Case Title: State v. French

Citation: 509 N.W.2d 698

Docket Number: 

State: south-dakota

Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

Date: 1993-12-22T00:00:00Z

Document:
509 N.W.2d 698 (1993) STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Norman Eugene FRENCH, Defendant and Appellant. No. 18240. Supreme Court of South Dakota. Considered on Briefs on September 3, 1993. Decided December 22, 1993. *699 Mark Barnett, Atty. Gen., Joan Boos Schueller, Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, for plaintiff and appellee. Gary D. Blue of Blue and Haeder, Huron, for defendant and appellant. PER CURIAM. Norman Eugene French (French) appeals his conviction for one count of perjury. We affirm. French's conviction stems from a lengthy divorce action between himself and his former wife. French was served with a temporary restraining order which provided in part: Thereafter, a contempt hearing was held to establish why French should not be held in contempt for violating the court's order. In a supporting affidavit, French's wife claimed French had purchased two 1990 pickup trucks in violation of the order. During the hearing, French gave the following sworn testimony: Thereafter, the state charged French with one count of perjury based upon the above testimony. He was charged under the provisions of SDCL 22-29-1 and 22-29-5(2).[*] *700 French filed a motion seeking a trial court determination regarding the materiality of his testimony during the contempt hearing. The motion also sought entry of an order striking the testimony from the indictment on the grounds of immateriality. The motion was denied. At a jury trial, evidence and testimony was presented by the state establishing that in September 1990, French agreed to trade his 1986 Ford pickup in on a 1991 Ford pickup. French received a trade-in allowance of $10,165 against the $24,665 purchase price of the new pickup. The evidence further established that on September 10, 1990, French agreed to trade his 1979 Freightliner semi-tractor in on a 1991 Chevrolet pickup. French received a trade-in allowance of $7,992 against the $22,192 purchase price of the new Chevrolet pickup. Both of the vehicles French traded in were marital property registered in the names of both French and his wife. Neither trade-in was authorized by French's wife or by order of the divorce court. The new pickups were both titled in French's name alone. French's girl friend contributed nothing toward the purchase of the new pickups. French alone financed the balance between the trade-in value of his old vehicles and the purchase price of the new vehicles with liens held by General Motors Acceptance Corporation. At the conclusion of state's case, French moved for a judgment of acquittal. French argued that state failed to prove the elements of the offense by failing to establish that he intentionally committed perjury and by failing to show the materiality of the testimony that was allegedly perjured. The motion for a judgment of acquittal was denied. During the settlement of jury instructions, French objected to a proposed instruction that the materiality of his testimony was a question of law for the court and that the testimony was material. The objection was overruled and the instruction was given. French also proposed a set of jury instructions that would have submitted the materiality issue to the jury. The proposals were rejected. French next proposed the submission of a set of special interrogatories to the jury concerning the materiality of his testimony. The proposed interrogatories were also rejected. The jury ultimately returned its verdict finding French guilty of perjury as charged and he was sentenced to serve five years in the state penitentiary. This appeal followed. As set forth in SDCL 22-29-1, "[a]n essential element of [perjury] is that the false testimony must relate to a `material matter.'" Engebritson v. Circuit Court, 69 S.D. 454, 459, 11 N.W.2d 659, 661 (1943). Citing the various constitutional and statutory provisions guaranteeing his right to trial by jury, French argues that the trial court deprived him of his right to a jury trial by removing the issue of the materiality of his testimony from the jury and ruling, as a matter of law, that the testimony he gave during the show cause hearing was material. We disagree. Although this is an issue of first impression in South Dakota, we find a majority of state jurisdictions that have recognized that the issue of materiality in a perjury prosecution is an issue of law for the trial court to decide and not an issue of fact for the jury. Williams v. State, 259 Ark. 667, 535 S.W.2d 842 (1976); People v. Pierce, 66 Cal. 2d 53, 423 P.2d 969, 56 Cal. Rptr. 817 (1967); Marrs v. People, 135 Colo. 458, 312 P.2d 505 (1957); State v. Greenberg, 92 Conn. 657, 103 A. 897 (1918); State v. Barbuto, 571 So. 2d 484 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1990); People v. Powell, 160 Ill.App.3d 689, 112 Ill.Dec. 553, *701 513 N.E.2d 1162 (1987); State v. Deets, 195 N.W.2d 118 (Iowa 1972); State v. Frames, 213 Kan. 113, 515 P.2d 751 (1973); State v. West, 419 So. 2d 868 (La.1982); State v. True, 135 Me. 96, 189 A. 831 (1937); People v. Hoag, 113 Mich.App. 789, 318 N.W.2d 579 (1982); Brewer v. State, 233 So. 2d 779 (Miss. 1970); State v. Roberson, 543 S.W.2d 817 (Mo.Ct.App.1976); State v. Sands, 123 N.H. 570, 467 A.2d 202 (1983); State v. Albin, 104 N.M. 315, 720 P.2d 1256 (1986); State v. Hanson, 302 N.W.2d 399 (N.D.1981); Soper v. State, 22 Okla.Crim. 27, 208 P. 1044 (1921); State v. Stilwell, 109 Or. 643, 221 P. 174 (1923); Com. v. Lafferty, 276 Pa.Super. 