Opinion ID: 1404841
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Issues related to Spikes' testimony

Text: {47} We next examine the trial court's decision to admit evidence of Spikes' prior consistent statements to O'Grady. Defendants argue that O'Grady's testimony regarding Spikes' story about the night of the murder should not have been admitted as prior consistent statements. According to O'Grady, Spikes told her that she and Smith had driven to Albuquerque from San Diego to work out their relationship with Younger, that she called Younger and he drove her to Lucero's home, and that he was pulled into the room and she remained outside. She told O'Grady this information in 1994. Defendants argue that the motive for Spikes to lie arose immediately after the murder. The State contends that the motive to lie arose in January, 1993, when she was questioned by police regarding her involvement in the murder. We agree that under Casaus, O'Grady's testimony, to the extent she discussed Spikes' statements to her in 1994, was inadmissible. However, O'Grady testified to information that Spikes also gave Jimenes. {48} Spikes told Jimenes similar information to that told to O'Grady. We agree with the State that Spikes' motive to lie arose in 1993, when she was questioned by police regarding the murder. She told Jimenes a similar story shortly after the murder occurred, before being questioned by police. Under the prior consistent statement rule, the testimony was correctly admitted because the motive to lie had not yet arisen. The trial court did not err in admitting Jimenes' testimony. {49} In view of Jimenes' testimony, O'Grady's testimony about the 1994 conversation was cumulative. Although the trial court erred in admitting O'Grady's testimony about the 1994 conversation, the error was harmless. See State v. Woodward, 121 N.M. 1, 10, 908 P.2d 231, 240 (1995) (The erroneous admission of cumulative evidence is harmless error because it does not prejudice the defendant.).
{50} Defendants also argue that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting testimony by O'Grady and Jimenes about Spikes' prior inconsistent statements. In 1995, the prior inconsistent statement rule was amended to admit only prior inconsistent statements made under oath: A statement is not hearsay if . . . [t]he declarant testifies at the trial . . . and is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement, and the statement is . . . inconsistent with the declarant's testimony and was given under oath subject to the penalty of perjury at a trial . . . or other proceeding . . . . Rule 11-801(D)(1)(a). However, at the time this case was filed, a prior inconsistent statement could be admitted whether it was made under oath or not. See State v. Baca, 120 N.M. 383, 391-92, 902 P.2d 65, 73-74 (1995) (noting that amendment requiring prior inconsistent statement to have been made under oath does not apply to defendant whose case was filed prior to effective date); Mason v. Duckworth, 74 F.3d 815, 818 (7th Cir.1996) (holding that, because a change in the Indiana rules of evidence requiring out-of-court statements to have been made under oath in order to be admissible is not one of constitutional proportions, defendant is not entitled to have new rule applied retroactively). The record reflects that Spikes had made contradictory statements. For example, at trial, Spikes denied that Defendant Smith asked her to help kill Younger in order to receive his insurance money. Both O'Grady and Jimenes testified that Spikes had told them, individually, that Defendant Smith had asked her to do so. Under the prior-inconsistent-statement rule in 1994, these statements were not hearsay. See Woodward, 121 N.M. at 7, 908 P.2d at 237. {51} Defendants also argue that the trial court erred in admitting testimony by O'Grady and Jimenes of inconsistent statements by Spikes, because `impeachment by prior inconsistent statement may not be permitted where employed as a mere subterfuge to get before the jury evidence not otherwise admissible.' United States v. Zackson, 12 F.3d 1178, 1184 (2d Cir.1993) (quoting United States v. Morlang, 531 F.2d 183, 190 (4th Cir.1975)). The State suggests the principle does not apply because it is intended to limit a party from calling a witness primarily to impeach that witness with otherwise inadmissible evidence; that, in this case, the record supports a conclusion that Spikes gave favorable as well as unfavorable testimony. See generally Morton v. State, 689 So.2d 259, 262-64 (Fla.1997) (discussing limitations on the use of prior inconsistent statements to impeach one's own witness). {52} We think the principle on which Defendants rely has broader application than the State has conceded. In Morton, the Florida Supreme Court summarized the most general principles and emphasized the trial court's broad discretion to balance the probative value of particular impeachment testimony against its prejudicial