Court Opinion

ID: 9717395
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:02:52.969684+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:53.029706
License: Public Domain

OXBERGER, Chief Judge
(dissenting).
I dissent from the majority’s holding in Division II Postconviction Relief. The majority doesn’t disagree with the trial court’s finding that the defendant knew prior to trial that the Thomas deposition was going to be read into evidence at trial. The majority concludes that the trial court did not specifically determine whether defendant knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived his right to be present at the taking of the deposition.
I agree defendant’s waiver must be knowingly, intelligently, and voluntary. However, in absence of evidence to the contrary I would find these conditions are met when counsel advises his client that he is going to take a deposition to perpetuate testimony of a witness and the client doesn’t ask to be present at the proceeding.
The majority also concludes that introduction of the Thomas deposition was prejudicial error because without the deposition the State would not have been able to establish the occurrence of the robbery. The record does not indicate the State could not have produced Thomas if the deposition was not admitted at trial. The deposition was stipulated to convenience Thomas, a serviceman stationed out of Iowa.
I would focus my inquiry of whether the admission of the deposition was prejudicial on the issues tried. The defendant did not dispute anything Thomas testified about. The defendant did not dispute that the robbery occurred, only that he did not know it was going to happen nor did he participate in it. Thomas did not identify defendant nor testify in anyway concerning defendant. I would find the admission of the Thomas deposition to be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.