Opinion ID: 1652324
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ski-Mask Demonstration

Text: Appellant's second argument is that the trial court erred when it refused to allow him to wear a ski mask in front of the jury. During Anthony Trice's cross-examination, Appellant attempted to introduce a rustbrown ski mask with holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth. The trial court sustained the State's objection to Appellant wearing the mask because it was not substantially similar to the one described by the eyewitnesses and would therefore mislead the jury. The trial court's ruling is supported by Anthony Trice and Janice Dollison describing the ski mask that Appellant wore as black with eyeholes only. Appellant specifically contends that he was not able to cross-examine Trice about the size of the eyeholes in the mask, although he made no attempt to ask Trice about the size of the eyeholes or distinctive characteristics of Appellant's eyes without demonstrating the mask. Appellant now argues that the exclusion of the ski mask deprived him of the opportunity to effectively impeach the witness's credibility. Appellant mistakenly relies on Bowden v. State, 301 Ark. 303, 783 S.W.2d 842 (1990), in which this court recognized that there are limits to a defendant's right to cross-examine witnesses. This court held that the trial court should consider reasonable limitations such as harassment, prejudice, confusion of the issues, witness safety, repetition, and the relevance of the evidence. A substantial factor is whether the evidence is critical to the defense. Id. The trial court should not confuse effective cross-examination with cross-examination that is effective in whatever way. Id. at 309, 783 S.W.2d at 844. This court's general rule is: When a test or experiment is an attempt to reenact the original happening, the essential elements of the experiment must be substantially similar to those existing at the time of the original occurrence. Bowden v. State, 297 Ark. 160, 178, 761 S.W.2d 148, 157-58 (1988) (citations omitted) (emphasis added). In Garrison v. State, 319 Ark. 617, 893 S.W.2d 763 (1995), this court upheld the State's demonstration of a knife that was dissimilar to the knife used in the crime. This court, however, considered that the State specifically informed the jury of the differences between the two knives and made no attempt to deceive the jury of the knife's origin. The State, in fact, informed the jury in great detail of how it purchased the knife used in the demonstration. This court concluded that based on those circumstances, there was no abuse of discretion. See also Ferrell v. State, 305 Ark. 511, 810 S.W.2d 29 (1991) (requiring an adequate foundation for demonstrations using physical evidence). Here, the rust-brown ski mask that Appellant sought to use as demonstrative evidence was not remotely similar to the one described by Anthony Trice and Janice Dollison. Moreover, the demonstration was not critical to the defense, as the trial court gave Appellant ample opportunity to cross-examine Anthony Trice without using the mask. Kenny Ray Pickett and Anthony Trice both identified Appellant without the mask immediately after the shootings. Anthony Trice further identified Appellant not only by his eyes but by his mannerisms, including the way he walked. Janice Dollison testified that she had seen Appellant earlier the same evening, wearing the identical clothes at the time of the shooting in addition to the mask. The trier of fact may use all of the facts and circumstances to infer identification. Womack v. State, 301 Ark. 193, 783 S.W.2d 33 (1990). Appellant's argument that the trial court has less discretion in limiting cross-examination for impeachment purposes is not persuasive. Klimas v. State, 259 Ark. 301, 534 S.W.2d 202, cert. denied, 429 U.S. 846, 97 S.Ct. 128, 50 L.Ed.2d 117 (1976). The jury has the sole authority to evaluate the credibility of witnesses. Wilson, 332 Ark. 7, 962 S.W.2d 805. We hold that the trial court properly sustained the State's objection that the ski-mask demonstration was prejudicial. We hold further that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the trial court's exclusion of the ski mask.