Case Title: STATE v LAMB

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: montana

Court: Montana Supreme Court

Date: 1982-06-10T00:00:00Z

Document:
No. 81-302 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 1982 THE STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Respondent, VS. JOHN WALL LAMB, Defendant and Appellant. Appeal from: District Court of the Fifth Judicial District, In and for the County of Beaverhead Honorable Frank Blair, Judge presiding. Counsel of Record: For Appeliant: ~ooling Law Office, Biilon, Montana For Respondent: Hon. Mike Greely, Attorney General, Helena, Montana W e G. Gilbert, 111, County Attorney, Uilion, Montana Submitted on briefs: March 18, 1982 Decided: June 10, 1982 Filed: 3UN 1 0 1982 Mr. J u s t i c e Gene B. Daly d e l i v e r e d t h e O p i n i o n o f t h e C o u r t . D e f e n d a n t a p p e a l s from a judgment e n t e r e d by t h e D i s t r i c t C o u r t o f t h e F i f t h J u d i c i a l D i s t r i c t , Beaverhead County, upon a j u r y v e r d i c t i n which d e f e n d a n t was found g u i l t y o f s e x u a l i n t e r c o u r s e w i t h o u t c o n s e n t and a g g r a v a t e d k i d n a p p i n g . D e f e n d a n t was s e n t e n c e d t o a t o t a l o f f i f t y y e a r s a t t h e Montana S t a t e P r i s o n , f o r t y y e a r s f o r s e x u a l i n t e r c o u r s e w i t h o u t c o n s e n t and t e n y e a r s f o r a g g r a v a t e d k i d n a p p i n g , t o b e s e r v e d c o n s e c u t i v e l y . A t a b o u t 12:30 a.m., September 3 , 1 9 8 0 , Zane Tams, a n e i g h t e e n - y e a r - o l d woman, e n t e r e d t h e Truck I n n C a f e i n D i l l o n , Montana. She had had a few d r i n k s w i t h f r i e n d s and s t o p p e d a t t h e Truck I n n t o e a t . D e f e n d a n t , John Lamb, t w e n t y - f o u r y e a r s o l d , was a l s o e a t i n g a t t h e Truck I n n j u s t a f t e r m i d n i g h t on September 3 . Tams s a t b e s i d e d e f e n d a n t a t t h e f r o n t c o u n t e r . They d i d n o t know e a c h o t h e r and t a l k e d o n l y b r i e f l y . A f t e r e a t i n g , Tams l e f t t h e c a f e . Tams g o t i n t o h e r c a r t o g o home and d i s c o v e r e d it would n o t s t a r t . D e f e n d a n t t e s t i f i e d t h a t , a t t h i s t i m e , Tams waved t o him and a s k e d him t o h e l p h e r w i t h h e r c a r . Tams t e s t i f i e d t h a t d e f e n d a n t d r o v e up n e x t t o h e r c a r and a s k e d i f s h e needed h e l p . D e f e n d a n t checked under t h e c a r hood t o f i n d t h a t t h e c o i l w i r e was m i s s i n g . H e s a i d h e m i g h t h a v e an e x t r a c o i l w i r e a t h i s h o u s e and a s k e d Tams i f s h e would come w i t h him t o g e t it. She a g r e e d . I n s t e a d o f g o i n g t o h i s home, d e f e n d a n t d r o v e t o a s e c l u d e d p l a c e o f f a c o u n t r y road and had s e x u a l i n t e r c o u r s e w i t h Tams. N e e d l e s s t o s a y , t h e a c c o u n t s o f t h e d e f e n d a n t and Tams v a r y c o n s i d e r a b l y a s t o what happened a f t e r Tams a g r e e d t o r i d e w i t h d e f e n d a n t i n h i s p i c k u p . D e f e n d a n t t e s t i f i e d t h a t Tams i n i t i a t e d s e x u a l ad- v a n c e s toward him and t h a t s h e e n c o u r a g e d and c o o p e r a t e d i n t h e s e x u a l i n t e r c o u r s e . H e t h e n d r o v e Tams back t o t h e Truck I n n . Tams t e s t i f i e d t h a t a s t h e y were d r i v i n g i n d e f e n - d a n t ' s p i c k u p , he k e p