando v. State, 494 P.2d 939 (Wyo. 1972)  post-trial confession of another party. Sentence reversed for retrial. A conflict of counsel problem existed. In none of these cases was any suggestion provided as ratio decidendi that the trial court should determine empirically that in addition to compliance with the Opie test, the trial court should make a determination after recantation that the current statement of the witness is true. More conventional cases not involving direct recantation by this court since Opie include: Salaz v. State, 561 P.2d 238 (Wyo. 1977)  newly discovered witness which was not so new and not per se newly discovered evidence; Flaim v. State, 488 P.2d 153 (Wyo. 1971)  penitentiary statement from witness was unreliable because of the unsavory background of the witness. The recantation was subsequently recanted at the hearing on defendant's motion for new trial; Kennedy v. State, 470 P.2d 372, reh'g denied 474 P.2d 127 (Wyo. 1970), cert. denied 401 U.S. 939, 91 S.Ct. 933, 28 L.Ed.2d 218 (1971)  evidence that the complaining witness may have been drinking lacked materiality for the grant of a new trial; John B. Roden, Jr., Inc. v. Davis, 460 P.2d 209 (Wyo. 1969)  admission evidence was not sufficient to have affected the result of the trial; and Ballinger v. State, 437 P.2d 305 (Wyo. 1968)  materiality for Opie test not demonstrated. Burns v. State, 574 P.2d 422 (Wyo. 1978) was another credibility case in which the defendant, while in the penitentiary, filed an affidavit recanting his testimony at trial. At a hearing on the motion, the affiant refused to answer questions on the ground of self-incrimination. Consequently, he recanted the recantation. Likewise, in Siegert v. State, 634 P.2d 323 (Wyo. 1981), there were third-party affidavits that another person was the miscreant in the drug case. The affiants were missing witnesses at trial. No continuance was requested and the testimony was not preserved. The Salaz missing witness test was applied for trial by this court. Likewise, we would find: Bueno-Hernandez v. State, 724 P.2d 1132 (Wyo. 1986), cert. denied 480 U.S. 907, 107 S.Ct. 1353, 94 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987)  materiality issue. Claimed newly discovered evidence was cumulative and not dispositive contrary to the Opie requirements; Frias v. State, 722 P.2d 135 (Wyo. 1986)  demonstrated lack of due diligence which resulted in a reversal of conviction on the basis of ineffectiveness of counsel. Involved was evidence of the propensity of the victim to have threatened suicide; Lansing v. State, 669 P.2d 923 (Wyo. 1983)  non-testifying witness showed up post-trial. The case was decided on a due diligence denial basis and a newly discovered witness concept; and Grable v. State, 664 P.2d 531 (Wyo. 1983)  collateral evidence about the non-existent illness of a witness who had not appeared was rejected as sufficiently Opie defined as to likely produce a different verdict and was only impeaching evidence. In most recent examination, before Lacey, we considered in Best v. State, 769 P.2d 385 (Wyo. 1989) the Opie test for the attempted murder offense. Specifically in Best, this court rejected the more relaxed standard of Larrison, even when perjury is in question. Best did not specifically involve recantation. Four additional cases require reference where I either did or would have dissented, and in no regard in any of the cases was a contention made that the present hybrid adaptation of Larrison-Berry be substituted or that the court should abandon Opie for the differentiated standard of Larrison. These include: Story, 788 P.2d 617, Urbigkit, J., dissenting  contended post-trial discovered perjury of one of the complaining witnesses was considered. No hearing on the motion for new trial on the basis of perjury was provided or required by appellate decision. Essentially, the majority decision said that adequate evidence on the subject was provided without a hearing. The case is unfortunate because the realistic posture achieved is that probable perjury of one of the complainants was not of such significance that would likely have made a difference in appellant's five convictions of sexually assaulting his patients, id. at 623; Cutbirth v. State, 751 P.2d 1257 (Wyo. 1988), Urbigkit, J., dissenting  newly discovered evidence derived from a ballistic expert directing attention that the death was accidental and not a homicide. Opie denial was premised on a due diligence question which was then foreclosed by denial of an ineffectiveness of counsel review; and Keser v. State, 737 P.2d 756 (Wyo. 1987), Urbigkit, J., dissenting  third party affidavits addressing probable complaining witness perjury. Denial of a hearing was premised on effect to merely impeaches a witness. Id. at 760. Another reason given in decision for denial was lack of diligence in finding the classmates in advance of trial to whom the incriminatory admissions of perjury might have been communicated. The fourth decision relative to newly discovered evidence as a basis for a new trial is Hopkinson v. State, 679 P.2d 1008 (Wyo.), cert. denied 469 U.S. 873, 105 S.Ct. 228, 83 L.Ed.2d 157 (1984), which continues in litigation years later. That case, by reference to Grable, 664 P.2d 531, explicitly approved the Berry rule. Hopkinson, 679 P.2d at 1113. In disposition of not one of the foregoing cases, was thought given that this court should adopt a portion of the Larrison test or add to Opie a further criteria that the trial court was required to find the recantation of a witness as true in advance of considering whether to grant the new trial relief.