Opinion ID: 613009
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admission of Turner's Grand Jury Testimony

Text: Wright's first ineffective assistance claim is based on trial counsel's failure to advance certain specific arguments when arguing that Turner's grand jury testimony was inadmissible. We elaborate. At the time of Wright's trial, whether a prior inconsistent statement made before a grand jury could be admitted for its probative value was governed by Daye, 393 Mass. at 75, 469 N.E.2d at 495-96. Daye spells out a four-point test: a prior inconsistent statement made before a grand jury is admissible for its truth when (1) the statement was made under oath before a grand jury; (2) the witness could be effectively cross-examined as to its accuracy; (3) it was not coerced and was more than a mere confirmation or denial of an allegation by the interrogator; and (4) other evidence was presented which tended to prove the issue. [5] Id. Wright hones in on Daye 's third and fourth requirements. He contends that counsel erred by failing to argue the inadmissibility of Turner's testimony because it fell short on the third Daye factor ( i.e., because it was a mere confirmation of an allegation made by an interrogator  the prosecutor who questioned Turner in front of the grand jury  rather than Turner's own statement) and the fourth Daye factor ( i.e., the commonwealth failed to introduce sufficient corroborative evidence). To be clear, this is not a case in which trial counsel failed to object at all. Wright's attorney repeatedly objected to the admission of Turner's grand jury testimony. In fact, he filed a five-page opposition to the commonwealth's motion in limine which sought to introduce the grand jury testimony. The opposition began with a summary of Daye, recited the four Daye factors, and repeatedly cited to Daye. Although the opposition chiefly focused on state constitutional grounds, it cited to Daye in support of a request that the court conduct a voir dire before admitting Turner's testimony into evidence, a request which the trial judge granted. After the voir dire, when the trial court ruled that it would admit Turner's grand jury testimony, trial counsel again cited Daye in his objection. So Wright's argument is not that counsel failed to object, but that his objection was not properly focused on the third and fourth Daye factors. We examine each in turn.