State v. Cardoza

NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION.
UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL
AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE.

IN THE
ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS
DIVISION ONE

STATE OF ARIZONA, Appellee,

v.

GRISELDA CARDOZA, Appellant.

No. 1 CA-CR 23-0346

FILED 10-29-2024

Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County
No. CR2020-136175-001
The Honorable David J. Palmer, Judge

AFFIRMED

COUNSEL

Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Phoenix
By Michael T. O’Toole
Counsel for Appellee

Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender, Phoenix
By Kristen Reller
Counsel for Appellant
 STATE v. CARDOZA
Decision of the Court

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Judge Daniel J. Kiley delivered the decision of the Court, in which Presiding
Judge Michael J. Brown and Judge D. Steven Williams joined.

K I L E Y, Judge:

¶1 A jury convicted Griselda Cardoza of theft of property valued
at $100,000 or more. Cardoza now appeals, arguing that the superior court
erred in precluding evidence which, she contends, would have established
a motive for the State’s key witness to falsely accuse her of the charged
crime. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2 We view evidence in the record in the light most favorable to
upholding the jury’s verdicts. State v. Kindred, 232 Ariz. 611, 613, ¶ 2 (App.
2013).

¶3 For five years, Cardoza worked as the controller of a trucking
company owned by L.M. and his wife N.M. As controller, Cardoza was
responsible, inter alia, for making sure the company’s bills were timely paid.
During her employment, Cardoza used over $475,000 in company funds,
without authorization, to pay her personal credit card and utility bills.
Cardoza’s misappropriation of company funds came to light when she was
out of the office on vacation and another employee discovered that some of
the company’s bills had not been paid.

¶4 Cardoza was charged with one count of theft, a Class 2
Felony, under A.R.S. § 13-1802(A)(1).

¶5 At trial, the State presented Cardoza’s credit card and bank
statements reflecting that company funds were used to pay for Cardoza’s
spa appointments, plane tickets, hotel bills, and other personal expenses.
The State also called L.M. to testify about Cardoza’s employment and job
duties. When asked if Cardoza was authorized to use company funds to
pay the personal bills and expenses reflected in her bank and credit card
statements, L.M. replied, “Absolutely not.” He further testified that
Cardoza’s employment ended when she quit after arguing with him over
her request for a $800 monthly car allowance. According to L.M., Cardoza

2
 STATE v. CARDOZA
Decision of the Court

claimed that he had promised her a car allowance. When L.M. denied ever
making such a promise, she replied, “[T]hen I’m going to quit.”

¶6 In her testimony, Cardoza did not deny using company funds
to pay personal expenses but asserted that L.M. authorized her to do so. She
stated that several years earlier she told L.M. that she was having financial
difficulties that might force her to seek higher-paying employment
elsewhere, and that L.M. dissuaded her from quitting by “offer[ing] to . . .
help [her] pay [her] bills and . . . [for her] daily activities.”

¶7 When asked on direct examination why she left the company,
Cardoza testified that she had been “sexually harassed” and “sexually
assaulted” by a co-worker. The State objected, arguing that her claim to
have been victimized by a co-worker was irrelevant to the pending charge
and was offered merely to elicit sympathy from the jury. In response,
Defense counsel pointed out that the State had elicited testimony from L.M.
“as far as why [Cardoza] left her employment with” the company, and that
Cardoza’s testimony was offered in “direct[] respon[se] to [L.M.’s]
allegation of why she left.” Cardoza offered no other theory to support the
admissibility of her testimony about the reason she left the company.
Sustaining the State’s objection, the superior court ruled that the testimony
was both irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial.

¶8 When questioned on cross-examination about a transaction
shown on her personal credit card statement reflecting a payment to a law
firm, Cardoza replied that she “hired them for a sexual harassment lawsuit”
against the company. The State objected and moved to strike the testimony,
which the court granted.

¶9 The jury found Cardoza guilty as charged, and further found
four aggravating factors. Cardoza was sentenced to 8.5 years
imprisonment. This timely appeal followed. We have jurisdiction under
A.R.S. §§ 12-120.21(A)(1), 13-4031, and -4033(A)(1).

DISCUSSION

¶10 Cardoza argues that the superior court erred in precluding
her testimony about the sexual assault and harassment she purportedly
experienced while employed at the trucking company.

