People v. Cordova
293 P.3d 114
Colo. Ct. App.2011Background
- On June 9, 2007, defendant Cordova and an associate fought two men, resulting in lacerations.
- Cordova fled; an arrest warrant issued, and on June 20, 2007 police stopped his SUV and arrested him.
- A search of Cordova and his SUV yielded eleven knives, including one on his person.
- Cordova moved to suppress the knives as irrelevant and prejudicial; the court denied the motion.
- A jury convicted Cordova of two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and harassment; the knives were later admitted at trial.
- Cordova testified he did not have a knife during the stabbing and that the knives in the SUV were part of his collection.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are the knives admissible as relevant evidence? | People: knives are probative of timing/identity independent of bad character. | Cordova: knives merely show bad character; probative value outweighed by prejudice. | Yes; knives relevant and admissible. |
| Does CRE 404 limit the knives as character evidence? | People: not offered to prove violent character; independently relevant to actus reus/identity. | Cordova: evidence risks improper propensity inference. | No abuse of discretion; admissible under CRE 404(b) with proper balancing. |
| Was the SUV search constitutional? | People: search valid; evidence properly seized. | Cordova: Fourth Amendment violation; search not preserved for appeal. | Waived; issue not preserved for appellate review; no constitutional harmless-error review. |
| Were prosecutors/witnesses misconduct claims meritorious? | People: references to gang/outlaw imagery were improper but not reversible error. | Cordova: cumulative plain error undermines fairness. | No reversible plain error; strong evidence supported conviction; no cumulative error reversal. |
Key Cases Cited
- Kaufman v. People, 202 P.3d 542 (Colo. 2009) (knife collection evidence improperly used to suggest character; reversed admission)
- People v. Davis, 218 P.3d 718 (Colo. App. 2008) (possession of knives can be probative of defendant's conduct independent of character)
- People v. Spoto, 795 P.2d 1314 (Colo. 1990) (four-part test for CRE 404(b) admissibility to prove non-character purposes)
- People v. Snyder, 874 P.2d 1076 (Colo. 1994) (relevance must be probative independent of character inference)
- People v. McBride, 228 P.3d 216 (Colo. App. 2009) (possession evidence can support inference of contemporaneous knife at crime time)
- Crider v. People, 186 P.3d 39 (Colo. 2008) (general principle on trial error and prejudice)
- People v. Rath, 44 P.3d 1033 (Colo. 2002) (CRE 402/403 balancing and relevance guidance)
- Domingo-Gomez v. People, 125 P.3d 1043 (Colo. 2005) (two-step analysis for prosecutorial misconduct and harmless error)
- Wend v. People, 235 P.3d 1089 (Colo. 2010) (factors for evaluating prosecutorial misconduct and harmlessness)