Court Opinion

ID: 9648431
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 14:20:26.750604+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:00.702275
License: Public Domain

FINCH, Chief Justice
(concurring in result).
While the principal opinion correctly states the present rule in Missouri with reference to use of evidence of extrajudicial statements by a witness who is not a party (the so-called orthodox rule), I have concluded that the time has come to adopt what I consider to be a better reasoned rule.
*534We deal with a situation wherein three people, Darryl Granberry, James Granber-ry and Kenneth Hackett, were indicted for murder committed in connection with a filling station holdup. Hackett made numerous statements in which he implicated both Darryl and James Granberry as having been present and participated in the holdup. Some were oral, but included therein was a video-taped statement. In addition, Hackett’s deposition had been taken by defense counsel in a case involving other defendants and in that deposition he testified that James was present at the filling station and, along with Darryl, took the filling station attendant into the back room.
In this case, in which James Granberry was being tried separately for his participation, the state, in reliance on these various prior statements by Kenneth Hackett, plus reinterviews just before he testified, called him as a witness. When he was asked by the prosecuting attorney about whether James was present and participated, he testified that James was not present at any time. The state claimed surprise and was permitted to cross-examine Hackett about his various previous statements, including the video-taped statement and the deposition, but he denied those earlier statements, or in some instances said he did not remember them.
The principal opinion herein, in accordance with the rule announced by this court in State v. Kinne, 372 S.W.2d 62 (Mo. 1963), holds that these prior inconsistent statements by Hackett were admissible to impeach or discredit him as a witness, but were not admissible and competent as substantive evidence of the facts to which such statements related. The opinion concludes, based on analysis of the prosecuting attorney’s argument to the jury, that the statements were used as substantive evidence to show the truth of the statements that James was present and participated, and that for this reason the conviction cannot be allowed to stand.
The present Missouri rule (as articulated in Kinne) is the so-called orthodox view and is the majority rule. However, it has been criticized for several years by most legal commentators and scholars. Dean Wigmore originally espoused the orthodox view but later concluded that it was incorrect. See IIIA Wigmore on Evidence, Chadbourne Revision, § 1018, p. 996, where he states:
“(b) It does not follow, however, that prior self-contradictions, when admitted, are to be treated as having no affirmative testimonial value, and that any such credit is to be strictly denied them in the mind of the tribunal. The only ground for doing so would be the hearsay rule. But the theory of the hearsay rule is that an extrajudicial statement is rejected because it was made out of court by an absent person not subject to cross-examination (§ 1362 infra). Here, however, by hypothesis the witness is present and subject to cross-examination. There is ample opportunity to test him as to the basis for his former statement. The whole purpose of the hearsay rule has been already satisfied. Hence there is nothing to prevent the tribunal from giving such testimonial credit to the extrajudicial statement as it may seem to deserve. Psychologically of course, the one statement is as useful to consider as the other; and everyday experience outside of courtrooms is in accord.” See also note 2 on p. 996, for a more extended discussion.
Other commentators have expressed similar views. See McCormick on Evidence, § 39, p. 77, in which Professor McCormick states as follows:
