Opinion ID: 2590797
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: alleged evidentiary errors at trial

Text: ¶ 42 Pinder claims that the trial court made several erroneous evidentiary rulings at trial and that a new trial is warranted as a result. Specifically, Pinder claims that the trial court committed error by (1) allowing Barbara DeHart to be called as a witness and admitting the testimony of those individuals called to impeach her; and (2) allowing the State to offer, as a prior consistent statement of Brunyer, a letter composed by his daughter, as well as testimony relating to the letter's creation. We conclude that Pinder waived these evidentiary arguments because he did not properly preserve his objections below and has failed to argue plain error or demonstrate exceptional circumstances justifying appellate review. We address each argument in turn.
¶ 43 On the witness stand, Barbara DeHart denied having told her daughter, Melissa Cowles (Melissa), that Pinder had confessed to murdering Flood and Tanner. DeHart similarly denied making statements to Melissa and other family members implicating Pinder in the murders and implicating herself in the efforts to destroy evidence of the crime. Her denials allowed the State to impeach her testimony by calling Melissa, Melissa's husband Damion Cowles (Damion), and Bernie Knapp to counter DeHart's recantation of the pivotal conversations. ¶ 44 Pinder argues that the State should have been foreclosed from calling DeHart to testify because, according to Pinder, the State's only purpose in calling her was to allow the State to later impeach her testimony through the use of prior inconsistent statements. He contends that the State should be foreclosed from making an otherwise unavailable witness available through a grant of immunity when the sole purpose for obtaining the witness's testimony is to later impeach it. [6] This argument was raised for the first time in Pinder's motion for a new trial, and the merits of the claim were not addressed by the trial court. ¶ 45 Generally speaking, a timely and specific objection must be made in order to preserve an issue for appeal. Utah R. Evid. 103(a); State v. Whittle, 780 P.2d 819, 820-21 (Utah 1989). Under ordinary circumstances, we will not consider an issue brought for the first time on appeal unless the trial court committed plain error or exceptional circumstances exist. State v. Nelson-Waggoner, 2004 UT 29, ¶ 16, 94 P.3d 186. When a party seeks review of an unpreserved objection, we require that the party articulate an appropriate justification for appellate review. See State v. Pledger, 896 P.2d 1226, 1229 n. 5 (Utah 1995) (Because Pledger does not argue that exceptional circumstances or plain error justifies a review of the issue, we decline to consider it on appeal. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). We have also required the party seeking appellate review in such a situation to articulate the justification for review in the party's opening brief. See Coleman v. Stevens, 2000 UT 98, ¶ 9, 17 P.3d 1122 ([B]ecause Mr. Coleman did not properly raise these three issues in the trial court and thereby preserve them for appellate review, and because he argued plain error or manifest injustice for the first time in his reply brief, we decline to review them.). ¶ 46 Although Pinder argued in his motion for a new trial that the State should have been foreclosed from calling DeHart for the sole purpose of impeaching her, that fact alone does not preserve his argument for appellate review. As we explained in State v. Johnson, 821 P.2d 1150, 1161 (Utah 1991), the purpose of the preservation rule is to ensure that the trial court is first given an opportunity to decide if a mistake has been made before appellate review becomes appropriate. Although a new argument may be advanced when moving for a new trial, the trial court may refuse to consider the merits of the argument ... because it may find the issue waived. Id. If the trial court refuses to address the merits of the newly advanced argument, the issue remains unpreserved for appellate review and may be addressed only if the challenging party can show plain error or exceptional circumstances. See id. ¶ 47 In this case, the trial court declined to address the merits of Pinder's claim that the State should have been foreclosed from calling DeHart for the sole purpose of impeaching her testimony. As a result, Pinder was obligated to argue on appeal that allowing DeHart to take the stand constituted plain error on the part of the trial judge or that exceptional circumstances make appellate review appropriate. Pinder has failed to do so. Therefore, his claim that the State called DeHart for an improper purpose is not preserved, and we decline to address it. ¶ 48 Pinder also contends that the admission of DeHart's testimony, and the testimony of those witnesses called to impeach her, was more prejudicial than probative and therefore violated rule 403 of the Utah Rules of Evidence. For the reasons outlined below, we conclude that Pinder has failed to preserve these arguments, and we therefore decline to address them. ¶ 49 Rule 24(a)(5) of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure requires appellants to provide either citation to the record showing that the issue was preserved in the trial court or a statement of grounds for seeking review of an issue not preserved in the trial court. Utah R.App. P. 24(a)(5)(A)-(B). In an attempt to satisfy this requirement, Pinder provides a blanket statement that all issues raised on appeal in relation to the admissibility of the testimony of DeHart, and the testimony of those witnesses called to impeach her, were preserved in the trial court. In support of this contention, he cites the State's motion in limine seeking the admission of Melissa's testimony and his own response to that motion. [7] The portions of the record upon which Pinder relies, however, do not show that any rule 403 objections to the testimony of either DeHart or the impeaching