State Of Washington v. Harold Donald ( 2013 )

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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON XV
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STATE OF WASHINGTON, NO. 68429-9-1
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to
Respondent, DIVISION ONE
v.
PUBLISHED OPINION
HAROLD CLAYTON DONALD,
Appellant. FILED: December 9, 2013
Leach, C.J. — As a matter of apparent first impression, we consider
whether the exclusion of evidence of any person's other crimes, wrongs, or acts
to show that he acted consistent with his character on a particular occasion, as
required by ER 404(b), violates an accused's constitutional right to present a
defense. Because ER 404(b) is neither arbitrary nor unreasonably related or
disproportionate to the ends it is designed to serve, we reject the constitutional
challenge to it.
Harold Donald appeals his convictions for first degree assault and
attempted robbery. At trial, Donald argued that an accomplice, Lorenzo Leon,
acting alone, committed the crimes. Donald contends that the trial court violated
his constitutional right to present a defense by refusing to admit his proffered
NO. 68429-9-1 / 2
evidence of Leon's criminal history and mental health to support this defense.
For the first time on appeal, Donald also alleges an instructional error. Because
the court did not abuse its discretion by excluding Donald's proffered propensity
evidence or evidence of Leon's mental illness and because he did not preserve
the alleged instructional error for review, we affirm.
FACTS
Harold Donald and Lorenzo Leon assaulted Gordon McWhirter one night
as McWhirter stepped outside his apartment to smoke a cigarette. A neighbor
called 911. When police responded, they found McWhirter lying in the grass,
naked and bloody. His injuries included a lacerated spleen, several fractured ribs
and facial bones, a fractured toe, and a serious head wound. Police followed a
blood trail back to McWhirter's vehicle, where they discovered that someone had
broken into the vehicle and ripped out the ignition.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and fingerprint evidence connected both
Donald and Leon to the attack. Donald denied knowing Leon and denied being
in the area on the night of the attack. However, several of Donald's family and
friends reported seeing the two men together on that day, and Donald's mother
told police that Donald gave her a bathrobe matching the description of the one
McWhirter had worn the night of the attack.
NO. 68429-9-1 / 3
Leon pleaded guilty to one count of attempted robbery in the first degree.
Although he agreed to testify against Donald, neither party offered his testimony
at trial. The State tried Donald on charges of assault in the first degree,
attempted robbery in the first degree, and possession of a stolen vehicle. Donald
presented an alternate suspect defense, arguing that Leon alone committed the
crimes. The court refused to allow Donald to present evidence of Leon's criminal
history and limited the mental health history he sought to present to support this
defense. Specifically, the court refused to allow evidence of Leon's prior
convictions for violent crimes. It admitted some mental health evidence showing
that Leon faked his mental illness but excluded evidence that Leon experienced
"command hallucinations," in which a voice ordered him to hurt or kill people.
A jury convicted Donald of assault and attempted robbery. The court
sentenced him to an exceptional sentence of 397 months, based partly on a
rapid recidivism aggravator. Donald appeals.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
The parties dispute the proper standard for review. Donald asserts that
this court should review the evidentiary issues de novo because the court's
challenged rulings denied Donald his constitutional right to present a defense.
The State counters that we should apply an abuse of discretion standard
because the proper application of the rules of evidence involves the trial court's
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 4
exercise of discretion. We do not resolve this dispute because the court did not
err under either standard.
DISCUSSION
Donald contends that the court erred by excluding evidence relevant to his
"other suspect" defense. Specifically, Donald offered—and the trial court
rejected—evidence of Leon's extensive criminal history of violent crimes. He
asserts the jury could have concluded from Leon's propensity to commit violent
crimes that he acted alone when he assaulted McWhirter. Donald acknowledges
that ER 404(b) bans this pure propensity evidence but argues that this ban
impermissibly impairs his Sixth Amendment right to present a defense. We
disagree.
