Opinion ID: 2052405
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: issues

Text: Prior to trial, the defendant filed a discovery motion which was granted without objection from the State. The defendant presented an alibi defense which was substantiated by the testimony of his sister-in-law, who stated that the defendant and his girl friend were at the witness' apartment at the time the crime was committed. On cross examination of this witness, the State inquired as to whether or not she was personally acquainted with Sgt. Borkowski of the South Bend Police Department, and she replied that she was. The State further inquired if she had called Borkowski on the night of the crime, advised him that the defendant was at her house and requested that the police not come for him until morning. She responded that she had not. Borkowski was called subsequently by the State, as a rebuttal witness, and he testified that the sister-in-law had telephoned him on the night of the crime and had told him that the defendant had just shot someone and that he was at her apartment. He further testified that because of the family relationship and because the sister-in-law was afraid, he told her that he would not involve her but that, upon a subsequent occasion, he advised her that if she testified as a witness for the defendant, he would be required to reveal the information. The defendant moved to strike Borkowski's testimony upon the ground that the State had failed to reveal this information to him in compliance with the discovery order. The court denied the motion, and the defendant's claim of error is predicated thereon. The portion of the discovery order relied upon by the defendant is as follows: 8. All evidence or information in the possession or under the control of the State of Indiana when such evidence or information may be favorable to the accused and material to the issue of guilt or punishment or could reasonable (sic) weaken or affect any evidence proposed to be introduced against the accused or is relevant to the subject matter of the charge or in any manner may aid the accused in the ascertainment of the truth, the disclosure and production to be made without regard to whether the evidence or information to be disclosed and produced is deemed admissible at the trial herein. (Emphasis added) It is assumed that the defendant relies upon the emphasized portion of the above paragraph, inasmuch as the information contained in Borkowski's testimony can hardly be considered as being favorable to the accused. The discovery order was overly broad and there is a serious question as to whether or not it was sufficiently specific to require the disclosure of rebuttal evidence. It should be remembered that we have previously said that we do not require the State to lay bare its case in advance of trial nor that the criminal defendant be allowed a fishing expedition. Bernard v. State, (1967) 248 Ind. 688, 692, 230 N.E.2d 536, 540. Discovery orders so general as the one issued herein open the door to subsequent problems by making it very difficult to determine whether or not there has been a good faith compliance. In State ex rel. Keller v. Criminal Court of Marion County, (1974) Ind., 317 N.E.2d 433, we retreated somewhat from the statement quoted above from the Bernard case and allowed a breadth of discovery we previously would not have permitted. The question here is not whether the identify of the witness and his information concerning the case were discoverable. Under the Keller case, clearly they would have been. But, were they included in the order? We believe that the State could not properly be involuntarily subjected to a general order to disclose all information relevant to the subject matter or which may in any manner aid the accused in the ascertainment of the truth, because such an order would place too great a burden upon it  a burden to assess and reassess its information, from time to time, and to anticipate and speculate constantly as to the relevance of bits of information and the possible use the defendant might make of them. In effect, it would all but put the responsibility for the defense upon the State. It appears, therefore, that but for the State's failure to object, the discovery order would not have been so far reaching. But, the State having acquiesced in the order, it is in no position to dispute its application to information which would be encompassed by a reasonable interpretation of the order, and we, therefore, hold that the State was obligated to disclose the content of Vivian Reid's statement to Officer Borkowski, absent a protective order which the trial judge, in his sound discretion, might have issued upon the State's showing of a paramount interest in non-disclosure. The State has proffered several reasons why it was not required to disclose the information in question, but we think they are not sound. It does not appear material that the State, having agreed with the witness, Vivian Reid, to keep the information secret, did not intend to have Officer Borkowski testify. Although the rules of discovery applicable in civil proceedings are not applicable as such in criminal proceedings, the techniques of discovery embodied therein will often be applicable in criminal proceedings. Antrobus et al. v. State, (1970) 253 Ind. 420, 423, 254 N.E.2d 873.    