Opinion ID: 1740628
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Admission of Mattress

Text: Chavez maintains that the trial court reversibly erred in admitting, over timely objection, a mattress (found in the trailer at the horse farm) which was stained with blood stipulated to belong to neither Chavez nor Jimmy Ryce. Chavez asserts that, even if the mattress had any probative value, it was clearly outweighed by the prejudicial impact. See § 90.403, Fla. Stat. (1995) (Relevant evidence is inadmissible if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, misleading the jury, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.). As we observed in Goodwin v. State, 751 So.2d 537, 540 (Fla.1999) (citing Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967)), the harmless error analysis adopted in Chapman requires appellate courts to first consider the nature of the error complained of and then the effect this error had on the triers of fact. The oft-quoted standard of appellate review (in the context of alleged improper prosecutorial conduct) requires reversal where it is completely impossible ... to say that the State has demonstrated, beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the defendant's conviction. Id. (quoting Chapman, 386 U.S. at 26, 87 S.Ct. 824). Under section 90.403, Florida Statutes (1995), relevant evidence is inadmissible if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of issues, or potential to mislead the jury. These competing values must be weighed in determining admissibility. See State v. McClain, 525 So.2d 420, 422-23 (Fla.1988). Here, Chavez objected to admission of the mattress, which was stipulated to be unrelated to this case. The State argued, principally, that it was being offered to show, contrary to the defense theory of the case, that the interrogating officers did not force-feed Chavez the elements of his confession during questioning. The State reasoned that, because the police knew about the bloody mattress at the time of Chavez's interrogation, had they been supplying Chavez with the details of his confession, the mattress would logically have been included as an element of the factual narrative. The trial court, agreeing that the mattress was relevant, permitted its introduction into evidence, providing the cautionary instruction that the mattress was not related to this case, and that neither Chavez nor Jimmy Ryce was the source of the blood stain. The discovery by authorities of the obviously bloody mattress in the trailer during the time that Chavez was being questioned, and its subsequent testing, were logically relevant to disprove Chavez's contention that the officers who interrogated him had suggested all the elements of his detailed confession. The blood on the mattress was apparent, and, although it had not been forensically checked while Chavez was being questioned, had the officers been prompting Chavez, as he claims, it would have been logical to have asked about the mattress. Further, the fact that the mattress was tested is relevant to Chavez's claim that the police failed to investigate his lead when he told them that Ed was the real killer. For this limited purpose, however, it would have been sufficient to admit into evidence testimony regarding the mattress and photographs of the mattress as it appeared at the crime scene, rather than the mattress itself. Here, defense counsel argued that the bloody mattress raised the spectre that Chavez had murdered an additional person other than the victim in this case. However, that conclusion does not logically flow from the facts as adduced at trial. By his own confession, Chavez does not appear to have been familiar with the interior of the trailer where Jimmy was murdered. Chavez said that he had to look around for something to use as a lubricant, and test it to see if it burned. [38] Further, his victim was shot while trying to escape; he was not stabbed to death, nor does the record reflect the extensive presence of blood. There is absolutely no suggestion in the record that Chavez killed anyone other than Jimmy. However, even assuming that the court erred in allowing the mattress itself to be admitted (because the prejudicial effect potentially outweighed the probative value), such error was harmless. Given the overwhelming evidence of Chavez's guilt, on this record, there is no possibility that admission of the mattress contributed to the outcome of the proceedings. See Blackwood v. State, 777 So.2d 399, 408 (Fla.2000), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 884, 122 S.Ct. 192, 151 L.Ed.2d 135 (2001); State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129, 1139 (Fla.1986).