State v. Kramer

278 P.3d 431, 153 Idaho 29, 2012 WL 1416301, 2012 Ida. App. LEXIS 30
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 25, 2012
Docket38786
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 278 P.3d 431 (State v. Kramer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Kramer, 278 P.3d 431, 153 Idaho 29, 2012 WL 1416301, 2012 Ida. App. LEXIS 30 (Idaho Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

GRATTON, Chief Judge.

Michael Ian Kramer was convicted by a jury of misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol, Idaho Code §§ 18-8004, 18-8005(4). On intermediate appeal, the district court affirmed his conviction. Kramer appeals to this Court contending that the magistrate erred by admitting documents that were disclosed the day before trial and that admission of the documents violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him. We affirm.

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Kramer was charged with misdemeanor DUI. On the day of trial, Kramer moved to exclude evidence of the breath test results and Intoxilyzer 5000 certificates, arguing that the State failed to timely provide all evidence required of it under a discovery request. 1 Kramer asserted that the State did not disclose the certificates, which the State intended to use to lay a foundation for admission of the breath test itself, until the day before trial, in violation of Idaho Rules of Evidence 702, 703, and 704. Kramer also argued that the Confrontation Clause required the State to produce not just the certificates, but the live testimony of: (1) the individuals responsible for calibrating the breath testing equipment; (2) the forensic services commander who certified the forensic alcohol test; and (3) the person who *31 prepared the simulator solution, in order for the breath test certificates to be admissible in evidence to lay a foundation for the breath test administered. The magistrate denied the motion. The jury returned guilty verdicts as to the charges of driving under the influence and transporting an open container of alcohol. Kramer appealed to the district court, and the district court affirmed. Kramer timely appeals the decision of the district court.

II.

ANALYSIS

On review of a decision of the district court, rendered in its appellate capacity, we review the decision of the district court directly. Losser v. Bradstreet, 145 Idaho 670, 672, 183 P.3d 758, 760 (2008); State v. DeWitt, 145 Idaho 709, 711, 184 P.3d 215, 217 (Ct.App.2008). We examine the magistrate record to determine whether there is substantial and competent evidence to support the magistrate’s findings of fact and whether the magistrate’s conclusions of law follow from those findings. Losser, 145 Idaho at 672, 183 P.3d at 760; DeWitt, 145 Idaho at 711, 184 P.3d at 217. If those findings are so supported and the conclusions follow therefrom and if the district court affirmed the magistrate’s decision, we affirm the district court’s decision as a matter of procedure. Losser, 145 Idaho at 672, 183 P.3d at 760; DeWitt, 145 Idaho at 711, 184 P.3d at 217.

A. Disclosure of Intoxilyzer 5000 Certificates

Whether to impose a sanction for a party’s failure to comply with a discovery request, and the choice of an appropriate sanction, are within the discretion of the trial court. State v. Buss, 98 Idaho 173, 174, 560 P.2d 495, 496 (1977); State v. Allen, 145 Idaho 183, 185, 177 P.3d 397, 399 (Ct.App.2008). When an issue of late disclosure of pi’oseeution evidence is presented, the inquiry on appeal is whether the lateness of the disclosure so prejudiced the defendant’s preparation or presentation of his defense that he was prevented from receiving a fair* trial. State v. Pacheco, 134 Idaho 367, 370, 2 P.3d 752, 755 (2000); Allen, 145 Idaho at 186, 177 P.3d at 400; State v. Johnson, 132 Idaho 726, 728, 979 P.2d 128, 130 (Ct.App.1999). The defendant bears the burden of establishing prejudice by showing that there is a reasonable probability that, but for the late disclosure of evidence, the result of the proceedings would have been different. Pacheco, 134 Idaho at 370, 2 P.3d at 755. The magistrate here elected not to exclude the evidence or impose any sanction. Therefore, the question on appeal is whether Kramer was so prejudiced by the State’s alleged discovery violation that the magistrate’s refusal to exclude the evidence constituted an abuse of discretion. See Allen, 145 Idaho at 185, 177 P.3d at 399.

Kramer argues that due to the late disclosure of the Intoxilyzer 5000 certificates, he was unable to retain his own expert on the testing equipment, and thus the late disclosure hampered his ability to meet the evidence at trial. The State argues that Kramer’s discovery request did not require production of the certificates and, additionally, Kramer failed to show a connection between any prejudice suffered and the timing of the disclosure of the certificates.

In State v. Anderson, 145 Idaho 99, 175 P.3d 788 (2008), the Idaho Supreme Court held that the magistrate did not abuse his discretion by failing to impose discovery sanctions on the State when it failed to disclose an expert witness’s curriculum vitae as required by a pretrial discovery order. Id. at 105,175 P.3d at 794. The Supreme Court noted there was no error in the magistrate’s decision because the State was minimally culpable and Anderson suffered little to no pi’ejudice as a result of the late disclosure. Id. The Court found it significant that: (1) Anderson received discovery responses close to a year before trial, but did not object to the omitted information until trial; (2) Anderson did not allege that he attempted but was unable to contact the expert witness prior to trial; and (3) the magistrate offered a lesser sanction, and Anderson refused, contending that the exclusion of the expext was the only appropriate means.

In the present case, the State’s culpability to the extent the discovery request reqxxired *32 production was also minimal. The State received the Intoxilyzer 5000 certificates the week of trial. Kramer’s discovery request was made more than a year before the trial, but Kramer did not object to the State’s failure to include the breath test certificates until the day of trial. At no point between the discovery request and trial did Kramer file a motion to compel, or take any independent steps to obtain the certificates directly from the Idaho State Police. Additionally, the document showing the breath test results was provided to defense counsel roughly one year prior to Kramer’s objection. Defense counsel was aware that a breath test had been conducted.

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Bluebook (online)
278 P.3d 431, 153 Idaho 29, 2012 WL 1416301, 2012 Ida. App. LEXIS 30, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kramer-idahoctapp-2012.