Opinion ID: 1060382
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Erroneous Exclusion of Videotape: Harmless Error

Text: During the guilt phase of the trial Investigator Ron Humphrey of the Knoxville Police Department testified for the State about two separate statements the defendant gave to law enforcement authorities. The audio tape recordings of these statements were played for the jury. As previously noted, in the first statement the defendant claimed that Quintyn had fallen from his crib while in the second statement, given almost two hours later, the defendant admitted that he had shaken the child. During cross-examination, defense counsel asked Humphrey about other interviews with the defendant and if any video interrogation had been done. The State objected that the defense was improperly referring to the defendant's videotaped polygraph examination, which had been suppressed. The defense, however, indicated that it was referring to a video, redacted to avoid any mention of the polygraph test, depicting a separate interrogation, not yet presented to the jury, that occurred after the polygraph examination but before the second interview. [16] The defense argued that the tape was relevant to the jury's assessment of the weight to be given the defendant's second statement and to show how the defendant was coerced and pushed into making [the] last statement and that information about this interrogation was necessary under the rule of completeness. The State responded that, if part of the tape was admissible, then the rule of completeness required the admission of the entire tape including the polygraph test. The State alternatively argued that the tape was inadmissible because it contained only self-serving and irrelevant hearsay. Refusing the defendant's request to view the tape before ruling on its admissibility, the trial court allowed the redacted and unredacted tapes to be introduced for identification only and forbade the defense from asking Humphrey general questions about talking with the defendant on occasions other than the two interviews already admitted. The trial court, however, permitted the defendant to ask whether Humphrey had ever made specific statements to the defendant. Humphrey testified that he did not recall making any such statements. [17] The redacted videotape shows officers making statements to the defendant similar to those that Humphrey denied recalling when asked on cross-examination. In general, the tape shows the officers assuring the defendant that they did not believe he had intentionally harmed his child, that the evidence indicated it had been an accident, that if he told the truth he likely would be able to avoid the death penalty, that the officers would inform the district attorney general and the judge of the defendant's remorse and cooperation, and that cooperation would be the defendant's salvation. The defendant appeared to be crying through much of the interview. He asserted that he never intended to harm Quintyn and that he was fearful of going to prison for the rest of his life. The defendant expressed skepticism at the officer's offers of help, saying he had prior experience with the criminal justice system in New York. Eventually, the defendant agreed to provide another statement to the police, and the videotape concludes with the group leaving for another office to record the defendant's statement. [18] The defendant contends that the court's ruling that the redacted tape was inadmissible was erroneous for three reasons. First, he says that the trial court erred by refusing to review the videotape before ruling it inadmissible and by denying the defense request to make an offer of proof. Relying upon Tenn. R. Evid. 103, the defendant asserts that mere summaries are disfavored, that the proof itself should be presented in a legitimate proffer, and that the trial court could not have made a full and fair ruling without viewing the tape or having a more detailed description of its contents. The State responds that the trial court was entitled to rely on the verbal summary of the videotape provided by the parties' during the jury-out hearing and that the trial court was not required to review the tape before ruling on its admissibility. The Court of Criminal Appeals held that the question of whether the trial court erred in refusing to view the tape before ruling was necessarily submerged in the question of whether the trial court properly excluded the recording and therefore did not rule on this question. As the defendant correctly points out, generally, an offer of proof should be allowed, and refusing to allow an offer of proof generally is considered error. Tenn. R. Evid. 103 (a)(2) and (b); Alley v. State, 882 S.W.2d 810, 815 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1994). An offer of proof serves two primary purposes: (1) informing the trial court about the proof the party is seeking to offer; and (2) creating a record so that an appellate court can review the trial court's decision. Alley, 882 S.W.2d at 815. The second purpose clearly has been satisfied in this case. The redacted and unredacted videotapes are included in the record on appeal. As to the first purpose, the record indicates that the parties verbally summarized the nature of the evidence on the videotape. Given the apparent confusion as to the context and timing of the interview on the videotape, [19] however, the trial court probably would have been better situated to make an informed ruling on the admissibility had he reviewed the videotape rather than relying upon the verbal summaries. Nevertheless, we agree with the Court of Criminal Appeals that the failure of the trial court to view the videotape is not dispositive but rather