Com. v. Maddox
| Citation | 955 S.W.2d 718 |
| Decision Date | 30 October 1997 |
| Docket Number | 97-SC-163-DG,Nos. 96-SC-679-D,s. 96-SC-679-D |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellant, v. Chester MADDOX, Jr., Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky |
Two year old Terrance Davis was brought by ambulance to the emergency room at Kosair's Childrens Hospital at 8:41 a.m. on August 19, 1993. Terrance had sustained a massive skull fracture, a ruptured blood vessel in his abdomen, and he was bruised virtually all over his body. He was in a coma when he was brought in and his condition deteriorated throughout the day. That evening, at 8:02 p.m., Terrance died. Terrance's injuries were later described as similar to those sustained by a person who had been hit by a car and thrown forty feet. However, Terrance was not hit and thrown by an automobile. Rather, he suffered these tragic, fatal injuries while he was in his home.
Terrance's home was on South Shelby Street in Louisville where he lived with his mother, Michelle Davis, Michelle's six-year-old niece, and Chester Maddox, Jr., a man with whom Michelle had recently formed a relationship and who had moved into the home two weeks prior to Terrance's death. In addition to the people in the home, Terrance also came into regular contact with Michelle's mother, Beverly Stewart, and Michelle's brother, Michael Stewart, as, on occasion, both cared for him while Michelle was at work.
The day before Terrance died, Michelle had taken him to the pediatrician because he was suffering from flu-like symptoms. The record of that visit did not indicate that Terrance had any bruises. That evening, Michelle went to work, and left Maddox to watch Terrance and her niece. While Michelle was at work, her brother Michael Stewart dropped by the house and visited for approximately two hours. During his visit, Michael Stewart was never alone with Terrance.
Michelle returned from work that evening to find Maddox in the kitchen, and the two children upstairs. She watched television for a while, then she and Maddox went to bed. Later, Michelle went downstairs to watch television again. Maddox joined her for a while, and then returned to bed. Michelle eventually went back upstairs, checked on the children, covered Terrance, and went to bed.
The next morning, Maddox found Terrance on the floor of the children's bedroom. He noticed that Terrance's head was swollen, and that he was breathing only once every ten seconds. Maddox put Terrance back into bed. He called for Michelle, told her that something was wrong with Terrance and that he was going to take him to the hospital. Michelle got up and found Terrance in his bed with his eyes half open. When she picked him up, she found that his breathing was irregular and that he was unresponsive. Maddox called 911 and an ambulance arrived and took Terrance to the hospital.
Maddox was charged with the murder of Terrance Davis, and was tried in the Jefferson Circuit Court. He was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree and was sentenced to sixteen years imprisonment. At trial, assistant state medical examiner Dr. Tracey Corey-Handy testified that the head injury and the abdominal injury were the causes of Terrance's death. Autopsy photographs depicting the dead child's injuries, including the multiple bruises to his head face, neck, chest, back and legs, were introduced into evidence. One such photograph was an infrared photo of a massive bruise to Terrance's anus. However, there was no evidence at trial suggesting that Terrance had been sexually abused. Both Michelle Davis and her brother Michael Stewart testified for the prosecution.
The Court of Appeals reversed Maddox's conviction based on the trial court's ruling which disallowed cross examination of prosecution witnesses Michelle Davis and Michael Stewart about their alleged prior abuse of other children. By avowal, evidence was presented that Michelle Davis had previously whipped another child to the extent that a shoe imprint had resulted, and there was evidence that Michael Stewart had sexually molested another child. The Commonwealth was granted discretionary review of the opinion of the Court of Appeals, and Maddox's cross-motion for discretionary review challenging the trial court's ruling which allowed introduction of autopsy photographs was also granted.
In an effort to cast doubt on his involvement in Terrance's death, Maddox sought to cross examine Michelle Davis and Michael Stewart as to allegations of their abuse of other children. As to Michelle Davis, excluded cross-examination would have shown that one month prior to Terrance's death, she allegedly struck one of her sister's children so hard with a shoe that an imprint was left on the child. The Cabinet for Human Resources investigated and substantiated this allegation and Michelle admitted that she administered the blows to the child. During the Cabinet's investigation of Michelle, an allegation was made that her brother, Michael Stewart, had sexually molested one of the boys in her care. This allegation was also substantiated by the Cabinet, and Michelle agreed to prevent her nephews from being alone with Michael. After the Cabinet's investigation, at Michelle's request, these three children were removed from her home. Neither Michelle nor Michael had criminal charges brought against them. Eventually one of Michelle's nieces was again placed in Michelle's home.
Maddox argues that he should have been allowed to cross examine Michael Stewart regarding the substantiated sexual abuse allegations against him. He claims that even though there was no evidence or testimony about Terrance having been sexually abused, the photograph which depicted the massive bruise to the child's anus permitted the inference that Terrance had been sexually abused by the person who caused his death. The trial court held that Michael Stewart could not be so cross-examined. Reversing, the Court of Appeals held that Maddox should have been allowed to cross examine Michael Stewart on this issue.
[T]he fact that Michael had been accused of sexually molesting another child became relevant when the Commonwealth introduced an infrared photograph from which it could be inferred that Terrance had been sexually abused at about the same time as he was fatally injured ... Given that Michael Stewart had access to Terrance not long before his death, that he had a documented history of child sexual abuse, and given the Commonwealth's introduction of a photograph raising the inference that the child had recently been sexually abused, we think that the evidence sought to be elicited was relevant and should have been admitted.
Slip op. at 8. A similar view was expressed with respect to the trial court's limitations on the cross-examination of Michelle Davis. The Court of Appeals held that "this evidence should have been admitted so that the jury could place 'a proper estimate on [Michelle's] testimony.' " Slip op. at p. 10-11. As explained hereinafter, we disagree with the view of the Court of Appeals and reverse on these issues.
Whenever limitations on the right of cross-examination are analyzed, it should be remembered that the right implicated is a fundamental constitutional right and that such limitations should be cautiously applied. Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 (1986); Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 320-21, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 1112-13, 39 L.Ed.2d 347, 356 (1974); Olden v. Kentucky, 488 U.S. 227, 109 S.Ct. 480, 102 L.Ed.2d 513 (1988); and Commonwealth v. Cox, Ky. 837 S.W.2d 898 (1992). Witness credibility is always at issue and relevant evidence which affects credibility should not be excluded. Parsley v. Commonwealth, Ky., 306 S.W.2d 284 (1957). In R. Lawson, The Kentucky Evidence Law Handbook, § 4.15(II) (3rd ed. 1993), the relevancy requirement was described as including ...
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