We begin our analysis with some general observations about character
evidence. Character evidence might be considered relevant on four theories: (1)
as circumstantial evidence that a person acted on a particular occasion
consistently with his character, often called propensity evidence; (2) to prove an
essential element of a crime, claim, or defense; (3) to show the effect that
information about one person had on another person's state of mind; and (4)
other purposes, such as identity or lack of accident.1 Application of the rules for
1 3 Clifford S. Fishman, Jones on Evidence: Civil and Criminal § 14:4
(7th ed. 1998).
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 5
character evidence depends in part upon the identity of the person the evidence
relates to and his or her role in the lawsuit.
We next review the applicable Washington Rules of Evidence. ER 402
makes all relevant evidence admissible, unless a constitutional requirement,
statute, rule, or regulation applicable in Washington State courts limits its
admission. ER 401 defines "relevant evidence" as evidence having a tendency
to make the existence of any fact consequential to the resolution of a lawsuit
more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. ER 404 and ER
405 address the admissibility of character evidence for substantive purposes.
ER 404 controls the admissibility of character evidence, and ER 405 controls the
method of proving character when evidence of character is admissible. ER 608
and ER 609 address the admissibility of character evidence to impeach a
witness. Here, we need to consider only the rules for character evidence offered
for substantive purposes.
ER 404 provides,
RULE 404. CHARACTER EVIDENCE NOT
ADMISSIBLE TO PROVE CONDUCT;
EXCEPTIONS; OTHER CRIMES
(a) Character Evidence Generally. Evidence of a person's
character or a trait of character is not admissible for the purpose of
proving action in conformity therewith on a particular occasion,
except:
NO. 68429-9-1 / 6
(1) Character of Accused. Evidence of a pertinent trait of
character offered by an accused, or by the prosecution to rebut the
same;
(2) Character of Victim. Evidence of a pertinent trait of character
of the victim of the crime offered by an accused, or by the
prosecution to rebut the same, or evidence of a character trait of
peacefulness of the victim offered by the prosecution in a homicide
case to rebut evidence that the victim was the first aggressor;
(3) Character of Witness. Evidence of the character of a witness,
as provided in rules 607, 608, and 609.
(b) Other Crimes, Wrongs, or Acts. Evidence of other crimes,
wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person
in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be
admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity,
intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake
or accident.
The plain language of ER 404(a) prohibits the use of character evidence to show
circumstantially that a person acted on a particular occasion consistently with his
character, with two exceptions that apply only in criminal cases. ER 404(a)(1)
and (2) address character evidence of the defendant and the victim. Neither
exception applies in this case. ER 404(a)(3) addresses character evidence
relating to a witness by reference to ER 607, 608, and 609. Those three rules
authorize only the admission of character evidence, in limited circumstances, to
attack or support a witness's credibility. Thus, consistent with the general rule,2
Washington courts reject the use of evidence of a witness's character to show
that the witness acted consistently with that character on a particular occasion.
3 Fishman, § 14:1.
NO. 68429-9-1 / 7
ER 404(b) addresses a specialized application of ER 404(a)'s general rule
excluding circumstantial use of character evidence. ER 404(b) provides,
Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove
the character of a person in order to show action in conformity
therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such
as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan,
knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.
Consistent with ER 404(a)'s general rule, ER 404(b) excludes a specific category
of evidence, any person's other crimes, wrongs, or acts, to prove that person's
character to provide circumstantial evidence that he acted consistently with that
character on a particular occasion. The second sentence of ER 404(b)
preserves the admissibility of this evidence of earlier misconduct to prove other
matters, including those described in the rule.
Thus, ER 404(b) expressly prohibits admission of Leon's criminal history
to prove his character for the purpose of proving that Leon acted consistently
with that history the day he assaulted McWhirter. Furthermore, if ER 404(b) does
not apply, the general rule found in ER 404(a)'s first sentence prohibits the
admission of any evidence of Leon's character for this purpose.
