Opinion ID: 2623235
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Disclose Witness' Reason for Testifying

Text: Saenz claims the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion for new trial based on information that a State's witness, Sergio Saldana, lied at trial as to the charges against him in anticipation of a favorable recommendation from the State regarding his release from custody for a prior conviction in exchange for his testimony. The granting of a new trial is a matter which lies within the sound discretion of the trial court, and appellate review of a trial court's decision denying a new trial is limited to whether the trial court abused its discretion. State v. Griffin, 262 Kan. 698, Syl. ¶ 2, 941 P.2d 941 (1997). A trial court can grant a new trial based on newly discovered evidence where (1) the defendant can show that the evidence could not with reasonable diligence have been produced at trial, and (2) the evidence is of such materiality that it would likely produce a different result at a new trial. Taylor v. State, 251 Kan. 272, 288, 834 P.2d 1325 (1992). At trial, the State called Saldana, who had been incarcerated with Saenz after Saenz was arrested for the murder of Quezada, as a witness. Saldana was asked by the prosecutor, Would you tell us what your current charges are? Saldana responded that he was incarcerated on charges of three misdemeanor failures to appear, a felony habitual driving, and a felony driving while suspended. When questioned, Saldana denied that anyone offered him anything or made any promises in exchange for his testimony. When asked why he agreed to testify, Saldana replied, Well, I have been here [the Wyandotte County Jail] for five months here, and I turned my life around over to God; and in order for me to do so, I really believe I have to get rid of everything bad I know or done, to be able to make amends, to be able to be forgiven, so I could really be accepted by God. Saldana testified that he and Saenz were in the same pod in the jail, which enabled them to have contact with each other during the day. On one occasion, Saldana heard Saenz say that he had not intended to kill Quezada; he was trying to shoot the other person in the car. On cross-examination, the defense attorney explored the possibility that Saldana was anticipating favorable treatment from the State in return for his testimony. Saldana stated that the State had agreed to drop one felony traffic count in exchange for his plea to the other felony traffic count. At the time of his testimony, Saldana had not yet pled to the charge. Saldana also stated that as a result of his testimony in Saenz' trial, his life would be in danger if he went to prison, and that since agreeing to testify, he had been moved to protective custody. Court documents indicated that Saldana was in jail at the time of his testimony for violating his probation on an aggravated battery conviction. Saldana had shot someone with a shotgun. After Saenz was convicted, he moved for a new trial, alleging that Saldana had not been truthful when he testified that the only pending cases against him were the two felony traffic offenses and the failure to appear charges. To show that Saldana misled the jury regarding his motivation for testifying, Saenz introduced court records which indicated that Saldana was released from the aggravated battery charge and jail the day after he had testified. Saenz alleged that Saldana had received a benefit for his testimony that was not disclosed to the jury and was relevant for the jury in weighing his testimony. The prosecutor admitted that prior to trial he knew that Saldana had a conviction for aggravated battery, but because aggravated battery is not a crime which reflected on Saldana's character for truthfulness, during the trial he had carefully limited his questions to Saldana about his pending charges to avoid the disclosure of that fact to the jury. See K.S.A. 60-421. The attorney who previously represented Saldana on the aggravated battery and other charges was called as a witness for the prosecution. Saldana's former attorney testified that he set up the meeting between Saldana and the prosecutor after Saldana disclosed to him that Saldana had information on Quezada's murder. The attorney testified that the prosecutor made it clear that the State offered no promises in exchange for Saldana's testimony. The prior attorney stated that he and the prosecutor both believed that it was not possible to obtain favorable treatment for Saldana on the aggravated battery conviction because Saldana's probation had previously been revoked and Saldana was in the custody of the Department of Corrections. Saldana had remained at the county jail because the State wanted to dispose of the outstanding traffic offenses and failure to appear charges before Saldana was transported to prison. The day after Saldana testified in Saenz' case, Saldana was taken before Judge Johnson (Judge Bukaty presided over Saenz' trial), who reinstated Saldana's probation on the aggravated battery conviction. Saenz introduced the docket sheet from Saldana's aggravated battery case. The docket sheet indicated that after Saldana's probation was reinstated by the district judge, it was noted that Saldana's probation had expired; therefore, the case was closed. The journal entry stated:  The defendant [Saldana] recently testified in a homicide case, which testimony helped the State get a conviction. Defendant