effect. Obviously, no single rule can be delineated to cover all of the circumstances under which parties will seek to impeach their own witnesses. Generally, however, if a party knowingly calls a witness for the primary purpose of introducing a prior statement which otherwise would be inadmissible, impeachment should ordinarily be excluded. On the other hand, a party may always impeach its witness if the witness gives affirmatively harmful testimony. In a case where a witness gives both favorable and unfavorable testimony, the party calling the witness should usually be permitted to impeach the witness with a prior inconsistent statement. Of course, the statement should be truly inconsistent, and caution should be exercised in permitting impeachment of a witness who has given favorable testimony but simply fails to recall every detail unless the witness appears to be fabricating. In addressing these issues, trial judges must have broad discretion in determining whether the probative value of the evidence is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice or confusion. Id. at 264. {53} Under these principles, because Spikes gave both favorable and unfavorable testimony, the prosecution was entitled to offer evidence of any prior inconsistent statements, which the trial court might have been asked to exclude under Rule 11-403, NMRA 1998. In this case, however, neither Defendant made a sufficiently specific objection to alert the trial court to the need to balance the probative value of the testimony in impeaching Spikes against the prejudicial effect of the particular prior inconsistent statements to which O'Grady and Jimenes testified. {54} Defendant Brown asked the court to exclude O'Grady as a witness on the ground Spikes' motive to lie arose at the time of the murder, and Spikes' conversation with O'Grady occurred in June, 1994. That is a different objection than the argument made on appeal that the prosecution improperly impeached its own witness. {55} Defendant Smith argued that O'Grady's testimony was not proper either as showing prior consistent statements or prior inconsistent statements, because the testimony was a means of improper bolstering. He characterized the State's theory and method of trial as contrived. Defendant Smith made an initial hearsay objection to Jimenes' testimony, as she began to describe statements to her by Spikes. He subsequently asked for a continuing objection and then, again asking for a continuing objection, indicated that he had the same objections to Jimenes' testimony that he had articulated in objecting to O'Grady's testimony. {56} Smith's objections more closely track the argument made on appeal, but they do not distinguish between inconsistent and consistent statements and thus did not indicate that balancing under Rule 11-403 was required of the trial court. We conclude the particular error argued on appeal was not preserved at trial. Rule 12-216 NMRA 1998. The objections made invoked a ruling on the general, preliminary questions of whether Spikes had made a consistent statement prior to trial that pre-dated a motive to lie and whether she had made statements prior to trial that were inconsistent with her trial testimony. We do not think the trial court erred in identifying statements Spikes made to O'Grady and Jimenes as inconsistent with her trial testimony. We conclude the more specific argument on appeal was not preserved at trial, and on that basis conclude Defendants have shown no error in the trial court's rulings.
{57} Defendant Smith argues that the district court did not have the authority to immunize Spikes from prosecution and to compel her to testify. Specifically, Smith argues that the statute authorizing immunity, NMSA 1978, § 31-6-15 (1978), applies only to grand jury proceedings and not to court proceedings. We agree that Section 31-6-15 is limited to grand jury proceedings. See State v. Summerall, 105 N.M. 82, 83, 728 P.2d 833, 834 (1986). However, Section 31-6-15 is not the sole source of authority for the district court's actions. Rule 5-116 NMRA 1998 [2] and Rule 11-412 NMRA 1998 [3] apply to court proceedings and, if valid, permit the district court to conditionally compel testimony. Smith argues that these rules merely implement Section 31-6-15 and, therefore, do not expand judicial authority to immunize testimony beyond the grand jury context. Smith relies on Apodaca v. Viramontes, 53 N.M. 514, 212 P.2d 425 (1949), for the proposition that the principle of separation of powers contained in Article III, Section 1 of the New Mexico Constitution requires statutory authority for grants of immunity. Smith argues that, to apply Rule 5-116 to court proceedings, we must overrule Apodaca and that, in doing so, we would overlook the role of the judiciary in our constitutional scheme of government. We disagree. We hold that the district court properly relied on valid rules of this Court in compelling Spikes' testimony.
