Opinion ID: 1133622
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Testimony Regarding the Victim's Suspicion of Defendant's Prior Theft

Text: Wayne Bunnell testified during the prosecution's case-in-chief that he helped Cheryl with various tasks after her husband went to jail. On cross-examination, defense counsel asked Bunnell whether he once had helped Cheryl by repairing the gate to her driveway. Bunnell responded: I patched the gate up so she could get it closed because she was pretty sure that somebody had been down there and stole a welder. And she told me she thought it was [defendant]. [¶] And I told her I wouldn't let anyone [in] there because somebody was slowly taking Mark [Nesler's] possessions. So when Mark was in jail, things were slowly missing on the property. On redirect examination, the prosecutor pursued this matter further, and Bunnell repeated his testimony that Cheryl believed defendant had stolen the welder. Defense counsel objected, contending that the testimony was irrelevant hearsay. The trial court overruled the objection on the ground that on cross-examination Bunnell already had mentioned the theft of the welder. In response to additional questions by the prosecutor, Bunnell testified that at the time Cheryl had informed him of the missing welder, Mark was in jail and defendant and Bunnell had been the only individuals with access to Mark's workshop around the time Cheryl noticed the welder was missing. Defendant contends that the trial court erred in admitting this testimony on the theory that the subject of the missing welder was raised during cross-examination. He relies upon decisions concluding that a failure to object to improper questions or testimony on direct examination may not be used on cross-examination to elicit immaterial or irrelevant testimony. (E.g., People v. McDaniel (1943) 59 Cal. App.2d 672, 677, 140 P.2d 88.) Defendant further observes that Bunnell's initial comments regarding the welder were volunteered and nonresponsive to the question posed by defense counsel. Because the testimony did not damage the prosecution's case, defendant contends, the prosecutor should not have been allowed to pursue this line of questioning on redirect examination, the prosecutor having no need to impeach or rebut this evidence. Defendant claims that the testimony was irrelevant for any purpose other than to suggest his predisposition to steal from Cheryl, and that the trial court had a sua sponte duty either to strike the testimony and instruct the jury not to consider it, or to grant a mistrial. Defendant further asserts that the admission of the testimony regarding Cheryl's belief deprived him of his federal and state constitutional rights to confrontation, due process of law, and a reliable death verdict. The Attorney General concedes that the trial court should not have ruled the testimony admissible solely because defendant had opened the door during cross-examination. The evidence, however, was admissible for the nonhearsay purpose of showing Cheryl's state of mind concerning defendant. (Evid.Code, § 1250, subd. (a)(1); People v. Jones (1996) 13 Cal.4th 535, 548, 54 Cal.Rptr.2d 42, 917 P.2d 1165.) Indeed, the prosecutor did not argue to the jury that defendant had stolen the welder, but rather asserted that Bunnell's testimony was important to show Cheryl's state of mind. Defendant testified that he had a friendly relationship with Cheryl, and that she had invited him into her home on the day of the crime. Evidence that she thought defendant previously had stolen from her was admissible to impeach defendant's testimony in this regard. The circumstance that defendant did not testify until after Bunnell had testified does not change the conclusion on appeal that Bunnell's statements regarding Cheryl's state of mind were admissible. `[A] ruling or decision, itself correct in law, will not be disturbed on appeal merely because given for a wrong reason. If right upon any theory of the law applicable to the case, it must be sustained regardless of the considerations which may have moved the trial court to its conclusion. [Citation.]' ( D'Amico v. Board of Medical Examiners (1974) 11 Cal.3d 1, 19, 112 Cal. Rptr. 786, 520 P.2d 10.) ( People v. Zapien (1993) 4 Cal.4th 929, 976, 17 Cal. Rptr.2d 122, 846 P.2d 704.) Defendant also asserts that the evidence should have been excluded because it was unreliable. (Evid.Code, § 1252.) He notes that neither Cheryl nor Bunnell had personal knowledge that defendant stole the welder, and that defense counsel had no opportunity to cross-examine Cheryl to test the veracity of her statement. As explained above, however, the prosecutor did not use the evidence as proof of the truth of the circumstance that defendant had committed a theft. Whether or not defendant stole the welder, Cheryl suspected that defendant had done so. Nothing in the record suggests that Cheryl spoke dishonestly to Bunnell when she indicated her belief to him, or that she had a motive to fabricate that belief. Defense counsel did not question Bunnell regarding the circumstances of Cheryl's statement, nor did counsel object to the testimony on this ground. We therefore reject defendant's contention that the statement was made under circumstances indicating a lack of trustworthiness. (See People v. Jones, supra, 13 Cal.4th at pp. 548-549, 54 Cal.Rptr.2d 42, 917 P.2d 1165.) In any event, the testimony to which defendant objected on redirect examination essentially restated Bunnell's testimony elicited by defendant, without a motion to strike, on cross-examination. Therefore, the evidence elicited on redirect examination was cumulative, and any error in overruling defendant's objection during redirect examination was harmless.