It is not ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at the trial if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Trial Rule 26(B)(1). Neither is it an excuse that the prosecutor was not personally aware of the information, inasmuch as the investigator was aware of it and fully recognized it as being pertinent to the case. In Hale v. State, (1967) 248 Ind. 630, 634, 230 N.E.2d 432, 435, we said We agree that the negligent destruction or withholding of material evidence by the police or the prosecution presents grounds for reversal on such theory. (Emphasis added). Also see, Brady v. Maryland, (1963) 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed. 215 and annotation in 34 A.L.R.3d 24, 74. Only by charging the prosecution with knowledge held by the State's investigators can we be assured that the prosecutor, rather than the police, will be in control of the State's case. Nor can we agree that it is material that the non-disclosed evidence was rebuttal only. Even if we disregard the potential for use of the information by the State in its case in chief  or even if we assume that the information was not come-by until after initial compliance with the order, it was incumbent upon the State to disclose it promptly thereafter, in view of the general terms of the order and the continuing nature of discovery orders. Trial Rule 26(E). Obviously all rebuttal evidence is not discoverable, because its relevance or even its existence may be unknown until a time that is too late to be of legitimate benefit to the opposing party. That rebuttal evidence is discoverable, however, is clearly established by Wardius v. Oregon, (1973) 412 U.S. 470, 93 S.Ct. 2208, 37 L.Ed.2d 82, wherein the Supreme Court of the United States reversed and declared alibi statutes unconstitutional, in the absence of fair notice that the defendant would have an opportunity to discover the State's rebuttal witnesses. Having held that the defendant was entitled to be informed of the information known to Officer Borkowski, we must now determine if he is entitled to a new trial by reason of the trial court's denial of his motion to strike the officer's testimony, which brings us to a consideration of the remedies available when there has been a failure to comply with a discovery order. It is the duty of the trial judge to regulate the conduct of those participating and to guide the [proceedings] to insure fairness and obtain economy of time and effort as is commensurate with the rights of both society and the criminal defendant. Bernard v. State, supra . Discovery in criminal cases has come into being and has been developed in recognition of the above quoted principle. It is altogether appropriate, therefore, that the enforcement of discovery orders and the sanctions, if any, to be invoked be attuned to further such principle. Obviously, the trial judge is usually in the best position to determine what harm, if any, evolved from a violation, whether or not such harm can be eliminated or satisfactorily alleviated and the dictates of fundamental fairness. Absent clear error in his decision, it should not be overturned. A party should not be disadvantaged by the opponent's failure to comply with the court's orders, and it is conceivable that the violation could be so misleading as to require exclusion of the concealed evidence, as being the only way to avoid a denial of the defendant's fair trial rights. Such a sanction might also be invoked, in an appropriate case, to deter bad faith violations. Absent such circumstances, however, a continuance appears most likely to be the appropriate remedy, assuming that the damage may, thereby, be averted without unreasonable delay or judicial waste. The testimony of Officer Borkowski and that of Vivian Reid is irreconcilable. If we assume that she spoke the truth, when she said that the defendant was with her at the time the crime was committed, advance knowledge of Borkowski's testimony would have enabled the defendant to investigate, with a view towards determining the Officer's credibility as well as the possibility of an honest error. A continuance would have afforded him the same opportunity. If however, Officer Borkowski spoke the truth from the witness stand, Vivian Reid was not with the defendant at the time of the crime  a fact which the defendant was bound to know. In that event, the defendant was simply presenting a false alibi and was trapped by the failure of his perjured witness to warn him that she had previously told a conflicting story. Although the defendant doubtlessly would not have offered Vivian as an alibi witness, had he known of the secret between her and Borkowski, the damage to his defense cannot be said to have resulted from the State's failure to disclose the secret. Rather, it was caused by his tender of a perjured alibi. There is but one other possibility that could bear upon the case. It is conceivable that Vivian Reid told the truth from the witness stand, when she testified that the defendant had been with her, but that she lied when she disavowed making the prior inconsistent statement to Borkowski and had also lied to Borkowski when she told him that the defendant had shot the decedent. In that unlikely event, the harm came not from the State's misconduct but from the failure of the defendant's own witness to make a full disclosure to him. Even so, we believe a continuance under such circumstances would have sufficed to enable the defendant to find the truth. Under all of the circumstances, we believe the defendant was entitled to nothing more than a continuance to enable him, before proceeding further, to discover that which might have been previously revealed to him in response to the discovery order. But there was no motion made for a continuance. There is yet another reason why it was not error for the trial court to overrule the motion to strike. A party may not permit evidence to go into the record and then ask that it be stricken and the jury admonished not to consider it when he finds that it is unfavorable to him. Beeler v. State, (1952) 230 Ind. 444, 104 N.E.2d 744; Fidelity Phenix Fire Ins. Co. v. Purlee, (1922) 192 Ind. 106, 135 N.E. 385; Eckman v. Funderburg, (1915) 183 Ind. 208, 108 N.E. 577. An exception is properly made to the above rule when a party had no opportunity to object. Here however the witness, Vivian Reid, had been cross examined concerning her conversation with Officer Borkowski, and his subsequent appearance as a State's rebuttal witness could not have come as a surprise. Yet, the defendant not only made no objection to his testifying nor to any question asked of him, but he also cross examined him at length. We find no reversible error, and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. GIVAN, C.J., and HUNTER and PIVARNIK, JJ., concur. DeBRULER, J., concurs in result with opinion.