People v. Underwood

• Citation: 447 Mich. 695,526 N.W.2d 903
• Decision Date: 30 December 1994
• Docket Number: No. 10,No. 97233,97233,10
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lanford UNDERWOOD, Defendant-Appellant. Calendar
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court

Page 903

526 N.W.2d 903

447 Mich. 695

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lanford UNDERWOOD, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 97233.

Calendar No. 10.

Supreme Court of Michigan.

Argued Nov. 2, 1994.

Decided Dec. 30, 1994.

Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Thomas L. Casey, Sol. Gen., Raymond Voet, Pros. Atty., J. Ronald Kaplansky, Asst. Atty. Gen., Dept. of Atty. Gen., Pros. Attys. Appellate Service, Lansing, for the People.

State Appellate Defender Office by Peter Jon Van Hoek, Asst. Defender, Detroit, for defendant.

OPINION

ROBERT P. GRIFFIN, Justice.

In this appeal we are asked to review the trial court's denial of defendant's pretrial request for disclosure of the identity of a confidential informant who allegedly possessed exculpatory information concerning defendant's role in the charged offense. After viewing the particular circumstances presented in light of the due process guarantee, ¹ we conclude that this case should be remanded to the trial court for a hearing in camera to determine whether the confidential informant's proffered evidence is relevant and helpful to the defense or is essential to a fair determination of defendant's guilt.

I

Following a two-day jury trial, defendant Lanford Underwood was convicted of assault with intent to commit murder, ² and armed robbery. ³

On March 7, 1990, Paul Wicklander, a civilian employee of the Michigan Department of Corrections, was beaten with a wooden object and robbed. Wicklander was an accountant who worked in the furniture factory at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia, where defendant was an inmate. At the end of the day shift, the victim was found behind some boxes in the factory area. He had suffered a severe head injury and injuries to his finger. His wallet, as well as his wedding ring, were missing. The beating suffered by Wicklander was so severe that he had no memory of the incident and could offer no testimony concerning the circumstances of the assault or the identity of his assailants. Only three inmates were assigned to work in the area of the furniture factory that afternoon; they were Robin Manning, Hassan Martin, and defendant Underwood.

The victim's empty wallet was subsequently found in a file cabinet drawer in the factory area. A table leg bearing blood stains was found near the area of the assault, and it was later determined that the blood stains matched the victim's blood type. The victim's ring was recovered from another inmate. A note advising someone to dispose of the ring was found in defendant's cell, but no money or other property belonging to the victim was found there. Defendant's sweatsuit jacket bearing blood stains that matched the victim's blood type was found in a trash can in defendant's cellblock. Defendant's fingerprints were found on the wallet, the file cabinet, and the table leg.

The prosecution alleged that it was defendant Underwood who assaulted and robbed Wicklander. Neither Manning nor Martin were charged with any offense arising out of this incident.

Before trial, the prosecutor provided defendant's counsel with a supplemental incident report prepared by the Michigan State Police, dated June 4, 1990, in which it was revealed that a confidential informant had contacted the police concerning the incident. According to the report, the informant advised police that he had been in contact with inmate Manning, who had made statements concerning the beating of Wicklander. The report included the following:

According to the C/I [confidential informant], Manning claimed that the Police had arrested the wrong person. Manning claimed that "dog" had just been a lookout for Manning and Martin.

Manning further advised that the three intended to rob Wicklander. According to Manning, Wicklander was always flashing alot [sic] of money and telling the inmates that they needed to get a good State job like he had so they could have money like Wicklander.

According to the C/I, Manning said that he along with Martin hid in the stock room by the tool crib. As Wicklander was making his final rounds in the stock room, Manning threw a coat over Wicklander's head and then pushed him. Manning then told Wicklander that he wanted his money. Wicklander pulled the coat off his head and told Manning that he would give him his money.

The C/I claims that Manning took the money and placed it in his under shorts. At this point, Manning claimed that Martin said we got to kill this guy because we will get all day for this.

Manning claimed that he hit Wicklander with a pipe while Martin punched and kicked Wicklander. After the beating, the three left.