Donald first argues that his constitutional right to present a defense and
the policy behind ER 404(b) should cause us to construe the plain language of
ER 404(b) prohibiting propensity evidence inapplicable when a defendant offers
NO. 68429-9-1 / 8
this evidence to support his defense.3 Instead, the court should adopt a
"straightforward relevance/prejudice analysis" to determine the admissibility of
propensity evidence offered by a criminal defendant to prove a third party's
conduct.4 He contends that a majority of federal circuit courts have adopted this
approach. Because ER 404(b) is substantially the same as Fed. R. Evid. 404(b)
and no Washington case resolves the issue, Donald suggests that we should
follow them. We disagree with his reading of his cited cases and find the
approach adopted by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals persuasive.
In United States v. McCourt,5 Kevin McCourt attempted to defend against
charges of tax fraud with evidence of an alternate suspect's criminal history to
show that someone else filed the fraudulent returns. The trial court sustained the
government's Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) objection.6 On appeal, McCourt argued that
Rule 404(b) excluded only prior bad acts of the accused.7 The Ninth Circuit
disagreed, holding "that Rule 404(b) applies to 'other crimes, wrongs, or acts' of
third parties."8 The court explained,
3 Donald's briefing does not address expressly the general prohibition
contained in ER 404(a), but we assume that he intends his argument to apply to
that rule as well.
4 Donald, and a number of cases, label this evidence "reverse 404(b)
evidence." We do not find this relabeling of propensity evidence helpful to our
analysis. Therefore, we do not adopt it.
5 925 F.2d 1229, 1230, 1233 (9th Cir. 1991).
6 McCourt, 925 F.2d at 1233.
7 McCourt, 925 F.2d at 1230.
8 McCourt, 925 F.2d at 1230.
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 9
As a whole, the rules on character evidence use explicit
language in defining to whom they refer. Rule 404(a). . . provides
that evidence of "a person's" character is not admissible for the
purpose of proving action in conformity therewith except for
pertinent character traits of an "accused," a "victim," or a "witness."
It therefore appears that Congress knew how to delineate subsets
of "persons" when it wanted to, and that it intended "a person" and
"an accused" to have different meanings when the Rules speak of
one rather than the other. Because Rule 404(b) plainly proscribes
other crimes evidence of "a person," it cannot reasonably be
construed as extending only to "an accused."191
The court further explained that its interpretation of Rule 404(b) "is
consistent with the scheme" of the rules on character evidence, which
"specifically set out what character and misconduct evidence is admissible, and
who may introduce it."10 The court observed, "None of these rules permits
evidence of prior bad acts when the sole purpose is to show propensity toward
criminal conduct. The Rules therefore provide no basis for [the defendant's]
proffered use of propensity evidence of a third party."
The Sixth Circuit adopted a similar interpretation of rule 404(b) in United
States v. Lucas,12 where it also addressed the issue of applying a
relevance/prejudice balancing test:
There is . . . some merit in considering the admissibility of such
404(b) evidence as depending on a straightforward balancing of the
evidence's probative value under Rule 401 against Rule 403's
9 McCourt, 925 F.2d at 1231-32 (citations omitted).
10 McCourt, 925 F.2d at 1232; see Fed. R. Evid. 404, 607, 608, 609.
11 McCourt, 925 F.2d at 1232-33.
12 357 F.3d 599, 605 (6th Cir. 2004).
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countervailing considerations of "prejudice, confusion of the issues,
or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste
of time, or needless presentation of cumulative
evidence.". . . However, in assessing the probative value of such
evidence we must also recall that the Advisory Committee Notes
following Rule 401 explain that rules such as Rule 404 and those
that follow it are meant to prohibit certain types of evidence that are
otherwise clearly "relevant evidence," but that nevertheless create
more prejudice and confusion than is justified by their probative
value. In other words, we affirm that prior bad acts are generally
not considered proof of any person's likelihood to commit bad acts
in the future and that such evidence should demonstrate something
more than propensity.
The Third Circuit also has adopted a similar approach. In United States v.
