Opinion ID: 1768458
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: was it error to permit the prosecution to impeach its own witness upon recall by the defense?

Text: The Commonwealth introduced Tommy Wallace, Jr., as a witness during the guilt phase of the trial. The defense then introduced Mr. Wallace as a witness during the sentencing phase of the trial. At that time the prosecution, on cross-examination, impeached the witness with a prior felony conviction. The appellant now contends that the prosecutor's acts were prejudicial and necessitate a reversal. The appellant cites Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), in support of his contention that the prosecution violates due process when it withholds evidence which tends to exculpate the accused. He also points to Romans v. Commonwealth, Ky., 547 S.W.2d 128, as requiring exclusion of any evidence which was not provided in accordance with a discovery order. The appellant claims that the prosecution, in compliance with the order, had to provide a criminal record of its witnesses, however, this was not proven by the record and the trial judge had no such recollection of any discovery order. Sanborn also argues that the lack of knowledge of the conviction prevented his defense counsel from impeaching the witness during the guilt phase, and that our decision in Sanborn v. Commonwealth, Ky., 754 S.W.2d 534 at 548, holds that it is reversible error not to be able to impeach a witness. Finally, the appellant claims that the introduction of the conviction was far more prejudicial than probative and that it should not have been admitted. The Commonwealth contends that this issue is not properly preserved on appeal because the defense counsel failed to get a final ruling on the objection to introducing the impeachment evidence. This Court has held that if a party objects to something, he must try to get a final ruling on the objection, or it is waived. Bell v. Commonwealth, Ky., 473 S.W.2d 820 (1971). However, assuming that the issue is preserved or that fairness dictates that we consider it despite the failure of defense counsel to preserve it, the record shows that the defendant was not sandbagged as he claims by the prosecutor's conduct. Brady addresses the issue of a prosecutor who conceals evidence from a defendant. It does not require that a party disclose information which is part of a public record, such as a felony conviction. Additionally, the Commonwealth's Attorney did not himself become aware of the conviction until the sentencing phase of the trial, at which time he approached the bench about questioning Tommy Wallace, Jr., about his conviction. This suggests that there was no bad faith motivating a non-disclosure of the conviction in the discovery order. The appellant is correct in his assessment of Romans and the exclusion of such evidence. However, Romans also requires the party claiming error to take every reasonable step to rectify the situation at trial before he can claim a mistrial at a later point in time. In this case the defense counsel objected, but then failed to get a definitive ruling upon the objection. Therefore, the appellant did not take every reasonable step to correct the situation and thus cannot claim a mistrial at this time. Furthermore, the limitation upon impeachment testimony in the original Sanborn case was not considered a reversible error standing alone but, rather, was part of cumulative error. Therefore, since the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the Commonwealth to impeach Tommy Wallace, Jr., and the appellant has failed to establish that he was prejudiced by its admission, we find no reversible error.