Court Opinion

ID: 9606420
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 02:49:38.040525+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:34.474629
License: Public Domain

ROSE, Justice,
concurring.
I concur, but only after engaging in a somewhat different analysis of the “opening of the door” issue.
It is useful to recapitulate the salient facts. An important issue at trial was whether two witnesses correctly identified the appellant. One of the witnesses had been approached by Policeman Nelson who showed him photos of men, including appellant; the witness identified the appellant to Nelson. Appellant, in cross-examining Nelson, established that Nelson, very early in his investigation, jumped to the conclusion that appellant was the guilty suspect. In leading questions directed at Nelson, I think it fair to say that the defense implied that *1318Nelson had acted out of a subjective desire to get appellant and that this subjectivity may have adversely influenced the accuracy of the witness’ identification of appellant Reinholt. Upon redirect, the State asked Nelson why he had formed the early conviction that Reinholt was guilty. The defense objected, but the trial judge overruled the objection and allowed Nelson to respond as follows:
“The fact that him [sic] and Mr. Beane [a co-actor] had been old-time acquaintances and they had been involved in similar situations before together, and I had personally seen them a couple of weeks before that together, and also, the physical description given by Mr. Marosok [a complaining witness] at the time when the police dispatcher gave it to us over the radio led me to believe that.”
The majority lists a number of persuasive reasons why the answer on redirect, which implies prior bad conduct on the part of the appellant, should be admissible under the “opening of the door” rule. Sanville v. State, Wyo., 593 P.2d 1340, 1344 (1979).
However, the “opening of the door” rule is applicable only if the cross-examination of Nelson introduced incompetent evidence. Id. and McCormick’s Handbook of the Law of Evidence, § 57 (2nd Ed. 1972). Consequently, the majority’s analysis of why the “opening of the door” rule should be applied is persuasive only if it is assumed that the cross-examination of Nelson introduced incompetent evidence. Incompetent evidence means merely inadmissible evidence. McCormick, supra, at § 52.
Ordinarily, it would not be competent for a police officer to testify that he had formed the conviction that the defendant was guilty; it is the province of the jury to determine guilt or innocence. However, evidence may be incompetent for one purpose and competent for another purpose. McCormick, supra, at § 59. If the fact of Officer Nelson’s conviction about appellant’s guilt was competent, it was competent because it was relevant to the issue of whether Officer Nelson acted objectively or whether Officer Nelson acted subjectively and procured an inaccurate witness identification.
Assuming, arguendo, that the above analysis leads to the conclusion that the cross-examination produced only competent testimony, we must now apply the same analysis to the redirect of Officer Nelson. Accordingly, we must conclude that Officer Nelson’s answer elicited on redirect was relevant to the issue of whether Officer Nelson acted objectively in dealing with the eyewitness.
In view of the fact that appellant chose to bring up the subject of Officer Nelson’s conclusion about appellant’s guilt, I cannot say that the trial judge abused his discretion in determining that the probative value of Nelson’s answer to the question was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Rule 403, Wyoming Rules of Evidence.
Nor do I see that Rule 404(b), W.R.E., made Nelson’s answer on redirect inadmissible. That rule generally prohibits evidence of prior bad acts to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. If the cross-examination of Officer Nelson produced only competent evidence, then Nelson’s answer on redirect was offered not to prove that appellant was a bad actor but to prove that Nelson acted objectively in including a photo of appellant among the photos which he showed to the witness.