Opinion ID: 2380238
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Testimony of Arguments and Complaints

Text: Arlene Ledger Albert, the daughter of the defendant and the victim, testified during the State's case in chief that she lived in her parents' Smithfield home in February 1980, when her father moved out, until May of that same year. The defendant returned to Smithfield daily, she stated, and he and the victim would argue on those occasions. When Ms. Albert was asked how often those arguments occurred, the defense counsel registered an objection to the nature of the inquiry rather than to the specific question itself, on the ground of remoteness and prejudice outweighing any probative value. The court overruled the objection. Even assuming, without deciding, that the defendant's objection was sufficient to save his claim for appeal, we find that the court did not abuse its discretion in admitting this testimony. Rulings on the effect of remoteness on the admissibility of evidence are reviewed for an abuse of discretion. State v. Lewisohn, Me., 379 A.2d 1192, 1201 (1977). Remoteness of evidence of threats or quarrels affects the weight rather than the competence of the evidence. State v. McEachern, Me., 431 A.2d 39, 43 (1981) (testimony of threat made eighteen months prior to homicide admissible); Lewisohn, 379 A.2d at 1201 (testimony of threats made within two months of homicide admissible); State v. Doyon, Me., 221 A.2d 827, 829 (1966) (testimony of threat made two months prior to assault admissible). The court below did not abuse its discretion in refusing to exclude evidence of the quarrels that occurred within three months of the homicide. Defense counsel did not articulate the basis for the claim that this evidence was more prejudicial than probative. See M.R. Evid. 403. This basis, however, appears to be identical to that underlying the remoteness claim, that because the quarrels were not proximate in time to the homicide, the testimony would confuse and mislead the jury. See McEachern, 431 A.2d at 43. This claim, however, is without merit, as we hold here that the quarrels were not sufficiently remote to foreclose the admission of testimony about them. Further, the probative value of this testimony is clear: [i]n criminal prosecutions antecedent menaces, quarrels and hostilities are admissible in proof of the malice or intention with which an act is done. Doyon, 221 A.2d at 829. Accord, Lewisohn, 379 A.2d at 1201. No abuse of discretion can be found as to this claim. Later, defense counsel objected on the ground of remoteness, prejudice, and hearsay to a question calling for Ms. Albert's recollection of a statement made in April 1980 by the defendant during a particular discussion with the victim. As an offer of proof, the State's attorney explained at a sidebar conference that he expected the witness to testify that the defendant asked his wife to abandon the divorce action; when she refused, the defendant became very upset and left. For reasons we have discussed, supra, such testimony is not inadmissible on the ground that it relates to matters too remote in time. Further, any prejudicial effect is outweighed by its probative value. See M.R.Evid. 403. These two challenges to this testimony are thus not meritorious. As to the hearsay claim, see M.R. Evid. 801(c), the State identified one of its purposes in introducing this testimony as to demonstrate the nature of the defendant's relationship with the victim. Testimony of the mid-April incident would be probative on this point without a belief in the truth of the particular statements made by the participants. Ms. Albert's testimony, in this light, was not offered for its truth and is therefore not objectionable as hearsay. See Maine Gas & Appliances, Inc. v. Seigel, Me., 438 A.2d 888, 891 (1981). The State also introduced testimony that the defendant told the victim that he wanted her to drop the divorce suit, in order to prove that very point. The truth of the out-of-court declaration is thereby implicated. The statement is not, however, a hearsay statement. See M.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(A). The statement offered in evidence was the defendant's own, made in his individual capacity. It need not have been against [the defendant's] interest when made. Field and Murray, Maine Evidence § 801.5 at 193 (1976). It could properly be admitted as substantive evidence of the facts stated. State v. Sockbeson, Me., 430 A.2d 1105 (1981). Finally, Somerset County Deputy Sheriff Hardwick testified about complaints and threats that the defendant made to him against the victim in April and May 1980. As with threats against and quarrels with the victim herself, these threats and complaints are probative of the defendant's scienter. See Lewisohn, 379 A.2d at 1201; Doyon, 221 A.2d at 829. The trial court committed no abuse of discretion by overruling the defendant's objection to this testimony on the ground that it created a danger that the jury would rely too heavily on it. The significance of these complaints and threats in proving motive and intent, and the defendant's opportunity to cross-examine the witness to expose any mitigating circumstances in which they were made, renders the court's ruling a proper one.