Court Opinion

ID: 9845164
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:16:05.973208+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:15:53.278092
License: Public Domain

SABERS, Justice
(dissenting).
I would reverse and remand for a fair trial because the trial court erred in excluding third-party perpetrator evidence. “[E]vi-dence that a third person in proximity of a crime had the motive and opportunity to commit the crime is admissible.” Braddock, 452 N.W.2d at 790.
The relevant facts are established by the conference opinion:
Drive-by shootings are rare phenomena, at least in South Dakota. Nevertheless, the defendant wished to offer evidence that at least one and possibly two other shootings occurred that same evening. First, between approximately 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., a shot was allegedly fired at a vehicle (the Waldner vehicle) traveling east on interstate 90 towards Sioux Falls. • Marks were found on the wheel of the Waldner vehicle which could have been caused by a shotgun shot. Second, at approximately 12:30 a.m. that night, a witness allegedly heard a shotgun blast from a van in Hartford, South Dakota. With the exception of the marks on the wheel of the Waldner vehicle, no physical evidence was alleged to be found at either scene.
Braddock clearly supports admissibility:
If the evidence is really of no appreciable value, no harm is done in admitting it; while if it is in truth calculated to cause the jury to doubt, the Court should not attempt to decide for the jury that this doubt is purely speculative and fantastic, but should afford the accused every opportunity to create this doubt.
452 N.W.2d at 790 (citation omitted).
Despite this position, the conference opinion concludes that the probative value is “outweighed by the State’s legitimate interests in presenting reliable evidence and promoting orderly and efficient trials.” Not so. Even if this evidence is not the most reliable, its admission would not prevent an “orderly and efficient trial.” Exclusion of this evidence deprived Larson of his constitutional right to present a defense. See U.S. Const. amend. VI; Braddock, 452 N.W.2d at 790 (“The third-party perpetrator rule cannot be used to prevent the defendant from establishing his defense, or deny him the right to a fair jury trial.”); Luna, 378 N.W.2d 229. As Justice Henderson noted in his concurrence in State v. McDonald, “there was ‘a train of *744facts to point out the possible guilt of a third party other than the defendant.’ Luna, 378 N.W.2d at 239-40 (Henderson, J., dissenting). Thus, [Larson’s] proffered evidence should not have been kept from the jury.” 500 N.W.2d 243, 249 (S.D.1993) (Henderson, J., dissenting).
One accused of a crime in South Dakota should be allowed [his] day in court and permitted to ask the jury to hear [his] story and decide [his] guilt or innocence. [His] hands should not be tied behind [his] back.
In retrospect, it seems ironic that [those] accused in South Dakota should be forced to fight for their life to defend themselves against all other “uncharged” acts and, at the same time, be prevented from showing that they did not commit the crime “charged” because someone else did. We should strive to maintain a more even playing field in the future.
McDonald, 500 N.W.2d at 249 (Sabers, J., concurring specially).