t s a y i n g t h a t t h e y would soon come t o h i s h o u s e . E v e n t u a l l y , d e f e r i d a n t t u r n e d o n t o a d a r k s i d e r o a d , p u l l e d o f f t h e road and s t o p p e d t h e t r u c k . He t u r n e d t o w a r d s Tams and s a i d t h a t s i n c e h e was d o i n g a f a v o r f o r h e r , s h e s h o u l d d o a f a v o r f o r him. D e f e n d a n t t h e n a t t a c k e d Tams, g r a b b i n g h e r and jump- ing on h e r , c a u s i n g h e r t o h i t h e r head a g a i n s t t h e pas- s e n g e r d o o r of t h e t r u c k . She r e s i s t e d d e f e n d a n t ' s a t t a c k , but d e f e n d a n t f o r c e d h e r t o have s e x u a l i n t e r c o u r s e . Tams t e s t i f i e d t h a t d e f e n d a n t h i t h e r s e v e r a l t i m e s , o n e blow c a u s i n g a c u t on t h e i n s i d e o f h e r mouth and s w e l l i n g a r o u n d h e r l i p . A f t e r i n t e r c o u r s e , and w h i l e d e f e n d a n t was o u t s i d e of: t h e t r u c k p u t t i n g on h i s p a n t s , Tams dropped p a r t o f h e r key c h a i n b e h i n d t h e t r u c k s e a t . B e f o r e l e a v i n g t h e s c e n e , d e f e n d a n t handed Tarns a c o i l wire t h a t happened t o f i t h e r c a r . O n t h e way back t o town, Tams made a c o n s c i o u s e f f o r t t o remember d e t a i l s a b o u t d e f e n d a n t and h i s t r u c k , i n c l u d i n g t h e y e a r , model and c o l o r o f n i s p i c k u p , t h a t t h e r e was a l a r g e d e n t n e a r t h e g a s c a p , and t h a t h e was c a r r y i n g a y e l l o w m o t o r c y c l e . D e f e n d a n t dropped h e r o f f n e a r town, and s h e p u r p o s e f u l l y watched h i s t r u c k l e a v e , memorizing t h e l a s t four d i g i t s of h i s l i c e n s e number. With her broken b e l t , c o i l wire and purse i n h e r harlds, Tams ran t o a nearby t r a i l e r and y e l l e d f o r help. A husband and wife occupied t h e t r a i l e r . Awakened by t h e y e l l i n g , t n e husband answered t h e door and l e t Tams i n . The wife t a l k e d with Tams and t r i e d t o cornfort her while t h e husband c a l l e d t h e p o l i c e . The w i f e ' s testimony, i n t h i s c a s e , is v e r y t e l l i n g . She t e s t i f i e d with regard t o Tams t h a t her " h a i r was a l l messed up, her f a c e was covered w i t h mascara, her makeup was coinpletely- d i s t o r t e d , and she was, of c o u r s e , c r y i n g l i k e I s a i d , v e r y much, and t h e t e a r s t r e a k s were down her cheeks, her f a c e and l i p s were q u i t e p u f f y and v e r y d i s t o r t e d . " She t e s t i f i e d f u r t h e r t h a t Tams seemed h y s t e r i c a l but could respond t o q u e s t i o n s and kept r e p e a t i n g t h e l a s t f o u r d i g i t s of d e f e n d a n t ' s l i c e n s e p l a t e number. The p o l i c e a r r i v e d and Tams d e s c r i b e d d e f e n d a n t , h i s t r u c k , and repeated t h e l i c e n s e number. She was taken t o a h o s p i t a l where s h e was examined. She had a b r u i s e on t n e i n s i d e of h e r r i g h t knee and b r u i s e s on h e r arms and upper c h e s t . She a l s o had a v e r y n o t i c e a b l e b r u i s e on h e r l i p and a c u t on t h e i n s i d e of her mouth. The n e x t day, a b r u i s e was d i s c o v e r e d on t h e back of her head. Defendant was a r r e s t e d . The key c h a i n belonging t o Tams was found i n his pickup. The s e a t cover was removed from h i s pickup and examined by f o r e n s i c s c i e n t