Bernadyn v. State

• Decision Date: 08 December 2005
• Docket Number: No. 91, September Term, 2003.,91, September Term, 2003.
• Citation: 390 Md. 1,887 A.2d 602
• Parties: Michael Joseph BERNADYN v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

887 A.2d 602

390 Md. 1

Michael Joseph BERNADYN v. STATE of Maryland.

No. 91, September Term, 2003.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

December 8, 2005.

Carrie Leonetti and Michael R. Braudes, Asst. Public Defenders (Stephen E. Harris, Public Defender, on brief), Baltimore, for Petitioner.

Diane E. Keller, Asst. Atty. General (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. General, on brief), Baltimore, for Respondent.

Argued before BELL, C.J., RAKER, WILNER, CATHELL, HARRELL, BATTAGLIA and JOHN C. ELDRIDGE (Retired, specially assigned), JJ.

RAKER, Judge.

We must decide in this case whether a medical bill seized by police at 2024 Morgan Street in Edgewood, Maryland, and addressed to "Michael Bernadyn, 2024 Morgan Street, Edgewood, Maryland 21040," when used by the State to establish that Bernadyn lived at that address, constitutes inadmissible hearsay. We shall answer that question in the affirmative and shall hold that the bill was inadmissible hearsay.

I.

Michael Bernadyn, petitioner, was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court for Harford County of the offenses of possession of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute, and maintaining a common nuisance. He was sentenced to a term of incarceration of five years on the possession with intent to distribute count and one year, consecutive, on the common nuisance count.

In August 2001, Deputy Mark Burkhardt of the Harford County Sheriff's Office conducted late night surveillance at 2022 and 2024 Morgan Street in Edgewood, Maryland, for approximately one week. He saw numerous people coming to and going from the two residences, meeting on the street, and conducting hand-to-hand drug transactions. According to Deputy Burkhardt, one of these individuals was Michael Bernadyn, who often walked in and out of 2024 Morgan Street. Deputy Burkhardt also saw several individuals whom he knew to be drug dealers entering 2024 Morgan Street on numerous occasions.

On August 29, 2001, Harford County Narcotics Task Force officers executed a search and seizure warrant at 2024 Morgan Street. When they entered, petitioner was alone in the living room. The officers seized a marijuana pipe, marijuana stems and seeds, and a Johns Hopkins Bayview Physicians medical bill dated August 16, 2001, containing the language "Responsible party: Michael Bernadyn, Jr., 2024 Morgan Street, Edgewood, Maryland 21040." In the master bedroom, they seized men's clothing, approximately twenty-six bags of marijuana weighing approximately eight ounces and some marijuana stems and seeds.

At trial, Deputy Burkhardt testified that he had seized the Bayview Physicians bill from 2024 Morgan Street. The defense objected to admission of the bill in evidence, arguing as follows:

"Reason for defense's objection is the paperwork says it's a billing statement from Johns Hopkins Bayview, has my client's address, 2024 Morgan Street, which I have no idea where they got this address. To let this evidence in would be extremely prejudicial to my client. . . . This company, this hospital, it's just a billing address. It could have been a third party who gave that address, not him. It doesn't say at some point he has reported this to be his address. That's a pretty big element of their case, and I don't think that's good enough. It could have been a third party that gave that address. We have no idea if it was him and who gave it. . . . That's why the hearsay rulings are the way they are. They can't say `ordinary course of business.'"

The court asked defense counsel: "Is it your client's position he didn't live there or that was not his residence?" Defense counsel answered "Yes." The court never asked the State the purpose for which the evidence was offered, and without articulating any reasons, the court overruled the objection and admitted the bill into evidence.

In closing argument, the State argued to the jury as follows:

"Now, the defendant would argue . . . that the defendant didn't live there. Well, we've shown that he lives there, and look at the facts that were before you. Deputy Burkhardt for about a week prior to the warrant goes down and is working surveillance. He's in an apartment across from where the defendant lives. He sees the defendant coming in and out of that house or apartment.

* * *

When the warrant's served, [Bernadyn is] the only one in there. He's the only one in there, and he is found in the living room.

