Court Opinion

ID: 9847956
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:10:33.247279+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:50.858383
License: Public Domain

V. J. Brennan, P.J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent. I disagree with the majority’s opinion regarding the admissibility of the preliminary examination impeachment testimony of the defendant’s wife.
At the preliminary examination, Ms. Whalen, *746then the defendant’s girlfriend, testified that she had not previously discussed with the defendant anything about the incident in question. Following this response, the prosecutor showed Ms. Whalen two pieces of paper marked "Witness Statement”. He then asked her to read from that document a particular question and answer. The witness refused to read it, stating that she knew what it said. The prosecutor proceeded, and asked her if she knew Sergeant Dwyer. The witness responded affirmatively and admitted making a statement to him at the police station. The witness further admitted that the "Witness Statement” was a written account of her discussion-with Sergeant Dwyer. Ms. Whalen stated that the signature thereon was hers, but that not all of the statements that she made at that time were true. The testimony continued:
"Q. Now, specifically, do you recall me having you read a specific question and answer from the statement?
"A. Uh-huh.
"Q. Do you recall giving — being asked this question and giving this answer?
"First of all, let me read the question. 'Question: Is there anything else you can tell me about the fight?
" 'Answer: Yes. When Mike Whalen first came out to the car, he told me, "Yeah, I stabbed the guy,” just like that. Also, on the way home Mike said that when he was leaving the restaurant there was a guy that had a hold of Louie Fenazzio. Mike confronted the guy and he said he was a police officer and told Mike to stay there, and put a gun to Mike’s chest. Mike said, "Show me some ID,” and the guy did and Mike threw it out into Eight Mile and said, "You’re going to have to kill me and you’ll get killed too.” Then someone hit the police officer and Mike came out to the car.
" 'As we were leaving, Frank and Louie were coming out and Mike asked them if the guy was alive or dead. *747They said they didn’t know, and that’s all I know. I really didn’t see the fight.’
"A. Okay. One thing—
"Q. First of all, answer that and then we’ll proceed from there.
"Do you recall being asked that question and giving that answer?
"A. The only — they—
"Q. Will you just answer the question?
"A. Sgt. Dwyer told me everything.
"The Court: Ma’am, we have our little particular procedures and he is going to give you an opportunity to answer more fully, but first, we have to ask you the questions in a certain order because we have rules of evidence.
"The Witness: Say it again.
"Q. (By Mr. Janice, continuing): Do you recall being asked that question and giving that answer?
"The question and answer which I have just read to you, ma’am, do you recall being asked that question and giving that answer? Just answer that yes or no.
"A. No.”
At the preliminary examination, the defendant objected to the above impeachment, but not on the ground that it constituted improper impeachment. Rather, the defendant objected on the grounds that it was hearsay or that it was a confession and that there was "no evidence in the record to support a confession at this time”. The trial court ruled that the impeachment was proper.
While I agree with the majority opinion’s conclusion that the preliminary examination testimony was admissible, I cannot agree with the conclusion that the impeachment testimony was erroneously admitted. The majority opinion finds that, because the prosecutor was not required to call the defendant’s wife as a res gestae witness at *748the trial due to her marital status, the impeachment testimony given at the preliminary examination at a time when the witness was not married to the defendant was not admissible under MRE 607(2)(A). Also, the majority opinion finds that the testimony was not admissible pursuant to MRE 607(2)(C) because the prosecutor was not surprised by the testimony at the trial, having heard it at the preliminary examination, and the testimony was not injurious to the prosecutor’s case because the witness testified that she did not discuss anything about the incident with the defendant and this testimony was neutral.
In determining the admissibility of the testimony in the instant case, I believe that we look only to MRE 804. If a witness is unavailable to testify at a trial, as the witness in the instant case due to a marital privilege, MRE 804(b)(1) provides that the former testimony of the witness is admissible "if the party against whom the testimony is now offered had an opportunity * * * to develop the testimony by direct, cross or redirect examination”. I find that this rule allows the admission of the complete testimony of the witness. I do not think that the defendant may object at trial to the admission of various parts of the unavailable witness’s former testimony on grounds that could not have been raised at the time the witness testified. I do not think that we have to analyze the preliminary examination testimony to determine whether any part of that testimony is inadmissible at trial except insofar as the defendant validly objected to parts of the testimony at the time the witness testified. If the testimony was properly admitted in the former proceeding then it is admissible when the witness is unavailable to testify at the trial.
Further, application of MRE 607 to the instant *749case to disallow the admission of the impeachment testimony would circumvent or thwart the intent of the rule, which was designed to limit the impeachment of the calling party’s own witness and, thereby, prevent the calling party from putting before the jury highly damaging evidence not otherwise admissible. In the instant case, the prosecutor would have been obliged to call Ms. Whalen as a res gestae witness at the trial and would have been able to impeach her if she testified contrary to her statement, MRE 607(2)(A), but for the fact that the defendant married the witness after the preliminary examination. Thus, the witness’s unavailability was due to action on the part of the defendant and did not result from any action on the part of the prosecutor.
Thus, I find that, where a res gestae witness testifies at the preliminary examination and that testimony is properly impeached by evidence of a prior inconsistent statement, then, if the witness is thereafter "unavailable” at the trial to testify per MRE 804, through no fault of the prosecutor, the entire preliminary examination testimony, excluding only the parts not properly admitted at the preliminary examination, is admissible.
In the present case, I find that the impeachment testimony was admissible along with the rest of Ms. Whalen’s testimony because it was properly admitted at the preliminary examination.
I also disagree with the majority’s statement that the facts in the present case are "moderately analogous” to those in People v White, 401 Mich 482; 257 NW2d 912 (1977). I find that the present case is distinguishable from People v White, supra, wherein the Supreme Court stated:
"Finally, the people do not contend and we do not *750find that the former trial transcript was admissible for substantive purposes under the former testimony exception to the hearsay rule. Hodges was not unavailable. He was in attendance at the trial. He did not refuse to testify or assert a privilege not to testify. See People v Goldman, 349 Mich 77; 84 NW2d 241 (1957) (refusal to testify); People v Pickett, 339 Mich 294; 63 NW2d 681 (1954) (claim of privilege). Here, the witness had changed his testimony. Under our prior cases the inconsistent statements are admissible only for impeachment purposes. People v Anderson, 2 Mich App 718; 141 NW2d 353 (1966); People v Miner, 138 Mich 290; 101 NW 536 (1904).8
The present case involves the former-testimony exception, whereas People v White, supra, did not. However, a case analogous to the present case is People v Goldman, 349 Mich 77; 84 NW2d 241 (1957), referred to in People v White, supra. In People v Goldman, supra, the defendant’s accom*751plice was called as a witness to testify at the preliminary examination and refused to testify concerning the crime, but did testify that he had given, read, corrected and signed a statement and that its contents were true to the best of his knowledge. In his statement, the accomplice admitted his guilt and named the defendant as the person who had planned the crime and had furnished a truck for transporting stolen goods. At the trial, the accomplice again refused to answer questions concerning the crime and also refused to answer questions concerning the statement. The transcript of the accomplice’s preliminary examination testimony and the written statement were admitted into evidence and read to the jury. The Supreme Court found:
"Were the statement and transcript properly received in evidence and permitted to be considered by the jury as substantive proof of defendant’s guilt? We think People v Pickett, 339 Mich 294 (45 ALR2d 1341), controlling of an answer in the affirmative. There, as here, one of the participants in the crime, called as a people’s witness, refused to testify at trial concerning the crime. We upheld the trial court’s reception into evidence, as substantive proof of defendant’s guilt, of the transcript of the recalcitrant witness’s testimony given at the preliminary examination. See reasoning and discussion of pertinent authorities therein.
"Defendant seeks to distinguish the instant case from Pickett on the score that there the witness gave direct testimony concerning defendant’s commission of the crime at the preliminary examination and his refusal to so testify occurred only at trial, while here the witness refused to do so both at the examination and at trial and his only testimony imputing guilt to defendant consisted of that given by him at the examination that the contents of his statement previously given to the officers were true. We think the distinction is one without a difference insofar as legal significance is *752concerned. The defense was accorded the opportunity to cross-examine Johnson both at the examination and at trial. There was no denial to defendant of the right of confrontation of witnesses. Whether, as in Pickett, the transcript taken at the examination contained direct testimony of defendant’s guilt, or, as here, only contained testimony labeling as true statements of the defendant’s guilt contained in the witness’s previously signed written statement is of little moment in appraising its worth as substantive proof of the ultimate question of defendant’s guilt. In either circumstance, the essence of the testimony of the witness at the preliminary examination is a swearing to the truth of statements which prove defendant guilty. It is that testimony which is permitted to serve at trial as substantive proof of defendant’s guilt, under authority of Pickett, when, as a practical matter, the witness who gave it, by his refusal to answer at trial, has rendered himself unavailable as a witness.” People v Goldman, supra, pp 79-80.
In the instant case, where the witness was unavailable due to her marriage to the defendant, I find that, as in People v Goldman, the witness’s entire preliminary examination testimony was admissible into evidence. Therefore, we need not address the issue of whether the prosecutor could have impeached the witness if she testified at the trial. We need only determine whether the impeachment was proper when the witness testified at the preliminary examination. I find no error on the part of the trial court by admitting into evidence all of Ms. Whalen’s preliminary examination testimony.
I would affirm.