Williams,13 it explained its earlier holding in United States v. Stevens,14 in which
the court applied a relevance/prejudice balancing test. In Williams, the court
emphasized that the evidence in Stevens was admissible for a proper rule 404(b)
purpose—to show identity.15 The Third Circuit stated, "This Court has never held
that Rule 404(b)'s prohibition against propensity evidence is inapplicable where
the evidence is offered by the defendant."16 In Williams, the court held,
[W]e do not begin to balance the evidence's probative value under
Rule 401 against Rule 403 considerations unless the evidence is
offered under one of the Rule 404(b) exceptions. That the
prohibition against propensity evidence applies regardless of by
whom—and against whom—it is offered is evident from Rule
404(b)'s plain language.1171
13 458 F.3d 312 (3d Cir. 2006).
14935F.2d 1380 (3d Cir. 1991).
15 Williams, 458 F.3d at 317.
16 Williams, 458 F.3d at 317.
17 Williams, 458 F.3d at 317.
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Donald argues that the Ninth Circuit wrongly decided McCourt and
adopted a minority position among federal courts. Although Donald cites
numerous federal cases to support his argument, none of them recognizes a
constitutional right to admit propensity evidence. In United States v. Krezdom,18
the Fifth Circuit acknowledged, "Arguably, [evidence of extraneous offenses
allegedly committed by a person other than the defendant] is not the kind of
evidence to which Rule 404(b) applies." But the court concluded that it "need not
decide, however, whether Rule 404(b) applies to this situation" because the
evidence, which showed a common plan, was admissible "whether or not Rule
404(b) applies."19
The Second Circuit, in United States v. Aboumoussallem,20 affirmed the
exclusion of coconspirators' prior bad acts evidence under Fed. R. Evid. 403 but
noted that the evidence could be admissible under rule 404(b) to prove a
common plan or scheme. The court did recognize that "risks of prejudice are
18 639 F.2d 1327, 1332 (5th Cir. 1981).
19 Krezdorn, 639 F.2d at 1333. More recently, in United States v. Reed,
715 F.2d 870, 872 (5th Cir. 1983), the State charged the defendants with
conspiring to commit extortion against a man named Wolfe after Wolfe allegedly
raped Burton. The defendants sought to introduce evidence of Wolfe's prior
arrests for rape to impeach his assertion that Burton consented to have sex with
him. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision to exclude the
evidence, in part on rule 404(b) grounds, reasoning, "Because the defendants'
purpose in attempting to introduce such evidence was precisely what is forbidden
under this rule." Reed, 715 F.2d at 876.
20 726 F.2d 906, 911-13 (2d Cir. 1984).
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NO. 68429-9-1/12
normally absent when the defendant offers similar acts evidence of a third party
to prove some fact pertinent to the defense."21 But it made this statement in the
context of examining evidence admissible under Fed. R. Evid. 404(b). It did not
recognize any right of a defendant to the admission of propensity evidence
contrary to 404(b)'s prohibition.
The First Circuit, in United States v. Gonzalez-Sanchez,22 suggested, in
dicta, that rule 404(b) "does not exclude evidence of prior crimes of persons
other than the defendant" but affirmed the trial court's admission of the
challenged evidence as relevant to the defendant's lack of knowledge. Donald
also cites Glados, Inc. v. Reliance Insurance Co..23 in which the Eleventh Circuit
applied the balancing test and admitted the proffered evidence to show motive
and plan. More recently, the Seventh24 and Tenth25 Circuits relied on Stevens in
balancing the evidence's probative value against the risk of prejudice, but these
cases all involved evidence offered for one of the "other purposes" listed in ER
21 Aboumoussallem, 726 F.2d at 911.
22 825 F.2d 572, 583 (1st Cir. 1987).
23 888 F.2d 1309, 1311 (11th Cir. 1987); see also United States v. Cohen,
888 F.2d 770, 776 (11th Cir. 1989) (recognizing that rule 404(b) "is one of
inclusion" that allows admitting evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts "unless
it tends to prove only criminal propensity").
24 United States v. Seals, 419 F.3d 600, 606-07 (7th Cir. 2005) (ultimately
excluding proffered modus operandi evidence as irrelevant).
25 United States v. Montelonqo. 420 F.3d 1169, 1174 (10th Cir. 2005)
(admitting the proffered evidence as relevant to the defendants' defense of lack
of knowledge).
