State v. Peterson

• Decision Date: 23 November 1998
• Docket Number: No. 96-330-C.A.,96-330-C.A.
• Citation: 722 A.2d 259
• Parties: STATE v. Bradley C. PETERSON.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

722 A.2d 259

STATE v. Bradley C. PETERSON.

No. 96-330-C.A.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

November 23, 1998.

Annie Goldberg, Aaron L. Weisman, Providence, for plaintiff.

Paula Rosin, Providence, for defendant.

Before WEISBERGER, C.J., and LEDERBERG, BOURCIER, FLANDERS, and GOLDBERG, JJ.

OPINION

WEISBERGER, Chief Justice.

This case comes before us on the appeal of Bradley C. Peterson from a judgment of conviction of robbery in the second degree entered in the Superior Court. After a jury trial, the defendant was sentenced to thirty years, twenty years to serve, ten years suspended and probation, and a consecutive five-year term of imprisonment as an habitual offender. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court. The travel and facts of the case insofar as pertinent to this appeal are as follows.

Indictment No. N1/93-240A charged Bradley C. Peterson (Peterson or defendant) with the crime of robbery in the second degree, in violation of G.L.1956 § 11-39-1. On November 10, 1993, the Department of the Attorney General filed a notice of its intention to have Peterson declared an habitual offender, pursuant to G.L.1956 § 12-19-21. Originally, trial commenced in May of 1994, but a mistrial was declared. His second trial commenced on February 6, 1995. On February 14, 1995, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. On March 1, 1995, Peterson's motion for a new trial was denied, and he was found to be an habitual offender. On April 19, 1995, he was sentenced to thirty years on the robbery conviction—twenty years to serve, ten years suspended—and probation. The trial justice imposed a consecutive fifteen-year term of imprisonment as an habitual offender. On December 5, 1995, the sentence imposed on the habitual offender conviction was reduced to five years, to be served consecutively to the twenty-year sentence imposed on the robbery conviction. On April 26, 1995, a notice of appeal was filed.

On March 18, 1993, at around 1:45 a.m., the complaining witness, Joseph Kaiser (Kaiser), had finished working the last shift at the Starboard Tack in Middletown as a part-time bartender, and was driving his 1985 blue and white Chevrolet Blazer truck to his Newport home located at 53 Gould Street. He was driving at approximately ten miles per hour, because weather conditions were snowy and icy, when suddenly he saw a male pedestrian enter the roadway directly in front of him. He applied his brakes bringing the truck essentially to a halt; simultaneously the male pedestrian put his hands out in front of him, put them on the hood of Kaiser's truck, spun off in a kind of pirouette, and lay face-down on the sidewalk approximately six to ten feet away.

Kaiser, an Army medic who oversees an emergency room conducted by the Army Reserves and works as a paramedic with the Middletown Fire Department, doubted that he had struck and injured the pedestrian. Consequently he stepped out of his truck, leaving the driver's door open, and called out for the pedestrian to get up. Initially there was no response, but after Kaiser called out a third time, the man got up, brushed himself off, and ran straight towards Kaiser. The man grabbed Kaiser's lapels. Kaiser demanded, "What the hell are you doing?" The man replied, "I'm stealing your truck." To which Kaiser responded, "*** you." "I got a gun" said the man. Kaiser responded, "I don't care." They continued to struggle face-to-face inches from one another for less than two minutes. After pushing Kaiser to the ground, the man stole his truck as Kaiser watched.

Kaiser made his way home and immediately contacted Newport police, who came to his home and took an oral statement. The next day, Kaiser gave a formal statement at police headquarters and the truck was found abandoned in Providence. When Kaiser went to claim the truck from the towing lot, he noticed a number of items were missing, including a Realistic microphone, a box of collectible antique U.S. Army ammunition with distinctive markings, and a Sony AM-FM disc player.

Meanwhile, approximately two days after the carjacking, Peterson returned home to his three children and their mother, his live-in girlfriend Susan Rosa (Susan), who ultimately testified against him. Susan asked Peterson where he had been. She testified that Peterson told her the following narrative. On the morning of March 18, 1993, he was walking in Newport when he saw a four-by-four blazer and pretended to hit it. When the driver got out of the truck Peterson beat him, carjacked the vehicle, and took it to Providence. The truck contained a CD, flare, car phone, camera, and some bullets. Susan stated that she discovered some bullets, a microphone, and guns hidden underneath her kitchen cabinet.