"8 The heart of the instant issue is the use of prior statements for substantive purposes. The Proposed Michigan Rules of Evidence, if adopted in the present form, would substantially change the law in this area. To illustrate, if on retrial Hodges testifies and is subject to cross-examination, a prior inconsistent statement could be considered by the factfinder as substantive evidence. Proposed MRE 801(d)(1). Whether a statement is in fact inconsistent may depend on the circumstances. In many cases a lack of memory is not considered inconsistent. See People v Durkee, 369 Mich 618; 120 NW2d 729 (1963). In some instances, however, the trial judge may properly find that an assertion of lack of memory is really a repudiation of the prior statement and therefore inconsistent with it. See McCormick, Evidence (2d ed), § 251, and cases cited therein. We further note that the Federal Rules of Evidence indicate a similar result, although only the prior sworn testimony would be admissible for substantive purposes. FRE 801(d).
"On the other hand, if upon a new trial, Hodges is for some reason unavailable, his testimony at the first trial would be admissible under current law as former testimony. People v Pickett, 339 Mich 294; 63 NW2d 681 (1954). If the witness is present but testifies to a lack of memory, claims a privilege, or refuses despite an order of the court to testify, he may nevertheless be deemed unavailable and the former testimony rule will apply just as if he could not be present. Proposed Michigan Rules of Evidence 804(a), 804(b)(1).” People v White, supra, pp 510-511.