Hendricks v. State

Citation554 N.E.2d 1140
Decision Date31 May 1990
Docket NumberNo. 54A01-8910-CR-409,54A01-8910-CR-409
PartiesSam HENDRICKS, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff Below).
CourtCourt of Appeals of Indiana

Monica Foster, Indianapolis, for appellant.

Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Amy Schaeffer Good, Deputy Atty. Gen., Office of Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

ROBERTSON, Judge.

Sam Hendricks appeals his conviction of battery, a Class D felony.

We affirm.

Christopher Hendricks, the defendant's four-week-old infant, had been fussy for a period of about two days. On the evening of May 18, 1987, Hendricks cared for the child while his wife Vanessa prepared the evening meal. Hendricks lost his temper and struck the child causing bruises on the child's back and buttocks. He also applied pressure to the baby's legs such that the infant suffered a transverse fracture to his left femur.

I.

Hendricks argues that by curtailing cross-examination of his wife Vanessa concerning welfare department investigations of child abuse engaged in by Vanessa and involving her older son, the trial court deprived him of his constitutional rights of confrontation and due process. Hendricks relies upon Davis v. Alaska (1974), 415 U.S. 308, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347. 1

In Davis, the Supreme Court recognized that "subject to the broad discretion of the trial judge to preclude repetitive and unduly harassing interrogations ..., the cross-examiner has traditionally been allowed to impeach, i.e. discredit, the witness." The court emphasized that exposure of a witness's motivation in testifying is a proper and important function of the constitutionally protected right of cross-examination. Olden v. Kentucky (1988), 488 U.S. 227, 109 S.Ct. 480, 102 L.Ed.2d 513; Davis, 415 U.S. at 317, 94 S.Ct. at 1110-1111.

Recently, in Delaware v. Van Arsdall (1986), 475 U.S. 673, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 and again in Olden, 109 S.Ct. 480, the court reaffirmed Davis, holding that "a criminal defendant states a violation of the Confrontation Clause by showing that he was prohibited from engaging in otherwise appropriate cross-examination designed to show a prototypical form of bias on the part of the witness and thereby to expose to the jury the facts from which jurors ... could appropriately draw inferences relative to the reliability of the witness." Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. at 681, 106 S.Ct. at 1436 cited in Olden, 109 S.Ct. at 483.

The State argues that Hendricks was properly prohibited from exploring suspicions that Vanessa Hendricks abused her older son because the defense was seeking to impeach Vanessa by improper means. Plainly, Hendricks' purpose in offering the testimony was to cast suspicion on Vanessa and demonstrate a motive for testifying falsely. In Indiana, the credibility of a witness may not be impeached by specific acts of misconduct which have not been reduced to conviction. Hansford v. State (1986), Ind., 490 N.E.2d 1083, 1091; Little v. State (1980), Ind.App., 413 N.E.2d 639, 643. The general credibility of a witness ordinarily may be attacked only by showing that the witness has been convicted of treason, murder, rape, arson, burglary, robbery, kidnapping, forgery, perjury or other crimes involving dishonesty or false statement. Hodge v. State (1982), Ind., 442 N.E.2d 1006, 1011.

Even so, it is now clear that state-imposed evidentiary rules, whether a product of legislation or common law, must yield to the weightier Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of a defendant to conduct reasonable cross-examination and to receive a fair trial. Cf. e.g., Olden, 109 S.Ct. 480 (evidence of cohabitation, offered to show motive to lie, excluded by trial court because probative value outweighed by potential for prejudice); Davis, 415 U.S. 308, 94 S.Ct. 1105 (evidence that witness on probation for burglary prohibited based upon state statute designed to protect anonymity of juvenile offenders); Chambers v. Mississippi (1973), 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (voucher and hearsay rules). Indeed, trial court restrictions on the scope of cross-examination may "effectively ... emasculate the right of cross-examination itself." Delaware v. Fensterer (1985), 474 U.S. 15, 20, 106 S.Ct. 292, 294, 88 L.Ed.2d 15.

