Opinion ID: 1974930
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the attempt to present exculpatory evidence.

Text: In light of the overwhelming evidence that appellant and the complainant had engaged in sexual intercourse, appellant presented an alternative defense at trial to the effect that the complainant had consented to their intercourse, and if she was raped it was after their liaison and by someone else, most probably Joseph Wormley. As part of the effort to establish these defenses, appellant's counsel alerted the trial judge that he wished to call Joseph Wormley as a defense witness to testify that at the funeral of complainant's husband, the complainant had seen Wormley and became hysterical. Wormley had already testified as a government witness in its case-in-chief and had stated that appellant told him that he, appellant, was going to take the place of complainant's husband. Both Wormley and the complainant had also testified that Wormley had returned to complainant's apartment before she allegedly was raped by appellant, and that at that time appellant was asleep on the living room couch. The trial judge refused to allow Wormley to testify for the defense, ruling that his proffered testimony was ambiguous and irrelevant and thus not probative. Appellant claims that Wormley's proffered testimony, as well as other evidence presented or proffered at trial, linked Wormley to the supposed rape, and that the trial court's refusal to allow Wormley to testify for the defense therefore denied appellant his due process right to call witnesses in his own defense and to establish his own innocence by proving that another person was guilty of the crime. [4] Of course, the accused in a criminal prosecution has a fundamental right to call witnesses in his own defense. Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973); Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967). Evidence that someone other than the accused has committed the crime for which the accused is charged may be presented through the testimony of defense witnesses when there are sufficient indicia that the evidence is reliable. Chambers v. Mississippi, supra, 410 U.S. at 298-303, 93 S.Ct. 1038. One commentator has stated the rule to be: When guilt of another person is inconsistent with the guilt of the defendant, it is always relevant for the defendant to present evidence that such other person committed the crime. 1 Wharton's Criminal Evidence § 195 at 404 (13th ed. 1972). However, before evidence of the guilt of another can be deemed relevant and thereby admissible, the evidence must clearly link that other person to the commission of the crime. See, e. g., State v. Perelli, 125 Conn. 321, 5 A.2d 705 (1939); White v. State, 52 Nev. 235, 285 P. 503 (1930). Even when such evidence is relevant, the trial court must weigh its probative value against its prejudicial impact, including its propensity to mislead the jury or confuse them, to determine whether to admit the evidence. Punch v. United States, D.C.App., 377 A.2d 1353, 1358 (1977). The record reflects that the trial court has weighed these factors before reaching its decision to admit or exclude the evidence. We will not overturn that decision absent a clear abuse of discretion. Id. We cannot say that the trial court erred in holding that Wormley's proposed testimonythat the complainant became hysterical when she saw him at her husband's funeralwas irrelevant. At best it was a description of an ambiguous act. In fact, it would have been reasonable for the trial court to interpret her reaction as an indication that she believed Wormley was involved in her husband's murder, since at the time of the funeral she knew her husband had been murdered and the last two people she had seen with her husband while he was alive were appellant and Wormley. The prosecutor pointed out that if Wormley's testimony was admitted to support the inference as proffered, the prosecutor would have to bring out Wormley's connection to the Williams murder to establish the alternative explanation for the widow's reaction. The record reflects that the court considered the extremely prejudicial impact such evidence would have. Moreover, both counsel and the court had been careful throughout the trial not to allude to the fact that complainant's husband had been murdered or that appellant was involved in the murder. Accordingly, we find no abuse of discretion by the trial court in excluding Wormley's testimony concerning the funeral incident. We have also considered the other evidence which appellant contends would have been probative of Wormley's guilt, but find each contention to be without merit. See note 4, supra.