i s t s . Experts t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e s t a i n s on t h e s e a t cover were a m i x t u r e of semen and blood. Tams had been menstruating a t t h e time of t h e i n c i d e n t . P r i o r t o t r i a l , t h e D i s t r i c t C o u r t g r a n t e d t h e S t a t e ' s motion i n l i m i n e p r o h i b i t i n g d e f e n s e counsel or any w i t n e s s from r e f e r r i n g t o p a s t s e x u a l conduct of t h e v i c t i m . Defense counsel o b j e c t e d t o t h e motion on t h e grounds t h a t t h e r e was p o t e n t i a l l y c e r t a i n evidence i n d i c a t i n g t h a t t h e c h a r g e s by 'Tams may have been motivated by a p s y c h o l o g i c a l syndrome r e s u l t i n g from a p r e v i o u s s e x u a l a s s a u l t . Defendant r a i s e s f o u r i s s u e s on a p p e a l : 1. Whether t h e r e is s u f f i c i e n t evidence t o s u p p o r t t h e c o n v i c t i o n . 2. Whether t h e D i s t r i c t Court e r r e d by g r a n t i n g t h e S t a t e ' s motion i n l i m i n e p r o h i b i t i n g r e f e r e n c e t o p a s t s e x u a l conduct of t h e v i c t i m . 3. Whether t h e D i s t r i c t Court e r r e d by p e r m i t t i n g 'rains t o remain i n t h e courtroom w h i l e d e f e n d a n t t e s t i f i e d . 4. Whether t h e S t a t e u n l a w f u l l y s e q u e s t e r e d a sub- poenaed w i t n e s s who may have provided e x c u l p a t o r y testimony f o r t h e d e f e n s e . The c o n v i c t i o n m u s t be upheld because it is supported by s u b s t a n t i a l evidence and because t h e D i s t r i c t Court p r o p e r l y p r o h i b i t e d r e f e r e n c e t o t h e v i c t i m ' s p a s t s e x u a l conduct, i n c l u d i n g a p o s s i b l e p r i o r s e x u a l a s s a u l t . The test f o r s u f f i c i e n c y of evidence is whether t h e r e is s u b s t a n t i a l evidence t o s u p p o r t t h e c o n v i c t i o n , viewed i n t h e l i g h t most f a v o r a b l e t o t h e S t a t e . S t a t e v. Wilson (1981) t Mont. , 631 P.2d 1273, 38 St.Rep. 1040. '"Substantial evidence' is such r e l e v a n t evidence a s a rea- sonable mind might a c c e p t a s adequate t o s u p p o r t a conclu- s i o n . " See, Wilson, 631 P.2d a t 1278, and c a s e s c i t e d t h e r e . Here, t h e record is r e p l e t e w i t h evidence t o s u p p o r t d e f e n d a n t ' s c o n v i c t i o n : t h e t e s t i m o n y o f Tams, t h e v i c t i m ; t h e t e s t i m o n y o f t h e w i f e who saw t h e v i c t i m when s h e came t o h e r t r a i l e r f o r h e l p ; t e s t i m o n y o f p o l i c e o f f i c e r s who took 'rams t o t h e h o s p i t a l ; and t h e b r u i s e s on t h e v i c t i m ' s body. A l l t h i s e v i d e n c e is s u f f i c i e n t t o s u p p o r t t h e j u r y ' s f i n d i n g t h a t Tams was f o r c e d t o have s e x u a l i n t e r c o u r s e and t h a t d e f e n d a n t i n f l i c t e d b o d i l y harm i n t h e p r o c e s s . D e f e n d a n t c o n t e n d s i n h i s second i s s u e t h a t t h e D i s - t r i c t C o u r t e r r e d by g r a n t i n g t h e S t a t e ' s m o t i o n i n l i m i n e , t h e r e b y e x c l u d i n g e v i d e n c e of t h e v i c t i m ' s p a s t s e x u a l c o n d u c t , i n c l u d i n g a p o s s i b l e p r i o r s e x u a l a s s a u l t c h a r g e . Because s u c h e v i d e n c e s h o u l d o n l y b e used when it is c e n t r a l t o t h e outcome o f t h e c a s e , t h e District C o u r t p r o p e r l y g r a n t e d t h e S t a t e ' s m o t i o