Court Opinion

ID: 9610479
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 03:42:12.104816+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:03:00.084382
License: Public Domain

Ray Thornton, Justice, dissenting. I respectfully dissent stice, neither the results of a lie-detector examination nor testimony that indirectly or inferentially apprises a jury of the results of a lie-detector examination are admissible. Wingfield v. State, 303 Ark. 291, 796 S.W.2d 574 (1990). There is an exception when there is no inference as to the result, or when any inferences are not prejudicial. Id. In the case now before us, I believe that the testimony of Robert Drake, which referred to the fact that appellant “did not show [up] for” a previously scheduled polygraph examination, supports an inference that appellant feared he would fail the test. Based on this improper testimony, the trial court should have granted a mistrial. Accordingly, I would reverse the trial court and remand the case for a new trial. jim Hannah, Justice, dissenting. I respectfully dissent. The majority errs in analyzing Police Chief Robert Drake’s improper testimony by determining whether Peters showed that he was prejudiced by the testimony.1 The court’s analysis is improper in this case involving the right to a fair and impartial jury. The majority’s error arises from applying the standard to be met by a criminal defendant for reversal from mistrial cases when the correct standard is to be taken from cases discussing the right to an impartial jury. Reversal by this court is required because the trial court failed to grant the mistrial sought when Peters’ right to a fair and impartial jury was denied him by Drake’s improper testimony. This court may not now look through all the proceedings that followed the refusal to grant the mistrial to speculate on whether Peters was actually injured by the improper testimony. The after the fact events in no way cure the denial of a fair and impartial jury. The discussion of the majority about statements from jurors is irrelevant and in error. The majority’s decision is based on a failure of Peters to show that he was prejudiced. If this case only involved a mistrial issue, I would agree. That is not the case. At issue is the impartiality of the jury, an issue that may not be put to rest by rummaging through the record searching for events occurring after the improper testimony. The trial court erred in refusing to grant a mistrial where the defendant’s right to an impartial jury was impaired, and the trial court must be reversed to preserve the rule oflaw. The cite to Bradley v. State, 320 Ark. 100, 896 S.W.2d 425 (1995), is misplaced. A refusal to testify by a criminal defendant, as discussed in Bradley, while somewhat analogous to the implication of not showing up for the polygraph out of a consciousness of guilt, does not discuss the issue of the right to an impartial jury. As this court very recently stated: A defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial before an impartial jury is a fundamental element of due process. U.S. v. Crow Dog, 532 F.2d 1182 (8th Cir. 1976) (Citing Singer v. United States, 380 U.S. 24, 85 So. Ct. 783, 13 L.Ed2d 630 (1965); In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 75 S.Ct. 623, 99 L.Ed 942 (1955); United States v. McNally, 485 F.2d 398 (8th Cir. 1983) (cert. denied 415 U.S. 978, 94 So. Ct. 1566, 39 L.Ed2d 874 (1974). Elmore v. State, 355 Ark. 620, 144 S.W.3d 278 (2004). Police Chief Drake was the first witness, and his improper testimony tainted Peters’s trial from its beginning. Peters was denied his fundamental right to a fair and impartial jury. Where the issue is one of whether the right to a fair and impartial jury has been violated, it is not necessary for the criminal defendant to “demonstrate exactly how he was prejudiced; rather, he only needed to prove that there was a reasonable possibility of prejudice.” State v. Cherry, 341 Ark. 924, 931, 20 S.W.3d 354 (2000)(citing Larimore v. State, 309 Ark. 414, 833 S.W.2d 358 (1992)). Where from the beginning ofa trial, a criminal defendant “was not clothed with one of the constitutional benefits afforded all defendants in a criminal case, a right to a fair and impartial jury,” the case should be reversed. Allard v. State, 283 Ark. 317, 675 S.W.2d 829 (1984). See also Elliott v. State, 335 Ark. 387, 984 S.W.2d 362 (1998). It is improper to analyze the claim of the failure to provide a fair and impartial jury by resorting to the record to try and discern if the outcome of the case was really changed by the improper testimony. In Mitchell v. State, 295 Ark. 341, 750 S.W.2d 936 (1988), the issue was whether Mitchell was denied his right to a fair and impartial jury by the exclusion of the only black juror. The State argued that the evidence of guilt was overwhelming, and the case should be affirmed. This court correctly stated: In this situation, however, the guilt or innocence of Lonnie Mitchell is not the sole issue. We are concerned here with prejudice to the system of justice. The possibility that a juror was struck for discriminatory reasons is the possibility that the prospective juror concerned, all citizens, and the very system of justice have been deprived of fundamental constitutional protection to which they are entitled. Mitchell, 295 Ark. at. 350. This court in Mitchell went on to cite Gray v. Mississippi, 481 U.S. 648 (1987), and stated: In Gray v. Mississippi, 107 S.Ct. 2045 (1987), the Supreme Court held that it was improper to have allowed the prosecution to strike for cause a prospective juror who was qualified. The Mississippi Supreme Court had affirmed the conviction because the trial judge had admitted he had required the prosecution to use peremptory challenges against jurors subject to challenge for cause due to their opposition to the death penalty, and thus he was only correcting his previous mistake. In response to the argument that the error was harmless, the Supreme Court stated that “because the impartiality of the adjudicator goes to the very integrity of the legal system, the. . . harmless error analysis cannot apply. We have recognized that ‘some constitutional rights [are] so basic to a fair trial that their infraction can never be treated as harmless error.’ ” The same rationale applies here. The right to a jury selected free of the taint of racial discrimination is so fundamental that it cannot be described as harmless error. Mirchell, 295 Ark. at 351. Thus, the majority’s analysis is simply wrong. The impartiality of the adjudicator was prejudiced, and the prejudice goes to the very integrity of the legal system. The trial court erred in denying the motion for mistrial and must be reversed. Until this decision, the law in Arkansas was correct. The law was that the mention of a polygraph test in trial, that gives rise to an inference that the criminal defendant was under a consciousness of guilt, was prejudicial and required reversal. Under the majority decision, appellate review is now reduced to gleaning the record to see if the jury was presented with any other explanation other than consciousness of guilt. We ought to be deeply concerned about an increasing tendency to default to harmless error when the going gets tough and it looks likely that the right person was prosecuted. The primary function of the judicial system is to preserve the rule of law. McCoy v. State, 354 Ark. 322, 123 S.W.3d 901 (2003) (Hannah, J., concurring) (citing Alexander v. State, 268 Ark. 384, 598 S.W.2d 395 (1980) (Fogleman, J., concurring)). The majority’s analysis in this case begs the question of whether the trial court erred in refusing to grant the motion for mistrial during Police ChiefDrake’s testimony. Drake told the jury that Peters spontaneously asserted that he did not rape the victim, and that he failed “to show up” for a polygraph test. The obvious inference arising from this testimony is that Peters failed to appear for his polygraph test because of a consciousness of guilt. Such an inference is prejudicial, and the “trial court abused its discretion in denying... [the] motion for a mistrial.” Wingfield v. State, 303 Ark. 291, 297, 796 S.W.2d 574 (1990). The admonition to the jury regarding admissibility of the evidence “did not cure the prejudice. . . .” Id. Allowing additional references to the polygraph tests “compounded the error.” Id. The prohibition against the admission of the results of polygraph tests extends also to the “willingness or reluctance to be examined as evidence of consciousness of innocence or guilt.” Ramaker v. State, 345 Ark. 225, 234, 46 S.W.3d 519 (2001). What is at issue in this case is not simply the mere mention of the test, the results, or even the mere mention of reluctance to submit to the test.2 The majority asserts that I err in mentioning reluctance to appear at the polygraph test because “there was no mention of reluctance whatever.” By any common sense understanding, Drake’s testimony that Peters asserted he did not rape the victim and then failed to show up for an appointment to take a polygraph test implies that he did not wish to be there, or in other words, that at the least, he was reluctant. The majority’s focus on something as inconsequential as the use of the word “reluctance” only illustrates the weakness of the majority’s position. Rather, at issue is whether this court will allow the prosecutor to introduce evidence that a criminal defendant failed to submit to a polygraph test because of a consciousness of his or her guilt. A prosecutor shall not be allowed to comment on a criminal defendant’s silence. Jarreau v. State, 291 Ark. 60, 722 S.W.2d 565 (1987); Clark, v. State, 256 Ark. 658, 509 S.W.2d 812 (1974). The majority’s holding comes perilously close to allowing just that through use of testimony about the failure to show up at an arranged polygraph test. The evidence of the polygraph test in the case before us is substantially more prejudicial than in Wingfield, and yet under a perfunctory “no harm, no foul” analysis, the majority affirms the trial court. In Wingfield, the trial court committed reversible error by failing to grant a motion for mistrial when there was testimony that a State’s witness had taken a polygraph test and passed it. In the present case, the prejudicial evidence of the polygraph test did not bolster a witness’s testimony. It raised an inference that Peters, by failing to “show up” for the test, admitted he was guilty of rape. Aside from the highly prejudicial nature of the inference raised by Chief Drake’s testimony, we ought to note that the evidence of the missed polygraph test in this case was delivered by the first witness. Doubtless this first witness in a rape and kidnapping case made a lasting impression on the jury as it commenced its difficult job in a very serious case. Moreover, the first witness was a law enforcement officer, the chief of police. The jury thus heard from a person in a high position of authority that Peters professed his innocence and then failed to show up for the test to prove it. Drake’s testimony may be summed up as recounting that Peters spontaneously declared that he did not rape the victim followed almost immediately by testimony that a polygraph test was set up for Peters, but “he did not show up for it. . .” The clear implication was that Peters was guilty or he would have shown up. We also may not ignore the words chosen by Drake. The words were not neutral. The use of “did not show up,” implies a reluctant person and implies