People v. Shields
| Decision Date | 21 March 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 83CA0569,83CA0569 |
| Citation | 701 P.2d 133 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John T. SHIELDS, Defendant-Appellant. . II |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Duane Woodard, Atty. Gen., Charles B. Howe, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen., Richard H. Forman, Sol. Gen., Clement P. Engle, Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, for plaintiff-appellee.
Lee Jay Belstock, Denver, for defendant-appellant.
Defendant, John T. Shields, appeals the judgment of conviction entered upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of robbery. He contends that the trial court erred in refusing to admit into evidence a codefendant's statement against penal interest, in shortening the theory of defense instruction submitted by the defense, and in not sustaining an objection to a misstatement of the law by the prosecutor. We affirm.
It was uncontroverted that defendant (who was tried separately) and codefendant Daniel Mancini assaulted the victim and that the victim's two wallets were taken during the course of the assault. The disputed issue was whether defendant knowingly participated in taking the wallets. The jury held against defendant.
Defendant testified that he was unaware Mancini had robbed the victim until after the crime had occurred. He attempted to corroborate his testimony with a hearsay statement of Mancini. In an in camera session, defendant and another witness testified that, three days before trial, Mancini had told defendant and the witness that he had found one of the wallets on the ground after the fight with the victim. The trial court denied defendant's attempt to introduce Mancini's hearsay statement as a declaration against penal interest. Defendant contends this was reversible error. We disagree.
CRE 804(b)(3) provides, in pertinent part, that if the declarant is unavailable as a witness, his statement is not excluded under the hearsay rule if, at the time of its making, it "so far tended to subject him to ... criminal liability ... that a reasonable man in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true." However, "[a] statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement." See People v. Lupton, 652 P.2d 1080 (Colo.App.1982).
Here, while the declarant Mancini was certified as unavailable to testify, the other criteria for admissibility under CRE 804(b)(3) were not established. When Mancini allegedly stated he had "found" the wallet, he was awaiting trial on charges of robbery. The statement was not against Mancini's penal interest in that it did not tend to subject him to criminal liability. See People v. Lupton, supra. Rather, the statement, if believed, would exonerate Mancini of the robbery charges.
While Mancini's statement could lead to a charge of theft of the wallet, see § 18-4-401(2), C.R.S. (1978 Repl.Vol. 8), in fact it is an attempt to support a defense against a more serious charge, that of robbery. See United States v. Evans, 635 F.2d 1124 (4th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 943, 101 S.Ct. 3090, 69 L.Ed.2d 958 (1981). "In reality, looked at in its totality, [Mancini's] statement is one for [his] penal interest, not against." United States v. Evans, supra.
Furthermore, other than defendant's testimony, no other evidence was admitted to support Mancini's statement of events. The trial court did not err in finding that the statement was untrustworthy and inadmissible under CRE 804(b)(3). See People v. Harding, 671 P.2d 975 (Colo.App.1983); People v. Lupton, supra. Cf. People v. Moore, 693 P.2d 388 (Colo.App.1984).
We reject defendant's contentions that his conviction must be reversed because the trial court shortened the theory of defense instruction prepared by the defense, and because of a misstatement of law made by the prosecution.
The trial court submitted to the jury a lengthy and detailed theory of the case instruction prepared by the defense. However, the trial court deleted the final paragraph of the instruction. The final paragraph stated: ...
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People v. Atkins, 89CA0950
...charge. Thus, looked at realistically, these statements were for, rather than against, defendant's penal interest. See People v. Shields, 701 P.2d 133 (Colo.App.1985). III. Finally, we reject defendant's claim that the prosecutor made prejudicially improper remarks during his jury voir dire......
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People v. Allee
...arm, was broken. Moreover, the misstatement was corrected in closing argument. Accordingly, we find no plain error. See People v. Shields, 701 P.2d 133 (Colo.App. 1985). Next, defendant asserts that the prosecution misled the jury by misstating elements of the charged offense in closing arg......
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People v. Orona
...the statement was for, rather than against, defendant's interest. See People v. Atkins, 844 P.2d 1196 (Colo.App.1992); People v. Shields, 701 P.2d 133 (Colo.App.1985). And, a defendant's self-serving declaration is generally not admissible because there is nothing to guarantee its reliabili......