n i n l i m i n e . S e c t i o n 45-5-503 ( 5 ) , MCA, p r o v i d e s : "No e v i d e n c e c o n c e r n i n g t h e s e x u a l c o n d u c t o f t h e v i c t i m is a d m i s s i b l e i n p r o s e c u t i o n s under t h i s s e c t i o n , e x c e p t : ( a ) e v i d e n c e o f t h e v i c t i m ' s p a s t s e x u a l con- d u c t w i t h t h e o f f e n d e r ; " ( b ) e v i d e n c e o f s p e c i f i c i n s t a n c e s o f t h e v i c t i m ' s s e x u a l a c t i v i t y t o show t h e o r i g i n o f semen, p r e g n a n c y , o r d i s e a s e which is a t i s s u e i n t h e p r o s e c u t i o n under t h i s s e c t i o n . " The p u r p o s e o f t h i s s e c t i o n is t o p r e s e r v e t h e i n t e - g r i t y o f t h e t r i a l and t o p r e v e n t it from becoming a t r i a l o f t h e v i c t i m . S t a t e v . H i g l e y ( 1 9 8 0 ) , Mont. , 621 P.2d 1843, 1858-1051, 37 St.Rep. 1942, 1949. In R i g l e y , t h i s C o u r t acknowledged t h e j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r e x c l u d i n g e v i d e n c e of s p e c i f i c a c t s o f c o n d u c t : " ' T h i s method o f p r o o f is t h e most p e r s u a s i v e o f t h e t h r e e c o n t a i n e d i n t h e r u l e , and is a l s o t h e most l i k e l y " t o a r o u s e undue p r e j u - d i c e , t o c o n f u s e and d i s t r a c t , t o e n g e n d e r time-consuming s i d e i s s u e s and t o c r e a t e r i s k of u n f a i r s u r p r i s e .'I McCornnick, Handbook o f t h e Law o f E v i d e n c e , 443 (2d ed. 1 9 7 2 ) . A s a r e s u l t o f t h e e f f e c t o f t h i s method o f p r o o f , i t i s g e n e r a l l y r e s t r i c t e d t o s i t u a t i o n s where c h a r a c t e r is i n i s s u e , when s u c h p r o o f is c e n t r a l t o t h e outcome o f t h e c a s e . ' Com- m i s s i o n Comments, R u l e 405 ( b ) , Plont.R.Evid." 6 2 1 P.2d a t 1051. Here, t h e e v i d e n c e n e i t h e r c o n t r o l s t h e outcorrle o f t h e c a s e b e c a u s e o f t h e overwhelming e v i d e n c e s u p p o r t i n g t h e v i c t i m ' s t e s t i m o n y , n o r f a l l s w i t h i n t h e e x c e p t i o n s o f s e c t i o n 45-5- 503 ( 5 ) , MCA. The D i s t r i c t C o u r t t h e r e f o r e p r o p e r l y g r a n t e d t h e S t a t e ' s n o t i o n i n l i i n i n e . The n e x t two i s s u e s r a i s e d by d e f e n d a n t c a n b e t a k e n c a r e of summarily. D e f e n s e c o u n s e l made no o b j e c t i o n t o t h e p r e s e n c e o f the v i c t i m i n t h e c o u r t r o o m wl-lile d e f e n d a n t t e s t i f i e d . Absent t h e o b j e c t i o n o f d e f e n s e c o u n s e l , t h e i s s u e is n o t l e g i t i m a t e l y p r e s e n t e d f o r review. S t a t e v. Owens ( 1 9 7 9 ) , Ivlont . , , 5 9 7 P.2d 72, 77, 36 St.Rep. 1 1 8 2 , 1188; and S t a t e v. O'Donnell ( 1 9 7 2 ) , 159 Mont. 1 3 8 , C o n c e r n i n g t h e l a s t i s s u e , t h e r e is n o t h i n g on t h e r e c o r d a b o u t t h e s e q u e s t e r i n g of a w i t n e s s . T h i s C o u r t w i l l n o t c o n s i d e r i s s u e s w i t h o u t a r e c o r d t o which we c a n l o o k . S e e , S t a t e v. Rumley ( 1 9 8 1 ) , - Mont. , 634 P.2d 446, - 450, 38 St.Rep. 1351A, 1351F, and c a s e s c i t e d t h e r e i n . F i n d i n g s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e on t h e r e c o r d t o s u p p o r t t h e c o n v i c t i o n and no e r r o r on t h e p a r t o f t h e D i s t r i c t C o u r t , t h e judgment is a f f i r m e d . We concur: =?A.cpA $.$Ad& Chief Justice