Opinion ID: 2613958
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Hearsay Evidence Regarding Identifications

Text: Menlo Park Police Detective Ronald Williams testified at trial that: (a) Vargas identified Juan Garcia at his preliminary hearing; (b) Vargas told the detective at Garcia's preliminary hearing that she had previously recognized Garcia in a live lineup; and (c) neither Vargas, Zavala nor any other person had chosen Richard Lopez or Nathan Howard from a photographic lineup. Defendant contends the admission of these hearsay statements constituted prejudicial error and denied him the benefit of various constitutional protections.
The prosecutor asked Detective Williams on direct examination whether Vargas had positively identified Garcia at a preliminary hearing. Defense counsel objected on hearsay grounds. After the prosecutor asserted it was a prior identification, the trial court overruled the objection. The detective then testified that Vargas did identify Garcia in court. Under Evidence Code section 1238, evidence of a statement of identification is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule when the statement would have been admissible if made by the witness while testifying and the following additional foundational requirements are met: [¶] (a) The statement is an identification of a party or another as a person who participated in a crime or other occurrence; [¶] (b) The statement was made at a time when the crime or other occurrence was fresh in the witness' memory; and [¶] (c) The evidence of the statement is offered after the witness testifies that he made the identification and that it was a true reflection of his opinion at that time. (8a) Defendant contends there had been no evidence, from Vargas or any other witness, that the occurrence was fresh in her mind at the time of her statement. (Evid. Code, § 1238, subd. (b).) He also asserts that Vargas had not previously testified that she made an identification of Garcia at the preliminary hearing. ( Id., § 1238, subd. (c).) Defendant argues that these foundational deficiencies severely undermined any asserted reliability of the purported identification. Once admitted, he contends, Vargas's prior identification of Garcia served to show that she had consistently identified Garcia, thereby lending significantly more credibility to her allegedly less certain identification of defendant. Even if the foundational requirements for a prior identification were not all satisfied, the admission of the challenged evidence could not possibly have prejudiced defendant. First of all, the evidence was essentially cumulative of other evidence in the record demonstrating Vargas's recognition of Garcia. Vargas testified both on direct and redirect examination that, although she did not initially identify Garcia at his live lineup because she was afraid for herself and her child, she nonetheless recognized Garcia as one of the men she saw. Vargas was also able to recognize and identify Garcia from a photograph at the time of trial. More significantly, Vargas's recognition and identifications of defendant were not, as defendant suggests, uncertain. At trial, Vargas explained that although she recognized defendant as one of the fleeing men when initially shown his photo in 1987, she chose not to identify him at that time because she was afraid. However, Vargas overcame her fear and stepped forward to identify defendant both at his preliminary hearing and at a subsequent photographic lineup. She also identified him at trial. Since Vargas's testimony was both consistent and unwavering in this regard, it is not reasonably probable that the admission of Vargas's identification of Garcia at his preliminary hearing affected the verdict. [21] ( People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 836 [299 P.2d 243].) Finally, defendant argues that his constitutional right of confrontation was abridged because he was unable to cross-examine Vargas at Garcia's preliminary hearing and because Vargas was excused as a witness before Detective Williams took the stand. Not only was this claim waived by the failure to assert it below (Evid. Code, § 353), it is without merit. (9) Where the witness is available at trial for cross-examination, the principal danger of admitting hearsay evidence is not present (see People v. Gould (1960) 54 Cal.2d 621, 626-627 [7 Cal. Rptr. 273, 354 P.2d 865]), and neither the federal nor the state constitutional right of confrontation is violated ( California v. Green (1970) 399 U.S. 149, 153-164 [26 L.Ed.2d 489, 494-501, 90 S.Ct. 1930]; People v. Chavez (1980) 26 Cal.3d 334, 349-361 [161 Cal. Rptr. 762, 605 P.2d 401]; see also People v. Johnson (1992) 3 Cal.4th 1183, 1220 [14 Cal. Rptr.2d 702, 842 P.2d 1]). (8b) Here the record shows that Vargas had not been excused, but had testified on rebuttal in response to other new evidence elicited by the defense during its cross-examination of Detective Williams. Because Vargas apparently was available for recall and cross-examination on this matter had defense counsel so requested, defendant's right of confrontation was not abridged. [22]
