22 Conn. App. 557 | Conn. App. Ct. | 1990
The defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction rendered after a jury trial on the charge of selling narcotics in violation of General Statutes § 21a-277 (a). He claims that the trial court should not have prohibited him from impeaching a state’s witness for bias and lack of credibility and should not have admitted highly prejudicial hearsay statements of a third party into evidence.
I
The defendant claims that the trial court should not have prohibited him from impeaching Maher for bias or prejudice. He maintains that he did not sell heroin to the two officers in the Camaro because he recognized Maher and knew him to be a police officer. Both Maher and the defendant were members of the New Haven police force in 1972.
The defendant sought to testify that he is disliked by members of the New Haven police force. In an offer of proof, the defendant stated that ill feelings toward him were engendered when he was acquitted of the charge of receiving a bribe as a police officer. After
Also on direct examination, the defendant sought to testify as to his ouster from a block watch meeting held at a New Haven police station. The defendant was prepared to testify that Maher was among the policemen who escorted him from the building. The trial court excluded this evidence as well on the basis of lack of relevance.
The defendant claims that the court should not have excluded his testimony because it was highly probative of bias stemming from Maher’s association with the New Haven police force. “Impeachment of a witness for bias is a matter of right.” State v. Shipman, 195 Conn. 160, 163, 486 A.2d 1130 (1985). “[Evidence] tending to indicate malice or ill will toward another [is] generally admissible in situations where such states of mind are material. . . . The bias or prejudice of a witness may properly be shown either by cross-examination or by testimony of other witnesses. . . . [W]here no foundation has been laid by cross-examination of the witness who is under attack for bias or prejudice, the decision whether or not to admit impeaching [evidence] . . . lies within the judicial discretion of the court.” (Citations omitted.) State v. Mahmood, 158 Conn. 536, 539-40, 265 A.2d 83 (1969); Fairbanks v. State, 143 Conn. 653, 657, 124 A.2d 893 (1956).
II
The defendant’s second claim is that his right to impeach Maher was improperly restricted when the trial court excluded questions concerning whether Maher was trained in techniques of deception as an undercover narcotics officer. The defendant argues that
The theory of the defendant was that because Maher was able to deceive drug dealers that he was a drug buyer and not an undercover officer, he had the ability to also deceive the jury with his testimony about the events that transpired.
The comments and discussion by the court concerning this unique and novel approach to witness impeachment appear to reflect that the court viewed the same with incredulity as do we. The evidence was properly excluded.
Ill
The defendant’s final claim is that the court should not have admitted certain highly prejudicial hearsay statements of a third party into evidence. The facts relevant to this claim are as follows. On direct examination of Maher, the state sought to elicit testimony that a Hispanic man on a bicycle on Sylvan Street had informed the undercover officers that if they drove around the corner to Asylum Avenue, they would meet a man named Mike in a red hat who would be able to sell them power. Upon objection, the court ruled that this testimony was inadmissible hearsay.
Thereafter, defense counsel commenced to cross-examine Maher about factual details of the officers’ encounter with the defendant on Asylum Avenue. Maher testified that after they pulled the Camaro over
. On redirect, the state questioned Maher as to the details of his encounter with the Hispanic male on the bicycle. Defense counsel objected to Maher’s testimony on this matter on the basis of hearsay, but the trial court ruled that the defendant’s question during cross-examination had opened the door. We agree. “[A] party who delves into a particular subject during the examination of a witness cannot object if the opposing party later questions the witness on the same subject.” State v. Graham, 200 Conn. 9, 13, 509 A.2d 493 (1986); State v. Aleksiewicz, 20 Conn. App. 643, 656, 569 A.2d 567 (1990).
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
“In most jurisdictions a party is not permitted to impeach the credibility of a witness against him by introducing independent testimony of a state