Opinion ID: 1237936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 25

Heading: Impeachment of Defense Witness Rowland

Text: Defense witness Robert Rowland, a state prison inmate, testified on direct examination that in September of 1983, while he was incarcerated in the adjustment center at San Quentin, Michael Thompson gave him a zipgun and a bullet and told him to hold these items until Thompson requested their return. He said he agreed only because Thompson ran the prison yard. Two days later prison authorities searched his cell and found the gun and bullet under his pillow. On cross-examination, Rowland denied that he was or had ever been an AB member; he said he was not aware that the AB existed as an organization. He denied he was given the gun to shoot a member of a prison gang called the Black Guerilla Family. Over defense objections, the prosecutor questioned him about incidents in which he had hidden a hacksaw blade in his lip, a knife in his rectum, and a handcuff key in a cigar. He denied each incident. The defense also objected unsuccessfully to questions asking Rowland whether he had participated in the stabbing of inmates Bob Basey, Corky, and Lucky Harris. Again, Rowland denied each incident. He also testified that the zip gun had been disassembled when the officers found it in his cell. On rebuttal, Clifford Smith testified that he and Thompson had given the zipgun to Rowland with instructions to use it to shoot a Black Guerilla Family member who had to pass Rowland's cell to reach the showers. Rowland was then a friend or associate of the AB and later was being considered for AB membership when Smith defected. Smith said he had given Rowland assignments to hit Basey, Corky, and Harris. The prosecution called four San Quentin correctional officers who testified that the zipgun had been assembled when found in Rowland's cell, that an inch-long hacksaw blade had been found in Rowland's mouth, that a knife or stabbing instrument was found in Rowland's rectum, and that a handcuff key had been found in a cigar in Rowland's cell. (62) Defendant contends the trial court erred in permitting this impeachment of Rowland. He argues that any impeachment was improper because the prosecution never disputed the only material fact to which Rowland testified, which was that Thompson had given him the zipgun two days before officers found it in his cell. In addition, he argues that the prosecutor violated the rule against cross-examining a witness on irrelevant matters for the purpose of eliciting something to be contradicted. ( People v. Lavergne, supra, 4 Cal.3d 735, 744.) The defense called Rowland as a witness to discredit prosecution witness Thompson by showing that he had unscrupulously set up Rowland to win favor with law enforcement authorities and ultimately to obtain a reduction in his prison term or similar benefits. Discrediting Thompson would, in turn, cast doubt on his testimony regarding the existence of the AB as a functioning organization. Although it was undisputed that Thompson gave Rowland the zipgun, the prosecution did dispute other portions of Rowland's testimony that were material to the inferences the defense sought to draw. To impeach Rowland, the prosecution elicited the rebuttal testimony of Smith to show that Rowland was given the zipgun as part of a legitimate AB assignment, rather than as a setup, and that Rowland was a loyal soldier of the AB. The other disputed impeachment evidence was introduced to corroborate Smith. The prosecution argued that the most reasonable explanation for the manner in which Rowland had concealed the zipgun (under a pillow and fully assembled) was that he was keeping it ready for instant use. Evidence of other instances in which Rowland demonstrated sophistication in the concealment of contraband made it unlikely that Rowland would conceal a zipgun in an obvious place unless he had a compelling reason to do so. We find no error in the trial court rulings permitting the impeachment of Rowland.