Opinion ID: 357973
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prior Consistent Statement

Text: 6 The government's key witness, Marie Donaldson, was an accomplice. She made two different statements about the bank robbery prior to trial. In the first statement she told FBI Agent Thomas Ernst that she had participated in the robbery. She implicated the appellants. Later, shortly before the trial, she told defendant Joseph Allen's attorney that she had lied in her statement to the FBI and that she actually had no connection with the robbery. At trial, the government attorney's opening statement made no mention of either prior statement. The defense attorneys for Vera Mitchell and Joseph Allen introduced the subject of Donaldson's prior statements in their opening statements. Joseph Allen's attorney argued that Ms. Donaldson would testify falsely at this trial in order to save her own neck. . . . (Tr. 112). 7 On direct examination, Ms. Donaldson implicated the appellants. The government attorney then asked Ms. Donaldson about the inconsistent statement she gave to Joseph Allen's attorney. She testified that the statement was false and that she had made it because she was scared of going to jail and did not want to put anyone else in jail. Tr. 159. She was not questioned about the earlier statement to FBI Agent Ernst. 8 On cross-examination, Ms. Donaldson was questioned extensively about her prior statements. She testified primarily about the content of the sworn affidavit she gave to Joseph Allen's attorney, in which she denied any involvement in the bank robbery. The affidavit was read to the jury (Tr. 187-88) and was admitted as a defense exhibit (Tr. 195). The basic content of this sworn statement was to retract the statement previously given to the FBI. 9 The government later introduced the testimony of Agent Ernst. Ernst testified about the statement which Ms. Donaldson made to him on May 13, 1977. The government contends that this is admissible evidence of a prior consistent statement to rebut an implied or express charge of recent fabrication or improper motive. Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(1)(B). The appellants argue that it was the government that first introduced evidence of the inconsistent statement and that it should not be allowed to bootstrap a prior consistent statement into evidence by first introducing a prior inconsistent statement. 10 This is not a situation where the government has simply attempted to bolster the testimony of a witness on direct examination. The government raised the issue of the prior inconsistent statement, as it was entitled to do under Fed.R.Evid. 607. The government, however, did not use this impeachment as the basis for introducing the prior consistent statement. An attempt to do so would not have satisfied the requirement that there be an express or implied charge of recent fabrication or improper motive. Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(1)(B). 11 In this case the defense attorneys did exactly what they stated that they would do in their opening statements: they sharply attacked the credibility of Marie Donaldson. They contended that her testimony on direct examination was the result of an attempt to avoid criminal prosecution. They introduced the prior inconsistent statement to support this contention. In addition, she was questioned about her grant of immunity and receipt of expense payments from the government. 12 This is the classic situation in which evidence of a prior consistent statement is allowed into evidence. Hanger v. United States, 398 F.2d 91 (8th Cir. 1968), Cert. denied 393 U.S. 1119, 89 S.Ct. 995, 22 L.Ed.2d 124 (1969). Agent Ernst was entitled to testify about the content of Donaldson's statement to him on May 13, 1977. With this testimony, the jury was more able to evaluate the credibility of Donaldson's story to determine whether her testimony at trial was truthful.