Court Opinion

ID: 9541581
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:26:49.227865+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:03:49.638112
License: Public Domain

MARTONE, Justice,
dissenting.
¶ 30 I do not believe that the trial judge abused her discretion in granting the state’s motion to exclude the testimony of Dr. Paterson as a surrebuttal witness. On the last day for the disclosure of experts, Talmadge listed Dr. Roberts as the defense expert. Long after the disclosure deadline, Talmadge listed Dr. Paterson as a surrebuttal witness. With the unexpected good news that Paterson would be in the United States, Talmadge did not seek leave to list him as a defense expert, but only as a surrebuttal witness. Then, one day before trial, Talmadge disclosed that Paterson would be available only on June 28. This would mean that in order to properly cross-examine this expert witness, the state would have had to have interviewed him on the day of his testimony. This is no way to run a trial. The trial judge properly prohibited this.
¶ 31 The general rule that witness preclusion is a remedy of last resort does not apply *442to rebuttal and surrebuttal witnesses. That rule applies to witnesses called in the state’s and defense’s cases-in-chief. Rebuttal and surrebuttal witnesses are wholly discretionary. As we said in State v. Steelman, 120 Ariz. 301, 319, 585 P.2d 1213, 1231 (1978), “the decision whether rebuttal evidence should be admitted is within the sound discretion of the trial court” and “the discretion of the trial court in allowing surrebuttal testimony is even greater.” Surrebuttal testimony is much like recross-examination. Most judges simply do not allow it. Indeed, unlike rebuttal evidence, surrebuttal is not even listed in the rules of criminal procedure as part of the order of proceedings in the conduct of a trial. See Rule 19.1(a), Ariz. R.Crim. P., (prescribing rebuttal after defense evidence, but prescribing argument after rebuttal). In my view, a trial judge cannot abuse discretion in excluding surre-buttal because a trial judge could exclude it altogether as a matter of effective trial management. Rebuttal testimony is limited to the scope of the defense’s case-in-chief. Thus, there should be no new matter that would require surrebuttal. At some point, the tennis match must stop and the trial judge can properly draw the line at rebuttal testimony.
¶ 32 I do not share the view that this is one of those rare cases where it was error to exclude surrebuttal testimony. As we said in Steelman, to the extent that it is allowed, surrebuttal testimony is offered to explain away new evidence brought out in rebuttal (which should not happen if rebuttal is limited to the scope of the case-in-chief), “or to impeach the testimony presented in rebuttal.” 120 Ariz. at 319, 585 P.2d at 1231. But impeachment attacks the credibility of a witness qua witness. It does not include offering substantive evidence that contradicts the testimony of another witness, whether that be characterized as “cumulative” or “corroborative.”
¶ 33 Finally, I do not believe that we should criticize the lawyering in this case. Ante, at ¶¶ 26-28. This is not an issue raised by the parties nor is it one contained in the petition for review. Instead, I believe we have an obligation to give lawyers notice and an opportunity to be heard before we draw into question their professionalism in a published opinion.
¶ 34 In all events, I agree with the court of appeals and would affirm the judgment of the trial court.