Hirsch v. State
| Decision Date | 30 June 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 48S02-9806-CR-374,48S02-9806-CR-374 |
| Parties | John M. HIRSCH, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below). |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
John M. Hirsch was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. His defense at trial was self-defense. When Hirsch took the stand, the trial court barred him from giving a complete account of the altercation that led to the victim's death. We grant transfer to address the scope of a defendant's right under the Indiana Rules of Evidence to testify to facts or circumstances that are relevant to assessing a self-defense claim. Because we conclude that the trial court wrongly excluded testimony by Hirsch and the error was not harmless, we reverse and remand for a new trial or other proceedings consistent with this opinion.
On May 9, 1995, Hirsch and the victim, Willie Redfield, got into a fight in a common area at the Madison County Jail where they were both inmates. Redfield was rendered unconscious and died three weeks later. The cause of death was determined to be strangulation. The testimony of several witnesses as to what occurred is discussed in detail because the State argues that the disputed testimony that was excluded--Hirsch's account of Redfield's refusal to quit fighting--was cumulative. Evaluating Hirsch's claim of prejudice requires a full understanding of what went on at trial. All witnesses discussed except Hirsch were called by the State. They are described in the same sequence as they testified at trial.
Detective Robert Blount of the Madison County Police Department did not witness the altercation between Hirsch and Redfield. He testified to what Hirsch told him during an interrogation of Hirsch right after the event. The following is Hirsch's story as told to Blount, and recounted by Blount to the jury.
A card game involving neither Hirsch nor Redfield was in progress in a common area in the jail. Hirsch was sitting at a table in the common area for an undefined period and eventually went to his nearby cell where he soon heard someone say "Willie we was watching that." Hirsch returned to the common area to find that Redfield had changed the channel on the common television. As Redfield and several other inmates looked on, Hirsch changed the channel back to the original station. 1 Hirsch and Redfield exchanged words, Redfield shoved Hirsch a few times, Hirsch shoved him back, and then Redfield hit Hirsch two or three times in the face. Hirsch grabbed Redfield to keep from getting hit further and the men fell to the floor.
Hirsch first told Blount that he pinned Redfield down with his forearm and had his other arm behind Redfield's back. Later in the interrogation Hirsch stated that he had Redfield in a "choke" hold. 2 Once Hirsch got control of Redfield, he said several times to Redfield "Willie quit" or asked Redfield to "be cool." Redfield gave Hirsch a "negative response" and continued to struggle. Blount concluded: Hirsch sustained abrasions on his face, chest, and upper back that he displayed for Blount during the interrogation. Blount described Hirsch, who claimed that he did not intend to hurt Redfield, as "emotional" and "shaken."
Inmate Earl Lucius viewed the fight from a balcony overlooking the common area. He testified that he saw Hirsch and Redfield argue, push each other, and then come to blows, with Redfield throwing the first punch. Hirsch got Redfield into a headlock for approximately one to two minutes and said during that time that he would "put [Redfield] to sleep if he wouldn't stop fighting." On cross-examination, Lucius testified that Hirsch said "quit" to Redfield "several" times and that Redfield nonetheless continued to fight. When defense counsel asked Lucius what Redfield said in response to Hirsch's statements, the State objected and argued in sum that anything Redfield said was inadmissible hearsay. In an offer to prove, the defense maintained that Lucius's testimony--that Redfield said he would not stop fighting--was admissible under hearsay exceptions for "present sense impression" or "excited utterance." The trial court sustained the State's objection. Accordingly, Lucius was not permitted to testify to anything Redfield said to Hirsch in response to Hirsch's apparent offer to end the hostilities.
One of the card game participants, inmate Willie Whaley, testified that after Redfield changed the channel, Hirsch came out of his cell and changed it back. At some point Redfield pushed Hirsch's hand away from the television. Hirsch then said "don't touch me" and the struggle ensued. 3 According to Whaley, after Hirsch got control of Redfield on the floor, Hirsch said "you gonna quit it?" and Redfield replied "hell no." In response to this testimony, the State impeached Whaley with a statement he gave to authorities on the day of the altercation. In the statement, Whaley had said that he "couldn't understand [Redfield] because he was being choked or something." 4
Defendant Hirsch testified that after Redfield changed the channel on the television, Hirsch turned it back to the original station. Redfield changed the channel again. When Hirsch reached for the television a second time, Redfield pushed his hand away and Hirsch said "don't touch me." Redfield then pushed Hirsch with both hands. Hirsch pushed Redfield back. Redfield punched Hirsch in the face, Hirsch threw a punch that missed, and Redfield punched Hirsch again. Hirsch grabbed Redfield and the men fell to the floor. At some point Hirsch tried without success to get the attention of a guard. Hirsch pinned Redfield on the floor and told him several times to "quit" or "stop." When defense counsel asked Hirsch what Redfield said in response, the State objected and the trial court sustained the objection, presumably on the same hearsay grounds asserted as to Lucius. Hirsch testified that he did not let Redfield up because The State immediately objected to this testimony, calling it a "hearsay answer," and asked that it be stricken. The trial court sustained the State's objection and admonished the jury to disregard the statement.
By the time of cross-examination, Hirsch appears to have understood the ground rules that had been established barring the admission of anything Redfield said in response to Hirsch's apparent offer to "quit." Hirsch testified without greater specificity on cross-examination that while on the ground Redfield was "speaking back towards me" and "talkin' back." Hirsch denied that he intended to kill or even injure Redfield and maintained that he feared for his safety because Redfield was "bigger and stronger" than he was. 5 Hirsch asserted that he applied no more force than was necessary under the circumstances and that he was merely defending himself. After Redfield stopped struggling, Hirsch retrieved a glass of water and poured it on Redfield's face in an effort to revive him. Finally, Hirsch testified that he did not have Redfield in a "choke" hold, but rather was holding Redfield down with one arm across Redfield's chest. 6
Hirsch was initially charged with aggravated battery. After Redfield died, the information was amended to allege murder. A jury convicted Hirsch of involuntary manslaughter, he appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Hirsch v. State, 683 N.E.2d 647 (Ind.Ct.App.1997) (unpublished table decision).
Hirsch argues that the trial court erred in barring him from testifying to Redfield's refusal to stop fighting. The claim is that Hirsch's testimony was admissible under the Indiana Rules of Evidence and highly probative as to self-defense because it illustrated: (1) the reasonableness of Hirsch's fear of further attack and need to defend himself; and (2) that Redfield responded to Hirsch's offer to withdraw by threatening to continue. 7 Although rulings admitting or excluding evidence are typically reviewed for an abuse of discretion, the ruling at issue here is reviewed de novo because it turns on a misunderstanding of a rule of evidence, specifically the hearsay rule. Stahl v. State, 686 N.E.2d 89, 91 (Ind.1997).
The elements of self-defense are defined by statute:
A person is justified in using reasonable force against another person to protect himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the imminent use of unlawful force. However, a person is justified in using deadly force only if he reasonably believes that that force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to himself....
IND.CODE § 35-41-3-2(a) (1993). Force is not justified if the defendant enters into combat with another person or is the initial aggressor, unless the defendant communicates an intent to withdraw and the other person "nevertheless continues or threatens to continue unlawful action." § (d)(3). If self-defense is supported by the evidence, the State must disprove at least one element of the defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Birdsong v. State, 685 N.E.2d 42, 45 (Ind.1997); Jordan v. State, 656 N.E.2d 816, 817 (Ind.1995).
When a claim of self-defense is interposed, "[a]ny fact which reasonably would place a person in fear or apprehension of...
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