Manning maintained that they were able to get out of the factory because they had an "old timer" working the gate and they thought that they could get by him without any trouble. Manning further advised the C/I that they had put prison coveralls on to cover up their blood stained clothes.

Manning told the C/I that he had given his bloody clothes to another inmate by the name of Wershe.

Manning also mentioned to the C/I that he had access to the store room keys. The C/I advised that Manning did not say much about the keys.

The C/I describe [sic] the area of the crime scene fairly well. He mentioned the isleway [sic] where Wicklander was assaulted, the tool crib area, and the fact that Manning said that he and Martin hid behind some boxes.

According to the prison records, the C/I has never been incarcerated at the Michigan Reformatory.

The report further indicated that "[t]he informant advised that he is willing to take a polygraph test and testify in court if Officer can get his disciplinary points reduced."

Defendant filed a pretrial motion requesting disclosure of the name, prison number, and location of the confidential informant or, alternatively, an order granting immunity to Manning and Martin in exchange for their testimony. The motion was argued on September 4, 1990. Noting that it was Manning who allegedly made the statement to the informant, and that defense counsel was free to speak directly to Manning, the prosecutor argued that disclosure was unnecessary because the informant's testimony under such circumstances would be inadmissible hearsay. The trial court agreed and denied the motion.

When defense counsel asked if he would be allowed to impeach Manning with the statement if Manning denied making the admission, the court replied:

I think the public policy involved in confidential informants is such that it would outweigh the probative value of trying to impeach Mr. Manning.

The trial began on October 30, 1990. On the second day of trial, defense counsel sought to determine whether Manning or Martin would testify if called as witnesses. Outside the presence of the jury, and after consulting with counsel, both Manning and Martin exercised their Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent. Defendant then requested the court to grant immunity to Manning and Martin, but the motion was denied.

The trial proceeded, and defendant testified in his own behalf. His job assignment at the factory was as a receiving clerk. He explained that on the afternoon in question, Manning asked, and was allowed, to borrow defendant's sweatsuit jacket in order to go into an area where dress rules required more than just a T-shirt. At approximately 3:10 p.m., defendant claimed he saw Wicklander come back from his afternoon break. Both Manning and Martin were at their desks, and defendant went to the restroom after locking up the stockroom and giving the keys to Manning. Defendant testified that when he returned to the office area, neither Manning nor Martin were there. Through a window he saw Manning and Martin coming from the direction of the stockroom. Defendant testified that Manning walked up to him, handed him a wallet, and said "I want you to get rid of this." Manning and Martin then reached down and slid some pieces of wood through a porthole to defendant, asking him to put the wood in a nearby locker. Defendant admitted that he touched both the wallet and the pieces of wood, and that he put the wallet in a drawer of the file cabinet. He said he did not put the pieces of wood in the locker. Defendant testified that he was scared and knew that something was wrong when he saw blood on the wood. Defendant punched out at 3:40 p.m. and left the office.

Shortly thereafter, according to defendant, Manning came up to him and handed him the jacket, which was tightly folded. Defendant put the jacket on under his prison coat. Manning also handed him a ring with directions that it be given to a neighboring cellmate, Eric Williams, as payment for a debt Manning owed Williams. Defendant denied taking the ring from Wicklander.

Defendant further testified that when he returned to his cell, he saw blood spots on his jacket and told an inmate porter to throw the jacket into the trash. Shortly thereafter the emergency siren sounded in the prison, and defendant said he knew then that something was seriously wrong. Defendant testified that he wrote a note to Williams directing him to get the ring out of his cell. The note was discovered by officers who came to search defendant's cell. When questioned, defendant told an investigating detective that he did not know what had happened to Wicklander because he feared the consequences of "snitching" on other inmates.

Apparently, defendant's version of the events was rejected by the jury because he was convicted as charged. On appeal, defendant argued that he was entitled, at a minimum, to an evidentiary hearing on the value of the informant's testimony. However, the Court of Appeals ruled that the informant's identity need not be disclosed, and affirmed defendant's conviction. ⁴

We then granted leave to appeal. 445 Mich. 881, 519 N.W.2d 889 (1994). ⁵

II

Defendant argues that the trial court's denial of his motion for identification of the confidential informant was error requiring reversal because it was premised on the presumed ability...