witnesses were properly preserved. ¶ 50 First, Pinder has not identified any point in the record where he made an adequately specific rule 403 objection to the admission of DeHart's testimony, and our review of the record has not uncovered such an objection. Therefore, we conclude that any rule 403 objection to DeHart's testimony was not preserved for appellate review. Because Pinder has failed to argue plain error or show exceptional circumstances on appeal, we decline to address his contention that DeHart's testimony violated rule 403. See supra ¶ 45; Coleman, 2000 UT 98 at ¶ 9, 17 P.3d 1122. ¶ 51 Second, Pinder has failed to establish that he made a specific rule 403 objection to Melissa's testimony. During trial, Pinder opposed the admission of Melissa's testimony exclusively on hearsay grounds. Although Pinder's arguments at trial question the reliability of Melissa's testimony, they do so in the context of the hearsay doctrine and do not constitute a specific rule 403 objection. Because Pinder has failed to argue in his opening brief that the alleged rule 403 violation caused by Melissa's testimony constituted plain error or that exceptional circumstances justify appellate review, we decline to address the argument on appeal. See supra ¶ 45; Coleman, 2000 UT 98 at ¶ 9, 17 P.3d 1122. ¶ 52 Third, and finally, Pinder has been unable to show that his rule 403 objections to the testimony of Damion and Knapp were preserved for appellate review. A review of the record shows that Pinder's objections to the testimony of Damion and Knapp were limited in scope to cover only any attempt by those witnesses to testify concerning Pinder's confession to DeHart. Pinder's counsel argued that what is cumulative and what is prejudicial here is having [them] relate, again for the jury, the fact that she told me John had killed two people. That's the essence of our argument from the get-go. And I agree with you as it relates to novel material or evidence [relating to whether evidence was destroyed while DeHart and Pinder traveled between Duchesne and Idaho]; the [S]tate is entitled to introduce that testimony. The trial court agreed with Pinder's counsel and prohibited Damion and Knapp from testifying about Pinder's confession to DeHart. ¶ 53 In Pinder's motion for a new trial, his original objection to the testimony of Damion and Knapp was revived and expanded nearly beyond recognition. In stark contrast to his earlier position, Pinder argued that rule 403 barred all the testimony supplied by Damion and Knapp. The trial court, correctly recognizing that Pinder was attempting to advance a much more sweeping objection than that lodged at trial, declined to address the claim, stating that the issue had been waived. Because the trial court decided not to address the merits of Pinder's new theory, Pinder's argument that rule 403 barred all testimony from Damion and Knapp remained unpreserved. In his opening brief, Pinder failed to argue that the admission of the testimony of Damion and Knapp constituted plain error or that exceptional circumstances justify appellate review of the trial court's ruling on the matter. Due to this failure, we decline to address the issue. See supra ¶ 45; Coleman, 2000 UT 98 at ¶ 9, 17 P.3d 1122. ¶ 54 Having determined that Pinder's arguments with respect to DeHart's testimony were waived, we next turn to Pinder's allegation of error regarding the admission of testimony from Brunyer's daughter as well as the letter she prepared.
¶ 55 At trial, the State sought to introduce the testimony of Brunyer's daughter, along with a letter she had written before Brunyer began cooperating with the police. In that letter, she detailed how Brunyer became involved in the cleanup of evidence and what he witnessed during that process. [8] ¶ 56 The State sought to admit this evidence after the defense suggested during Brunyer's cross-examination that he had received favorable treatment from the State in exchange for his cooperation in Pinder's prosecution. The State argued that the defense's line of questioning made the testimony of Brunyer's daughter, and the letter she had composed, admissible as prior consistent statements because the evidence tended to establish that Brunyer's trial testimony was consistent with statements he made prior to the time he went to the police  i.e., statements given at a point before which Brunyer believed he could obtain leniency in exchange for his cooperation with the prosecution. [9] According to the State, allowing evidence of Brunyer's prior consistent statements would rehabilitate him in the eyes of the jury. The trial court found the State's argument persuasive and admitted the evidence. ¶ 57 On appeal, Pinder advances a new, overarching theory, one not presented during trial, that Brunyer and Ruiz committed the murders of Flood and Tanner. Under this new theory, Pinder argues that Brunyer's motivation to lie arose simultaneously with his participation in the murders. As a result, Pinder contends the letter prepared by Brunyer's daughter, as well as her testimony concerning the contents and creation of that letter, does not provide evidence of consistent statements that predate the time when Brunyer had a motive to lie. Accordingly, Pinder argues that the trial court erred by admitting the evidence. ¶ 58 Pinder's current argument was not presented during trial, and the trial court considered the argument waived when ruling on Pinder's motion for a new trial. [10] As a result, we conclude that the argument Pinder now advances was not properly preserved. Because Pinder has failed to argue that the admission of the evidence constituted plain error or that appellate review is otherwise justified by exceptional circumstances, we decline to consider the merits of his argument. See supra ¶ 45; Coleman, 2000 UT 98 at ¶ 9, 17 P.3d 1122. ¶ 59 Having concluded that Pinder's evidentiary arguments were waived, we now address his final allegation of error in relation to the underlying trial before addressing his newly discovered evidence claim.