Opinion ID: 1757479
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Cleveland Earl Wrencher's Testimony

Text: On direct examination, Eakes said he had never had a venereal disease and had never been treated for such a disease. He also presented testimony from two women with whom he had been sexually intimate, Sharon Spears and Tammy Herring, to the effect that they had not been infected with venereal disease as a result of their sexual relations with Eakes. In rebuttal, the State offered testimony of Cleveland Earl Wrencher. Wrencher testified that Eakes had said, while in jail, that he wasn't worried about the charges pending against him because he and his girlfriend had been checked, and he had received an injection. Eakes' objections on the grounds of hearsay and relevancy were overruled. The State claims Wrencher's testimony was properly allowed pursuant to M.R.E. 404(a)(1) as rebuttal. M.R.E 404 does not apply here because Wrencher's testimony concerns neither Eakes' character nor a crime, wrong, or act tending to reflect on Eakes' character. M.R.E. 608(a) is also inapplicable as Wrencher's testimony did not involve his opinion as to Eakes' reputation for truthfulness or untruthfulness. Instead, the situation is more akin to that presented in Pinkney v. State, 538 So.2d 329 (Miss. 1988), vacated on other grounds, 494 U.S. 1075, 110 S.Ct. 1800, 108 L.Ed.2d 931 (1990), and Lewis v. State, 580 So.2d 1279 (Miss. 1991). In Pinkney, the defendant claimed he had confessed only because a deputy held a gun to his head. Another officer testified that he had never seen that deputy carry a gun. This Court held that the second officer's testimony was a statement of fact, rather than reputation or character evidence. Pinkney, 538 So.2d at 348. In Lewis, the defendant faced charges of aggravated assault with a gun. Lewis claimed he had acted in self-defense, taking the gun from the victim who was the initial aggressor. He further testified that he had not had a gun in his possession on the night of the incident or several days prior to the incident. On rebuttal, the State called a witness who testified that Lewis had visited her three days before the assault and exhibited a gun in his possession. On appeal, this Court found this testimony was not introduced as a specific instance of conduct to impeach Lewis' credibility nor was it impeachment on a collateral issue. Who had a gun and who was the aggressor was [a] central factual issue. Lewis, 580 So.2d at 1288. Comparing the situation to that in Pinkney, this Court found the testimony admissible as a statement of fact relative to the merits of the case. Lewis, 580 So.2d at 1288. Applying the reasoning of Pinkney and Lewis to the instant case, whether Eakes had been infected with venereal disease was relevant to the merits of the case. Eakes sought to prove he had never had venereal disease; and, therefore, could not have given it to April, nor had he likely had sexual contact with April, else he would have become infected. Wrencher's testimony; therefore, constitutes a statement of fact relevant to the merits of the case. Wrencher's testimony was properly admitted.