Susan further testified that on April 8, 1993, she, the children, and Peterson went to Ames Department Store in a rented minivan. She and Peterson began arguing. He abruptly left with the children and told her he wasn't coming back. After waiting two-and-one-half hours, she contacted the Middletown Police. The officer who responded to the call happened to be Frank Lima, whom Susan described as her best friend throughout her high school years. Susan confided to Officer Lima what Peterson had told her about the carjacking, but requested that her identity be kept confidential because she did not want her life to be put in danger.

Peterson was arrested that same day, on an outstanding domestic assault warrant. He was photographed and held until Kaiser could be brought in for an identification. On April 9, 1993, Kaiser identified Peterson from a photographic array presented to him by the police. On September 27, 1994, Susan went to the Newport Police Department to give a formal statement regarding Peterson's account given to her about the carjacking. She brought with her ammunition, guns, and a microphone. On February 13, 1995, Susan testified at trial that she was pregnant, and that she had a new boyfriend. She further testified that she had been motivated to give a formal statement and to furnish evidence on September 27, 1994, because Peterson had been responsible for the crime and had been harassing her. Consequently, she wanted to make sure that he remained in jail.

In support of his appeal, defendant raises two issues. First, defendant contends his constitutional rights were violated as a result of the trial justice's limitation upon defense counsel's cross-examination of Susan. Specifically, he contends that he was prevented from inquiring whether Susan and her new boyfriend conspired to frame defendant. He argues that he was not allowed to cross-examine Susan concerning correspondence that she allegedly wrote to Peterson in order to impeach her testimony that some of Peterson's friends had been harassing her. Second, defendant claims that the state failed to file timely notice of its intent to seek an adjudication pursuant to the habitual offender statute. Additional facts, as may be necessary to our discussion of the issues, will be supplied.

Limitation of Cross-Examination

Peterson's contention on appeal is that his constitutional rights were violated because he was not permitted to delve into Susan's relationship with another man. He argues that such exploration may have revealed that Susan might have had a motive to lie, and that she and her lover were engaged in a conspiracy to frame Peterson. Peterson alleges that Susan had a relationship with a man at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) who had written a threatening letter to the trial justice and, when confronted by the police, claimed that Peterson was the author.¹ Defense counsel stated that he was "pretty sure" that Susan's new boyfriend was that same inmate at the ACI who had written the letter. In his offer of proof he told the court that he had "a letter from [a] person at the ACI who says Susan is his woman and that he would kill [Peterson] if [Peterson] ever says anything to her." Further, counsel claimed to have a letter allegedly written by Susan to Peterson relating that a friend of Peterson had visited Susan and it was a positive experience for her.

The trial justice limited defense counsel's questioning of Susan along the lines of her relationship with her new boyfriend. However, he permitted defense counsel to establish that Susan had a new boyfriend, that she was pregnant, and that she wanted Peterson to remain in jail. Additionally, the trial justice permitted defense counsel to establish by cross-examining Susan that only some, and not all, of Peterson's friends harassed her, and that Susan's testimony might be in retaliation for Peterson's allegedly reporting Susan to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). We sustain the trial justice's ruling on cross-examination.

"Effective cross-examination is an essential element of the presentation of a full and fair defense and, is guaranteed by both the State and the Federal Constitutions." State v. Doctor, 690 A.2d 321, 327 (R.I.1997) (quoting State v. Veluzat, 578 A.2d 93, 94 (R.I.1990)); see also In re Douglas L., 625 A.2d 1357, 1360-61 (R.I.1993)

. Moreover, "the cross-examiner must be given a reasonable opportunity to explore and to establish any possible bias, prejudice, or ulterior motive that a witness may possess that might affect the witness' testimony." Veluzat, 578 A.2d at 94-95. However, the scope of cross-examination is not unlimited. Id. at 95. Questions that exceed the proper scope of cross-examination are those that harass, annoy, or humiliate the witness, or questions that are irrelevant or contain no probative value. State v. Eckhart, 117 R.I. 431, 436, 367 A.2d 1073, 1076 (1977). Questions of this type are subject to exclusion in the sound discretion of the trial justice. State v. Anthony, 422 A.2d 921, 924 (R.I. 1980). The exercise of that discretion will not be disturbed absent a showing of clear abuse, and then only when such abuse constitutes prejudicial error. Id.; see Doc...