Opinion ID: 2137352
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence of Witchcraft Involvement

Text: Naylor seeks a new trial claiming that evidence of his involvement in witchcraft was so unfairly prejudicial that its admission denied him a fair trial. Trial court decisions on the admission of evidence are reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard that is deferential to the trial court ruling. State v. Kelly, 435 N.W.2d 807, 813 (Minn.1989). A ruling is prejudicial and therefore reversible if there is a reasonable possibility the error complained of may have contributed to the conviction. Id.; State v. Fratzke, 354 N.W.2d 402, 409 (Minn.1984). In other words, this court will reverse when there is any reasonable doubt the result would have been different had the evidence not been admitted. State v. Blasus, 445 N.W.2d 535, 540 (Minn.1989). Under Rule 403, relevant evidence  may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Minn.R.Evid. 403 (emphasis added). We review a trial court's decision to admit relevant evidence in two steps: first, we review the trial court's weighing of the substantiality of prejudice of the evidence under an abuse of discretion standard and, second, if there was an abuse of discretion, we determine whether there is a reasonable possibility the erroneously admitted evidence may have reasonably contributed to the jury's verdict of guilty. Naylor objects to three types of evidence of his involvement in witchcraft: testimony by various witnesses about Naylor's interest in witchcraft and satanism, photographs of the covers of books about witchcraft seized from the co-defendants, and the books themselves. On appeal, Naylor does not challenge the relevancy of this evidence, but we note that evidence relating to Naylor's involvement with witchcraft and satanism appears to be relevant as a link to the ritualistic aspects of the killing and as an explanation for the planning of a warlock test of Lange. It further provides an explanation for the testimony of the co-defendants that they were afraid of Naylor.
Each of the co-defendants was questioned by the state about Naylor's involvement in witchcraft, despite what Naylor characterizes in his brief as a continuing objection. Naylor's trial counsel referred to such a continuing objection on relevancy grounds near the conclusion of the trial, but no specific objection was raised when testimony about witchcraft involvement began. Naylor discussed his interest in witchcraft with Jennifer Keller and told her that he was a warlock. Naylor likewise described himself as a warlock to Cynthia Blomgren in early 1989 and to David Duncan in October 1989. Toche, Blomgren, Jennifer Keller, and another, non-accomplice, witness testified that Naylor described himself as a warlock or satanic high priest at various times, and Jennifer Keller also testified that she discussed books on witchcraft with Naylor. Naylor properly objected to the testimony of later witnesses about his witchcraft involvement but he has made no showing that evidence linking him to witchcraft or satanism would result in unfair prejudice and substantially outweigh the probative value of such evidence. The trial court's ruling admitting the testimony of Naylor's admissions of witchcraft and satanism involvement did not abuse the discretion granted the trial court under Rule 403.
Before the police seized books about witchcraft from Blomgren's car and Mollitor's home, they took photographs of the books in place. These photographs were admitted as evidence to establish the presence of the books in places accessible to all of the accomplices. The photographs show only the covers of the books and would appear to have no prejudicial effect from their cover art. The photographs are probative of Naylor's participation in the research process that went into planning the warlock test to embarrass Lange and confirm the testimony that Naylor, and not the women co-defendant's alone, had access to and interest in the books. The trial court's ruling admission of the photographs of the books was not an abuse of discretion.
