Opinion ID: 2176137
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: jury instruction on impeachment of witness through prior criminal convictions

Text: Henry asked the trial court to instruct the jury on impeachment of credibility through prior convictions. The requested instruction was 3:22 of the Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions, which reads, You have heard evidence that (insert name of witness) has been convicted of a crime. You may consider this evidence in deciding whether the witness is telling the truth, but for no other purpose. The court refused to give this instruction. Henry maintains that the evidence supported such an instruction with regard to prosecution witnesses Colleen Grady and Robert Williams, and that the denial of his request constituted prejudicial error. We find the defense did not establish that the witnesses had been convicted of crimes admissible for the purpose of impeachment and consequently, the trial judge did not err. Under Maryland Code (1974, 1989 Repl.Vol.), Courts & Judicial Proceedings Article, § 10-905(a),  In general.  Evidence is admissible to prove the interest of a witness in any proceeding, or the fact of his conviction of an infamous crime. Evidence of conviction is not admissible if an appeal is pending, or the time for an appeal has not expired, or the conviction has been reversed, and there has been no retrial or reconviction. In Prout v. State, 311 Md. 348, 535 A.2d 445 (1988), we fully discussed the circumstances of impeachment of witnesses by prior convictions, wherein we stated that infamous crimes (common law felonies and crimen falsi ) are admissible per se under § 10-905. Id. at 360, 535 A.2d at 451. As we have often repeated, [i]t is not required that the evidence (of violations to impeach a witness) be restricted to infamous crimes or those involving moral turpitude on the one hand, but, on the other, the purpose of the admission, to impeach credibility, must impose some limits; the convictions should be of infringements of the law that may have some tendency to impeach credibility, and not all infringements do. Prout, 311 Md. at 361, 535 A.2d at 451, and cases cited therein (quoting Nelson v. Seiler, 154 Md. 63, 69, 139 A. 564, 566 (1927)). We refined this rule by declaring that to be admissible for impeachment purposes a conviction must be either a felony at common law or a crimen falsi and thus infamous, or a lesser crime bearing upon the witness's credibility. Stated another way, crimes, other than those that are infamous, whether misdemeanors or statutory felonies, fall into the class of lesser crimes and may or may not reflect on one's tendency to be truthful. Prout, 311 Md. at 363, 535 A.2d at 452. According to Maryland Rule 4-325(c), the court when requested shall[] instruct the jury as to the applicable law and the extent to which the instructions are binding. Error results if such an instruction is not given. Mack v. State, 300 Md. 583, 592, 479 A.2d 1344, 1348 (1984); Landsdowne v. State, 287 Md. 232, 412 A.2d 88 (1980). For the requested instruction to be warranted, Henry would have had to establish that the witnesses had a qualifying conviction. This was not done. During cross-examination, Colleen Grady stated that she had pleaded guilty to cocaine distribution and to possession of a handgun. The State told the court at bench conference, and the defense did not dispute, that Grady had not yet been sentenced on the aforementioned charges. Thus, even assuming that one or both of these crimes could be impeachable offenses, the charges to which Ms. Grady pleaded guilty were not admissible convictions for the purpose of impeachment, as the time for appeal had not yet expired. See Md.Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings Art., § 10-905(a). Henry argues that Robert Williams testified he had been part of Chief's drug distribution organization, and was incarcerated at the time of trial. Yet, Henry did not establish through evidence that Robert Williams was convicted of a qualified crime. No evidence was adduced at trial that Williams had been convicted of an infamous crime or a crime relevant to the question of credibility. An instruction on impeachment of the witness through prior convictions, therefore, was not warranted. It is apparent from the record that the testimony about Grady's and Williams' criminal charges was elicited because it was relevant to the issue of whether they were testifying for the State in order to receive some benefit with regard to those criminal charges. The court did grant Henry's request for an instruction that the jury should consider with caution the testimony of any State's witness who had been promised any kind of leniency in exchange for their testimony. The court's instructions on impeachment were sufficient.