Then you go to the officer who testifies, `When we go in, we look for mail.' And I submit if you said to anyone, `Go in this certain house,' and tell them no other information, `and tell me who lives there,' odds are they are going to pick up a piece of mail and look at it, and they're going to say, [`]Probably that person lives here because their mail is here.[']

* * *

They pick a piece of evidence that shows who lives there, and what you have is a bill from Johns Hopkins Bayview Physicians, a statement date of August 16, 2001. That's almost two weeks before the warrant, but it's for services that are provided back in June of 2001.

Now we go back almost two months prior to the warrant being served. So I guess defense counsel and the defendant would have you believe that Johns Hopkins randomly picked an address of 2024 and just happened to send it there, and that's where the defendant lived. It doesn't happen, because you also — look, this is a bill, is what it is, and I am sure that any institution is going to make sure they have the right address when they want to get paid.

There is also an argument that, [`]Well, the utilities are in [someone else's] name, they're not in this defendant's name; therefore, he must not live there.[']

I guess that argument would surprise my wife because my utilities are in my name, yet my wife and children live at the house.[¹] So I guess adopting that argument, and it applies to many people, if you will, roommates in college, generally one person will set up the utilities, but there would be multiple people who lived there. And, again, go back to the facts of the case. The officer still places him coming in and out of that location from the week prior to the warrant. So the evidence is that he lives there, and the evidence is that he certainly had control over that apartment or house, that he could come and go as he pleased."

In rebuttal closing argument, the State again referred to the bill, arguing as follows:

"If you walk into a house and somebody is standing there and you identify who that person is and you also find in the house personal mail for that individual, what is reasonable? What would you rely on in your every day decision making is that person lives there, and that is what the officers did.

This bill that was sent, this isn't anyone else's bill because it says, `Patient, Michael Bernadyn, Jr.' She argues, [`]Well, we don't know where Johns Hopkins got that address from.['] Michael Bernadyn, Jr., is the patient, and it says, `Responsible: Michael Bernadyn, Jr.' Again, did they randomly pick that address? I don't think so.

* * *

The question you have to ask is: Why was the Defendant at that house? Was he just hanging out? Was it just bad timing? He just happened to be there that day when they served the search warrant? No. He lived there. Where was Nicole Majerowicz? They could have called her, too, as a witness. They could have called her to straighten everything up, and they didn't.

If you go in the house, again, you go back a week before the warrant, who does the officer see coming in and out of the house? It's this defendant. He's the person they see coming in and out of the house, not Nicole Majerowicz. It is this defendant who is in the house when the officers go in. It's this defendant. He's — the only person in that house is that defendant.

* * *

Again, was the State required to bring in every piece of documentation from the house? No. You know, how many pieces of paper are enough? How many pieces of paper are not enough? If I had brought in 20 pieces of paper with his name on it, would that have convinced anybody anymore? As opposed to a single piece of paper, especially when he is found in the residence?

Suppose there was no piece of paper. Does that mean he doesn't live there? No. The evidence, the reasonableness of the evidence is he lives there, with or without the piece of paper. Would 100 pieces of paper convince you? I don't know. Probably not. Do I have to bring all that in? No. It's not a hundred percent certainty."

Bernadyn was convicted on all counts.

Bernadyn noted a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals. That court affirmed. Bernadyn v. State, 152 Md.App. 255, 261, 831 A.2d 532, 536 (2003). We granted Bernadyn's petition for writ of certiorari to consider the following question:

Does a medical bill discovered at a crime scene and addressed to the defendant constitute inadmissible hearsay when introduced in evidence, without foundation or authentication under any exception to the hearsay rule, to prove that the defendant resided at the address on the bill?

378 Md. 613, 837 A.2d 925 (2003).

II.

We review rulings on the admissibility of evidence ordinarily on an abuse of discretion standard. See Hopkins v. State, 352 Md. 146, 158, 721 A.2d 231, 237 (1998). Review of the admissibility of evidence which is hearsay is different. Hearsay, under our rules, must be excluded as evidence at trial, unless it falls within an exception to the hearsay rule excluding such evidence or is "permitted by applicable constitutional provisions or statutes." Md. Rule 5-802. Thus, a circuit court has no discretion to admit hearsay in the absence of a provision providing for its admissibility. Whether evidence is hearsay is an issue of law reviewed de novo.

Petitioner argues that the trial court erred in admitting the medical bill because it is inadmissible hearsay. He reasons that the bill is hearsay because it was an out-of-court statement offered for its truth and that the State failed to establish that the statement...