In executing search warrants at the homes and cars of the accomplice witnesses, police seized several books on witchcraft after hearing of possible witchcraft involvement in Lange's death. The books were all identified on exhibit lists disclosed to Naylor's counsel before trial. Over Naylor's timely objection and after lengthy bench and chambers conferences, twelve of the books were admitted as evidence in Naylor's trial and were accessible to the jury during deliberations. There is no per se rule barring admission of books to juries in criminal trials. State v. Hogan, 297 Minn. 430, 433, 212 N.W.2d 664, 667 (1973) (approving, in attempted murder trial, admission of books on urban guerilla warfare seized from defendant); cf. State v. Herberg, 324 N.W.2d 346, 347 (Minn.1982) (noting link between contents of violent pornographic books offered as state's exhibits and circumstances of charged crimes in a case settled before trial by a plea bargain). Admitting a book into evidence at trial, however, allows the jury access to the entire contents of the book, even though only a small portion of the book is relevant for finding material facts in the case. Because a book may contain much irrelevant and even potentially prejudicial material, the proponent of a book as an exhibit has a particular obligation to be familiar with its contents before offering it as evidence. Therefore, we have carefully examined each of the twelve books admitted into evidence in this case. The books admitted in this case have little additional relevance beyond that of the testimonial evidence and photographic evidence of Naylor's involvement in witchcraft. On the other hand, eleven of the twelve books admitted have little, if any, prejudicial effect because they are designed to depict witchcraft and satanism favorably. Most of the books make witchcraft look innocuous and acceptable and would not be unfairly prejudicial when read by a jury from the same community in which the books were apparently purchased at a family bookstore. Given their modest relevance, when weighed in the Rule 403 balancing test, eleven of the books come within the zone in which the trial court could have exercised discretion to exclude them; however, admitting these eleven books was not an abuse of discretion. The twelfth book admitted, however, poses a more difficult problem. State's Exhibit 85, Satanism: Is Your Family Safe?, was owned by one of the accomplices, who was not sure if others had seen it. The book has a striking cover photograph of a man in a priestly robe holding a dagger, a dagger which is similar to that owned by Naylor and thought to have been used in the killing. As its title suggests, the book takes an antiwitchcraft, antisatanism position in reporting various allegations about witchcraft and satanism in the United States. The book suggests that crimes committed by witches sometimes remain unsolved because prosecutors are reluctant to charge crimes that include possibly unbelievable details of witchcraft involvement. The book, extraordinarily, includes a specific charge to jurors, So long as jurors shy away from convicting people with alleged satanic connections, such atrocities will continue. It is legitimate for the state to provide explanations for the sometimes inexplicable phenomena of violent crime. Damage to the opponent's case that results from the legitimate probative force of the evidence is fair game for both sides in a criminal trial, which is an effort at truth-finding. See State v. Axford, 417 N.W.2d 88, 92 n. 1 (Minn.1988). It becomes persuasion by illegitimate means, however, to suggest that people with long-term involvement in witchcraft are necessarily persons with ghastly criminal records and that jurors ought to put such people away. Satanism: Is Your Family Safe? makes such a suggestion to its readers. As to any of the other books, their unfair prejudicial effect is minimal because the intent of their authors is to make readers less prejudiced toward witchcraft after reading the books than before. But the authors of Satanism: Is Your Family Safe?, in their concern for unknown victims of satanic crimes, explicitly desire to have juries take witchcraft evidence negatively into account during criminal trials. The state concedes in this case that admitting the books about witchcraft without giving the jury limiting instructions resulted in potential for prejudice. We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in the admission of Exhibit 85. As to whether the error was harmless, the test is whether there is any reasonable doubt the result would have been different if the evidence had not been admitted. Blasus, 445 N.W.2d at 540. There was considerable evidence apart from these books tending to show that Naylor was guilty of first-degree murder as a primary actor, and even more evidence showing his guilt as an accomplice among the group of co-defendants. That evidence consisted of admissions by Naylor to nonaccomplices before his arrest, the direct testimony of five accomplices, the additional testimony of other nonaccomplices regarding Naylor's enmity toward Lange, the physical evidence linking Naylor to the crime scene and manner of Lange's death, and the lack of a convincing explanation of Naylor's whereabouts during Lange's murder. The jury was correctly instructed on accomplice liability for first degree murder in this case and on the need for corroborating evidence in addition to the accomplice testimony. After reviewing the entire extensive trial file, we conclude that the jury would have decided exactly the same way had the erroneously admitted book not been admitted; under the Blasus test, the error in admitting this evidence is harmless. Nonetheless, we caution prosecutors and trial court judges to be especially meticulous in their review of books and documentary exhibits before such exhibits are admitted into evidence. While, in this case, the overwhelming nature of the evidence against Naylor outweighs the prejudicial impact of the provocative language of Exhibit 85, another case might be closer. Prosecutors should avoid putting at risk the fairness of a trial in a serious criminal matter by seeking the admission of such marginally relevant, cumulative and inflammatory material.