State v. Waller

• Decision Date: 10 September 1991
• Docket Number: No. 73488,73488
• Citation: 816 S.W.2d 212
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Paul N. WALLER, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

Page 212

816 S.W.2d 212

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Paul N. WALLER, Appellant.

No. 73488.

Supreme Court of Missouri,

En Banc.

Sept. 10, 1991.

Susan L. Hogan, Columbia, for appellant.

William L. Webster, Atty. Gen., John M. Morris, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.

COVINGTON, Judge.

Appellant Paul Waller appeals from convictions of voluntary manslaughter, § 565.023.1(1), RSMo 1986, and armed criminal action, § 571.015, RSMo 1986. Following the holding of State v. Buckles, 636 S.W.2d 914, 922 (Mo.banc 1982), and cases cited therein, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, affirmed the judgment. Buckles reaffirms the rule prohibiting admission of evidence of the victim's prior acts of violence, known to the defendant at the time of the incident, to support defendant's assertion that he acted justifiably in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm. After affirming the judgment, the court transferred the case to this Court for reexamination of the law. Today this Court abrogates the holding of Buckles, reverses the judgment, and remands the case for new trial.

Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. The evidence showed that, on February 10, 1989, appellant and a companion, David Todd, visited Sheila Oldenburg's apartment in Sedalia, Missouri. When appellant arrived, Oldenburg and the victim, Larry Tyler, former boyfriend of Oldenburg and father of her child, were sitting with the child on a couch in the living room of the apartment.

Appellant asked Oldenburg whether she could baby sit for him. Oldenburg replied that she could not. As appellant and Todd prepared to leave the apartment, Tyler asked appellant about twenty dollars that appellant owed Tyler. Appellant indicated that he had the money and for Tyler to come and get it.

While factual dispute exists as to subsequent events, there is no dispute that appellant hit Tyler several times with a maul handle or similar object. As a result of the beating Tyler suffered brain injuries and died approximately three weeks later, on March 3, 1989.

At trial appellant asserted the defense of self-defense. The trial court instructed the jury on second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, armed criminal action, and self-defense. The jury found appellant guilty of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.

In the first issue on appeal, appellant claims that he was denied the right to a fair trial when the trial court excluded evidence of Larry Tyler's prior act of violence against David Todd. Appellant contends that the evidence was relevant to appellant's claim of self-defense because appellant had knowledge of the prior act; therefore, the evidence would have demonstrated that appellant acted justifiably in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm.

Missouri has long adhered to the rule that evidence of the victim's specific acts of violence having no connection with the defendant is inadmissible. See State v. Duncan, 467 S.W.2d 866, 867-68 (Mo.1971), and cases cited therein. ¹ Missouri has followed what had been the general rule, until recent decades. See Annotation, Admissibility on issue of self-defense (or defense of another), on prosecution for homicide or assault, of evidence of specific acts of violence by deceased, or person assaulted, against others than defendant, 121 A.L.R. 380, 382 (1939). In Duncan this Court noted two bases for excluding evidence of the victim's specific acts of violence committed against third parties: (1) character should be judged by the general tenor and current of a life, not by a mere episode in it; and (2) evidence of specific acts would likely raise numerous collateral issues that would lengthen trials, cause unfair surprise to witnesses, and divert the minds of the jurors from the main issue. Id. at 868. This Court followed the rule enunciated in Duncan in State v. Maggitt, 517 S.W.2d 105, 107 (Mo.banc 1974), and most recently reiterated the rule in State v. Buckles, 636 S.W.2d 914 (Mo.banc 1982):

On the issue of self-defense there can be no doubt of the rule that evidence of the deceased's reputation for turbulence and violence is admissible as relevant to show who was the aggressor and whether a reasonable apprehension of danger existed; but such evidence must be proved by general reputation testimony, not specific acts of violence, and defendant must show he knew of such reputation when the issue is reasonable apprehension.

Id. at 922.