¶11 We review a ruling on the admissibility of evidence for abuse
of discretion, State v. Aguilar, 209 Ariz. 40, 49, ¶ 29 (2004), and will uphold
a court’s exercise of discretion if it is reasonably supported by the record,
State v. Morris, 215 Ariz. 324, 341, ¶ 77 (2007). When no objection is made at

3
 STATE v. CARDOZA
Decision of the Court

trial, the court’s ruling is reviewed for fundamental error. State v. Henderson, 210 Ariz. 561, 567, ¶ 19 (2005). To establish fundamental error, a defendant
must show that “(1) error exists, (2) the error is fundamental, and (3) the
error caused [her] prejudice.” State v. Riley, 248 Ariz. 154, 170, ¶ 24 (2020).
Whether error is fundamental requires the defendant to show that “(1) the
error went to the foundation of the case, (2) the error took from the
defendant a right essential to [her] defense, or (3) the error was so egregious
that [she] could not possibly have received a fair trial.” State v. Escalante, 245 Ariz. 135, 142, ¶ 21 (2018). A defendant alleging an error that falls within
the first and second categories must also show resulting prejudice; errors
falling into the third category are presumed to be prejudicial. See id.

¶12 Noting that she admitted using company funds to pay
personal expenses, Cardoza contends that the critical issue in the case was
whether L.M. authorized her to do so. L.M. was the “key prosecution
witness,” Cardoza argues, and his motive “for fabrication, bias, or hostility
towards” her was “highly” relevant to his credibility. Her testimony that
she was “considering a lawsuit” against L.M.’s company “because she was
sexually assaulted at work,” she asserts, would have established a motive
for L.M. to discredit her by falsely painting her as a dishonest person. A
witness’s motive to lie is always relevant, she argues, and precluding her
from providing testimony that would have established L.M.’s motive to lie
denied her the right to present a complete defense.

¶13 But Cardoza never presented this theory of admissibility at
trial. Instead, Cardoza argued at trial that her testimony about her
purported sexual harassment by a co-worker was relevant because it
rebutted L.M.’s testimony that she left the company after an argument
about a car allowance. The court did not abuse its discretion in finding the
reason for Cardoza’s departure from the company to be a collateral issue,
and therefore in precluding Cardoza from presenting evidence to
controvert L.M.’s testimony on that point. See Montano v. Scottsdale Baptist
Hosp., Inc., 119 Ariz. 448, 453 (1978) (“No general rule is better established
than that a witness cannot be contradicted for the purposes of impeachment
as to collateral matters.”).

¶14 To challenge an evidentiary ruling by raising a new theory of
admissibility for the first time on appeal runs contrary to fundamental
principles of our adversarial system. See State v. Serna, 163 Ariz. 260, 267
(1990) (affirming preclusion of proffered evidence and refusing to consider
new theory of admissibility that was “advanced for the first time on
appeal”); see also State v. Gendron, 168 Ariz. 153, 155 (1991) (“Our adversarial
system properly and necessarily precludes injection of new issues on

4
 STATE v. CARDOZA
Decision of the Court

appeal.”). The trial court has broad discretion in determining the
admissibility of evidence because that court is best positioned to make such
determinations in the first instance. See State v. Wood, 180 Ariz. 53, 61 (1994)
(“Because the trial court is in the best position to judge the admissibility of
proffered testimony, we review most evidentiary claims on a discretionary
standard.”); State v. Harrison, 195 Ariz. 28, 33, ¶ 21 (App. 1998) (“The trial
court is in the best position to balance the probative value of challenged
evidence against its potential for unfair prejudice. Thus, it has broad
discretion in deciding the admissibility.”). It is for this reason that parties
are required to present their theories of admissibility to the trial court for
its consideration before challenging the court’s ruling on appeal. See State
v. White, 194 Ariz. 344, 354, ¶ 44 (1999) (“Our adversarial system properly
and necessarily precludes injection of new issues on appeal. . . . In most
instances, issues must be raised in the trial court, both to create a record to
serve as a foundation for review, and to allow the lower court an
opportunity to weigh and decide the issue.”); State v. Ibeabuchi, 248 Ariz.
412, 417, ¶ 20 n. 2 (App. 2020) (holding that argument raised for first time
on appeal “is deemed waived”).

¶15 Because Cardoza raises this theory of admissibility for the
first time on appeal, she may obtain relief only if she establishes that the
preclusion of her testimony constituted fundamental error. State v. Bible, 175
Ariz. 549, 572 (1993) (“Only fundamental error . . . may be raised for the first
time on appeal.”) (citation omitted); State v. Allen, 253 Ariz. 306, 325, ¶ 13
(2022) (noting that defendant bears burden of establishing fundamental
error).

