Opinion ID: 2330386
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Issue 1: Redacted documents and recordings

Text: [¶ 11] Despite a no-contact order, Mr. Counts used intermediaries or pseudonyms to send letters to BP while he was incarcerated prior to trial. These letters included observations about her prior statements, and requests or advice about what she should say in the future. Prior to trial, the prosecution informed the district court that it intended to offer excerpts of the letters into evidence. Mr. Counts objected, claiming that the evidence was inadmissible. If the letters were admitted, however, Mr. Counts contended that they should be admitted in their entirety. The district court ruled that excerpts of the letters could be admitted into evidence, with certain inadmissible information redacted. On appeal, Mr. Counts continues to maintain that the letters should have been admitted or excluded in their entirety, and that the district court erred in admitting only excerpts. [¶ 12] Rulings on the admission of evidence are placed within the sound discretion of the trial court and, in order to challenge these rulings successfully on appeal, an appellant must show that the trial court committed a clear abuse of discretion. Glenn v. Union Pacific R.R. Co., 2011 WY 126, ¶ 12, 262 P.3d 177, 182 (Wyo.2011). A trial court's rulings on the admissibility of evidence are entitled to considerable deference, and, as long as there exists a legitimate basis for the trial court's ruling, that ruling will not be disturbed on appeal. Sanchez v. State, 2006 WY 116, ¶ 20, 142 P.3d 1134, 1140 (Wyo.2006). Even when a trial court errs in an evidentiary ruling, we reverse only if the error was prejudicial. The appellant must show a reasonable probability that, without the error, the verdict might have been different. Schmid v. Schmid, 2007 WY 148, ¶ 10, 166 P.3d 1285, 1288 (Wyo.2007). [¶ 13] Mr. Counts' position is that the complete letters should have been admitted, without redaction, and that the district court erred in allowing only excerpts of the letters into evidence. In support of his contention, Mr. Counts relies upon W.R.E. 106: When a writing or recorded statement or part thereof is introduced by a party, an adverse party may require him at that time to introduce any other part or any other writing or recorded statement which ought in fairness to be considered contemporaneously with it. Mr. Counts claims that the district court's redactions violated this rule because [m]ore than half of the content of the letters [was] deleted and large parts of the letters were hidden from the jury. [¶ 14] We have referred to W.R.E. 106 as the rule of completeness. Lopez v. State, 2004 WY 103, ¶ 63, 98 P.3d 143, 158 (Wyo. 2004). We have applied it, but without detailed analysis. See, e.g., Hayes v. State, 935 P.2d 700, 706 (Wyo.1997) (prosecution allowed to present a more complete and accurate picture of the police report after the defense presented a partial and selective picture of what was in the report). Both Mr. Counts and the State refer us to a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit explaining the nearly identical federal rule: The purpose of Rule 106 is to prevent a party from misleading the jury by allowing into the record relevant portions of a writing or recorded statement which clarify or explain the part already received. The rule of completeness functions as a defensive shield against potentially misleading evidence proffered by an opposing party. The rule of completeness, however, does not necessarily require admission of an entire statement, writing or recording. Rather, only those portions which are relevant to an issue in the case and necessary to clarify or explain the portion already received need to be admitted. In determining whether a disputed portion of a statement must be admitted under the rule of completeness, the trial court should consider whether (1) it explains the admitted evidence, (2) places the admitted evidence in context, (3) avoids misleading the jury, and (4) insures fair and impartial understanding of the evidence. United States v. Lopez-Medina, 596 F.3d 716, 735 (10th Cir.2010) (internal citations and punctuation omitted). We find the Tenth Circuit's analytical framework to be useful, and will apply it to Mr. Counts' case. [¶ 15] As noted above, the prosecution informed the district court of its intent to offer excerpts of the letters, and Mr. Counts objected. After considering the parties' positions, the district court ruled that excerpts of the letters could be admitted into evidence, with certain inadmissible information redacted. Prior to trial, the district court held a hearing in which it reviewed in detail the excerpted letters the prosecution intended to offer. It considered the objections offered by Mr. Counts, and additional portions of the letters Mr. Counts asked to be included. [1] After going through the letters paragraph by paragraph, the district court agreed in many instances to include the additional material suggested by Mr. Counts. However, it ruled that three types of information from the letters were inadmissible and would be redacted: (1) references to the fact that Mr. Counts could be sentenced to life in prison; (2) parts of the letters that the district court found to be self-serving and vouching; and (3) the fact that some of BP's statements were made directly to the District Attorney and the Public Defender, the attorneys involved in the case. Mr. Counts argues on appeal that it was error to exclude these three types of information, and we will consider each type in turn. [¶ 16] To illustrate the district court's exclusion of information about the potential life sentence and the self-serving and vouching information, the following is a portion of one of the letters Mr. Counts wrote. The stricken-through text is that redacted by the district