{58} In order to explain our holding on this issue, it is necessary to distinguish between two separate forms of governmental immunity. Transactional immunity describes an agreement by the government not to prosecute an individual for particular crimes in exchange for testimony or information. See Piccirillo v. New York, 400 U.S. 548, 568-69, 91 S.Ct. 520, 27 L.Ed.2d 596 (1971) (Brennan, J., dissenting). By contrast, use or derivative use immunity describes an agreement not to utilize particular testimony, as well as evidence gathered as a result of the testimony, in a future prosecution of the witness. See State v. Vallejos, 118 N.M. 572, 576, 883 P.2d 1269, 1273 (1994). Thus, with respect to use immunity, there is no expectation on the witness's part that the State will refrain from prosecuting the witness for crimes related to the witness's testimony. {59} It is clearly within the province of the Legislature to establish procedures for granting transactional immunity to a prosecution witness. Apodaca, 53 N.M. at 518-25, 212 P.2d at 427-31; see State v. Thoreen, 91 N.M. 624, 627, 578 P.2d 325, 328 (Ct.App.1978) (calling into question, based on separation of powers and Apodaca, an earlier version of Rule 5-116 which provided for immunity from prosecution). But see Campos v. State, 91 N.M. 745, 747, 580 P.2d 966, 968 (1978) (implicitly approving the version of Rule 5-116 questioned in Thoreen ). Transactional immunity represents the Legislature's decision to suspend the application of its laws against particular classes of individuals, such as those assisting in the prosecution of others. See Brown v. Walker, 161 U.S. 591, 601-02, 16 S.Ct. 644, 40 L.Ed. 819 (1896). As a result, transactional immunity clearly falls within the Legislature's amnesty power. See Apodaca, 53 N.M. at 521, 212 P.2d at 429; see also Brown, 161 U.S. at 601, 16 S.Ct. 644. [4] Thus, this Court held in Apodaca that district attorneys and courts are without power to grant immunity from prosecution [a]bsent an enabling statute. 53 N.M. at 523, 212 P.2d at 430. {60} Nonetheless, we do not believe that Apodaca is controlling in this case. Unlike transactional immunity (the type of immunity at issue in Apodaca ), the use immunity granted to Spikes does not involve the application or suspension of legislative enactments. Rather, use immunity has a dual function: (1) compelling a reluctant witness to testify in furtherance of the application of the criminal law; and (2) protecting the witness's constitutional privilege against self-incrimination by precluding the use of particular evidence in future proceedings. We believe both of these functions, as applied in court proceedings, inhere in the judiciary. {61} The power of government to compel persons to testify in court or before grand juries and other governmental agencies is firmly established in Anglo-American jurisprudence. Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 443, 92 S.Ct. 1653, 32 L.Ed.2d 212 (1972). Flowing from the judicial function of determining the facts upon which the substantive rights of the litigant rest, Ammerman v. Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., 89 N.M. 307, 310, 551 P.2d 1354, 1357 (1976), courts have the inherent power to compel the attendance and non-privileged testimony of witnesses. See Rule 11-501 NMRA 1998 (providing that no person has a privilege to: . . . refuse to be a witness; or. . . refuse to disclose any matter except as provided by constitution or court rules). To enforce this power, courts inherently possess the ability to hold witnesses in contempt for failing to testify pursuant to court order. See State ex rel. Bliss v. Greenwood, 63 N.M. 156, 161-62, 315 P.2d 223, 227 (1957). Additionally, courts are charged with power over testimonial and evidentiary privileges as matters of evidence. See Ammerman, 89 N.M. at 309-12, 551 P.2d at 1356-59. Finally, the judiciary has the power to enforce and interpret constitutional provisions, including the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, and if necessary to effectuate those constitutional provisions, the judiciary is obligated to proscribe the use of particular types of evidence. See State v. Gutierrez, 116 N.M. 431, 444-47, 863 P.2d 1052, 1065-68 (1993) (stating that the people of New Mexico left to the courts the task of interpreting constitutional language, and clarifying that the exclusionary rule in New Mexico is a matter of constitutional interpretation). Therefore, to the extent that use immunity serves to compel testimony in a judicial proceeding and serves to establish an evidentiary safeguard to protect the right against self-incrimination, we conclude that it is within our power of superintending control over all inferior courts of New Mexico to enact rules governing this type of immunity. See NM Const. art. VI, § 3; cf. State v. Seward, 104 N.M. 548, 554, 724 P.2d 756, 762 (Ct.App. 1986) (It is not within the legislature's purview to establish or regulate constitutional or judicial procedural rights . . . .). {62} We recognize that numerous decisions of federal courts place the power over use immunity in the legislative and, by federal statute, the executive branches of government. See, e.g., United States v. Perkins, 138 F.3d 421, 424 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 118 S.Ct. 1853, 140 