Opinion ID: 1747978
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: alleged improper use of billing records

Text: Appellant further contends the trial court erred in allowing the State to use allegedly confidential billing records, obtained from the state Office of Administration, concerning payments made by the state Public Defender's Office to defense expert Dr. Lewis for her work in this and other cases. Specifically, Appellant claims the court erred in: (1) allowing the prosecution to use this information to impeach Dr. Lewis in her videotaped deposition that was shown to the jury; (2) allowing the State to argue during closing argument that Dr. Lewis was biased because she had a financial interest in coming to a conclusion favorable to Appellant; and (3) quashing Appellant's post-trial subpoenas to the prosecutor and his investigator aimed at discovering exactly how the prosecution had obtained the billing records in question.
As a state agency, the Public Defender's Office submits various billing requests, including expert witness fees, to the state Office of Administration. At some point prior to trial, the prosecution obtained records from the Office of Administration concerning fees paid by the Public Defender's Office to Dr. Lewis for her work in this and other criminal cases. At the deposition of Dr. Lewis taken about one month before trial, the prosecutor used these records in cross-examining her. In her responses to this portion of cross-examination, Dr. Lewis indicated, inter alia, that she had billed the Public Defender approximately $38,000 up to that point in Appellant's case. She further indicated that, from early 1998 through March of 2000, the Public Defender's Office had paid her a total of approximately $142,000 for her work in this and other cases. A few days before trial, Appellant filed a Motion to Preclude Use of Confidential Public Billing Records, arguing that the prosecutor had illegally accessed the billing records in question, in that the records must be treated as confidential under a proper statutory construction of either sections 600.091 or 610.021(1). The trial court took the motion with the case. Before Dr. Lewis's deposition was played to the jury, Appellant again objected to the method by which the State obtained the billing records and any mention of them to the jury. The prosecutor argued that the records in question were public records. The trial court then admitted the video of Dr. Lewis's deposition and a transcript of it (Defendant's Exhibits E and D), though not the billing records themselves. Later, during the guilt-phase closing argument, the prosecutor arguedwithout objectionthat Dr. Lewis was biased and not credible because she had a vested interest of about $70,000 a year due to her monetary relationship with the Public Defender's Office. After trial, defense counsel subpoenaed the prosecutor and his investigator in an attempt to depose them as to how the billing records had been obtained. The prosecutor filed a motion to quash the subpoenas, which the trial court granted.
In resolving this question, it is not necessary to address the parties' myriad statutory arguments concerning whether and to what extent the billing records themselves, maintained by the Office of Administration, should be treated as confidential rather than public records. Rather, we note that it is beyond dispute that the substantive evidence concerning what Dr. Lewis was paid in this case and other cases involving the Public Defender's Office would be discoverable under normal methods, and that such information was clearly relevant and admissible to show bias. See State v. Love, 963 S.W.2d 236, 242-244 (Mo.App.1997) (defense expert impeached with her earnings in that case and other cases where she worked for Public Defender's Office); see also State ex rel. Lichtor v. Clark, 845 S.W.2d 55, 65-67 (Mo.App.1992). Indeed, the pecuniary interest, bias or prejudice of a witness may always be shown. State v. Long, 698 S.W.2d 898, 901 (Mo.App.1985). Moreover, in the present case the trial court specifically found that it would have ordered disclosure of the impeaching evidence if it had been requested to do so. On direct appeal, we review the trial court for prejudice, not mere error, and will reverse only if the error was so prejudicial that it deprived the defendant of a fair trial. State v. Morrow, 968 S.W.2d 100, 106 (Mo. banc 1998). Appellant cannot plausibly claim that he was significantly prejudiced by the prosecutor's use of information that was both properly discoverable and clearly admissible.
Appellant also claims the trial court erred in allowing the prosecutor to argue pecuniary bias on the part of Dr. Lewis during closing argument. Since no objection was made at trial, this claim has not been preserved for review. We have reviewed for plain error, and find none.
Appellant further contends the trial court erred by quashing his post-trial subpoenas of the prosecutor and prosecutor's investigator, refusing to allow them to be deposed on the matter of how the State obtained the billing records from the Office of Administration. There is no merit in this claim. The right to take depositions is subject to the power of the trial court to issue protective orders to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense, including an order that discovery not be had. State ex rel. Chaney v. Franklin, 941 S.W.2d 790, 792-793 (Mo.App.1997). Any attempt to depose an opposing counsel calls for special scrutiny because such depositions inherently constitute an invitation to harass the attorney and parties.... Id. at 793. Here, the question of exactly how the State obtained the records from the Office of Administration is of no particular significance; and Appellant has failed to show that the requested post-trial depositions of the prosecutor and his investigator could have revealed any new information that was necessary for his case, or could have changed the outcome of the case. Nor does Appellant attempt to explain why he waited until after trial to seek to depose the prosecutor and his investigator on this matter, even though he knew about the issue well before trial occurred. The trial court did not err by quashing Appellant's subpoenas and refusing to allow him to conduct the requested post-trial depositions.