Opinion ID: 1679195
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: improper rebuttal

Text: In his third assignment of error, Fahlk asserts that the Court of Appeals erroneously held that Fahlk's objection to the State's rebuttal evidence was inadequate to preserve the error for appellate review. Although the Court of Appeals agreed that the testimony was improper rebuttal, it reached that conclusion on the basis of different grounds than those urged by Fahlk at trial and in his brief to the Court of Appeals. This assignment of error arose out of the testimony of Rathe, who was called by the State as a rebuttal witness at the end of trial. Rathe, a key witness against Fahlk, testified that Fahlk called her three times on October 6, 1992, a week before trial. Rathe's home was equipped with a caller identification device. The State produced three photographs of the device which indicated that calls had been placed from Fahlk's home telephone number to Rathe. Rathe's rebuttal testimony contradicts Fahlk's testimony during his cross-examination. On cross, the State asked Fahlk if he had placed any phone calls to Rathe on October 6, 1992. Fahlk responded that he did not remember making any calls, and in response to two subsequent questions simply responded, No, that he had not placed any calls to Rathe. At trial, Fahlk objected to Rathe's rebuttal testimony on grounds of relevancy and improper rebuttal. Fahlk's request for a continuing objection was granted. After Rathe was excused, a conference was held outside the presence of the jury. The court refused Fahlk's request to present surrebuttal witnesses whose testimony would attempt to establish that Fahlk was not at home at the time the phone calls were made. At the end of that discussion, Fahlk moved for a mistrial based on the Court's rulings on admitting the rebuttal evidence, refusing to strike that evidence on the motion, and/or refusing to allow surrebuttal. The motion was denied. In his brief to the Court of Appeals, Fahlk argued that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the State's rebuttal evidence. In support of his argument, Fahlk asserted that [r]ebuttal evidence is confined to that which explains, disproves, or counteracts evidence introduced by the adverse party. Wright v. Forney, 233 Neb. 258, 260, 444 N.W.2d 895, 896 (1989) (citing Cromer v. Farmland Service Coop, Inc., 198 Neb. 355, 252 N.W.2d 635 (1977)). Fahlk contends that he did not introduce any evidence regarding the alleged calls to Rathe. The only testimony regarding the calls was elicited by the State during cross-examination. Fahlk argued to the Court of Appeals that Rathe's testimony was improper rebuttal because it was not offered to explain, disprove, or counteract any evidence that had been offered by the defense. Fahlk further asserted that Rathe's rebuttal testimony was improper because it gave the State the opportunity to present evidence that should have been presented in its case in chief. The Court of Appeals agreed with Fahlk that Rathe's testimony was improper rebuttal, but rested its decision on a different rule of law than that argued by Fahlk. See State v. Fahlk, 2 Neb.App. 421, 510 N.W.2d 97 (1993). The Court of Appeals stated that it was clear that Rathe's testimony was offered solely to attack Fahlk's credibility by showing that Fahlk's earlier denial of making calls to Rathe's phone number on the afternoon of October 6, 1992, was untrue. 2 Neb.App. at 433, 510 N.W.2d at 104. The Court of Appeals noted that extrinsic evidence of specific instances of the conduct of a witness, other than conviction of crimes in some situations, may not be used for the purpose of attacking a witness' credibility. See Neb.Evid.R. 608(2), Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-608(2) (Reissue 1989). Therefore, Rathe's testimony violated Neb.Evid.R. 608(2). Further, the Court of Appeals noted that Fahlk had objected to Rathe's testimony on the grounds of relevancy and improper rebuttal. Neb.Evid.R. 103(1)(a) requires that an appellant claiming reversible error as the result of admission of evidence must have made a timely objection stating the specific objection, if a specific objection was not apparent from the context. According to the Court of Appeals, Fahlk's objections on grounds of relevancy and improper rebuttal were not sufficient to raise an objection on grounds of a violation of Neb.Evid.R. 608(2). The court stated that Fahlk had failed to state a specific objection by reference to a particular rule or by language contained in an evidential rule, as required by the rules of evidence and case law. Fahlk, 2 Neb.App. at 434, 510 N.W.2d at 105. Although we agree with the Court of Appeals that the State's rebuttal testimony was objectionable under Neb.Evid.R. 608(2), Fahlk