Other jurisdictions' holdings on the issue include additional arguments in support of excluding evidence of the victim's specific acts of violence committed against third parties. Compilation provides five principal reasons for retaining the present rule: (1) A single act may have been exceptional, unusual and uncharacteristic; an isolated episode does not provide a true picture of the character of a person. The potential for unfair prejudice is great. See Duncan, 467 S.W.2d at 868; Henderson v. State, 234 Ga. 827, 218 S.E.2d 612, 615 (1975); State v. Jacoby, 260 N.W.2d 828, 838 (Iowa 1977). (2) Numerous collateral issues could be raised, resulting in a lengthy trial. See id. (3) Collateral issues might cloud the real issues and confuse the jury. The jury could be led to consider the victim's character to infer that the victim acted in conformity with former conduct. See id. (4) The state cannot anticipate and prepare to rebut every specific prior act of violence of a deceased victim. See Henderson, 218 S.E.2d at 615; Jacoby, 260 N.W.2d at 838. (5) Since the state cannot introduce evidence of the defendant's past acts of violence, the defendant should not be permitted to benefit from evidence of specific acts of the victim. To allow the evidence creates a double standard favorable to the defendant. See Williams v. State, 565 S.W.2d 503, 505 (Tenn.1978).

An examination of recent cases reveals, however, that several jurisdictions that had long adhered to the rule of evidence Missouri has followed have abandoned the rule. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Fontes, 396 Mass. 733, 488 N.E.2d 760, 762 (1986); State v. Tribble, 428 A.2d 1079, 1085 (R.I.1981); People v. Miller, 39 N.Y.2d 543, 349 N.E.2d 841, 848, 384 N.Y.S.2d 741, 748 (1976). The trend of decisions is toward admission of such evidence, now the rule in a majority of jurisdictions. ²

Although the considerations underlying the rule prohibiting admission of specific acts of violence against third persons are valid, there are compelling reasons to adopt the majority rule. A defendant prosecuted for homicide or assault may claim, as a defense, that use of physical force upon the alleged victim was not unlawful because it was necessary to protect himself or others from the victim's aggression. § 563.031, RSMo 1986. A defendant may assert the defense, however, only where his belief that he was subject to an imminent attack is a reasonable belief. The defendant's state of mind, therefore, is critical. The paramount purpose of rules of evidence is to ensure that the trier of fact will have before it all relevant, reliable, and probative evidence on the issues in dispute. Tribble, 428 A.2d at 1085. Since the defendant's state of mind is of such significance, it is important that the defendant be able to relate reasons for his or her state of mind. State v. Smith, 10 Ohio App.3d 99, 460 N.E.2d 693, 696-97 (1983). "The fact that the circumstance creating apprehension is a single act or series of acts, instead of a general character, does not necessarily destroy its capacity to create apprehension." Tribble, 428 A.2d at 1084 (quoting 2 J. Wigmore, Evidence, § 248 at 61 (3d ed. 1940)). Knowledge that the victim recently engaged in specific acts of violence is likely to have greater effect on a defendant's state of mind than knowledge of the victim's general reputation for violence. Fontes, 488 N.E.2d at 763. "A demonstrated capacity for acts of extreme violence will no doubt instill a fear more quickly and more deeply than a veiled threat or knowledge of a generally violent proclivity." Miller, 349 N.E.2d at 847, 384 N.Y.S.2d at 747. "A jury assessing the reasonableness of the defendant's reaction to the events leading to the homicide should in fairness have that information." Fontes, 488 N.E.2d at 763. "[T]he highly probative nature of such relevant evidence, in an appropriate case, far outweighs any prejudice caused by the admission of such evidence." Tribble, 428 A.2d at 1084.

To adopt the majority rule is not so profound a departure from Missouri's present rule as might first appear. Missouri courts currently admit evidence of the victim's prior acts of violence upon the defendant. See, e.g., State v. Hafeli, 715 S.W.2d 524, 530 (Mo.App.1986). To distinguish between violent acts directed at the defendant and acts directed toward third persons of which the defendant has knowledge is a blurred distinction; the significant factor is the defendant's awareness at the time of the incident of the victim's past violent behavior, not the target of the violence. Miller, 349 N.E.2d at 847, 384 N.Y.S.2d at 747.

Weighing the considerations underlying the majority and minority rules, in conjunction with present Missouri authority on the general question of admission of evidence relevant to the victim's behavior, this Court concludes that the present Missouri rule should be abrogated. Where justification is an issue in a criminal case, the trial court may permit a defendant to introduce evidence of the victim's prior specific acts of violence of which the defendant had knowledge, provided that the acts sought to be established are reasonably related to the crime with which the defendant is charged.

To the extent that this Court has changed the rule, it vests new discretion in the trial court. In application of the new rule, courts must exercise caution. The defendant must lay a proper foundation before the evidence can be admitted. Other competent evidence must have...