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North Carolina v. Robinson10/3/1991
e fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings" or where it can be fairly said "the instructional mistake had a probable impact on the jury's findings that the defendant was guilty."
State v. Mitchell, 328 N.C. at 711, 403 S.E.2d at 290 (quoting United States v. McCaskill, 676 F.2d 995, 1002 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1018, 74 L. Ed. 2d 513 (1982)).
We do not believe the testimony at issue "tilted the scales" in favor of conviction. The jury heard and saw the two survivors
of the attack identify defendant as the man who shot them and Page at point-blank range. The jury heard testimony from Wood that he (Wood) drove defendant to the steak house the night of the crime. The detectives' explanation as to why the money bags and other evidence were not found in a dumpster was not, we believe, the key piece of evidence which convinced the jury of defendant's guilt.
Next, defendant argues that the trial court committed prejudicial error by refusing to sustain his objection to certain testimony by fingerprint expert witness Lyman Lance to the effect that he had discovered identifiable fingerprints in only three percent of the criminal cases in which he had been involved. The State inquired of Sergeant Lance, "based on your training and experience in latent fingerprint lifting, identification, and comparison, in what percentage of your cases have you been able to match positively a latent lifted print with a known print?" Defense counsel objected, and after a voir dire hearing, the trial judge allowed the testimony, stating that it would be within the witness' knowledge. Defendant argues that the testimony was irrelevant and its admission into evidence was prejudicial. We agree with defendant that this evidence, offered to explain the nonexistence of fingerprints at the crime scene, was irrelevant. However, we find it not prejudicial.
The State argues in its brief that many jurors are under a misapprehension that a defendant cannot be guilty unless his fingerprints are found at the scene of the crime. Therefore, according to the State, it elicited the testimony of Sergeant Lance in order to show that fingerprint matchups from a crime scene are the exception rather than the rule. The prosecutor, in explaining to the trial court the relevance of the testimony, said, "it goes to show the reason, in his opinion, for the nonexistence of a fact, that is, the nonexistence of a matching fingerprint."
Defendant argues that his fingerprints were not found at the crime scene, and the presence or absence of identifiable fingerprints at other crime scenes investigated by Sergeant Lance is not relevant to the presence or absence of fingerprint evidence in this case. We agree.
The fact that other defendants did not leave identifiable prints at other crimes scenes can be explained by a myriad of reasons. In State v. Holden, 321 N.C. 125, 362 S.E.2d 513 (1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1061, 100 L. Ed. 2d 935 (1988), relied on by the State
in this case, this Court upheld the testimony from a fingerprint expert that an individual does not always leave a latent print on an object. The fingerprint expert, when asked whether a person always leaves a latent fingerprint after touching an object, said: "No, an individual does not always leave latent fingerprints on an object when it[']s touched. It depends on the environment, object being touched and also the secretion of body fluids from the person against the object." Id. at 1
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 North Carolina DUI Attorneys
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