“The rule against the use of prior statements substantively, then, is basically misguided, it is believed, in attempting to deny such statements the full probative effect to which they are reasonably entitled. But the attempt is in most cases ineffectual, and in the minority of cases where it is given practical effect, the incidence of the rule is harsh and haphazard. It is usually *535ineffectual because ordinarily the party who proves the prior statements will have some other ‘substantive’ first-hand testimony of like purport with the impeaching statements to support him on the issue, and consequently the issue will be submitted to the jury for their decision on the conflicting ‘substantive’ evidence. The only available sanction for our rule is an instruction that the jury must not consider the prior statements of the witness as substantive evidence on the main issue, but solely as bearing on the credibility of the witness. Such an instruction, as seems to be generally agreed, is a mere verbal ritual. The distinction is not one that most jurors would understand. If they could understand it, it seems doubtful that they would attempt to follow it. Trial judges seem to consider the instruction a futile gesture. If the prior statement and the present testimony are to be considered and compared, what is the purpose? The intuitive good sense of laymen and of lawyers seems to agree that the only rational purpose is not merely to weigh the credibility of the testimony, but to decide which of the two stories is true. To do this is ordinarily to decide the substantive issue.
“The distinction between using a previous statement as evidence of its truth, and as evidence that the declarant in testifying differently is lying or mistaken, is surely a most artificial one. Unless the statement may be true, it does not have the effect of shaking the credibility of the testimony; and that it may be true is about all one means by accepting a statement as evidence of its truth. The notion that the judge and the jury may only say, ‘We know not which story is true; we only say that the witness blows hot and cold, and hence is not to be believed in either,’ demands a finical neutrality alien to the atmosphere of jury trial.
“Moreover, as suggested above, the incidence of the rule that previous statements are not substantive is arbitrary and indiscriminate. In the first place, it is practically without effect where the impeaching party does not have the burden of producing evidence on the issue to which the statement relates. If the state’s only witness to a material fact in a criminal case or the plaintiff’s sole witness in a personal injury case is attacked by showing his previous statement giving a different story of the alleged crime or collision, it is immaterial to the defendant whether the statement is substantive or merely impeaching. In either event, the jury can use it to cancel the effect of the witness’s testimony. Thus, the impeaching statement, though not ‘substantive,’ may be a sufficient basis for a verdict for the defendant, while in the reverse situation the state or a civil plaintiff could not go to the jury at all on the issue if the impeaching statement of the defendant’s witness were all he had. The argument seems persuasive that if the previous statement and the circumstances surrounding its making are sufficiently probative to empower the jury to disbelieve the story of the witness on the stand, they should be sufficient to warrant the jury in believing the statement itself.”
In recent years, some courts, influenced by the views expressed by the legal scholars, have departed from the orthodox view. In Gelhaar v. State, 41 Wis.2d 230, 163 N. W.2d 609 (1969), the Supreme Court of Wisconsin overruled prior Wisconsin cases which held that prior inconsistent statements of a witness could not be accorded any value as substantive evidence, and stated as follows, l.c. 614:
“Thus we are now convinced that a jury should be able to consider the prior inconsistent statements of the witnesses as substantive evidence. * * *
“We are not convinced, however, that this rule should be adopted without limitation. Accordingly, we now adopt a modified form of the rule proposed by professor McCormick:
“ ‘ “A statement made on a former occasion by a declarant having an opportunity to observe the facts stated, will be *536received as evidence of such facts, notwithstanding the rule against hearsay if
“‘“(1) the statement is proved to have been written or signed by the de-clarant, or to have been given by him as testimony in a judicial or official hearing, or the making of the statement is acknowledged by the declarant in his testimony in the present proceeding, and
“ ‘ “(2) the party against whom the statement is offered is afforded an opportunity to cross-examine the declar-ant.” ’ McCormick, supra, at page 82.
We also add a third condition, however, which is intended to limit the use of prior statements as substantive evidence to impeachment situations only.
", and (3) the witness has testified to the same events in a contrary manner in the present proceedings.
‘‘In adopting the foregoing rule, we wish to point out that the A.L.I. Model Code of Evidence (1942), Rule 503, p. 231, also suggests that prior statements of witnesses be given substantive evidentiary value.
“ 'Evidence of a hearsay declaration is admissible if the judge finds that the de-clarant

