Opinion ID: 2649691
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Rebuttal Mitigation Evidence

Text: ¶115 In the months immediately preceding the trial, Forde filed a notice of twenty mitigating factors, including “[h]istory of non-violence” and “[n]o felony record,” and disclosed expert reports. Two expert reports reflected that Forde had been sexually assaulted and shot in separate incidents months before the murders. The State disclosed its intention to rebut this mitigation with evidence suggesting she had engaged in other violent criminal activities and had fabricated claims that she had been sexually assaulted and shot. ¶116 The week before the originally scheduled trial date, Forde moved to preclude the State’s rebuttal evidence as irrelevant and unduly prejudicial or, alternatively, to continue the trial to permit investigation. The trial court refused to preclude any evidence at that time, reasoning that it must await the presentation of mitigation to determine the admissibility of the rebuttal mitigation evidence. The court denied the motion to continue without further comment. Forde later withdrew the “[h]istory of non-violence” and “[n]o felony record” mitigating factors, and the State did not present any evidence that Forde had sought to preclude. We review the court’s rulings for an abuse of discretion. Dixon, 226 Ariz. at 555 ¶ 53, 250 P.3d at 1184 (motion to continue); McGill, 213 Ariz. at 156 ¶ 40, 140 P.3d at 939 (evidentiary rulings). ¶117 Forde argues that the trial court violated her rights to due process and individualized consideration in sentencing by failing to preclude the State’s rebuttal evidence as irrelevant, unreliable, and highly 35 STATE V. FORDE Opinion of the Court prejudicial. As a result, Forde asserts, she suffered prejudice by withdrawing the two mitigating factors rather than risking admission of the State’s rebuttal evidence. ¶118 The trial court did not abuse its discretion. Admissibility of the rebuttal evidence turned on whether it was relevant to the existence of mitigation sufficiently substantial to call for leniency, A.R.S. § 13-752(G), and, if so, whether the evidence was unfairly prejudicial. State v. Hampton, 213 Ariz. 167, 180 ¶ 51, 140 P.3d 950, 963 (2006). The court acknowledged these limitations, stating that admissible rebuttal evidence must be reliable and relevant to the specific thrust of Forde’s mitigation evidence. Because the record in the motion proceedings was not sufficient for the court to make these assessments, the court acted within its discretion by denying the motion as premature. ¶119 Similarly, the court did not err by refusing to continue the trial because extraordinary circumstances did not exist to justify a continuance at that late date, and Forde has not demonstrated prejudice. See Ariz. R. Crim. P. 8.5(b); VanWinkle, 230 Ariz. at 390 ¶ 7, 285 P.3d at 311. Forde created the tight time frame she complains about by obtaining extensions of time to disclose her mitigation evidence, knowing the State would be forced to disclose its rebuttal evidence shortly before trial. See State v. Maxwell, 103 Ariz. 478, 480–81, 445 P.2d 837, 839–40 (1968) (citing lack of diligence of a party as one justification for denying motion to continue trial). Additionally, Forde fails to explain why she lacked time to adequately investigate. She possessed police reports concerning two of the criminal incidents for almost two years, and her investigator had already contacted out-of-state authorities and reviewed police reports about the remaining incidents. The State had disclosed all rebuttal mitigation evidence and listed six rebuttal witnesses. Forde had an additional five weeks to interview these witnesses and otherwise investigate before commencement of the penalty phase. The trial court did not commit error.