Court Opinion

ID: 9724095
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:44:09.702727+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:55.481289
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE BILANDIC, dissenting: On either the eve of trial or the second day of trial, depending upon which version of events one believes, the State disclosed to the defense that it possessed and intended to use Lawler’s testimony. This testimony was crucial evidence which directly linked the defendant and the bloodstained gloves. Caught by surprise by the State’s late disclosure, defense counsel moved either for a mistrial or for the exclusion of this testimony. Defense counsel, however, did not move for a continuance. The majority holds that, even though defendant moved for a mistrial or to exclude Lawler’s testimony, the defendant has waived his challenge to the State’s discovery violation because he failed to move for a continuance. I cannot agree with the majority’s conclusion that defendant has waived the discovery error. Nor can I agree that the defendant suffered no surprise or prejudice because of the State’s discovery violation. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent. The majority’s determination that defendant has waived the discovery error is wrong. The majority opinion holds that, in order to preserve this issue for appeal, the defendant must move for a continuance at the trial level. Although “the failure to request a continuance is a relevant factor” in determining surprise or prejudice, it is no more than a factor. In certain instances such as the case before us, a continuance would not suffice to cure the surprise or prejudice resulting from the State’s discovery violation and would amount to a futile request. Defendants certainly are not required to request all the remedies enumerated in Supreme Court Rule 415, especially remedies that counsel deems to be fruitless, in order to preserve the issue for review. The majority cites no support for its ruling that the instant defendant has waived this issue by failing to request a continuance. As a matter of fact, this court has already determined that defense counsel’s refusal to accept a trial court’s offer of a continuance is not necessarily fatal to the defendant’s position. (See People v. Weaver (1982), 92 Ill. 2d 545, 559-60.) In the case at bar, defendant adequately preserved the discovery violation issue for appeal by moving to exclude Lawler’s testimony or for a mistrial. The majority correctly notes that, under Supreme Court Rule 412, upon motion of defense counsel, the State is required to disclose all witnesses it intends to call as well as their respective statements which it has in its possession. (134 Ill. 2d R. 412(a).) As the majority also notes, the State has a duty to “ensure that a flow of information is maintained between the various investigative personnel and its office sufficient to place within its possession or control all material and information relevant to the accused and the offense charged.” (134 Ill. 2d R. 412(f).) The State’s duty to disclose is a continuing duty and the fact that it did not learn of Lawler’s statement until just prior to or during trial does not negate its duty. (People v. Weaver (1982), 92 Ill. 2d 545, 558.) Failure to disclose the statement is a violation of the discovery provisions whether or not the State’s neglect was inadvertent or wilful. Weaver, 92 Ill. 2d at 558. Supreme Court Rule 412 is designed and intended to protect the defendant from surprise, unfairness, and/or .inadequate preparation and to afford the defendant an opportunity to combat false testimony. The State’s failure to disclose material evidence, reports, or statements until just prior to or during trial can jeopardize a defendant’s trial strategy and violate his due process guarantee of a fair trial. In its analysis of this issue, however, the majority improperly focused on whether the knowledge that evidence existed which linked the gloves to the defendant should be imputed to the prosecution. Rather, in cases where the State has violated discovery provisions, the real issue a reviewing court must address is whether the discovery violation unfairly prejudiced the defendant and whether the trial court failed to eliminate the prejudice. Weaver, 92 Ill. 2d at 559. In considering the issue of prejudice, it must be noted that this is a capital case and that all of the State’s evidence against the defendant is circumstantial. The defense theory of the case was that someone else had committed the crime of murder and that defendant came upon the murder victim after the crime had been committed. The defense knew that the bloodstained gloves existed but also relied on the fact that the State had no evidence linking these gloves to the defendant. This absence of evidence linking the gloves to the defendant was a crucial factor in support of the defense theory that someone else (i.e., the glove owner) had caused the harm to the victim. The apparent absence of evidence created the possibility that there was someone else involved in the crime. Clearly, springing the evidence at issue upon the defendant just prior to or during the course of the trial constitutes surprise and unduly prejudiced the defendant’s entire trial strategy. Had defense counsel been appraised of the fact that this evidence existed, he might have decided that the defense he had originally prepared was no longer viable. Since the trial court failed to eliminate the undue prejudice which the State’s discovery violation caused to the defendant, a new trial is required. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent. JUSTICES HARRISON and McMORROW join in this dissent.