‘“(b) is present and subject to cross-examination.’ ”
In Jett v. Commonwealth, 436 S.W.2d 788 (Ky.1969), the court overruled earlier cases and held, l.c. 792:
“The result is that an out-of-court statement made by any person who appears as a witness, which statement is material and relevant to the issues of the case, may be received as substantive evidence through the testimony of another witness, and need not be limited to impeachment purposes. CR 43.07 therefore does not apply, though we are of the further opinion that the same type of foundation must be laid as required by CR 43.08 in order that the witness whose testimony is to be contradicted, supplemented, or otherwise affected by the out-of-court statement may have a proper and timely opportunity to give his version or explanation of it. The same rule shall apply regardless of whether the witness whose out-of-court statement is to be proved appears as a witness for the party who intends to prove it or as a witness for the adversary party.”
In California, a provision was inserted in the state’s Evidence Code 1 which provides that “[ejvidence of a statement made by a witness is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule if the statement is inconsistent with his testimony at the hearing and is offered in compliance with Section 770.” 2
The Supreme Court of California in People v. Johnson, 68 Cal.2d 646, 68 Cal. Rptr. 599, 441 P.2d 111 (1968), and People v. Green, 70 Cal.2d 654, 75 Cal.Rptr. 782, 451 P.2d 422 (1969), held that such statements could not be introduced under § 1235 to prove the charges against the accused without violating his right of confrontation under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. On certiorari in the Green case, the Supreme Court of the United States in California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 90 S.Ct. 1930, 26 L.Ed.2d 489, vacated the reversal and remanded the case to the Supreme Court of California to enable it to pass on other issues raised by the appellant but not passed upon' by the California Supreme Court. In a well considered opinion by Mr. Justice White, the Supreme Court of the United States held that defendant’s constitutional right to confrontation was not necessarily inconsistent with the state’s decision to change its hearsay rules to reflect the minority or Wigmore view. It summarized the situa*537tion as follows, 399 U.S. l.c. 154, 90 S.Ct. l.c. 1932:
“Section 1235 of the California Evidence Code represents a considered choice by the California Legislature between two opposing positions concerning the extent to which a witness’ prior statements may be introduced at trial without violating hearsay rules of evidence. The orthodox view, adopted in most jurisdictions, has been that the out-of-court statements are inadmissible for the usual reasons that have led to the exclusion of hearsay statements : the statement may not have been made under oath; the declarant may not have been subjected to cross-examination when he made the statement; and the jury cannot observe the declarant’s demeanor at the time he made the statement. Accordingly, under this view, the statement may not be offered to show the truth of the matters asserted therein, but can be introduced under appropriate limiting instructions to impeach the credibility of the witness who has changed his story at trial.
“In contrast, the minority view adopted in some jurisdictions and supported by most legal commentators and by recent proposals to codify the law of evidence would permit the substantive use of prior inconsistent statements on the theory that the usual dangers of hearsay are largely nonexistent where the witness testifies at trial. ‘The whole purpose of the Hearsay rule has been already satisfied [because] the witness is present and subject to cross-examination [and] [t]here is ample opportunity to test him as to the basis for his former statement.’ ”
Subsequently, 399 U.S. l.c. 158, 90 S.Ct. l.c. 1935, it is stated:
“ * * * Viewed historically, then, there is good reason to conclude that the Confrontation Clause is not violated by admitting a declarant’s out-of-court statements, as long as the declarant is testifying as a witness and subject to full and effective cross-examination.
“This conclusion is supported by comparing the purposes of confrontation with the alleged dangers in admitting an out-of-court statement. Confrontation: (1) insures that the witness will give his statements under oath — -thus impressing him with the seriousness of the matter and guarding against the lie by the possibility of a penalty for perjury; (2) forces the witness to submit to cross-examination, the ‘greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth’; (3) permits the jury that is to decide the defendant’s fate to observe the demeanor of the witness in making his statement, thus aiding the jury in assessing his credibility.”
In the recent case of McDonnell v. United States of America, 472 F.2d 1153 (8th Cir. 1973), the court, in reliance on Green v. California, supra, upholds the action of the trial court in permitting introduction of testimony of witness in prior trial of defendant after witness at this trial was evasive as to the burglary and defendant’s participation therein and said that his memory of most of the facts about the burglary had left him.3
It would serve no useful purpose to lengthen this opinion by quoting more extensively from these or other decisions or from the various texts or law review articles. Suffice it to say that I conclude, after studying them, that we should overrule the cases announcing the orthodox view and adopt instead a rule substantially like that announced by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Gelhaar v. State, supra.
In the first place, California v. Green establishes that constitutionally such change is permissible. We will not thereby violate defendant’s right of confrontation and cross-examination. Secondly, according to the recognized scholars in the field of evidence, this is a sound and desirable *538change; one which satisfies the purpose for which the Hearsay rule was established. In addition, the respected American Law Institute suggests the change and the new Federal Rules of Evidence, effective July 1, 1973, are in accord. Finally, recent well considered cases which I have cited have commenced a trend in this direction.
I suggest that adequate protection of the rights of defendants does not demand retention of the orthodox rule. On the other hand, continuance of the rule permits occurrences such as happened here in which a witness who was a joint participant decides at the last moment to help the defendant and changes his story after the State puts him on the stand. Our rules should not encourage such a result and deny the jury the right to consider his prior written or recorded and sometimes sworn statements when constitutional and logical precepts do not so require.
It is to be noted that we are not considering at this time whether such testimony alone would be sufficient to support a conviction. Here, there was other evidence of defendant’s guilt. Whether in a case without any other evidence the court should hold a submissible case was made is not before us. That would be decided on the record submitting such issue.
I would expand the rule as announced by the Wisconsin Court to include video-taped statements because although verbal and not signed, the statement is actually recorded and the jury may hear the voice of the witness giving it and see his facial expression and his physical condition as he talks. There is not room for serious disagreement as to what was said, as there is when a witness simply relates his recollection or version of oral statements of the declarant. Such video-taped statement is sufficiently trustworthy, in my judgment, to be treated as at least equivalent to a signed statement. I would not, however, extend the rule to cover purely oral statements related by some other witness as having been said by the declarant.
I am convinced, from a reading of the testimony, that evidence of earlier statements by Hackctt were used for more than merely impeachment as permitted by the orthodox rule. There were questions asked as to which statement was the truth. Then the prosecuting attorney in closing argument contended for the truth of the proposition, based on Hackett’s earlier statements, that James Granberry was present. This was not merely argument that Hack-ett’s testimony at the trial should be ignored because he had been impeached. As indicated, I consider that this was proper in the instances of the prior deposition and the video-taped statement, but since evidence of prior oral statements by Hackett (other than his video-taped statement) were so used, I must conclude that for this reason reversible error occurred and the judgment must be reversed.

. California Evidence Code, § 1235 (1966).

. Sec. 770 requires that the witness be afforded the opportunity to explain or deny the statement at some point in the trial.

. See also the Federal Rules of Evidence, Article YIII, Hearsay Rule 801(d)(1), and Advisory Committee Note thereto, subdivision (d), effective July 1, 1973.