Immediately after Detective Williams testified that Vargas identified Garcia at his preliminary hearing, the prosecutor asked him: The date of the preliminary hearing where you had the discussion with Mrs. Vargas, did she indicate to you that she had in fact recognized Mr. Garcia on the stage? When defense counsel objected to the question as leading and hearsay, the prosecutor responded: It's a prior inconsistent statement. After the trial court overruled the objection, Williams answered: Yes. She stated that she had identified him on each of the occasions; however, she was in fear of safety for herself and for her family and that's why she failed to specifically point him out in those situations. (10) Defendant contends that the trial court erred in overruling his objection because Vargas's purported statement to the detective was consistent, not inconsistent, with her testimony. Defendant claims that the erroneous admission of the statement prejudiced him by making Vargas's testimony appear more credible and persuasive than it actually was. This claim is unavailing. Even if the challenged evidence was not admissible as a prior inconsistent statement, any error in its admission was clearly harmless. First, the statement was merely cumulative of Vargas's trial testimony. Second, as discussed previously, Vargas was consistent and unequivocal in her recognition of defendant. Given the record, it is not reasonably probable that admission of the statement affected the verdict. ( People v. Watson, supra, 46 Cal.2d at p. 836.) Defendant next claims for the first time on appeal that the erroneous admission of Vargas's extrajudicial statement abridged his right of confrontation. The record, however, discloses that defendant's counsel did, in fact, cross-examine Vargas earlier about Garcia's live lineup, although he did not dwell on the matter. Moreover, as noted previously, Vargas was apparently available for additional cross-examination had defense counsel so requested. Under these circumstances, defendant's right of confrontation was not abridged. ( California v. Green, supra, 399 U.S. at pp. 153-164 [26 L.Ed.2d at pp. 494-495]; People v. Johnson, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 1220; People v. Chavez, supra, 26 Cal.3d at pp. 349-361.) [23]
Detective Williams testified without objection that Vargas and Zavala viewed photographic lineups containing the photographs of Richard Lopez (Ontiveros's boyfriend) and Nathan Howard (a friend of Garcia's who appears to have been of African-American ethnicity). He further testified without objection that neither Vargas nor Zavala identified these two men as suspects in the case, and that Zavala specifically stated that Lopez was not involved in the crimes. Subsequently, the prosecutor asked: With respect to the photographic line-ups of Richard Lopez and Nathan Howard, in the entirety of the investigation in this case[,] has anyone identified a photograph of Richard Lopez as a participant in this crime? Defense counsel objected on the grounds that the question was argumentative and called for opinion, hearsay and speculation. After the prosecutor responded that the question called for acts occurring in the witness's presence and that the absence of an identification was not hearsay, the objection was overruled. The detective responded: No one ever identified Richard Lopez or Nathan Howard as being participants in this crime. (11a) Defendant contends the court erred in admitting Detective Williams's testimony that no one, including Vargas and Zavala, identified Lopez or Howard during the course of the investigation. He claims that such nonidentification evidence constituted inadmissible hearsay, and that its admission abridged his constitutional right of confrontation and prejudiced his attempt to inject reasonable doubt into the jurors' minds that a third party (i.e., Howard) committed the crimes. We see no basis for reversal. In the first place, defense counsel failed to object to the questions and responses pertaining to Vargas and Zavala. Although counsel subsequently objected to the more generalized question asking if anybody had ever identified Lopez as a participant, this was insufficient to preserve for review the issues concerning Vargas's and Zavala's responses. (Evid. Code, § 353; People v. Zapien (1993) 4 Cal.4th 929, 979-980 [17 Cal. Rptr.2d 122, 846 P.2d 704].) (12) Defendant asserts that if this issue is deemed waived, counsel was necessarily incompetent because there was no legitimate tactical reason for not objecting to the questions pertaining to Vargas and Zavala. We disagree. Whether to object to inadmissible evidence is a tactical decision; because trial counsel's tactical decisions are accorded substantial deference [citations], failure to object seldom establishes counsel's incompetence. [Citations.] To establish ineffective assistance, a defendant must show that counsel's actions `fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms.' [Citation.] ( People v. Hayes (1990) 52 Cal.3d 577, 621-622 [276 Cal. Rptr. 874, 802 P.2d 376]; see People v. Zapien, supra, 4 Cal.4th at p. 980 [convictions will be reversed only if the record on appeal affirmatively discloses that counsel had no rational purpose for the act or omission].) In this case, defense counsel reasonably might have chosen for tactical reasons not to object because Vargas and Zavala were available for recall and cross-examination, and thus could have testified directly about these matters. (See People v. Ratliff (1986) 41 Cal.3d 675, 692 [224 Cal. Rptr. 705, 715 P.2d 665].) (11b) In any event, even assuming that the issue had been preserved for review and that some or all of the evidence constituted inadmissible hearsay, [24] we are satisfied that the admission of the testimony was not prejudicial. Inasmuch as there had been no evidence that anyone had ever identified Howard or Lopez as a participant in the crimes, Williams's testimony merely reflected the state of the record. Moreover, defense counsel only briefly raised the issue of Howard's or Lopez's possible involvement during his closing argument, presumably because the evidence supporting this theory was marginal at best. [25] In contrast, the evidence pointing to defendant's involvement was strong, consisting of, inter alia: (1) positive identifications by both Vargas and accomplice Ontiveros; (2) evidence that on the morning after the crimes, defendant sought treatment for an arm injury matching descriptions provided by Vargas, Ontiveros and Zavala; and (3) evidence that on that same morning, defendant requested his brother to lie about his arm injury and to retrieve his car from Ontiveros. Thus, it is not reasonably probable that the perceived error affected the verdict. ( People v. Watson, supra, 46 Cal.2d at p. 836.) [26]