State v. Fero

758 P.2d 783, 107 N.M. 369
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 29, 1988
Docket17301
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 758 P.2d 783 (State v. Fero) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Fero, 758 P.2d 783, 107 N.M. 369 (N.M. 1988).

Opinion

OPINION

STOWERS, Justice.

Defendant O.C. Fero was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-2-l(A)(l) (Repl.Pamp.1984), and sentenced to a term of life imprisonment.

The facts in this case are more fully set out in State v. Fero, 105 N.M. 339, 732 P.2d 866 (1987). Fero, who was then principal of Tohatchi High School, was evaluated on February 22, 1985, by Paul Hansen, Superintendent of Schools for the Gallup-McKinley school system. During the evaluation five shots were fired, which resulted in the death of Hansen. Fero was arrested for the homicide and gave a statement to the police.

At trial, there was no dispute that Fero killed Hansen. At issue was defendant’s intent. The state argued that the murder was deliberate, while defendant claimed that he acted without intent during a brief psychotic episode. The state called as a witness Dr. John Smialeck, the medical examiner, who testified to the cause of death. Over defendant’s objection, Dr. Smialeck opined that Fero fired four nonfatal shots mostly to the head region before firing the fifth and fatal shot to the back of Hansen’s head. Fero, 105 N.M. at 344, 732 P.2d at 871. The first shot hit the victim in the mouth, the second in the cheek, the third in the arm as Hansen started to fall. Defendant then walked around Hansen’s prone body and fired two more shots from the feet area of the victim. The fifth shot was instantly fatal entering the back of the neck into the brainstem. The sixth shot remained unfired in the gun. During the investigation, the police removed pieces of carpet, the size of a “medium pizza”, on which they had found the body. These pieces, however, were lost a few days before trial and found again after defendant’s first motion for a new trial. Dr. Smialeck never saw the carpet pieces and did not refer to them in his testimony.

In Fero, we considered and rejected defendant’s argument that the loss of the carpet deprived him of the opportunity for effective cross-examination. Applying the standard for lost evidence established in State v. Chouinard, 96 N.M. 658, 634 P.2d 680 (1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 930, 102 S.Ct. 1980, 72 L.Ed.2d 447 (1982), we stated that the determination of materiality and prejudice is discretionary with the trial court. And, since Fero failed to suggest how he might have used the carpet pieces and Dr. Smialeck spoke only of the wounds themselves without relying on the carpet, the trial court properly refused to suppress the testimony of Dr. Smialeck. Fero, 105 N.M. at 344-45, 732 P.2d at 871-72.

Thereafter, defendant moved for a new trial based upon an analysis of the lost carpet as newly discovered evidence. An evidentiary hearing on the motion was held. Defendant’s expert testified that the carpet showed that defendant fired the fifth, fatal shot from a position in front of the victim’s desk rather than from behind it as testified to by the state’s medical examiner. Defendant claimed that by eliminating the steps he had to take to walk behind the desk to fire the last shots, this indicated he acted without the requisite intent needed for a conviction of first degree murder. The trial court denied defendant’s motion and stated that although defendant satisfied the materiality prong, defendant failed to meet the five other requirements necessary to obtain a new trial. See State v. Volpato, 102 N.M. 383, 696 P.2d 471 (1985). Defendant appeals and we affirm the result reached by the trial court.

Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a new trial under Chouinard, the three-prong loss of evidence test, and also, under Volpato, the six-prong newly discovered evidence test. We disagree. Defendant’s argument fails under either test.

1. Loss of Evidence Test.

New Mexico has adopted a three-part test to determine whether deprivation or loss of evidence constitutes reversible error. The test requires proof that: (1) The State either breached some duty or intentionally deprived the defendant of evidence; (2) the improperly suppressed evidence must have been material; and (3) the suppression of this evidence prejudiced the defendant. Chouinard, 96 N.M. at 661, 634 P.2d at 683; State v. Duran, 96 N.M. 364, 365, 630 P.2d 763, 764 (1981); State v. Lovato, 94 N.M. 780, 782, 617 P.2d 169, 171 (Ct.App.1980). The purpose of this test is “to assure the trial court will come to a determination that will serve the ends of justice.” Chouinard, 96 N.M. at 661, 634 P.2d at 683. Defendant claims that the Chouinard “lost evidence test” is applicable here because defendant could not have argued at trial the prejudicial aspect, whether the murder was premeditated, without the presence of the carpet. And, further, since defendant did not know what this evidence would reveal, defendant now contends that he should be able to argue the three-part Chouinard test rather than the more stringent six-part Volpato test for a new trial. We will discuss each test.

Where the loss of the evidence is known prior to trial, as in the instant case, the remedy is either exclusion of all evidence which the lost evidence might have impeached, or admission with full disclosure of the loss and its relevance and import. The choice of these alternatives is made by the trial court, depending on its assessment of materiality and prejudice. Id. at 662, 634 P.2d at 684.

The value of this piece of carpet was to show the relative positions of the parties based on the location of the blood stains under Hansen’s body. The state photographed the carpet and provided this information to defendant. The carpet pieces, saturated with blood, were then placed in a boiler room to dry. Shortly before trial, both sides were informed that the carpet had been lost and would be unavailable to either side at trial. Defendant wanted to exclude from evidence Dr. Smialeck’s testimony regarding the position of the victim’s body on the floor when the last two shots had been fired. The trial court did not suppress the evidence because the medical examiner’s testimony was based on the photographs and a medical examination of the victim’s body, and not on the carpet. Since the state did not act in bad faith regarding the loss of the carpet, defendant must show that the evidence was material and prejudicial to satisfy the Chouinard test. Id. at 663, 634 P.2d at 685.

Whether evidence is material depends on “if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A ‘reasonable probability’ is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3383, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985); see also Duran, 96 N.M. at 365, 630 P.2d at 764 (the evidence must be material to the guilt or punishment of the defendant).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
758 P.2d 783, 107 N.M. 369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-fero-nm-1988.