is now exposed to retribution from others for testifying and parties agree that continued incarceration is dangerous for the defendant. By agreement of the parties, the probation revocation of January 12, 1999, is set aside and probation is reinstated. Since probation period has expired, this case is closed.' The judge denied Saenz' motion for new trial, stating: Obviously, if this arrangement had been made with Mr. Saldana prior to the trial, and the jury was misled about it, I would not hesitate to sanction such conduct by the State and grant a new trial, but that is not the evidence before me. So the motion for new trial is overruled. The trial judge asked Saenz' defense attorney if, at the time of trial, he knew the reason Saldana was in jail. The defense attorney responded that the prosecutor told him that Saldana was in jail on traffic offenses. The prosecutor asserted that he had also informed Saenz' defense attorney that Saldana was held in jail on an aggravated battery parole violation. On appeal, Saenz asserts that the trial judge erred in denying his motion for new trial because the jury was not aware that Saldana perjured himself when he failed to disclose that he was incarcerated for probation revocation on the aggravated battery charge, and the information that Saenz stood to benefit from this fact was newly discovered evidence bearing on a witness' credibility. The State argues that Saldana had not perjured himself by failing to disclose that he was incarcerated for violating probation on a prior aggravated battery conviction, and even if Saldana was untruthful, the fact that Saldana was incarcerated for a prior aggravated battery conviction was not material to Saenz' guilt or innocence. In Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264, 269-70, 3 L. Ed.2d 1217, 79 S. Ct. 1173 (1959), an accomplice witness testified against the defendant and stated he had received no promise of consideration in exchange for his testimony. The State knew this was false but did nothing to correct it. The Supreme Court stated: [I]t is established that a conviction obtained through use of false evidence, known to be such by representatives of the State, must fall under the Fourteenth Amendment. [Citations omitted.] The same result obtains when the State, although not soliciting false evidence, allows it to go uncorrected when it appears. [Citations omitted.] The principle that a State may not knowingly use false evidence, including false testimony, to obtain a tainted conviction, implicit in any concept of ordered liberty, does not cease to apply merely because the false testimony goes only to the credibility of the witness. The jury's estimate of the truthfulness and reliability of a given witness may well be determinative of guilt or innocence, and it is upon such subtle factors as the possible interest of the witness in testifying falsely that a defendant's life or liberty may depend. As stated by the New York Court of Appeals in a case very similar to this one, People v. Sawides, 1 N.Y.2d 554, 557, 136 N.E.2d 853, 854-855; 154 N.Y.S.2d 885, 887: `It is of no consequence that the falsehood bore upon the witness' credibility rather than directly upon defendant's guilt. A lie is a lie, no matter what its subject, and, if it is in any way relevant to the case, the district attorney has the responsibility and duty to correct what he knows to be false and elicit the truth.... That the district attorney's silence was not the result of guile or a desire to prejudice matters little, for its impact was the same, preventing, as it did, a trial that could in any real sense be termed fair.' Perjury is intentionally, knowingly, and falsely swearing, testifying, affirming, declaring, or subscribing to any material fact upon any oath or affirmation legally administered in any cause, matter, or proceeding before any court, tribunal, public body, notary public, or other officer authorized to administer oaths. K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 21-3805(a). In order to constitute perjury under 21-3805, the false testimony must be on a material matter. State v. Rollins, 264 Kan. 466, Syl. ¶¶ 2, 3, 957 P.2d 438 (1998). Because aggravated battery is not a crime bearing on Saldana's character for truthfulness, Saldana's aggravated battery conviction is material only if it relates to his bias or motive for testifying falsely against Saenz. It is also clear that the State did not contest Saldana's probation reinstatement for the aggravated battery conviction, which occurred after Saenz' trial. There is no doubt that Saldana received favorable treatment from another judge as a result of his testimony. We note the other judge granted Saldana's motion for probation reinstatement out of concern for Saldana's welfare in prison for testifying against Saenz. Neither Saldana nor the State was aware prior to Saldana's testimony for the prosecution that Saldana would later receive favorable treatment from Judge Johnson. We also note that Saldana's testimony was not the only evidence against Saenz. At trial, Lozano, a passenger in Quezada's car, identified Saenz as the shooter. Lozano, who knew Saenz, testified he recognized Saenz at the shooting and at trial identified him as the shooter. Therefore, even if the jury had been apprised that Saldana stood to receive favorable treatment from the State in exchange for his testimony, that information would not have changed the result of the trial.