Opinion ID: 2487095
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Determination of the reliability of a child witness's testimony.

Text: Brown also urges this Court to require that a trial court, when determining a child witness's understanding of the duty to testify truthfully, also determine the reliability of the child witness's testimony. Rule 601, Ala. R. Evid., provides that [e]very person is competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided in these rules. The Advisory Committee's notes to that rule explain: The starting point for applying Rule 601 is that all witnesses are competent except as otherwise provided under other Alabama Rules of Evidence. . . . [Rule 601] acknowledges the prevailing sentiment that very few persons are incapable of giving testimony useful to the trier of fact and that the historic grounds of incompetencymental incapacity, conviction, etc.should go to the credibility of the witness and the weight the trier of fact gives to the witness's testimony. See H. Weihofen, Testimonial Competence and Credibility, 34 Geo. Wash. L.Rev. 53 (1965); E. Cleary, McCormick on Evidence § 71 (3d ed.1984) (referring to rules of incompetency as `serious obstructions to the ascertainment of truth'); C. Mueller & L. Kirkpatrick, 3 Federal Evidence § 232 (2d ed.1994); Comment, The Mentally Deficient Witness: The Death of Incompetency, 14 Law & Psychol. Rev. 106 (1990). . . . . While Rule 601 imposes no requirement of testimonial competency, it provides that incompetency may arise `as otherwise provided in these rules.' Both academic writings and judicial opinions suggest that this provision vests in the trial court the discretion to preclude a witness from testifying in extraordinary circumstances when the witness possesses some significant testimonial deficiency. That discretion is said to arise when the witness's deficiency renders the testimony inadmissible because of its being irrelevant (Rule 401) or too prejudicial (Rule 403), or when the witness is without personal knowledge (Rule 602) or is unable to understand the obligation to tell the truth (Rule 603). See, e.g., United States v. Ramirez, 871 F.2d 582 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 841 (1989); United States v. Odom, 736 F.2d 104 (4th Cir.1984); United States v. Lightly, 677 F.2d 1027 (4th Cir.1982); State v. Fulton, 742 P.2d 1208 (Utah 1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1044 (1988). See also J. Weinstein & M. Berger, Weinstein's Evidence ¶ 601[04], at 601-27 (1990). It should be noted, however, that the suggestion of these authorities exceeds their reality in terms of witnesses actually excluded by the courts. Indeed, as one author has observed, an analysis of the decided cases reveals that the application of Rule 601 is `closer to an irrebuttable presumption of competency for every witness.' Comment, The Mentally Deficient Witness: The Death of Incompetency, 14 Law & Psychol. Rev. 106, 114 (1990). The beginning premise remains: all witnesses are competent and any testimonial deficiency goes to weight rather than admissibility. See F. Weissenberger, Weissenberger's Federal Evidence § 601.2, at 181 (1987); 3 D. Louisell & C. Mueller, Federal Evidence § 252 (1979). Compare United States v. Van Meerbeke, 548 F.2d 415 (2d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 974 (1977). This competency is to be accorded children in all cases of abuse, whether sexual or otherwise. (Emphasis added.) The effect of the adoption of Rule 601, Ala. R. Evid., has been explained as follows: Under pre-rules Alabama law, a witness was competent to testify if the witness understood the significance of the oath and was able to observe, recollect, and narrate what had occurred or what the witness had sensed. If competency was questioned, the burden of proving that the proffered witness was competent was on the proponent. However, under Rule 601 every witness is deemed competent unless otherwise provided by the rules, which shifts the burden to the opponent who must prove a witness to be incompetent. This shift occurs even if Rule 601 is read as a declaration of competency per se, because even under this broad interpretation the rule is limited by other applicable rules. Pre-rules Alabama law allowed finding a witness incompetent due to drunkenness, infancy, insanity, or a conviction for perjury. Although these same witnesses are now presumed competent under Rule 601, some may not be permitted to testify because of several other factors, such as those previously discussed relating to Rules 401 through 403 and 601 through 605. A person who is an infant or mentally impaired may still be disqualified to testify as a witness under the rules. The principal difference is that the burden of proof has been shifted. The rules provide that a witness is competent and will be allowed to testify, unless the opponent can establish a basis for disqualification under one of the rules of evidence. On the other hand, common law required the proponent to prove the witness's competency. In either event, the issue of competency is decided by the trial judge. Joseph A. Colquitt & Charles W. Gamble, From Incompetency to Weight and Credibility: The Next Step in an Historic Trend, 47 Ala. L.Rev. 145, 172-73 (Fall 1995) (footnotes omitted). Thus, the adoption of Rule 601, Ala. R. Evid., created in essence a presumption of competency for every witness, and it is the burden of the opponent to challenge the admissibility of the witness's testimony on grounds other than Rule 601, Ala. R. Evid. See, e.g., Rule 602, Ala. R. Evid., and Rule 403, Ala. R. Evid. Brown recognizes that under Rule 601, Ala. R. Evid., all witnesses, including children, are competent to testify. He further recognizes the trial court's duty to determine a child witness's ability to tell the truth. See Rule 603, Ala. R. Evid. Brown maintains, however, that, in addition to determining whether a child witness understands his or her responsibility to tell the truth when testifying, the trial court should also determine the reliability of the child witness's testimony. Brown reasons that, because of a child's age, the child witness may be unable to truly register the occurrence he or she observed or the child's memory may have eroded over time, may be distorted or a false creation, or may have been influenced by the suggestion of adults. According to