400, 419 A.2d 518 (1980); Yarbrough v. State, 617 S.W.2d 221 (Tex.Crim.App.1981); State v. Strand, 720 P.2d 425 (Utah 1986); State v. Wood, 99 Vt. 490, 134 A. 697 (1926); State v. Daniels, 10 Wash. App. 780, 520 P.2d 178 (1974); Fletcher v. State, 20 Wyo. 284, 123 P. 80 (1912). The United States Courts of Appeals are also nearly unanimous in holding that the issue of materiality in a perjury prosecution is an issue of law and not an issue of fact. United States v. Nazzaro, 889 F.2d 1158 (1st Cir.1989); United States v. Moon, 718 F.2d 1210 (2d Cir.1983); United States v. Enoch, 360 F. Supp. 572 (E.D.Pa.1973), aff'd, 491 F.2d 751 (3rd Cir.1973); United States v. Bailey, 769 F.2d 203 (4th Cir.1985); United States v. Holley, 942 F.2d 916 (5th Cir.1991); United States v. Seltzer, 794 F.2d 1114 (6th Cir.1986); United States v. Martellano, 675 F.2d 940 (7th Cir.1982); United States v. Ashby, 748 F.2d 467 (8th Cir.1984); United States v. Clark, 918 F.2d 843 (9th Cir.1990); United States v. Jones, 933 F.2d 807 (10th Cir.1991); United States v. Dennis, 786 F.2d 1029 (11th Cir.1986); United States v. Paxson, 861 F.2d 730 (D.C.Cir.1988). Many of the above authorities rest their conclusion that materiality is an issue of law on the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Sinclair v. United States, 279 U.S. 263, 49 S. Ct. 268, 73 L. Ed. 692 (1929). The defendant in Sinclair was convicted for an offense involving the refusal to answer pertinent questions in an inquiry by a Senate committee. In its review of the conviction, the Supreme Court held that the issue of the pertinency of the questions was appropriately decided as an issue of law. In reaching that holding, the high court offered the following rationale: Sinclair, 279 U.S. at 298-99, 49 S. Ct. at 273-74, 73 L. Ed. at 700 (citations omitted). French argues that Sinclair is outdated, that its reasoning has been superseded and, therefore, its authority has been eroded. In Paxson, supra, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected an identical contention with the following reasoning: Paxson, 861 F.2d at 732. More recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the continuing viability of Sinclair with the following observation: Clark, 918 F.2d at 845-46 (citations omitted). Based upon the strength of the foregoing authorities, we reject French's contention that materiality in a perjury prosecution is an issue of fact to be resolved by the jury and hold that materiality is an issue of law to be decided by the trial court. It follows from this conclusion that there was no error by the trial court in the instant case in failing to submit the issue of materiality to the jury. Moreover, since materiality is an issue of law and not an issue of fact, there was no denial of French's right to a jury trial in the failure to submit the materiality issue to the jury. See, Sands, supra (right to trial by jury does not extend to questions of law). See also, State v. Myers, 88 S.D. 378, 220 N.W.2d 535 (1974) (only fact issues are in province of jury). The test for determining the materiality of sworn testimony in a perjury prosecution is set forth in State v. Lachowitzer, 314 N.W.2d 307 (S.D.1982). A statement is material, "if it `has a legitimate tendency to prove or disprove some relevant fact irrespective of the main fact at issue, or ... is capable of influencing the court, officer, tribunal or other body created by law on any proper matter of inquiry.'" Lachowitzer, 314 N.W.2d at 310 (quoting Deets, 195 N.W.2d at 122). Accord State v. Maves, 358 N.W.2d 805 (S.D.1984). In this instance, the divorce court's show cause order specifically directed French to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for violation of the court's various orders in the divorce proceedings. As set forth in the facts, the first order in the entire proceeding was the temporary restraining order restraining French from, "transferring, encumbering, concealing or in *703 any way dissipating or disposing of any marital assets[.]" Despite this order, the affidavit of French's wife in support of the show cause motion specifically averred that French had purchased, "two 1990 pickup trucks." Therefore, one of the matters of inquiry in the show cause hearing was whether French violated the divorce court's restraining order by dissipating marital assets in order to acquire two new pickup trucks. If such a dissipation of assets had been established, French may have been found in contempt and subjected to all applicable penalties and sanctions. In view of the matter of inquiry in the contempt hearing, French's testimony was clearly material as it had a tendency to prove or disprove a relevant fact, i.e., whether he violated the restraining order by trading marital assets for two new pickup trucks. Whether the purchase of the pickups was a violation of the restraining order is merely collateral to determining the materiality of the testimony. Violation of the restraining order was a determination for the divorce court based upon the evidence adduced during the contempt hearing. However, the preliminary determination the divorce court had to make to resolve that issue was whether French did, in fact, trade marital property to purchase two pickups. That was the material question that French denied by testifying that he only purchased one pickup. His denial, if believed, was capable of influencing the divorce court not to hold him in contempt. Thus, the questions and answers concerning the purchase of the pickups were clearly material and the trial court in the instant case committed no error of law in so holding. Affirmed. MILLER, C.J., and WUEST, HENDERSON, SABERS and AMUNDSON, JJ., participating. [*] SDCL 22-29-1 provides: Any person who, having taken an oath that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly before any competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any of the cases in which such an oath may by law be administered, intentionally and contrary to such oath, states any material matter which he knows to be false, is guilty of perjury. SDCL 22-29-5(2) provides: Perjury: * * * * * * (2) When committed on any other trial or proceeding in a court of justice, is a Class 4 felony[.]