L.Ed.2d 1102 (1998); United States v. Lenz, 616 F.2d 960, 962 (6th Cir.1980) ([C]ourts have no inherent power to grant immunity. Nor has the Constitution been construed to authorize courts to compel testimony despite the witness' claim of self-incrimination privilege. Rather, use immunity is a statutory creation.) (citations omitted); United States v. Rocco, 587 F.2d 144, 147 & n. 10 (3d Cir. 1978) (citing cases and stating that it has been uniformly accepted that the grant or denial of immunity is within the sole discretion of the executive branch of government). However, all of these cases derive their authority, in part, from Earl v. United States, 361 F.2d 531, 534 (D.C.Cir.1966). {63} In Earl, then-Circuit Judge Burger, speaking for the court, stated: What Appellant asks this Court to do is command the Executive Branch of government to exercise the statutory power of the Executive to grant immunity in order to secure relevant testimony. This power is not inherent in the Executive and surely is not inherent in the judiciary. In the context of criminal justice it is one of the highest forms of discretion conferred by Congress on the Executive, i.e., a decision to give formal and binding absolution in a judicial proceeding to insure that an individual's testimony will be compelled without subjecting him to criminal prosecution for what he may say. The effect of the immunity grant avoids any incrimination. . . . We conclude that the judicial creation of a procedure comparable to that enacted by Congress for the benefit of the Government is beyond our power. Id. The Court in Earl, therefore, was concerned with transactional immunity rather than use immunity, and as we indicated above, we believe different considerations apply in the context of use immunity. But see United States v. Allstate Mortgage Corp., 507 F.2d 492, 494-95 (7th Cir.1974) (concluding that the principles articulated in Earl apply equally to use immunity). Additionally, decisions of the United States Supreme Court indicate that courts may compel testimony over the privilege against self-incrimination and, to protect the privilege, preclude the future use of that testimony for purposes of criminally prosecuting the witness. See Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 394, 88 S.Ct. 967, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968) (holding that a defendant's testimony in furtherance of a motion to suppress evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds is not admissible at trial to prove guilt); Murphy v. Waterfront Comm'n, 378 U.S. 52, 79, 84 S.Ct. 1594, 12 L.Ed.2d 678 (1964) (adopting an exclusionary rule whereby the federal government is precluded from using a state witness's testimony, or fruits of the testimony, compelled under a state immunity agreement). But see Pillsbury Co. v. Conboy, 459 U.S. 248, 261, 103 S.Ct. 608, 74 L.Ed.2d 430 (1983) (stating in dicta that [n]o court has authority to immunize a witness). These decisions indicate that the judiciary has the inherent power to grant use immunity as long as it does not infringe upon the legislative power of amnesty or the prosecutorial discretion of the executive. Finally, the federal cases concluding that the judiciary possesses no authority to grant immunity relied on the existence of a federal statute placing that authority in the executive branch. See Ellis v. United States, 416 F.2d 791, 796-97 (D.C.Cir.1969) (This is an area that has been considered by Congress and where it has acted with care and particularity, limiting the power to grant immunityin the presence of a valid claim of privilegeto a limited group of federal officials. We need not consider what would be the legal situation in the absence of such a statute. With that statute on the books, the power to grant immunity is plainly outside the judicial province.) (footnotes omitted). By contrast, we have no such statute in New Mexico. See State v. Cheadle, 101 N.M. 282, 286, 681 P.2d 708, 712 (1983) (Since there is no constitutional provision or statute in this State allowing application for the granting of immunity to defense witnesses, we must follow the rule of criminal procedure . . . .). {64} We conclude that Rule 5-116 and the district court's grant of immunity to Spikes do not interfere with the Legislature's amnesty power. We also conclude that, because the rule requires application of the prosecuting attorney, see Cheadle, 101 N.M. at 286-87, 681 P.2d at 712-13 (rejecting a claim for authority by a defendant to demand witness immunity), the grant of use immunity under Rule 5-116 does not interfere with the prosecutorial discretion of the executive. But cf. United States v. Mohney, 949 F.2d 1397, 1401 (6th Cir.1991) (Compelled judicial use immunity could ... impair the subsequent prosecution of the witness.); United States v. Turkish, 623 F.2d 769, 775-76 (2d Cir.1980) (discussing the potential negative impact of use immunity on the prosecution). See generally United States v. Alessio, 528 F.2d 1079, 1081 (9th Cir.1976) (It has long been recognized that the Executive Branch of government `has exclusive authority and absolute discretion to decide whether to prosecute a case . . . .') (quoting United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 693, 94 S.Ct. 3090, 41 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1974)).
