Court Opinion

ID: 9766350
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 04:42:41.949155+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:21.583855
License: Public Domain

BERGER, Justice:
Dissenting.
For more than a decade, Getz controlled the admissibility of prior “bad acts.” Until the Milligan decision last year, counsel and trial judges relied on Getz as authority for the State to introduce such evidence during its case-in-chief as long as the State could demonstrate a “reasonable anticipation” that the evidence of other crimes would be “material to an issue or ultimate fact in dispute in the case.”57 In Milli-gan, and more emphatically in this case, we have modified Getz by holding that the State may introduce prior bad acts evidence in its case-in-chief only if the evidence is relevant to an element of the State’s prima facie case.
I agree with the majority that this modification to our law is reasonable and appropriate. But I cannot join in its conclusion that failure to follow this newly announced timing rule constituted prejudicial error mandating a new trial in this case. Assuming that the evidence of Taylor’s prior crimes would have been admissible if presented to the jury during cross-examination of Taylor, instead of during the State’s case-in-chief, the prejudice to Taylor is minimal. The majority says that, especially in a case like this, where the defendant is admitting the crime and raising an entrapment defense, there should be nothing to impair the defendant’s credibility before he gets to present his defense to the jury. The majority then divines that the jury was “steeled” against Taylor, confused, and closed minded — all because it heard about Taylor’s prior drug convictions before it heard about his efforts at rehabilitation.
The majority’s conclusions are not supported by any record evidence. When the trial court told the jury about Taylor’s prior convictions, it also instructed the jury that the convictions were being made part of the record solely as they might relate to the defense of entrapment. Right after that, Taylor began his defense by taking the stand and trying to explain how he was induced to sell the cocaine to his friend. On cross examination, the prosecutor focused on Taylor’s drug addic*774tion, his prior involvement as a “runner” for drug dealers, and the high cost of maintaining his habit. All of this information, which was not at all complicated or hard to follow, was presented to the jury within a matter of hours. What is it about this sequence of events that would confuse the jury?
If the real problem is that the jury was steeled against Taylor because it heard about his criminal past before it got a chance to assess his credibility as a witness, then our whole criminal justice system is in trouble. Juries always hear the State’s case first and they are instructed to withhold judgment until all the evidence is in. By the time a criminal defendant takes the witness stand, if the chooses to, most juries have heard a lot of negative information that would undermine their view of the defendant’s credibility. Yet we expect juries to remain open minded. In this case, where Taylor voluntarily explained his long history of criminal activity (cocaine addiction/use), how prejudicial could it be for the jury to learn about his prior convictions before Taylor began testifying instead of learning that fact on cross-examination? To be sure, there could be a case where, because a defendant changes his defense strategy at the last minute, the premature introduction of prior convictions would be highly prejudicial. But this is not such a case. Taylor has never argued that he wanted to rely on a defense other than entrapment.
In short, the evidence against Taylor was strong — so strong that his only defense was entrapment. In arguing entrapment, Taylor had to convince the jury that, although he was a drug user, he was not a drug seller. Since Taylor acknowledged that he worked on “odd jobs” (when he worked at all), received food stamps, and had a drug habit that could cost as much as $500 per day, it is not surprising that the jury rejected his entrapment defense. There simply is no reason to believe that the timing of the disclosure of Taylor’s prior convictions influenced the verdict and I would affirm the convictions.

. Getz v. State, Del.Supr., 538 A.2d 726, 734 (1988).