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NO. 68429-9-1/13
404(b).26 None applies the "straightforward," pure balancing test that Donald
advances.
None of the federal cases that Donald cites recognizes a criminal
defendant's right to present third party propensity evidence to infer how the third
party acted. Donald's reliance on federal case law fails.
Donald next argues that excluding his proffered propensity evidence
unreasonably restricted his constitutional right to present a defense. He relies
primarily upon four cases to support this argument, Washington v. Texas,27 State
v. Hudlow,28 State v. Gallegos,29 and State v. Hedge.30 Because ER 404's
prohibition on the admissibility of third party propensity evidence is neither
arbitrary nor unreasonably related or disproportionate to the ends it is designed
to serve, we reject Donald's constitutional challenge.
26 See also United States v. Alaveto, 628 F.3d 917, 921 (7th Cir. 2010)
("While admission of propensity evidence is generally prohibited, Rule 404(b)
allows the introduction of an individual's other acts for a variety of other
purposes." (citing United States v. Murray, 474 F.3d 938, 939 (7th Cir. 2007)
(Although "[c]oncern with the poisonous effect on the jury of propensity evidence
is minimal" when a defendant attempts to employ reverse 404(b) evidence,
"unless the other crime and the present crime are sufficiently alike to make it
likely that the same person committed both crimes, so that if the defendant did
not commit the other crime he probably did not commit this one, the evidence will
flunk."))). Murray, 474 F.3d at 939.
27 388 U.S. 14, 87 S. Ct. 1920, 18 L Ed. 2d 1019 (1967).
2899Wn.2d 1, 659 P.2d 514 (1983).
29 65 Wash. App. 230, 828 P.2d 37 (1992).
30 297 Conn. 621, 1 A.3d 1051 (2010).
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State courts have broad latitude under the Constitution to establish rules
excluding evidence from criminal trials.31 However, a criminal defendant's
constitutional right to "a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense"
limits this latitude.32 An evidence rule abridges this right when it infringes upon a
weighty interest of the defendant and is arbitrary or disproportionate to the
purpose it was designed to serve.33 But the defendant's right to present a
defense also has limits. The defendant's right is subject to reasonable
restrictions34 and must yield to "established rules of procedure and evidence
designed to assure both fairness and reliability in the ascertainment of guilt and
innocence."35
A brief review of five pertinent Supreme Court cases illustrates the
application of these principles. Washington v. Texas involved a Texas law that
barred a person charged as a participant in a crime from testifying on behalf of
another alleged participant unless the witness had been acquitted.36 The Court
31 United States v. Scheffer, 523 U.S. 303, 308, 118 S. Ct. 1261, 140 L.
Ed. 2d 413 (1998).
32 Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 690, 106 S. Ct. 2142, 90 L. Ed. 2d
636 (1986) (quoting California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479, 485, 104 S. Ct. 2528,
81 L. Ed. 2d 413 (1984)).
33 Holmes v. South Carolina, 547 U.S. 319, 324, 126 S. Ct. 1727, 164 L.
Ed. 2d 503 (2006).
34 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 308.
35 State v. Finch, 137 Wash. 2d 792, 825, 975 P.2d 967 (1999) (citing
Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 302, 93 S. Ct. 1038, 35 L. Ed. 2d 297
(1973))
36 Washington, 388 U.S. at 16-17.
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NO. 68429-9-1/15
held that the law violated the Sixth Amendment because it arbitrarily excluded
whole categories of defense witnesses from testifying, based upon a
presumption they were unworthy of belief.37 The Court characterized the law as
absurd. It noted that the law left a witness free to testify when he has a great
incentive to perjury but barred his testimony in situations where he has a lesser
motive to lie.38
Chambers v. Mississippi39 involved a Mississippi law prohibiting a party
from impeaching its own witness and a state hearsay rule that did not include an
exception for statements against penal interest. Chambers, charged with
murder, unsuccessfully sought to treat as an adverse witness a person who
repudiated an earlier sworn confession to the murder. These rules operated to
exclude Chambers's cross-examination of the recanting witness and to exclude
three witnesses who would have discredited the repudiation and demonstrated
the witness's complicity.40 The Court held that the application of the rules
violated Chambers's due process rights but emphasized that its decision did not
establish any new principle of constitutional law and that its holding did not
"signal any diminution in the respect traditionally accorded to the States in the
establishment and implementation of their own criminal trial rules and
37 Washington, 388 U.S. at 22-23.
38 Washington, 388 U.S. at 22-23.
39 410 U.S. 284, 291-93, 93 S. Ct. 1038, 35 L. Ed. 2d 297 (1973).