did not make an objection on those grounds or raise that argument to the Court of Appeals. We have previously admonished counsel regarding the function of proper objections. In State v. Coleman, 239 Neb. 800, 812, 478 N.W.2d 349, 357 (1992), we stated that a true objection does not wander among the Nebraska Evidence Rules in the hope of eventually ending its odyssey at the doorstep of a particular rule of evidence. In seeking to exclude evidence, counsel must adhere to a basic and straightforward approach: Tell the court the reason why the evidence is inadmissible! Fahlk told the district court that he objected to Rathe's testimony on the grounds of improper rebuttal and relevancy. Fahlk's objections were timely and were followed by a motion to strike and a motion for mistrial. These motions were sufficient to preserve for appellate review his objections on the bases of relevancy and improper rebuttal. An objection, based on a specific ground and properly overruled, does not preserve a question for appellate review on any other ground. State v. Schrein, 244 Neb. 136, 147, 504 N.W.2d 827, 834 (1993) (citing Havlicek v. State, 101 Neb. 782, 165 N.W. 251 (1917)). In Schrein, the defendant objected on the basis of relevancy and was overruled. Therefore, on appeal, the defendant could not urge upon the court the issue of unfair prejudice. In Fahlk, the Court of Appeals committed a similar error in reverse. Fahlk argued improper rebuttal and relevancy, but the Court of Appeals looked only at Neb.Evid.R. 608(2). In examining the record before us, we determine that the admission of Rathe's testimony was an abuse of discretion for the reason that it was improper rebuttal. Ordinarily, a trial proceeds in the following order: [T]he state must first produce its evidence; the defendant will then produce his evidence; ... the state will then be confined to rebutting evidence, unless the court for good reason in furtherance of justice, shall permit it to offer evidence in chief. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 29-2016 (Reissue 1989). However, a trial court may in its discretion permit the introduction of evidence in rebuttal that is not strictly rebuttal evidence only for good reason and in the furtherance of justice. State v. Pratt, 197 Neb. 382, 249 N.W.2d 495 (1977) (quoting State v. Keith, 189 Neb. 536, 203 N.W.2d 500 (1973)). This court has defined proper rebuttal testimony in a criminal prosecution as ``any testimony, otherwise competent, which tends to dispute the testimony offered on behalf of the accused as to a material fact....'' State v. Esluer, 215 Neb. 616, 621, 340 N.W.2d 152, 155 (1983) (citing State v. Miller, 213 Neb. 274, 328 N.W.2d 769 (1983)). Rebuttal evidence is confined to new matters first introduced by the opposing party and not as an opportunity to bolster, corroborate, reiterate, or repeat the plaintiff's case in chief. Stern v. On Time Freight Sys., 1 NCA 1899, 1906, 493 N.W.2d 348, 353 (1992). In Esluer, the defendant, charged with theft, had during cross-examination denied possession of a specific rare coin. Rebuttal testimony was offered establishing the fact that the coin had been in the possession of the defendant. The defendant argued that such evidence should have been offered in the State's case in chief. However, the rebuttal evidence pertained to a fact material to the theft charge and was offered to dispute defendant's testimony regarding that material fact. In Esluer, the rebuttal testimony was proper. Rathe's testimony regarding the alleged phone calls on October 6, 1992, was not pertinent to any material fact in issue. There was no previous evidence that calls were made or not made and no evidence that Fahlk was even home when the calls were purportedly made to the witness from Fahlk's home. Therefore, the admission of Rathe's rebuttal testimony was an abuse of discretion. Erroneous admission of evidence is harmless error and does not require reversal if the evidence is cumulative and other relevant evidence, properly admitted, supports the finding by the trier of fact. State v. Coleman, 239 Neb. 800, 478 N.W.2d 349 (1992). Here, the trial court erroneously admitted noncumulative evidence. Erroneous admission of evidence in a criminal trial is not prejudicial if it can be said that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See State v. Hartmann, 239 Neb. 300, 476 N.W.2d 209 (1991). See, also, State v. Trackwell, 244 Neb. 925, 509 N.W.2d 638 (1994). The sole purpose of Rathe's testimony was to attack the credibility of Fahlk. We cannot determine what damaging effect the testimony may have had upon the jury. Accordingly, because of the damage that Rathe's rebuttal testimony may have caused, its admission was prejudicial error. Fahlk is entitled to a new trial on this basis.