Opinion ID: 1399120
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Use of Rowan Preliminary Hearing Transcript as Visual Aid to Prosecutor's Opening Statement

Text: Mel Rowan, testifying under a grant of immunity, provided significant corroborative evidence. While outlining Rowan's expected testimony during his opening statement, the prosecutor displayed a poster consisting of an enlarged page from the transcript of Rowan's preliminary hearing testimony containing incriminating statements defendant made to Rowan. The prosecutor read aloud the following portion of Rowan's preliminary hearing testimony: As the conversation took place, Mel Rowan asked Curtis Fauber, `You didn't hurt him, did you?' And Curtis said, `I think I killed him.' `Are you sure? You got to be kidding.' `Yeah, I'm pretty sure.' `Are you positive he's dead? Just don't tell me he's dead.' And Fauber said, `Well, when I left, he was having a hard time breathing.' `And I said, Well, why did you do it? And he said, `Well, he  he saw my face, and I'm not in any hurry to leave Ventura County.' Defense counsel objected to the form of the poster, specifically to highlighting of some portions. He contended it took parts of Rowan's preliminary hearing testimony out of context and was prejudicial to defendant. The trial court ruled that the poster could be used as an illustrative aid in the prosecutor's opening statement. (13) Defendant contends the ruling constituted error because the poster preconditioned the jury to believe Rowan's testimony. He also now advances the new ground that the poster contained hearsay and was for that additional reason improper. The error, he contends, violated his Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. We find no error in the trial court's ruling, as use of the poster neither violated the rule against hearsay nor constituted any species of vouching. The purpose of the opening statement `is to prepare the minds of the jury to follow the evidence and to more readily discern its materiality, force and effect' [citation].... ( People v. Green (1956) 47 Cal.2d 209, 215 [302 P.2d 307].) The use of photographs and tape recordings, intended later to be admitted in evidence, as visual or auditory aids is appropriate. ( Ibid.; People v. Kirk (1974) 43 Cal. App.3d 921, 929 [117 Cal. Rptr. 345].) Similarly, the illustrative use of an enlarged page of transcript was not improper, as Rowan ultimately testified consistently with the transcript. It is axiomatic that nothing the prosecutor says in an opening statement is evidence. Had the prosecutor, instead of preparing a poster, simply recited Rowan's preliminary hearing testimony in his opening statement to the jury, defendant could not urge a hearsay objection. Additionally, we cannot agree with defendant that the mere appearance of the poster could have been so official that it caused the jury to prejudge Rowan's credibility.