court before admitting the letter into evidence: Don't text any of this to her, but tell her that if she doesn't want me to do life she needs to admit to kicking the door open herself earlier in the day and she was afraid to tell the truth because she doesn't want her parents to find out because she is afraid of losing her children her place to live and her stepdad is violent to her. She also needs to admit to getting high with Jared and Dusty that night, she cannot get into trouble for this. I talked with my lawyer and there is no possession by consumption law in Wyo. unless on probation or parole. Again that she doesn't want for her parents to find out. She has already told my lawyer the truth about me not having a knife, and she admitted the was mine, and she told my lawyer straight up that I did not kidnap her. [¶ 17] The district court redacted the text in the first paragraph (Don't text any of this to her, but tell her that if she doesn't want me to do life) because it referred to Mr. Counts' potential life sentence. Mr. Counts concedes that sentencing is the sole prerogative of the court, and the potential sentence is generally irrelevant to the jury's consideration of the facts. In his particular case, however, he asserts that this information was necessary to help explain why he wrote the letters. [¶ 18] To understand this argument, it is important to consider the basis on which all of the letters were admitted into evidence. The prosecution asserted that Mr. Counts' letters reflected efforts to convince BP to fabricate false testimony, and were evidence of Mr. Counts' consciousness of guilt. We have followed the principle that evidence of an attempt to fabricate evidence is particularly harmful to a defendant since it is an incriminating circumstance inconsistent with innocence and tends to show consciousness of guilt. Miller v. State, 830 P.2d 419, 427 (Wyo.1992); see also Garza v. State, 2010 WY 64, ¶ 8, 231 P.3d 884, 887 (Wyo.2010). Mr. Counts countered that he was not trying to get BP to make up false evidence, but instead, that he was encouraging her to tell the truth. Thus, he contended, the letters were not the result of a consciousness of guilt but rather of a consciousness of the monstrous penalties inevitable upon a mistaken finding of guilt. The jury needed to consider the evidence that he knew he was facing a life sentence, Mr. Counts asserts, in order to evaluate whether the letters reflected his consciousness of guilt or his fear of unjustified punishment. For that reason, he contends, information regarding his potential life sentence was relevant and should have been admitted. In terms of the Tenth Circuit's analytical framework, Mr. Counts contends that this information was necessary to explain the admitted evidence and place it in context. Lopez-Medina, 596 F.3d at 735. [¶ 19] In addition to the fact that evidence about potential penalties is generally inadmissible, the district court articulated two reasons for excluding references to life imprisonment. First, presenting evidence of the severe punishment faced by Mr. Counts could lead the jury to base its decision on improper grounds. As the district court observed, that could work against Mr. Counts if the jury felt antipathy for him, or in his favor if they felt sympathetic. Second, Mr. Counts faced a potential life sentence only because he was charged as an habitual criminal with prior felony convictions. The statutes explicitly provide that the jury must consider the current charges first, and then consider the previous convictions only if the defendant is convicted of the underlying charges. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-10-203. The fact that bifurcated proceedings are required by statute in an habitual criminal case further indicates that the jury should not be informed that Mr. Counts faced a potential life sentence as they considered the current charges against him during the first phase of the trial. We believe that these considerations provide a reasonable and legitimate basis for the district court's ruling. [¶ 20] Moreover, Mr. Counts has not shown how the jury could have been misled by the redaction of references to a potential life sentence. In his testimony, Mr. Counts had the opportunity to offer his explanation of the reason he wrote the letters: Because I'm scared to death for myI'm scared the amount of time that I could get and I just want people to tell the truth. Based on this evidence, defense counsel argued to the jury that Mr. Counts made the statements out of fear of unjust punishment, as he now argues on appeal. It was unnecessary to specify precisely what that punishment might be, and accordingly, specific references to potential life sentences were unnecessary to explain the letters or place them in context. Because the information could have improperly influenced the jury, and because the references to a life sentence were unnecessary to explain the letters, we cannot say that the district court's decision to redact this information was unreasonable under the circumstances. [¶ 21] The district court redacted the information in the third paragraph (She has already told my lawyer the truth about me not having a knife, and she admitted the was mine and she told my lawyer straight up that I did not kidnap her.) on the basis that it was self-serving and vouching. Mr. Counts asserts that testimony is often self-serving, and indeed, it may be offered by a defendant for precisely that reason. That his testimony is self-serving is obvious, but it does not necessarily mean that it should be rejected. Rather, it should be weighed with the other evidence. Wilkins v. State, 2005 WY 2, ¶ 10, 104 P.3d 85, 90 (Wyo.2005). Mr. Counts contends that it was improper for the district court to exclude testimony just because it was self-serving. As to vouching, Mr. Counts concedes that, as a general