guilt. This court has noted in its recitation of facts in past cases that someone failed to show up for polygraph tests. See e.g., Dyer v. State, 343 Ark. 422, 428, 36 S.W.3d 724 (2001), where this court stated, “Swim was scheduled to take a polygraph examination regarding Dyer’s murder; he never showed.” Along with other evidence, this fact of a failure to show up for the polygraph test implied that Swim murdered Dyer. A failure to show up in life is not a good thing. For example, the failure of an attorney to show up at a crime scene inspection was argued to be ineffective assistance of counsel. Dansby v. State, 350 Ark. 60, 84 S.W.3d 857 (2002). The failure to show up at trial expresses a lack of respect for the judicial system. Florence v. Taylor, 325 Ark. 445, 928 S.W.2d 330 (1996). Stating that Peters “did not show up,” implied there was a reason he did not show up, and it was because he was guilty. Drake’s testimony simply may not be glossed over by reference to other evidence from which the jury might have concluded Peters had other reasons than a feeling of guilt that kept him from the polygraph test. Drake’s testimony implied that Peters did not show up at the polygraph test because of consciousness of guilt. That is not permissible under the law, or at least it was not until this court’s decision in this case. I am concerned that the majority is making fundamental changes in the law without 'realizing it. Under Wingfield, supra, and Ferguson v. State, 343 Ark. 159, 33 S.W.3d 115 (2000),3 the mere mention of a polygraph test or the results is no longer per se prejudicial, but rather must be shown to be prejudicial. In this case, clear prejudice is shown but ignored by the majority. Citing Wingfield, supra, this court in Misskelley v. State, 323 Ark. 449, 915 S.W.2d 702 (1996), noted that what the legislature and the courts have sought to avoid is “the likelihood of credibility determinations being made by reference to the unreliable results of a polygraph examination.” Misskelley, 323 Ark. 449, 474, 915 S.W.2d 702 (1996). What is of concern is that the jury will make credibility determinations based on facts such as Peters’s failure to appear for the arranged polygraph test. That is precisely the harm inflicted by Drake’s testimony, which until this opinion, was prejudicial and under Wingfield, supra, would have resulted in reversal. I also note that the trial court’s attempt to cure the prejudice was ineffective, and if anything, simply made matters worse. Wingfield, supra. Defense counsel was understandably reluctant to ask for a cautionary instruction because repeated reference to the failure to appear for the polygraph test would only make his client appear more guilty. The cautionary instruction iikely reinforced Drake’s testimony in the minds of the jury. Likewise, the individual questioning of jurors by the trial court that followed the next day likely further reinforced and emphasized Drake’s testimony that the failure to appear at a scheduled polygraph test was an admission of guilt. The trial court erred when it failed to grant the motion for mistrial during Drake’s testimony. The evidence that was received later could not alter the inference that Peters argued he was innocent but was unwilling to prove it. The majority also makes a perilous assumption that the evidence in this case relied upon by the majority would have come in as it did had Chief Drake not mentioned Peters’s failure to show up for the polygraph test. The discussion by the majority of other plausible reasons for Peters’s nonappearance at the polygraph test that might be deduced from the evidence offered at trial simply ignores the real question of whether the trial court erred in denying the motion for mistrial. We have before us a case in which two life sentences were imposed. The conduct alleged no doubt merits the sentences. The evidence against Peters is ponderous. However, guilt and sentences imposed are issues for the jury to decide when the issues are properly presented to the jury. The right to a fair and impartial jury has been denied in this case, and it is our duty to the law to reverse the jury’s decision and remand the case to be retried even if the outcome in the case may be the same. New law on admission of facts surrounding polygraph tests is created by this case. The opinion of a court of appeals case of more than twenty years ago accurately sets out my concern: The saying, “Bad cases make bad law” can all too often be a reality unless our courts apply the law evenly as well as knowledgeably. One’s inclination might be to “stretch” or “create” law to assure that justice is done in every case. Such a proclivity, once indulged, might prove to foster justice in one case but prove disastrous in the next. Cooper v. Indus. Prods. v. Meadows, 5 Ark. App. 205, 211, 634 S.W.2d 400 (1982). I must respectfully dissent.   I note that Police Chief Drake’s answers were non-responsive to the prosecutor’s questions. I appreciate the effort of the trial judge to correct the problems created by Police Chief Drake’s testimony; however, it is not an error that could be cured by the trial judge.    Under Ramaker, I believe that the case might well be reversed based upon mention of Peters’s reluctance to submit to the test. However, we need not engage in that analysis because far more than mention of reluctance is at issue in the present case.    Citing Wingfield, this court in. Ferguson v. State, 343 Ark. 159, 33 S.W.3d 115 (2000), considered mention of a polygraph test with no reference to the result. The trial judge’s denial of the motion for mistrial was not found to be an abuse of discretion. That is consistent with Wingfield. In Ferguson, there was only reference to the fact a polygraph had been taken.