 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Deffebaugh5/14/2004
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. When an error is of a constitutional magnitude, the error may not be held harmless unless the appellate court is willing to declare beyond a reasonable doubt that the error had little, if any, likelihood of changing the result of the trial. State v. Thompkins, 271 Kan. 324, 335, 21 P.3d 997 (2001).
The evidence against Deffebaugh consisted of the informant's identification and the marked money that was found near Deffebaugh and claimed by him. Although the informant identified Deffebaugh in a photographic lineup, she was not independently familiar with Deffebaugh or any of the other men that approached her car during the drug transaction. The police observing the transaction saw four men near the informant's car but were unable to identify the seller. Deffebaugh claimed that he had been misidentified. Deffebaugh also contradicted the State's claim that the marked money tied him to the drug sale by introducing evidence that Deffebaugh was involved in a dice game when the warrant was executed and that money was changing hands.
The evidence against Deffebaugh was not of such a direct and overwhelming nature that the court can conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Shobe's testimony would not have changed the result of the trial. Consequently, the exclusion of Shobe's testimony is not harmless error. We remand the matter to the district court for a new trial.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed. The judgment of the district court is reversed, and the matter is remanded for a new trial.
|