Brown, because the child witness believes his or her testimony to be true, despite its being the result of imagination, distortion, or suggestion, the admission of the child witness's testimony without an examination to determine its reliability presents a substantial risk that the testimony will unfairly prejudice the defendant and will mislead the jury. We decline Brown's invitation to require a trial court to conduct an examination to determine the reliability of a child witness's testimony. The concerns raised by Brown regarding a child witness's testimony are adequately addressed by our Rules of Evidence. Rule 602, Ala. R. Evid., provides that a witness's testimony may be excluded if the witness lacks personal knowledge of the matter. Rule 403, Ala. R. Evid., provides that testimony may be held inadmissible if the probative value of the testimony is substantially outweighed by the danger of undue prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. If a party has concerns about the reliability of a child witness's testimony, then the party must present his or her concerns in an objection for the trial court based on the Rules of Evidence. Indeed, a trial court's analysis, conducted after a properly presented Rule 403, Ala. R. Evid., objection, adequately balances concerns regarding the probative value of the child witness's testimony against unfair prejudice resulting from the frailty of a child's memories, the tendency of a child to form false memories that he or she believes to be true, and a child's susceptibility to suggestion that may taint the child's memory. [1] Hence, Brown's concerns about the admissibility of a child witness's testimony based on the reliability of the testimony are adequately addressed by our present rules and procedures. See also Utah v. Fulton, 742 P.2d 1208, 1218 (Utah 1987) (addressing the effect of Rule 601, Utah R. Evid., which is identical to Rule 601, Ala. R. Evid., on the admissibility of a child's testimony and concluding that Rule 403[, Utah R. Evid.,] adequately protects a defendant's right to a fair trial and gives him or her an opportunity to raise concerns [with regard to the reliability of a child's testimony] that prior to our adoption of Rule 601, might have been addressed in a competency hearing). In this case, Brown contends that plain error occurred in the admission of T.S.'s testimony because, he says, she lacked personal knowledge of Cherea's death, see Rule 602, Ala. R. Evid., and because the probative value of her testimony was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and of misleading the jury. See Rule 403, Ala. R. Evid. The record establishes that, at the time of Brown's trial, T.S., who was Cherea and Brown's daughter, was 11 years old. She testified that she was 4 years old the last time she saw Cherea. She explained that she and her brothers were sleeping in their bedroom when she was awakened by Brown and Cherea, who were fussing. According to T.S., she looked out her bedroom door and saw Cherea laying on her back in the hallway and there was blood on her chest. Brown was standing beside Cherea's body. Rule 602, Ala. R. Evid., provides: A witness may not testify to a matter unless evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the matter. Evidence to prove personal knowledge may, but need not, consist of the witness's own testimony. A review of T.S.'s testimony establishes that T.S. had personal knowledge of the matter as to which she testified. T.S. testified about her recollection of the house she and Cherea were living in and the last time she saw Cherea. Therefore, Brown's contention that plain error occurred in the admission of T.S.'s testimony based on her lack of personal knowledge is not supported by the record. Brown also contends that the trial court erred in admitting T.S.'s testimony because, he says, the probative value of her testimony was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and of misleading the jury. Brown argues that T.S.'s memory of the event was distorted by time because the event about which she testified occurred seven years before the trial when she was four years old and that her memory of the event had been corrupted by suggestion because she had discussed her testimony with the prosecutor and had been living with a lead witness for the State. In support of his argument, Brown points out that T.S. was unable to remember other events from the relevant time period and that T.S.'s recollection of seeing Cherea lying on the floor in the hallway conflicted with the forensic evidence. Brown reasons that these factors indicate that T.S.'s testimony was unreliable, and he argues that T.S.'s testimony, therefore, should have been excluded because, he says, it was unduly prejudicial and misled the jury. Rule 403, Ala. R. Evid., provides that, [a]lthough relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. . . . The record does not support a conclusion that T.S.'s testimony should have been excluded pursuant to Rule 403, Ala. R. Evid. T.S.'s testimony consisted of her recollection of the last time she saw Cherea; she testified about her recollection of simple facts, providing circumstantial evidence of Brown's guilt. T.S. testified that her last memory of Cherea was Cherea lying on the hall floor with blood on her chest and Brown standing over her body; she did not testify that she saw Brown stabbing Cherea. T.S.'s testimony did not involve an exercise of contemporaneous judgment beyond the comprehension of a child, did not indicate that she was precocious, and did not provide details beyond the simple observations of a child. Indeed, nothing in the record indicates that T.S.'s memory of the event was tainted or was the product of suggestive or biased interviews. Therefore, we conclude that the probative value of T.S.'s testimony was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice or of misleading the jury. Consequently, the trial court did not commit plain error in admitting T.S.'s testimony. T.S.'s testimony was properly presented to the jury for the jury to determine its weight and credibility. As the Court of Criminal Appeals held, [T.S.'s] age at the time of the murders, the length of time between the murders and the trial, and the reliability of T.S.'s memory were considerations that went to the weight of her testimony rather than its admissibility. Brown, 74 So.3d at 1006.