40 Chambers, 410 U.S. at 291-94.
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NO. 68429-9-1 /16
procedures."41 The Court noted that Mississippi had not attempted to defend or
explain the underlying rationale for its "voucher rule."42
In Crane v. Kentucky,43 the trial court prevented Crane from presenting
evidence about the environment in which the police secured his confession
because the court earlier had found the confession to be voluntary. Crane
sought to introduce this evidence to cast doubt on his confession's credibility and
validity.44 The Supreme Court held that excluding this evidence denied Crane his
fundamental constitutional right to a fair opportunity to present a defense.45 The
Court noted that neither the Kentucky Supreme Court nor the prosecution
"advanced any rational justification for the wholesale exclusion of this body of
potentially exculpatory evidence."46 Finally, the Court cautioned, "[W]e have
never questioned the power of States to exclude evidence through the
application of evidentiary rules that themselves serve the interests of fairness
and reliability—even if the defendant would prefer to see that evidence
admitted."47
41 Chambers. 410 U.S. at 302-03.
42 Chambers, 410 U.S. at 297.
43 476 U.S. 683, 685-86, 106 S. Ct. 2142, 90 L. Ed. 2d 636 (1986).
44 Crane, 476 U.S. at 686.
45 Crane, 476 U.S. at 687.
46 Crane, 476 U.S. at 691.
47 Crane, 476 U.S. at 690.
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Rock v. Arkansas48 involved an Arkansas law that excluded all
hypnotically refreshed testimony. As applied, this law prevented Rock, accused
of a killing to which she was the only eyewitness, from testifying about certain
relevant facts, some of which suggested the killing was accidental. The Court
held that a per se rule excluding all posthypnosis testimony infringed
impermissibly upon Rock's fundamental constitutional right to testify on her own
behalf49 The Court stated that Arkansas could not exclude all criminal
defendants' posthypnosis testimony in the absence of clear evidence repudiating
the validity of all posthypnosis recollections.50
The last case, United States v. Scheffer,51 involved a rule that made
polygraph evidence inadmissible in court-martial proceedings. Scheffer, an Air
Force airman, unsuccessfully sought to introduce polygraph test results to
support his claim that he did not knowingly use drugs. Scheffer claimed that the
exclusionary rule unconstitutionally abridged his constitutional right to present a
defense.52 The Court rejected this claim, holding the exclusion of all polygraph
evidence "is a rational and proportional means of advancing the legitimate
interest in barring unreliable evidence."53
48 483 U.S. 44, 56, 107 S. Ct. 2704, 97 L. Ed. 2d 37 (1987).
49 Rock, 483 U.S. at 62.
50 Rock, 483 U.S. at 61.
51 523 U.S. 303, 305, 118 S. Ct. 1261, 140 L Ed. 2d 413 (1998).
52 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 305.
53 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 312.
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The Scheffer Court began its analysis by noting that a defendant's right to
present relevant evidence is subject to reasonable restrictions.54 "State and
Federal Governments unquestionably have a legitimate interest in ensuring that
reliable evidence is presented to the trier of fact in a criminal trial. Indeed, the
exclusion of unreliable evidence is a principal objective of many evidentiary
rules."55 The Court stated that the challenged rule served legitimate interests in
the criminal process. These interests include ensuring the reliability of evidence
introduced at trial, preserving the fact finder's role in determining credibility, and
avoiding litigation collateral to the primary purpose of the trial.56
The Scheffer Court distinguished Rock, Washington, and Chambers
because "[t]he exclusions of evidence . . . declared unconstitutional in those
cases significantly undermined fundamental elements of the defendant's
defense."57 In Washington, the Court noted, "'[T]he State arbitrarily denied [the
defendant] the right to put on the stand a witness who was physically and
mentally capable of testifying to events that he had personally observed.'"58 In
Rock, the Court concluded, "[T]he rule [barring hypnotically refreshed
recollection] deprived the jury of the testimony of the only witness who was at the
54 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 308.