¶16 “[T]he first step in fundamental error review is determining
whether trial error exists.” Escalante, 245 Ariz. at 142, ¶ 21. Cardoza asserts
that the court erred in sustaining the State’s objection to her testimony that
she intended to sue L.M.’s company after being sexually assaulted and
harassed by a co-worker because, she contends, such testimony “would
have shown that [L.M.] had a motive” to discredit her by falsely accusing
her of theft. Indeed, she goes on, her testimony was not only “highly
probative” of L.M.’s credibility but critical to her defense, because L.M.’s
“motives, bias, and hostility could not be proven otherwise.” In response,
the State argues that “Cardoza fails to show any error in the trial court’s
preclusion of her testimony” because Cardoza’s theory that L.M. “sought
to pursue charges against her or color his trial testimony because of the
putative suit” was not tenable absent evidence that L.M. “was aware
Cardoza was contemplating filing a lawsuit against his company.” We
agree with the State.

5
 STATE v. CARDOZA
Decision of the Court

¶17 A party has wide latitude in presenting evidence of an
adverse witness’s possible bias and motive to lie. See Davis v. Alaska, 415
U.S. 308, 316-17 (1974) (“[E]xposure of a witness’ motivation in testifying is
a proper and important function of the constitutionally protected right of
cross-examination.”); State v. Almaguer, 232 Ariz. 190, 197, ¶ 22 (App. 2013)
(“The Sixth Amendment [to the U.S. Constitution] protects a defendant’s
ability to prove a witness’s motive or bias.”). A witness’s possible bias or
motive may be shown, for example, by evidence that the outcome of the
pending trial may benefit the witness in other pending or future litigation.
See, e.g., State v. Gertz, 186 Ariz. 38, 42 (App. 1995) (“Arizona case law . . .
recognizes that evidence of a civil action by a complaining witness against
the defendant . . . has a direct bearing on the credibility of the witness to
show bias and prejudice.”) (citation omitted); see also State v. Parkinson, 554
P.3d 1, 8, ¶ 22 (App. 2024) (reversing domestic violence assault conviction
due to improper preclusion of evidence of charges pending against the
victim for allegedly assaulting the defendant on another occasion; “[The]
pending charges [against the victim] provided a powerful potential motive
for [her] to lie to police” to “characterize [the defendant] as the aggressor in
the relationship.”).

¶18 It is logically impossible, however, for a person to be
influenced by a matter of which he or she is unaware. Cardoza’s contention
that her intent to sue L.M.’s company gave L.M. an incentive to testify
falsely against her is not tenable, therefore, absent evidence that L.M. knew
of the threat of litigation. See, e.g., State v. Cooke, 682 A.2d 513, 516-17 (Conn.
App. 1996) (affirming the preclusion of this line of inquiry where defendant
sought to elicit evidence that victim had filed suit against police officers for
unrelated reasons and then “explore on cross-examination whether [her]
pending lawsuit had any effect on the manner in which the police
conducted” the investigation; the court held that “[t]he defendant’s claim
that the police were motivated to pursue the criminal complaint against
[him] to appease” the victim was “unsupported” because the investigating
officer “was not aware” of her lawsuit and so “could not have been biased
or motivated by some ulterior motive in pursuing the [charges] against the
defendant”); Porter v. United States, 561 A.2d 994, 996 (D.C. App. 1989)
(affirming the preclusion of the proffered evidence where defendant sought
to elicit evidence of his pending civil suit against police department to
establish arresting officer’s bias; the court held the defendant’s “failure to
proffer” any evidence that arresting officer “had actual knowledge of the
pending civil suit against the police department was fatal to establishing
[the officer’s] bias”).

6
 STATE v. CARDOZA
Decision of the Court

¶19 Cardoza proffered no evidence that L.M. knew, or had reason
to suspect, that she had been sexually assaulted or harassed by a co-worker,
or that she intended to sue the company. She never testified that she
informed L.M. of any of those facts, nor did she make an offer of proof that
L.M. had knowledge of any of those facts from another source. In the
absence of any indication in the record that L.M. was aware that Cardoza
intended to assert a claim against the company for sexual assault or
harassment, she failed to establish the inferential link necessary to make her
intent to file suit relevant to establishing that L.M. may have had a motive
to discredit her by falsely accusing her of theft. We therefore hold that the
superior court did not err in excluding, as irrelevant and unfairly
prejudicial, Cardoza’s testimony that she intended to sue the company
because she was sexually assaulted and harassed by a co-worker. See Ariz.
R. Evid. 402, 403. Because Cardoza has failed to establish trial error, our
fundamental error analysis is at an end. Cardoza is entitled to no relief.

CONCLUSION

¶20 We affirm.

AMY M. WOOD • Clerk of the Court
FILED: AGFV

7