Opinion ID: 2266102
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the error in excluding the evidence was prejudicial

Text: To reverse a trial court's evidentiary ruling, the error must affect the outcome, that is, have had a substantial influence on the verdict.... [8] We have found an erroneous exclusion of evidence to be reversible where it concerned an issue central to the case and could have affected the ultimate award. [9] That is the case here. The excluded statements are central to Schofield's theory that he resigned to protect his certification. The gist of the excluded statements from October 25 is that if Schofield refused to resign (1) Putman would send his records to the district attorney and the Police Standards Council, (2) Putman expected the district attorney to prosecute, and (3) Putman insinuated that the Police Standards Council would revoke Schofield's certification. Schofield's theory was that he was constructively discharged by Putman's statements indicating Schofield's police certification could be revoked, which statements were largely contained in the excluded evidence. So it was quite important that the jury knew that Putman discussed with Schofield the district attorney's and the Police Standard Council's potential investigations, and in an allegedly threatening manner. Indeed, it was of particular importance because the constructive discharge instruction (instruction number 21) required the jury to determine if Putman told Schofield that he had to resign or else be fired. [10] While Putman never explicitly said that the investigations would proceed differently if Schofield resigned, Schofield was entitled to argue that Putman insinuated that based on context. In the excluded material, Schofield asked what alternatives he had to resignation, and in response Putman discussed the investigations that could affect Schofield's certification. In this context, the alternative to resigning was the loss of certification resulting from the district attorney's and the Police Standards Council's investigation. But the jury had no idea of those statements or their context. Instead, the jury heard Schofield ask if there were any options to resignation and heard Putman say yes. The jury did not hear the discussion about investigations and certification revocation, or the statement you can pretty much figure out the direction this is going to take. This omission is significant because Schofield's theory is that he resigned under pressure, in order to avoid investigations that could lead to revocation of his certification. Finally, the excluded statements were not the only evidence that resignation would avoid an investigation, but rather they served to corroborate a key assertion in the case: Schofield's contention that the Police Standards Council's representative Meehan said Schofield could avoid losing his certification if he resigned. The excluded conversation between Schofield and Putman came shortly after the alleged Meehan statement, which is otherwise uncorroborated. Viewing the conversations between Putman and Schofield in their entiretyincluding the portion omitted from the jurorsit would be reasonable for a jury to conclude that Putman was encouraging Schofield to resign, with the insinuated threat that Schofield would end up being fired and lose his certification if he did not resign. On the other hand, viewing the conversations as the jury didwith the comments about potential investigations excisedthe conversation appears relatively benign. Because the excluded statements related to constructive discharge (the ultimate matter which decided the case), came at a crucial moment, and corroborated a key statement, we conclude that their exclusion could have had a substantial influence on the verdict, and was sufficiently prejudicial to constitute reversible error.