State v. Machado

1 Following a jury trial, appellant Louie Machado was acquitted of first-degree murder and convicted of the lesser included offense of second-degree murder. The trial court sentenced him to an aggravated prison term of eighteen years. On appeal, Machado argues the court denied him his constitutional right to present a defense by excluding third-party culpability evidence under Rule 403, Ariz. R. Evid., and the rules against hearsay. Because we conclude the trial court erred in excluding significant exculpatory evidence, we reverse Machados conviction and remand his case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We find no error, however, in the courts exclusion of Machados polygraph test results and the denial of his requested jury instruction regarding eyewitness identification.