55 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 309.
56 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 309.
57 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 315.
58 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 316 (second alteration in original) (quoting
Washington. 388 U.S. at 23).
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NO. 68429-9-1/19
scene and had firsthand knowledge of the facts" and also infringed upon the
"particularly significant" interest of the defendant "in testifying in her own
defense."59 The Court described Chambers as confined to the specific "'facts
and circumstances' presented in that case."60
In contrast, Scheffer declared that the rule excluding polygraph evidence
"does not implicate any significant interest of the accused."61 At the court-martial,
"the court members heard all the relevant details of the charged offense from the
perspective of the accused."62 Excluding polygraph evidence did not keep the
defendant "from introducing any factual evidence" but prevented him only "from
introducing expert opinion testimony to bolster his own credibility."
Although not addressed in Scheffer, the exclusion of evidence in Crane
also significantly undermined a fundamental element of Crane's defense. It
denied Crane the opportunity to show why he confessed to a crime that he
claimed he did not commit.
We find Scheffer most similar to this case. Excluding Leon's criminal
history did not significantly undermine any fundamental element of Donald's
defense. It did not exclude any witness with knowledge of any fact of the alleged
59 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 315.
60 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 316 (quoting Chambers, 410 U.S. at 303).
61 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 316-17.
62 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 317.
63 Scheffer, 523 U.S. at 317.
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 20
crimes or any part of that witness's testimony. It did not exclude any testimony
from Donald. He still could present all of the facts relevant to Leon's involvement
in the assault upon McWhirter. ER 404(b) prevented him only from presenting
propensity evidence the common law generally excludes because it is distracting,
time-consuming, and likely to influence a fact finder far beyond its legitimate
probative value.64 Exclusion of propensity evidence furthers two goals that
Scheffer recognized as reasonable. It ensures the reliability of evidence
introduced at trial and avoids litigation collateral to the primary purpose of the
trial. As with polygraph evidence in Scheffer, the per se exclusion of propensity
evidence to prove how a person acted on a particular occasion is not
disproportionate to the ends it is designed to serve.
Although not dispositive, we note that ER 404(b) reflects the general
rule.65 This strongly suggests that the Washington Supreme Court did not act
arbitrarily when it adopted the rule. It also suggests that the rule is not
disproportionate to the ends it is designed to serve.
Additionally, the evidence of Leon's criminal history that Donald proffered
does not appear to be relevant. Donald offered this evidence to prove that Leon
acted alone in the assault upon McWhirter. At oral argument, counsel agreed
that the criminal history evidence offered by Donald described Leon's earlier
64 3 Fishman, § 14:1.
65 3 Fishman, § 14:1.
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 21
criminal convictions but did not indicate if he committed these crimes alone or
with others. Evidence of Leon's participation in other crimes without information
about the number of participants in them does not make the claim that Leon
acted alone more or less likely. Therefore, it is not relevant to this claim.
The state cases cited by Donald do not dictate a different result. In State
v. Hudlow, our Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's application of our State's
rape shield statute66 to exclude evidence of a rape victim's prior sexual
behavior.67 The Court identified two separate rights granted by the Sixth
Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I, section 22 of the
Washington Constitution: (1) the right to present testimony in one's defense and
(2) the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses.68 It recognized
that these rights had limits and adopted a rule requiring that any limitation on a
defendant's right to present relevant evidence be justified by a compelling state
interest.69 The Court concluded that the State had a compelling interest in
preventing prejudice to the truth-finding process and encouraging victims to
report and prosecute sex crimes to justify exclusion of minimally relevant
evidence.70 In dicta, the Court stated that no state interest can be compelling
66 Former RCW 9.79.150 (1975), recodified as RCW 9A.44.020.
67 Hudlow, 99Wn.2dat19.
68 Hudlow. 99 Wash. 2d at 14-15.
69 Hudlow. 99 Wash. 2d at 15-16.
70 Hudlow, 99 Wash. 2d at 16.
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 22
enough to justify exclusion of "evidence of high probative value."71 Because
Donald fails to show that propensity evidence is more than minimally relevant,
the Hudlow dicta provides no support for his constitutional challenge.
