Court Opinion

ID: 9548963
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:11:10.596117+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:19:40.522984
License: Public Domain

ROVIRA, Justice,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I concur with all of the opinion except Part III, C, from which I respectfully dissent.
In my opinion, the record in this case amply supports the trial court’s ruling and establishes that the trial court properly exercised its discretion in imposing the exclusion sanction of Crim.P. 12.1.
The majority opinion vacates the judgment of conviction and orders a remand because the trial court “failed to give any reasons for its exclusion of the alibi evidence.” Maj. op. at 778. It outlines five factors, supported by four explanatory footnotes, which should guide the trial court in its ultimate determination.
We can review the record and, on the basis of that review, come to our own conclusion whether there was good cause shown to permit the alibi evidence to be introduced in spite of the defendant’s noncompliance with the disclosure requirement. In my judgment, the facts set out in Part I of the majority opinion, and my reading of the record, support the trial court’s ruling.
The People gave notice to the defendant concerning an alibi defense on September 29, 1977. Over a year later, on Friday, November 24, 1978, three days before the trial was to start, the defendant’s attorney told the People that there might be an alibi defense but did not provide the names of alibi witnesses. On Tuesday, November 28, 1978, the defendant provided the People with the names of two alibi witnesses. On Friday morning, December 1, 1978, the defendant provided the People with the name of a third alibi witness. This information came shortly before the People rested their case at 10:55 a.m. ■ After excusing the jury, the court considered various motions, including the People’s motion to exclude testimony of alibi witnesses. The court allowed the defendant to make an offer of proof to show good cause why he waited for over one year after receiving the People’s notice to provide the names of alibi witnesses.
As his offer of proof, the defendant put his investigator on the stand. The investigator testified that he was given the names of three individuals who would supposedly state that the defendant had been at a *780party on the night in question and had spent that night at one of their houses. The defense counsel explained that the defendant had not informed him of an alibi defense until approximately a week before trial.
The People pointed out that the nature of the alibi defense is such that a defendant should usually know that he was somewhere else at the time in question, and often he should know who he was with. Further, even though defense counsel may have disclosed the defense shortly after learning of it, no explanation was offered by the defendant as to why he waited until one week before trial to disclose the defense to his cdunsel, and the lack of compliance should be attributed to the defendant as well as his attorney.
The People also pointed out that they had not been able to interview the witnesses until that morning, December 1, and that the remedy for noncompliance with Crim.P. 12.1 is exclusion. They further contended that a continuance would be prejudicial because of speedy trial problems, and because they had out-of-state witnesses.
After hearing the arguments on both sides, the court granted the People’s motion to exclude the testimony of alibi witnesses. Although the court did not state its reasons for the ruling, the record demonstrates that the factors listed in the majority opinion were brought to the trial court’s attention. I do not believe it is necessary for adequate appellate review to remand the case and require that the trial judge recite the factors supporting his decision.
Thus, based upon the evidence submitted to the trial court, I would affirm the trial court’s ruling and reach the other issues raised by the defendant in this case. See Maj. op. at 769 n. 1.
I am authorized to say that Chief Justice ERICKSON joins me in the concurrence and dissent.