rule, it is improper to vouch for the credibility of another witness through argument or testimony. Foster v. State, 2010 WY 8, ¶ 28, 224 P.3d 1, 13 (Wyo.2010). His position is, however, that the redacted portions of the letter did not constitute improper vouching. [¶ 22] Mr. Counts asserts that only certain types of vouching evidence are inadmissible: a prosecutor may not vouch for the veracity of a witness, Guy v. State, 2008 WY 56, ¶ 20, 184 P.3d 687, 694 (Wyo.2008); a witness may not give opinions about the truthfulness of other witnesses, Drury v. State, 2008 WY 130, ¶ 10, 194 P.3d 1017, 1020 (Wyo.2008); and expert witnesses may not give opinions about the credibility of other witnesses. Large v. State, 2008 WY 22, ¶ 18, 177 P.3d 807, 813 (Wyo.2008). Mr. Counts claims that the language redacted from his letter is a different type of vouching. It was not vouching by a prosecutor or an expert. He also contends that it was not meant to bolster the credibility of BP, but only to indicate that Mr. Counts agreed with certain statements made by her. As Mr. Counts argues in his brief, If two witnesses saw the same car wreck and the second witness to testify stated that what the first witness had said was true, that would not be improper vouching. That would be agreement. [¶ 23] Mr. Counts' argument may be correct, but again, he has failed to demonstrate how he was prejudiced by the district court's decision to redact this language. The redacted language did no more than repeat other evidence heard by the jury during trial. BP testified to her previous statements that Mr. Counts did not have a knife, that the money belonged to Mr. Counts, and that Mr. Counts did not kidnap her. Mr. Counts also testified, in substance, that he had no knife, that the money was his, and that he did not kidnap BP. The redacted language did no more than reiterate that Mr. Counts agreed with BP's prior statements. Because the redacted information was merely cumulative, the district court did not abuse its discretion in redacting it from the letter. [¶ 24] Mr. Counts' third objection is that the district court redacted that BP had made some of her statements directly to the District Attorney and some directly to the Public Defender. The district court was concerned that allowing this information into evidence might force the attorneys involved in the case to testify as witnesses to these statements. To avoid that potential problem, the district court substituted language indicating that statements made to the prosecutor had been made to law enforcement, and statements made to the public defender had been made to my investigator. To illustrate, the following is an excerpt from a letter admitted into evidence. References to the prosecutor and the public defender, those deleted by the district court, are stricken through, and the substituted language appears within brackets: Just ask her, do not threaten her or anything ok, promise me. Ask her to write a letter, in that letter she needs to admit to lying about me taking her $, she needs to admit it was mine, she needs to admit to how the back door was opened, or at least I didn't kick it open, everything she has told my lawyer [my investigator] and the D.A. [law enforcement]. Nothing that hurts me, keep it vague except to the points, I didn't have a knife, I didn't threaten the two guys, I didn't kidnap her, I didn't hold her against her will, I never told her she couldn't leave, she walked on her own in front of me into her house. I asked the guys to leave, I never threatened her. She needs to make clear all of the points she has already made clear to my lawyer [my investigator] and the D.A. [law enforcement]. [¶ 25] Mr. Counts' argument on appeal is that BP had made several different statements, and the substituted language created confusion about which statements were being referred to in the letters. The redacted language was needed, Mr. Counts contends, in order to avoid confusing the jury. This argument is unpersuasive because the letter itself did not specify which particular statements were being discussed. It referred only to what BP has told my lawyer and the D.A., without indicating any dates, locations, or other details about any particular statements. If the letter was vague, the substituted language preserved that vagueness, but did not cause confusion or mislead the jury. [¶ 26] The district court decided to insert the substitute language in order to avoid the possibility of calling the District Attorney and Public Defender as witnesses in the trial they were conducting. We tend to agree with Mr. Counts that this was unnecessary. BP was examined and cross-examined about her various statements, and informed the jury that she had at times spoken directly to the District Attorney and the Public Defender. The district court's ruling about the substitute language was made in advance of BP's testimony, but it was easy to anticipate that she would be thoroughly questioned about her various statements. Because the jury was going to learn that BP had spoken to the District Attorney and Public Defender, it was unnecessary to insert the substitute language in the letters. [¶ 27] But even if we disagree with the district court's ruling, we reverse only if the error was prejudicial. Schmid, ¶ 10, 166 P.3d at 1288. As discussed previously, the substituted language did not confuse the jury any more than the actual language of the letter would have done. The substituted language was not misleading, as the evidence demonstrated that law enforcement personnel were present when BP made her statements to the District Attorney, and that an investigator was present when BP made her statements to the Public Defender. Mr. Counts has not shown any probability that the verdict might have been different if the language had not been substituted. We therefore conclude that the error, if any, was harmless.