State v. Butler

• Decision Date: 15 February 1984
• Docket Number: No. 83-60,83-60
• Citation: 9 Ohio St.3d 156,459 N.E.2d 536
• Parties: , 9 O.B.R. 445 The STATE of Ohio, Appellant, v. BUTLER, Appellee.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Page 156

9 Ohio St.3d 156

459 N.E.2d 536, 9 O.B.R. 445

The STATE of Ohio, Appellant, v. BUTLER, Appellee.

No. 83-60.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Feb. 15, 1984.

Simon L. Leis, Jr., Pros. Atty., Christian J. Schaefer, Asst. Pros. Atty., and Raymond C. Groneman, Cincinnati, for appellant.

Sirkin, Pinales & Schwartz and Martin S. Pinales, Cincinnati, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

The issue presented in this appeal is whether the identity of the police informant who negotiated the transaction resulting in appellee's arrest and conviction must be revealed in light of State v. Williams (1983), 4 Ohio St.3d 74, 446 N.E.2d 779 and its predecessors. We hold that Williams does not require divulgence of this informant's identity, and thus reverse the judgment of the court of appeals.

In State v. Williams, supra, this court held:

"The identity of an informant must be revealed to a criminal defendant when the testimony of the informant * * * would be helpful or beneficial to the accused in preparing or making a defense to criminal charges."

In Williams, we ruled that such testimony was not critical because the crime took place in full view of the police officer. We distinguished State v. Phillips (1971), 27 Ohio St.2d 294, 272 N.E.2d 347 , where divulgence was ordered, by the fact that in Phillips only the informant was present with the defendant when the crime allegedly occurred. The Williams and Phillips standards necessarily require an analysis of each case's facts and circumstances as to whether the proffered reasons for abrogating the informant's confidentiality are valid.

In the case at bar, although the defense of entrapment was raised numerous times by appellee, there is no record of what occurred between him and the informant that might constitute entrapment. Appellee twice had the opportunity to present such evidence in response to the trial judge's inquiry, and having failed to do so, was denied discovery of the informant's identity. The only one in court who knew the details of the conversations between appellee and the informant was the appellee himself. The trial judge was not required to speculate as to the specifics of these conversations and relate them to the elements of entrapment. We therefore hold that the trial judge was correct in refusing to order divulgence of the informant's identity.

Accordingly, the judgment of the court of appeals is reversed.

Judgment reversed.

FRANK D. CELEBREZZE, C.J., and LOCHER, HOLMES and JAMES P. CELEBREZZE, JJ., concur.

WILLIAM B. BROWN, SWEENEY and CLIFFORD F. BROWN, JJ., dissent.

WILLIAM B. BROWN, Justice, dissenting.

The decisions of this court in State v Roe, ¹ State v. Beck, ² State v. Phillips ³ and most notedly in the recent case of State v. Williams ⁴ mandate that the state be compelled to disclose the identity of the informant to the accused under the facts of this case and I must thus respectfully dissent.

This court has previously held that, in determining whether the identity of an informer must be disclosed, there must be a balancing of the competing interests between the accused and the law enforcement officers and that disclosure is required if it would be beneficial or helpful to the accused in preparing a defense. Williams, supra, 4 Ohio St.2d at 75-76, 446 N.E.2d 779. Contrary to the majority, I cannot find, on balance, that there is adequate proof that the rights of the state outweigh the rights of the accused in this case or that disclosure is not a defense necessity.

Indeed, the facts of this case present an even more compelling need for disclosure of the informant's identity than those in Williams. The accused in this case, unlike in Williams, claimed entrapment as a defense. The majority finds that " * * * there is no record of what occurred between * * * [the accused] and the informant that might constitute entrapment." I disagree. The record in this case clearly reveals that the informant set the stage for the crime since the informant was the original contact with the accused, persuaded the accused to get the marijuana, arranged the selling price with the accused, and arranged for a meeting and introduced the undercover agent to the accused. The record also indicates that the accused refused the informant's request to get quaaludes for her and had refused many times to supply the informant with marijuana despite her persistent requests. Further, the record reveals that the narcotics agent was contacted by, and the sale set up by, a female confidential informant. Unquestionably, all of these factors are highly relevant and material to an entrapment defense.

To require more proof from the accused, as does the...