People v. DeHerrera
| Decision Date | 30 April 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 82SC89,82SC89 |
| Citation | 680 P.2d 848 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Petitioner, v. Raymond DeHERRERA, Respondent. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Duane Woodard, Atty. Gen., Charles B. Howe, Deputy Atty. Gen., Richard H. Forman, Sol. Gen., Laura E. Udis, Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, for petitioner.
David F. Vela, Colorado State Public Defender, Rachel A. Bellis, Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, for respondent.
We granted certiorari to review the judgment of the Court of Appeals in People v. DeHerrera, 647 P.2d 241 (Colo.App.1981), which held that the district court erred by admitting evidence of the defendant's aliases, by failing to strike the aliases from the case caption, and by instructing the jury that it might consider the use of aliases as a circumstance establishing guilt. We affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
A police officer stopped the defendant, Raymond DeHerrera, in a pickup truck matching the description of a truck that had been driven from the scene of an armed robbery of a convenience store minutes earlier. After the defendant was arrested he exercised his right to remain silent and did not give his name. The officer took the defendant to the police station where the police inventoried the defendant's personal effects, including two driver's licenses. Both licenses had photographs of the defendant, but one used the name "Ben Andrew Herrera," and the other used the name "Nomar Arrerehed, Jr." 1 The police also found a check stub with the name "Ray DeHerrera."
The information and case caption identified the defendant as Ray DeHerrera a/k/a Raymond DeHerrera a/k/a Ben Andrew Herrera a/k/a Nomar Arrerehed, Jr. The defendant filed a motion in limine to strike the aliases listed in the caption and for an order preventing any in-court reference to the aliases. The district court denied the motion, concluding that the defendant intended to mislead and to disguise his identity by the use of the driver's licenses.
During the trial, the court admitted the two driver's licenses as evidence over the defendant's objection. The defendant also objected to the following jury instruction:
The fact that a person used an assumed name immediately after a crime has been committed with which he is charged, is a circumstance in establishing his guilt, not sufficient in itself to establish guilt, but a circumstance which the jury may consider. The weight to which that circumstance is entitled, is a matter for the jury to determine in connection with all the facts in this case.
The jury returned a verdict finding the defendant guilty of aggravated robbery. 2 The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, holding that the district court improperly permitted the use of the defendant's aliases.
The issue before us is whether the district court erred by admitting the driver's licenses as evidence, by denying the motion to strike the aliases from the case caption, and by instructing the jury that it might consider the use of aliases as a circumstance establishing guilt. We conclude that the district court did err, and affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals remanding the case for a new trial.
It has long been the rule in Colorado that the prosecution's use of aliases without proper basis may be prejudicial error. See Mitchell v. People, 173 Colo. 217, 476 P.2d 1000 (1970); Routa v. People, 117 Colo. 564, 192 P.2d 436 (1948). 3 Courts should allow the use of aliases only when proof of an alias is relevant to an issue before the court. C.R.E. 402; United States v. Cowden, 545 F.2d 257 (1st Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 909, 97 S.Ct 1181, 51 L.Ed.2d 585 (1977); United States v. Wilkerson, 456 F.2d 57 (6th Cir.1972); State v. Peary, 176 Conn. 170, 405 A.2d 626 (1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 966, 99 S.Ct. 2417, 60 L.Ed.2d 1072 (1979).
We do not believe the defendant's possession of driver's licenses bearing names other than his own is probative of guilt of aggravated robbery. Even if one were to establish some possible relevance, any probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice under the facts of this case. See C.R.E. 403. Alias tend to indicate to the public mind that the defendant is a member of a "criminal" class, and inherently suspect. United States v. Wilkerson, 456 F.2d at 59; Routa v. People, 192 P.2d at 437-38; State v. Smith, 55 Wash.2d 482, 348 P.2d 417 (1960). The use of an alias may be relevant if a defendant uses the alias to avoid detection, United States v. Myers, 550 F.2d 1036, 1049 (5th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 847, 99 S.Ct. 147, 58 L.Ed.2d 149 (1978), or if it is relevant to an issue of identification. United States v. Wilkerson, 456 F.2d at 59; Routa v. People, 192 P.2d at 438. In this case, however, there is no connection between the names on the licenses and any consciousness by the defendant of guilt. The defendant did not offer the licenses as proof of his identity; a police officer discovered them in a routine inventory of the defendant's personal effects.
We note that the district court concluded that the defendant intended to disguise his identity by the use of the driver's licenses, but we are not bound by this finding because it is clearly erroneous and not supported by the record. See Isaac v. American Heritage Bank and Trust Co., 675 P.2d 742 (Colo.1984); Gebhardt v. Gebhardt, 198 Colo. 28, 595 P.2d 1048 (1979). The defendant did not give his name or identification to the police. Holding that the defendant affirmatively disguised his identity by not speaking impermissibly burdens his constitutional right to remain silent. Cf. People v. Quintana, 665 P.2d 605, 609 (Colo.1983) (...
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