{65} In Kastigar, the United States Supreme Court held that a federal use immunity statute [5] , which compelled testimony notwithstanding a witness's invocation of Fifth Amendment privilege, survived constitutional scrutiny due to sufficient safeguards against the use of the testimony, or its fruits, in any future prosecution. 406 U.S. at 459-62, 92 S.Ct. 1653; see Vallejos, 118 N.M. at 575-77, 883 P.2d at 1272-74. Smith might contend that Rule 5-116, unlike the statutory immunity at issue in Kastigar, does not protect Spikes' Fifth Amendment rights with sufficient certainty. However, we conclude that Smith lacks standing to argue such a claim. Compare United States v. Skolek, 474 F.2d 582, 584 (10th Cir.1973) (The privilege against self-incrimination is solely for the benefit of the witness and is purely a personal privilege of the witness, not for the protection of other parties.), and People v. Douglas, 50 Cal.3d 468, 268 Cal.Rptr. 126, 788 P.2d 640, 656 (1990) (en banc) ([D]efendant lacks standing to object to any perceived violation of [the witness's] privilege against self-incrimination. That right is personal, and may not be vicariously asserted by another.), with Ellis, 416 F.2d at 799 (concluding that, although [o]rdinarily a defendant does not have standing to complain of an erroneous ruling on the scope of the privilege of a witness, a defendant does have standing. . . to complain that [a] conviction was obtained in a case where the trial judge went outside [the] judicial province to grant immunity to a witness). {66} In any event, we see no discernible difference between a statutory provision and comparable, properly enacted, court rules; Rule 5-116 and Rule 11-412 leave the witness and the prosecutorial authorities in substantially the same position as if the witness had claimed the Fifth Amendment privilege and, therefore, are coextensive with the privilege, Kastigar, 406 U.S. at 462, 92 S.Ct. 1653. Certainly, in any subsequent prosecution of Spikes, the State, as with statutory immunity, will be subject to the same burdens imposed by Kastigar. See Vallejos, 118 N.M. at 577, 883 P.2d at 1274 (discussing the prosecutorial burdens established by the United States Supreme Court in order to protect against Fifth Amendment violations). We believe that Rule 5-116 and Rule 11-412 strike a constitutionally permissible balance between the State interest in prosecuting crime and the private interest against self-incrimination. The only substantive distinction between the immunity discussed in Kastigar and the immunity provided in Rule 5-116 and Rule 11-412 lies in the branch of government empowered to enact such a provision in the Federal government as compared to the State of New Mexico. Cf. Maples v. State, 110 N.M. 34, 39, 791 P.2d 788, 793 (1990) (Montgomery, J., dissenting) (discussing New Mexico's separation of powers doctrine in relation to matters of court procedure and noting a greater participation by Congress at the federal level as compared to the New Mexico Legislature at the state level). {67} We hold that the judicial branch is a proper arm of government under the New Mexico Constitution to establish and administer use immunity. We also hold that Rule 5-116 and Rule 11-412 satisfy the requirements of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Therefore, we reject Smith's contention that the district court lacked the authority to immunize Spikes' testimony and affirm the district court's reliance on Rule 5-116 in the context of a court proceeding.
{68} Smith claims that his case was damaged when the trial court refused to allow Smith to question Spikes about her opinion of the prosecution witnesses' character for truthfulness. While Smith was entitled to inquire into the reputation of witnesses for truthfulness, he had to lay a foundation for doing so. He did not do this, and therefore, his claim has no merit. {69} The credibility of a witness may be attacked or supported by evidence in the form of opinion or reputation, but subject to these limitations: (1) the evidence may refer only to character for truthfulness or untruthfulness . . . . Rule 11-608 NMRA 1998. A proper foundation must be laid. Construction Contracting & Management, Inc. v. McConnell, 112 N.M. 371, 376, 815 P.2d 1161, 1166 (1991). Both Spikes and Lucero testified that they did not know each other well. O'Grady, rather than Spikes, testified subsequently that they were good friends. We conclude that Smith failed to lay a proper foundation for Spikes' opinion of Lucero's and O'Grady's veracity. Spikes did testify that Jimenes had been a close friend. Spikes' other testimony, however, sufficiently indicated her opinion of Jimenes' veracity. Spikes clearly believed Jimenes' testimony that contradicted her own was untrue. We conclude that if the trial court erred in denying Spikes' opinion of Jimenes' veracity, the error was harmless.