Opinion ID: 1133754
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Impeachment of Witness at Trial

Text: Ribera's trial testimony incriminated Pardo in all nine murders. Ribera testified that Pardo described how he had killed many of the victims and showed Ribera diary entries, newspaper clippings, and Polaroid photographs substantiating his claims. Ribera also testified that Garcia, Pardo's codefendant, told him how Pardo had killed victims Musa and Quintero. Postconviction counsel has identified a number of statements in the videotapes which trial counsel could have used to impeach Ribera. However, none of these statements, individually or collectively, undermine confidence in the outcome of the proceedings. Initially, as noted by the State, on close inspection several of Ribera's statements, on trivial as well as material facts, are not inconsistent with his trial testimony. Alleged inconsistencies about when Ribera was shown photographs of the murder scenes by Pardo, whether he was allowed in Pardo's home, and where he had seen credit cards belonging to the victims are not borne out by the record. Of greater significance, the videotaped statements are not inconsistent with Ribera's trial testimony that Garcia and Pardo played separate roles in their joint enterprise. In the police interview, Ribera described Pardo as the killing machine and Garcia as the brains of the drug dealing who, nonetheless, would not do anything without Pardo's approval. In his trial testimony, Ribera clearly identified Pardo as the one who killed the victims and Garcia as the one who depicted the killings as robberies of drug dealers. In sum, even without consideration of the additional evidence against Pardo, there are no inconsistencies in the videotapes of Ribera's police interview that put the case in such a different light as to undermine judicial confidence in the verdict. Nor, assuming trial counsel could expose the jury to evidence of coaching during the interview or indications that Ribera was suffering from a drug hangover, as Pardo alleges, would confidence be undermined. Ribera admitted during cross-examination that he had been a guntoting drug dealer at the time of his interactions with Pardo and Garcia. The diary, newspaper clippings, and ballistics and serology evidence against Pardo, discussed above, buttress our conclusion that material in the videotapes does not undermine confidence in the verdicts. As trial counsel Guralnick testified during the evidentiary hearing, [r]easonable doubt was certainly not viable in this particular case. Pardo does not press a theory of innocence supported by the undisclosed impeachment material other than the general reasonable doubt theory rejected by trial counsel. As noted above, Pardo's jury confession also serves to distinguish this case from that of his codefendant Garcia on the effect of the nondisclosure of the Ribera videotapes. [4] Pardo's in-court confession in his own trial negates any prejudice from the nondisclosure of the Ribera videotapes. The claim by postconviction counsel that Pardo would not have testified had Ribera been impeached with the videotapes is addressed below.