Court Opinion

ID: 9706327
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:40:40.910025+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:21.620937
License: Public Domain

CADY, Justice
(dissenting).
I agree the custodial statements made by Walls were improperly admitted into evidence at trial, but I would conclude the error was harmless.
We recognize the harmless-error doctrine and follow a two-step analysis in the application of the doctrine to a particular case. State v. Hensley, 534 N.W.2d 379, 383 (Iowa 1995). Under this doctrine, the probative force of the evidence considered by the jury in reaching its verdict is weighed against the probative force of the evidence that was improperly admitted. Id. The error is harmless if the force of the properly admitted evidence is so overwhelming that the verdict would have been the same without the improperly admitted evidence. Id. There must be no reasonable possibility the improperly admitted evidence contributed to the verdict. Id.
The two victims of the crimes in this case, Lombard and Riley, detailed the actions of Walls in their trial testimony with remarkable consistency. Essentially, they testified Walls pulled a gun on them while in Lombard’s car, placed Riley in the trunk of the car after forcing her to strip naked, and repeatedly beat Lombard while in the car after she resisted his efforts to obtain oral sex. The testimony of Lombard and Riley clearly supported the convictions for sexual abuse, willful injury, and kidnapping. A witness who observed the bloody and battered Lombard immediately after she escaped from the car gave testimony at trial that was consistent with both victims! testimony, including an excited utterance by Lombard that she had been pistol-whipped for refusing sexual advances. A police officer who arrived at the scene also provided testimony consistent with the testimony of Lombard and Riley. Physical evidence gathered by police was also consistent with the testimony of Lombard and Riley, including discarded clothing and evidence Riley tried to escape from the trunk.
The improperly admitted evidence essentially consisted of statements by Walls that he entered Lombard’s car, threatened the two women with a gun, and placed Riley in the trunk of the car after forcing her to disrobe. He also said he hit Lombard with the gun and later tried to clean the gun with bleach to destroy any evidence. He also made a statement that he attempted to place Lombard in the trunk and corroborated Riley’s testimony that she tried to escape from the trunk.
The majority essentially concludes the harmless-error test cannot be met because the improperly admitted statements were emphasized by the prosecutor in *690opening and closing arguments and were corroborated by the testimony of the other witnesses. The majority believes the presence of these two factors means the improperly admitted statements necessarily contributed to the guilty verdict. This approach is a misapplication of the harmless-error doctrine and effectively renders it meaningless when applied to improperly admitted incriminating statements by an accused. Nearly all confessions admitted at trial influence the verdict, and it should come as no surprise that prosecutors tend to emphasize confessions and that confessions tend to be consistent with the other evidence offered by the prosecution. If the doctrine is inapplicable to improperly admitted confessions, we would not have applied it in Hensley to find the trial court error harmless. See id. at 384 (holding improperly admitted statement by defendant that he believed the vehicle was stolen was harmless error in a conviction for vehicle theft, even though an element of the crime required proof that defendant knew or had a reasonable belief the vehicle was stolen). The test is not whether the improperly admitted evidence was consistent with the verdict or was emphasized by the prosecutor, but whether the properly admitted evidence was so strong that the verdict would have been the same without the improperly admitted evidence. The majority has failed to properly apply this test by considering the strength of the properly admitted evidence and has improperly focused on two factors that do not drive the outcome of the test.
Applying the harmless-error test in this case, the probative force of the evidence produced by the State on all four crimes, without considering the improperly admitted statements by Walls, was overwhelming. Each victim presented very similar testimony, which was consistent with the other evidence offered by the State supporting the convictions. The majority points out the victims were consuming drugs and alcohol in the days prior to the incident, but there is no indication this activity adversely impacted their ability to observe and recall the incident. On the other hand, the probative force of each statement by Walls, weighed against the other evidence of guilt, was minimal. The force of this evidence was minimal because the testimony of Lombard was corroborated by the testimony of Riley, and vice versa. Additionally, the testimony of both women was consistent with the other evidence offered by the State. Consequently, other than the statement by Walls that he cleaned the gun with bleach, the improperly admitted statements were only cumulative, and the outcome of the trial would have been the same without the statements. The statement by Walls that he cleaned the gun with bleach was minimal and could not have contributed to the verdict.