State v. Gooden

582 A.2d 607, 133 N.H. 674, 1990 N.H. LEXIS 120
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedNovember 9, 1990
DocketNo. 89-237
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 582 A.2d 607 (State v. Gooden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Gooden, 582 A.2d 607, 133 N.H. 674, 1990 N.H. LEXIS 120 (N.H. 1990).

Opinion

BATCHELDER, J.

The defendant, Stephen J. Gooden, was convicted after a jury trial in Superior Court (Barry, J.) of possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, RSA 318-B:2, I, :26 (1984) (current version at Supp. 1989). The defendant raises three issues on appeal. First, he maintains that he was denied his right to confrontation when the trial court precluded him from cross-examining a police officer concerning information provided by an informant about ongoing, confidential drug investigations. Second, the defendant asserts that the court admitted hearsay testimony regarding a non-witness’ observation that the informant was met by a white male at the defendant’s residence during the “controlled buy.” Finally, he argues that the multiple charges of possession with intent to distribute and simple possession subjected him to double jeopardy. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

The defendant’s problems began on December 30, 1986, when his friend, Stephen Garneau, was arrested for driving while intoxicated (“DWI”), second offense. In exchange for having the charge against him dropped, Garneau offered to provide the police with information regarding drug trafficking in the Campton area.

Trooper Terrence Kinneen of the State Police was in charge of the investigation. After an initial interview with Garneau, Kinneen ar[676]*676ranged for a “controlled buy” by Garneau to test Garneau’s information regarding the presence of cocaine at the defendant’s residence. On January 9,1987, Trooper Kinneen and a fellow trooper met with Garneau and searched his person and vehicle to ensure that he was not carrying drugs. Trooper Kinneen then gave Garneau $325 and followed him to the defendant’s residence. He repeatedly drove by the house until he saw Garneau pulling out of the driveway. He followed Garneau back to an agreed location, where he conducted a search of Garneau and his vehicle. The search produced a white, powdery substance, which was later analyzed and identified as cocaine. Garneau no longer had in his possession the money which Trooper Kinneen had earlier given him.

As a result of the “controlled buy,” Garneau’s DWI charge was dropped. However, he continued to provide information to Trooper Kinneen. For this information, the State Police agreed to pay Garneau an amount of money proportionate to the amount of drugs ultimately seized.

On January 17, 1987, the police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home. On the bureau in the bedroom they found two bags of a white, powdery substance, a large bag containing 274 grams and a small bag containing 26 grams. The powder was later analyzed and identified as cocaine. Next to the cocaine on the bureau was a Fischer-Ainsworth scale, a sophisticated model which permits the user to eliminate the weight of packaging from the amount being measured. The police also recovered a jar of inositol, a vitamin B supplement which is often used to dilute or “cut” cocaine. Elsewhere in the bedroom they found a loaded handgun and a datebook with notations, believed to be a ledger of cocaine transactions. The police also seized paraphernalia commonly used to ingest cocaine, including a razor blade, two mirrors, a vial, a spoon, and a cocaine “tooter.” No money was found.

At trial, the defendant raised an entrapment defense. He maintained that the cocaine belonged to Garneau and that he found it in his woodstove the night before the search. Although he admitted distributing cocaine for Garneau during the fall of 1986 to assist Garneau in reducing his large drug-related debt, the defendant insisted that he had refused to become further involved with Garneau’s drug dealing.

On direct examination, the defendant gave the following account of the events that occurred the evening before the police searched his home. After discovering the cocaine, the defendant called Garneau, [677]*677who came to his house. The two argued over the presence of the cocaine in the defendant’s house, and Garneau refused to remove it. Two of the defendant’s friends arrived shortly thereafter, and the four played cards for several hours. During the card game Garneau went to the bathroom several times to use cocaine. Several hours after Garneau left on the morning of the raid, he telephoned the defendant to confirm that the cocaine was still in the defendant’s house.

On appeal, the defendant first contends that he was denied his constitutional right to confrontation, under both the United States and New Hampshire Constitutions, when the court precluded him from recross-examination of Trooper Kinneen about the basis for his previously articulated opinion that Garneau was credible and reliable, after Kinneen had testified on redirect examination that Garneau had given him other reliable information about large-scale drug operations. He also contends the judge abused his discretion in limiting the recross-examination. In opposition, the State argues that the reliability and credibility of the informant was not an issue before the court, and that inquiry into this collateral matter would have confused the jury and wasted time.

The trial court has broad discretion in determining the scope of cross-examination. State v. Isaacson, 129 N.H. 438, 440, 529 A.2d 923, 924 (1987). We will not overturn the trial court’s ruling on the scope of cross-examination absent an abuse of discretion. Id. To show an abuse of discretion reversible on appeal, a defendant must demonstrate that the trial court’s ruling was “clearly untenable or unreasonable to the prejudice of his case.” State v. Hood, 131 N.H. 606, 608-09, 557 A.2d 995, 997 (1989).

The defendant relies on State v. Ramos, 121 N.H. 863, 435 A.2d 1122 (1981) to support his argument that denial of the right to cross-examine an adverse witness regarding matters that are important to the outcome of the trial was an abuse of discretion. However, his reliance on Ramos is misplaced. In Ramos, the trial court had prohibited all cross-examination of the testifying officer about his knowledge of and compliance with departmental policy and procedure. The defendant sought to establish that the officer’s failure to follow those procedures provided him with a motive to fabricate his version of the incident. Here, the trial judge gave the defendant wide latitude in examining witnesses as to Garneau’s reliability and credibility. Consequently, we do not agree with the defendant’s assertion that he was totally foreclosed from cross-examining Trooper Kinn[678]*678een regarding the basis for his opinion that Garneau was reliable and credible.

The testimony introduced at trial provided the jury with sufficient information with which to evaluate the informant’s credibility. The defendant established that there were pending bad check charges which Garneau had yet to answer, that there had been a DWI charge pending against him, that he had sold cocaine, that he had had domestic problems that required police intervention, and that he had defaulted on speeding tickets in the Bristol District Court. Any further information concerning an ongoing, unrelated drug investigation would have been cumulative, and the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s attempt to pursue this line of questioning did not amount to an abuse of discretion. United States v. Fortes,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
582 A.2d 607, 133 N.H. 674, 1990 N.H. LEXIS 120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gooden-nh-1990.