Opinion ID: 884961
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Admissibility for Impeachment of Torgerson

Text: ¶ 26 Benjamin contends that the prior acts evidence should have been admitted to impeach Torgerson. Benjamin argues that Torgerson testified on direct examination, in effect, that he did not have the opportunity to sexually abuse Benjamin in the basement bedroom of the Whitefish condominium and that Moran's testimony of her own abuse there should have been allowed for impeachment of, and to rebut, this testimony. ¶ 27 Benjamin testified during proof of his case that Torgerson attempted anal intercourse with him in the basement of the Whitefish condominium, and that he cried out in pain. Torgerson subsequently testified, during the presentation of his case, that there were no doors at the head or foot of the stairs between the basement and ground floors, and that a person upstairs in the condominium could hear a television playing downstairs. During cross-examination, Benjamin asked Torgerson whether it was his testimony that a child in the bedroom with his face in a pillow could still be heard upstairs if he cried out, to which Torgerson responded that if a child screamed, it could be heard through the floors, because they were not insulated. ¶ 28 Benjamin contends that he should have been permitted to impeach these statements during cross-examination, pursuant to § 26-1-302, MCA, and to rebut Torgerson's statement, using the prior acts evidence, to show that Torgerson's insinuation that the basement could not be used as a place to abuse children was untrue. ¶ 29 Evidence which is not relevant is not admissible. See Rule 402, M.R.Evid. Rule 401, M.R.Evid., defines relevant evidence as evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence, including credibility evidence. ¶ 30 Moran's deposition does not indicate that she ever struggled or cried out while she was allegedly sexually abused in the Whitefish condominium. Therefore, her testimony would not be relevant impeachment evidence because it would do nothing to establish whether or not the lack of sound barriers in the condominium would prevent Torgerson from sexually abusing Benjamin in the basement bedroom or whether or not Torgerson truthfully testified about the characteristics of the condominium. We therefore conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion when it held that Moran's testimony was inadmissible for impeachment of Torgerson.