Opinion ID: 2766861
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Officer’s Direct Examination

Text: [¶5] During the perjury trial, the officer testified that when he arrived at the scene of the accident on April 20, 2011, at 12:57 p.m., Jeffrey smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. He stated that he asked Jeffrey how much he had had to drink that day and that Jeffrey told him that he had consumed one beer at 8:30 a.m. [¶6] The prosecutor asked the officer whether Jeffrey at any time told him that he had gone off the road at 9:38 a.m. and drank seven or eight beers between that time and the time of the officer’s arrival. The officer responded, “No, he did not.” Defense counsel objected to the question on the ground that it improperly suggested a burden on the defense to produce evidence, and moved for a mistrial. During a bench conference, the court overruled the objection and denied the motion, observing that Jeffrey had not invoked his right to remain silent, and stating that “when a defendant chooses to answer a question and then answers it in a way that is different at trial, then it is admissible to point out that the first time the information was obtained was during the testimony at trial.” 4 [¶7] The prosecutor asked the officer whether he was aware before the OUI trial that Jeffrey claimed that he had gone off the road at 9:38 a.m., and the officer responded in the negative. The prosecutor then asked, “[W]hen was the first time that you realized that [Jeffrey] said -- or was saying that after he went off the road he drank six to seven beers?” and the officer answered, “During the [OUI] trial.” Defense counsel again objected to the question, asserting that it had already been answered and that it improperly implied that Jeffrey had an obligation to produce evidence. The court sustained the objection.