Opinion ID: 2253090
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Alleged Evidentiary Harpoon

Text: We first address Evans' claim that the prosecution deployed an evidentiary harpoon. An evidentiary harpoon occurs when the prosecution places inadmissible evidence before the jury for the deliberate purpose of prejudicing the jurors against the defendant. Moffatt v. State (1989), Ind., 542 N.E.2d 971; White v. State (1971), 257 Ind. 64, 272 N.E.2d 312. Thus, to prevail on such a claim of error, the defendant must show that (1) the prosecution acted deliberately to prejudice the jury and (2) the evidence was inadmissible. While the trial court agreed with Evans that the evidence was inadmissible, it held that the testimony in question did not constitute a harpoon. We agree with Judge Rucker's dissent in the Court of Appeals, Evans, 627 N.E.2d at 834, that the evidence was admissible and that there was therefore no evidentiary harpoon. Defense counsel's motion for mistrial was properly denied. To prove that Evans possessed cocaine, the prosecution relied primarily on Decker's testimony. It also solicited testimony from Larry Coleman, a Shelby County Jail officer, who testified that during a strip search of Evans he discovered a baggie with white powder residue in the defendant's shirt pocket. The defense objected to Coleman's testimony and moved for a mistrial, claiming that any inference about Evans' possession of cocaine drawn from Coleman's testimony concerning the baggie would be unwarranted. The defense pointed out, and the prosecution admitted, that the State could neither produce the baggie nor demonstrate that the substance was in fact cocaine. In response, the prosecution explained that Coleman was prepared to testify further that the baggie he found on Evans was similar to the baggies found in Evans' vehicle. The prosecution argued that the jury should be permitted to determine the extent to which Coleman's testimony supported the contention that Evans possessed the cocaine. The trial court sustained the defense's objection, and so instructed the jury, but denied the motion for mistrial. Absent some particular prohibition, evidence that is material and relevant should go to the jury. Trial courts are vested, however, with the discretion to exclude relevant evidence where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the threat of unfair prejudice to the defendant. [1] Chittenden v. State (1982), Ind., 436 N.E.2d 86. In applying this standard, courts must first determine the probative value of the evidence, including the proponent's need for that evidence. Second, courts must determine the likely prejudicial impact of the evidence. In particular, courts will look for the dangers that the jury will substantially overestimate the value of the evidence or that the evidence will arouse or inflame the passions or sympathies of the jury. See Stone v. State (1989), Ind. App., 536 N.E.2d 534; see also Cook v. Hoppin, 783 F.2d 684 (7th Cir.1986). Finally, courts must weigh the probative value against the danger of unfair prejudice and will exclude relevant evidence only where the threat of prejudice substantially outweighs its probative value. In this case, if the jury believed Coleman's testimony that Evans had the baggie in his possession, they might have reasonably inferred in the context of the State's case that the white powdery residue in that baggie was cocaine. This, of course, would have been important corroboration of Decker's testimony. As for potential unfair prejudice, Coleman's testimony was not likely to stir the emotions of the jurors, but it is troublesome that the State lost or discarded the baggie and failed to test the white residue. While these failures do raise the possibility that the jury might have overestimated the value of this testimony, we conclude that the jury was capable of discounting the value of the evidence in light of the possibility that it was manufactured by the jailor after the fact or that the white substance was not cocaine. We conclude that the value of the evidence was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. The trial court could well have denied the motion to strike the testimony. The court exercised good caution in granting the motion and admonishing the jury, but the testimony of the jailer hardly placed Evans in a position of grave peril, and the court properly denied the request for a mistrial.