State v. Gallegos72 involves a straightforward application of Hudlow in a
rape case. Similarly, it provides no support for Donald's position.
In State v. Hedge, Hedge unsuccessfully proffered evidence that a
convicted drug offender had driven the vehicle Hedge was driving within 24 hours
of Hedge's arrest and, on previous occasions, had left drugs and money in the
vehicle.73 The court adopted the construction of ER 404(b) urged by Donald,
which we have rejected.74 As an alternative basis for its decision, the court,
without any analysis of the United States Supreme Court cases discussed above,
held that the exclusion of Hedge's proffered evidence violated his Sixth
Amendment right to present a defense.75 We do not find this case persuasive.
Next, Donald contends that the court denied his right to present a defense
when it excluded testimony that Leon experienced "command hallucinations" that
ordered him to hurt other people. This evidence, Donald argues, was relevant to
71 Hudlow, 99Wn.2dat16.
72 Gallegos, 65 Wash. App. at 236-37.
73 Hedge, 297 Conn, at 629.
74 Hedge, 297 Conn, at 649-52.
75 Hedge, 297 Conn, at 652-53.
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 23
show Leon had a motive to act alone. We hold that the court here did not err by
excluding this evidence.
Donald's expert witness testified that Leon was malingering—faking a
mental illness to escape punishment. The court admitted several jail phone calls
between Leon and his mother discussing his plan to fake a mental illness.
Donald wanted to argue, in the alternative, that Leon was either malingering or
was actually mentally ill, but that either alternative showed that he assaulted
McWhirter on his own. The court refused to admit expert witness testimony
about Leon's "command hallucinations," fearing that it would lead to a
minicompetency trial and create unnecessary confusion among the jurors.
We assume that evidence of Leon's mental illness meets the general ER
401 relevance standard; however, the court expressed a reasonable concern
about the confusion of issues and possible delay. Further, the evidence already
admitted gave Donald sufficient opportunity to present his alternate suspect
defense. The parties dispute if the court properly balanced the relevance of the
evidence with its prejudicial, confusing, or delaying effects. However, under the
authorities discussed previously, excluding evidence for these reasons does not
impermissibly impair Donald's right to present a defense because it did not
significantly undermine any fundamental element of Donald's defense. Donald
fails to show that the trial court abused its discretion in determining the evidence
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 24
to be confusing, unfairly prejudicial, or likely to produce unreasonable delay. He
also fails to show that the evidence was more than minimally relevant.
Finally, Donald alleges that the court erred by instructing the jury, "If you
find from the evidence that each of these elements has been proved beyond a
reasonable doubt, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of guilty." Because
the common law grants the jury the right to acquit even in the face of proof
beyond a reasonable doubt, Donald claims that the jury should not have been
told it had a "duty" to convict. Donald failed to object to this instruction below and
does not demonstrate prejudice. Thus, under RAP 2.5, he failed to preserve the
error for appeal. We decline to consider his request that we reverse our decision
in State v. Meqgvesv.76
CONCLUSION
Because ER 404(b) is neither arbitrary nor unreasonably related or
disproportionate to the ends it is designed to serve, we reject Donald's
constitutional challenge to it. We reject his proposed construction of ER 404(b),
which would exclude its application to evidence offered by a defendant. Further,
the court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence of an alternative
76 90 Wash. App. 693, 958 P.2d 319 (1998).
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NO. 68429-9-1 / 25
suspect's mental health history and criminal history, and Donald failed to
preserve his alleged instructional error for review. Therefore, we affirm.
l~J e.s
WE CONCUR:
^b*,^
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