Court Opinion

ID: 9593034
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:19:01.433704+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:01:18.390387
License: Public Domain

Shearing, J.,
concurring:
I agree that Roever should be granted a new trial. However, I do not agree with all of the majority’s analysis of the testimony of Marlene Chidester, Gloria and William Lambert, and Craig Bruske. Roever’s taped statement that she was “a peace-loving person who would not hurt a fly,” was introduced into evidence by stipulation. I would hold that this statement would have opened the door to evidence of Roever’s prior inconsistent statements through the testimony of Chidester, the Lamberts and possibly Bruske. This would have been appropriate impeachment and admissible, not for the truth of the matter asserted, but as bearing on her credibility.
The fact that the evidence ordinarily would not have been admissible because it related to character, does not mean that it cannot be used to impeach the defendant. In U.S. v. Lara, 956 F.2d 994 (10th Cir. 1992), the court admitted evidence of another pending prosecution against defendant, over the objection that other bad act evidence should not have been admitted. However, the defendant had testified that he had never been arrested and had never been prosecuted for anything else. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the conviction saying:
The defendant’s testimony could reasonably be taken as an assertion that the indictment in the instant case was the only trouble he had ever had with the law. This answer was misleading in light of the fact that the defendant was at the time under indictment in another case. Evidence of the other prosecution was not introduced to show the defendant’s bad character. Rather, it was used to challenge the truthfulness of his testimony. Rule 404(b) [comparable to NRS 48.045(2)] shields a defendant from unfair prejudice but it is not a license to give misleading or false testimony. Under the cir*874cumstances, the use of this evidence for impeachment was a permissible “other purpose” under Rule 404(b). Cf. United States v. Stockton, 788 F.2d 210, 219 n. 15 (4th Cir.) (Impeachment may qualify as a permissible use of prior bad acts under Rule 404(b)), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 840, 107 S. Ct. 147, 93 L.Ed.2d 89 (1986).
Roever’s statements that she was peace-loving came in on tape, and Roever was never asked about the statements she had made. Before extrinsic evidence of prior inconsistent statements may be introduced, the witness must be afforded an opportunity to explain or deny the statements. NRS 50.135(2)(b).
Of course, the evidence must also be tested under NRS 48.035(1) to determine whether its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, of confusion of the issues or of misleading the jury. This is a determination to be made by the trial judge.