Normally, the Confrontation Clause is satisfied when the defense is given a full and fair opportunity to probe and expose infirmities in a witness' testimony, thereby calling to the attention of the factfinder the reasons for giving scant weight to the witness' testimony. Id. at 23, 106 S.Ct. at 296. Hendricks tried on two occasions during cross-examination to explore Vanessa's own involvement in the physical abuse of her children. Those attempts were met with a relevancy objection which was sustained, preventing any inquiry at all into the circumstances surrounding a recent incident involving Vanessa's son Robert. 2 The defense was able to establish however that Vanessa, virtually the exclusive caretaker of the children, did not discover the infant's injuries for almost a day, even though she diapered the child and dressed him on at least two occasions during that period.

Vanessa testified in response to the State's questions that she rarely left the children alone with Hendricks because she was scared of him. A reasonable jury might have received a significantly different impression of Vanessa had defense counsel been permitted to pursue its theory that Vanessa was the abusive parent. We conclude the trial court improperly denied Hendricks the opportunity to impeach Vanessa for bias, thereby depriving him of his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation.

However, like other Confrontation Clause errors, a denial of effective cross-examination is subject to harmless error analysis. Olden, 109 S.Ct. 480, 483; Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 685, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 1438.

The correct inquiry is whether, assuming that the damaging potential of the cross-examination were fully realized, a reviewing court might nonetheless say that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Whether such an error is harmless in a particular case depends upon a host of factors including the importance of the witness' testimony in the prosecution's case, whether the testimony is cumulative, the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the testimony of witnesses on material points, the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted, and, of course the overall strength of the prosecution's case.

Id.

Although certainly the issue of identity would have been closer for the jury, Vanessa Hendricks' testimony was not particularly critical to the State's case on that issue. Essentially, Vanessa established that Hendricks had the opportunity to commit the crime within the relevant time frame constructed by the infant's physicians. Vanessa also reported what she had heard from another room on the evening the child was injured. Yet, Hendricks admitted causing the injury. Hendricks' final version of the manner in which the injuries occurred which Hendricks gave to the police is consistent both with the medical description of the injuries and Vanessa's perceptions. It is the only account offered by Hendricks compatible with the medical evidence.

Hence, the remaining evidence offered against Hendricks was substantial of itself without the damaging testimony from Vanessa. We are convinced that under the circumstances, the denial of full and fair cross-examination was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

II.

Hendricks contends the statements of his wife, Vanessa, and the child's physician, Dr. Kirtley, which came into evidence through the testimony of Detective Meadows, were inadmissible hearsay as neither declarant acknowledged having made the statement. Officer Meadows related Vanessa Hendricks' statement that while she was fixing supper on Monday evening, May 18, 1987, and Hendricks was attending the child, she heard a smack, then the baby cried louder. Statements attributed to Dr. Kirtley by Meadows concerned his determination that the kind of fracture suffered by the child was inconsistent with the explanation given him by the father,...

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  • Hall v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • September 30, 2003
    ...analysis unnecessary. 10. Hall cites Saylor v. State, 559 N.E.2d 332, 335 (Ind.Ct.App.1990), trans. denied, and Hendricks v. State, 554 N.E.2d 1140 (Ind.Ct.App. 1990), aff'd in part, 562 N.E.2d 725 (Ind. 1990), as standing for the proposition that he had a right to the unencumbered cross-ex......
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    • June 9, 1999
    ...different impression of Latoria had the evidence defense counsel sought to introduce been admitted. Cf. Hendricks v. State, 554 N.E.2d 1140, 1143 (Ind.Ct.App. 1990). The only limitation imposed was upon evidence of her motherhood and the paternity of her child. As recognized in the quotatio......
  • DeMotte v. State
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    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • June 28, 1990
    ...assertions are admissible as substantive evidence if the declarant is present and subject to cross-examination." Hendricks v. State (1990), Ind.App., 554 N.E.2d 1140. Thus, DeMotte appears to argue the video tape constituted an out-of-court declaration by Mere presence in the courtroom of a......
  • Sheckles v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • May 29, 2012
    ...or motive to lie on the part of a witness can deprive a defendant of his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. Hendricks v. State, 554 N.E.2d 1140, 1143 (Ind.Ct.App.1990), aff'd in pertinent part,562 N.E.2d 725, 729 (Ind.1990). Notwithstanding a criminal defendant's general right to cross......
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