Criminal Procedure — discovery

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Wisconsin Court of Appeals

Criminal

Criminal Procedure — discovery

The evening before trial was to begin, the prosecutor disclosed to defense counsel a letter purportedly from Tavoris Murphy, Sr., to one of his witnesses outlining her expected testimony. The circuit court ruled that the letter would not be excluded as rebuttal evidence, and neither the witness nor Murphy testified. Murphy argues that the State’s eve-of-trial disclosure violated the discovery statute, the discovery violation lacked good cause and so required that the letter be excluded, and the circuit court’s erroneous ruling that the letter was admissible as rebuttal evidence was not harmless. Murphy contends that he is entitled to a new trial, and he appeals from a judgment convicting him of selling cocaine and possessing additional cocaine with intent to distribute, and from an order denying his postconviction motion for a new trial. We affirm. We need not address the discovery issues that Murphy raises because we conclude that, even if the circuit court erred when it ruled that the letter was admissible as rebuttal evidence, such error was harmless. Not recommended for publication in the official reports.

2012AP505-CR State v. Murphy

Dist IV, Dane County, McNamara, J., Kloppenburg, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Hirsch, Eileen A., Madison; For Respondent: Ozanne, Ismael R., Madison; Remington, Christine A., Madison