Opinion ID: 2518342
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Questioning of Defendant's Wife

Text: Overton next asserts that the prosecutor committed misconduct by questioning Overton's wife in violation of the marital privilege. An appellate court applies a two-step analysis to determine whether a defendant was denied a fair trial because of prosecutorial misconduct. First, the court must decide if the prosecutor's questions were relevant and supported by a good faith basis for believing the asserted matter to be true. If not, the court must determine whether improper questions constituted plain error. To determine whether the prosecutor's questions are plain error, an appellate court must evaluate whether the misconduct is so gross and flagrant as to deny the accused a fair trial, the prosecutor's remarks show ill will, or the evidence against the defendant is of such a direct and overwhelming nature that the misconduct would have had little, if any, weight in the minds of the jurors. Overton complains of these questions by the prosecutor during the cross-examination of his wife: Q. After this case came about, did the defendant basically tell youdid he tell you that he had basically confessed to theconfessed on tape about having sex with [G.B.]? A. They tried to tell me that he confessed. Q. They asked you a question about on tapeNo, let me withdraw that question. Didn'tDid Detective Shackelford ask you did your husband tell you that he basically confessed to having sex with [G.B.]? Do you remember that question? A. Yes. Q. Wasn't your next question, Was that on tape? A. Yes. Q. You had a pretty good idea that it might be? A. No. Q. Did you have information that he had been taped? A. No. My point was my children. Q. You need to wait for the question to be asked before you answer it. And then your next question after that was, Well, did he write it in handwriting? A. Yes. Q. Did you ask that? Mrs. Overton, have you heard the tapes of your husband having these conversations with [G.B.]? A. I haven't heard the tapes. I've read the transcripts. Overton claims that the prosecutor improperly asked his wife if he had confessed to her about having sex with G.B., knowing that the answer would reveal a privileged communication. Overton argues that he was prejudiced by the prosecutor's inference that Overton had confessed to his wife. Overton's argument misstates the context and content of the prosecutor's questions and Mrs. Overton's responses. Mrs. Overton's responses do not reveal privileged communications between Overton and his wife. Mrs. Overton's responses indicate that the police told her that her husband had confessed. The context of the prosecutor's question is made clear by the second question, when the prosecutor specifically referred to questions Detective Shackelford asked Mrs. Overton regarding the taped conversation between Overton and G.B. The prosecutor asked Mrs. Overton about a conversation she had with Detective Shackelford, not her husband. The statement of the police officer is not subject to the marital privilege. Mrs. Overton's answer to the police officer did not reveal a privileged communication between husband and wife. In addition, the record indicates that Mrs. Overton's response did not imply that Overton confessed to her. Although the prosecutor asked Overton's wife if the defendant had confessed to her, Mrs. Overton responded that the police told her Overton had confessed to them. This is much different than stating that Overton had confessed to her. Overton does not claim that the questions were irrelevant or without a good faith basis, and we conclude that the questions were not improper. Although the prosecutor's questions are poorly worded, they do not invade the marital privilege. Accordingly, this claim is without merit.