is intertwined with the primary issuethe propriety of excluding the redacted videotape. While reviewing videotape evidence before ruling on its admissibility is the better practice, the defendant in this case is not entitled to relief simply because the trial court failed to do so. With respect to the primary issue of admissibility, the defendant contends that the redacted tape should have been admitted under the rule of completeness, found in Tenn. R. Evid. 106 which provides: When a writing or recorded statement or part thereof is introduced by a party, an adverse party may require the introduction at that time of any other part or any other writing or recorded statement which ought in fairness to be considered contemporaneously with it. The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed, finding that the interview on the tape and the second statement were one continuous period of interrogation by police, even though the interrogation occurred in different rooms, different officers participated, and different means were used to record the interview. The Court of Criminal Appeals held that the redacted video, in large part, would have been ultimately admissible during the defendant's case-in-chief upon proper authentication of the recording to demonstrate the coercive atmosphere surrounding the defendant's second statement; to allow the jury to assess the reliability and credibility of the confession under Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 106 S.Ct. 2142, 2145-2147, 90 L.Ed.2d 636 (1986); and to explain or qualify the confession. The Court of Criminal Appeals, however, held that the defendant was not entitled to relief because he had not taken whatever action was reasonably available to prevent or nullify the harmful effect of the error and alternatively, because, in light of the evidence at trial, the error did not appear to have affirmatively affected the jury's verdict. See Tenn. R. App. P. 36(b); Tenn. R.Crim. P. 52(a). In this Court, the State concedes that the Court of Criminal Appeals correctly held that the trial court erred in excluding the videotape. The State argues, however, that the Court of Criminal Appeals also correctly concluded that the error does not entitle the defendant to relief because he did not attempt to prevent, nullify or ameliorate the harmful effect of the error and because, given the evidence, the error was harmless. Like the Court of Criminal Appeals, we conclude that the trial court erred in excluding the redacted videotape. As the intermediate appellate court determined, the interview on the tape and the second statement were one continuous period of interrogation by police, even though the interrogation occurred in different rooms, different officers participated, and different means were used to record the interview. The defendant was entitled to introduce the redacted videotape to demonstrate the circumstances surrounding the defendant's second statement and to allow the jury to assess the reliability and credibility of the confession. See, e.g., State v. Burns, 29 S.W.3d 40, 48 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1999) (We recognize the longstanding rule in Tennessee that once a confession is admitted into evidence, a jury may hear evidence concerning the circumstances under which the confession was procured in order to determine whether the defendant made the confession and whether it is true.). Moreover, as this Court recently explained, Tenn. R. Evid. 106, the rule of completeness, reflects a concern for fairness and allows the trier of fact to assess related information at the same time rather than piecemeal. State v. Keough, 18 S.W.3d 175, 182-83 (Tenn. 2000). [W]here the prosecution introduces a statement made by the defendant, the trial court may in the interest of fairness order that the remainder of the statement be admitted as well under Rule 106. Id. at 182; See also Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 106 S.Ct. 2142, 2145-2147, 90 L.Ed.2d 636 (1986); State v. Robinson, 622 S.W.2d 62, 71 (Tenn.Crim.App.1980); Espitia v. State, 199 Tenn. 696, 288 S.W.2d 731, 733 (1956). [20] Nonetheless, after carefully reviewing the record in this case, we have no hesitation in concluding that the error was harmless as to the guilt-innocence stage of the proceeding. The evidence of the defendant's guilt is overwhelming. Nothing on the videotape even remotely implies that the defendant was innocent of the crime. Accordingly, as to guilt, we conclude that the error was harmless. The effect of this erroneous ruling on the sentencing phase of the trial is a much closer question. The State offered proof and argued at sentencing that the defendant appeared arrogant, uncaring, and unremorseful about the victim's death. The excluded videotape, showing the defendant crying and stating that he did not mean to hurt his son, arguably tells a different tale. [21] The jury did not see this video, but still deliberated seven hours before returning a sentence of death. Clearly, had the trial court not erroneously excluded the videotape when the defense sought its admission, the jury could have considered it at sentencing. Nonetheless, the State argues that this issue is waived because the defense did notseek to introduce the videotape at the sentencing hearing. We need not address this waiver argument or determine whether the erroneous exclusion of the videotape prejudiced the defense at sentencing. As hereafter explained, we conclude that the defendant is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the trial court erred in giving a Kersey instruction rather than accepting the jury's report of a deadlock. At the new sentencing hearing, defense counsel may introduce the redacted videotape.