Title: State v. Cantrell

State: kansas

Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court

Document:

234 Kan. 426 (1983)
673 P.2d 1147
STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee,
v.
JOSEPH WILLIAM CANTRELL, Appellant.
No. 55,375

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed December 2, 1983.
Randolph G. Austin and Mary Stuckey Cofran, of Speer, Austin, Holiday, Lane & Ruddick, of Olathe, argued the cause and were on the brief for appellant.
Larry McClain, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Robert T. Stephan, attorney general, and Dennis W. Moore, district attorney, were with him on the brief for appellee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
HOLMES, J.:
Joseph William Cantrell appeals from his conviction by a jury of one count of rape. K.S.A. 21-3502. The appellant raises several points of alleged error in the trial court proceedings and also asserts there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction. After carefully considering all points we affirm the conviction.
The first point to be considered is whether there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction. Appellant did not deny that he had sexual intercourse with the victim, Mrs. B., on the night of April 26, 1982. Mrs. B., a divorcee and a resident of Colorado had been visiting a friend, Jackie Larson, in Kansas City, Missouri. *428 On Sunday, April 26, 1982; they went shopping in the Plaza area of Kansas City and late in the afternoon started visiting various restaurants and bars. Early in the evening they met John Mullane, an acquaintance of Miss Larson, at the Bristol Bar and Grill. Mullane introduced the two ladies to several people including Joseph Cantrell. Mrs. B. had some conversation with Cantrell at that time although he left the bar shortly thereafter. Later in the evening Mrs. B., Jackie Larson and John Mullane left the Bristol to go to Plaza III, another bar in the area. On the way they encountered Joseph Cantrell who was walking to his car to go home. Jackie Larson asked him to join them and he did. The group stayed at Plaza III until closing time, which was around 11:45 p.m., and then decided to go to the Clarette Club in Johnson County, Kansas, to continue their evening of drinking and dancing. It was decided that Mrs. B. would ride with Cantrell and Larson would ride with Mullane, and they would then meet at the Johnson County club.
On the way to the Clarette Club, Cantrell pulled off onto a side street where the alleged rape took place in the front seat of his El Camino truck. Appellant contends the sexual intercourse was consensual while Mrs. B. contends it was rape. It would serve no useful purpose to detail the two versions of the event. Suffice it to say Mrs. B. testified that she resisted and struggled with the defendant; that she was crying; and that she begged the defendant to stop, although she admitted that he made no threats, did not strike her, had no weapon and did not curse her or raise his voice. Her clothes were not ripped or torn and she suffered no bruises or other evidence of trauma. She made no attempt to scream, honk the horn or leave the vehicle. Upon completion of the act, the two proceeded on to the Clarette Club where they joined John Mullane and Jackie Larson. Mrs. B. told Jackie Larson that she had been raped by defendant. Mrs. B., Larson and Mullane then left the club and Mrs. B. and Larson returned to Larson's home at which time they contacted the police.
K.S.A. 21-3502 (amended L. 1983, ch. 109, § 2) provided:
(2) Rape is a class B felony." (Emphasis added.)
In the instant case the charging instrument stated "when her resistance was overcome by force and fear" rather than force or fear. As a result the trial court instructed the jury that they must find the victim's resistance was overcome by both "force and fear."
In considering the sufficiency of the evidence, the standard of review on appeal is: Does the evidence when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution convince the appellate court that a rational factfinder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? State v. Matlock, 233 Kan. 1, 660 P.2d 945 (1983). In State v. Sanders, 227 Kan. 892, 610 P.2d 633 (1980), we held:
While the evidence in this case is not strong on the element of overcoming the resistance of the victim, we have concluded that the testimony of Mrs. B. was sufficient to meet the test set forth in Matlock. Her testimony that she physically resisted the defendant is clear and the jury could have concluded from her actions that her resistance was also overcome by fear. See State v. Hacker, 197 Kan. 712, 421 P.2d 40 (1966), cert. denied 386 U.S. 967 (1967). The jury had the opportunity to view the witnesses and to hear the evidence and evidently believed the testimony of Mrs. B. rather than that of the defendant.
Appellant's next point on appeal is that the trial court erred in refusing to strike the testimony of Mrs. B. as she had violated the court's sequestration order. The court, at defendant's request, had entered a sequestration order which the prosecutor failed to relay to his witnesses. During the evening, after the first day of trial, Mrs. B., who had not yet testified, discussed the case with her friend Jackie Larson, who had testified that day. On cross-examination defense counsel discovered this violation, and immediately *430 moved to strike the prosecutrix' direct testimony and to prevent her from testifying further. The prosecutor responded that his failure to inform the witnesses of the court order was inadvertent, and as the victim had previously testified at the preliminary hearing her testimony was "locked in," resulting in no prejudice to the defendant. The court reserved its ruling on defendant's motion, excused the jury, and permitted counsel to inquire of the witness as to the scope of the actual communication. After hearing her testimony the judge read the transcript of the preliminary hearing and concluded:
The jury was called back into court, and defense counsel, on further cross-examination of Mrs. B., fully explored the two witnesses' conversation and any discrepancies in the victim's pretrial and trial testimony.
The well-established rule in Kansas is that violation of a court order separating witnesses does not of itself disqualify a witness from testifying, and the trial court in its discretion may permit the witness to testify. State v. Blocker, 211 Kan. 185, 505 P.2d 1099 (1973); State v. Edwards, 209 Kan. 696, 498 P.2d 53 (1972); State v. Henderson, 205 Kan. 231, 468 P.2d 136 (1970); State v. Trotter, 203 Kan. 31, 453 P.2d 93 (1969); Barber v. Emery, 101 *431 Kan. 314, 167 Pac. 1044 (1917); State v. Falk, 46 Kan. 498, 26 Pac. 1023 (1891); Davenport v. Ogg, 15 Kan. 363 (1875). We find no abuse of discretion in the court's ruling.
Before leaving this point, however, we pause to note our increasing concern over the number of inadvertent failures of attorneys to communicate sequestration and separation orders to their own witnesses. See State v. Handley, 234 Kan. 454, 673 P.2d 1155 (1983). In the present case, the trial judge addressed the following remarks to the prosecutor:
We emphatically agree. We have previously recognized that any person violating a separation order could be punished therefor by contempt, although the admission of the testimony is generally proper unless a party to the action participated in the guilt of the witness. State v. Carney, 216 Kan. 704, 709-10, 533 P.2d 1268 (1975). In certain instances contempt proceedings against an attorney for failing to properly advise the witnesses of a sequestration order may be an appropriate sanction.
Appellant's final contention is that the trial court erred in failing to instruct on the requisite felonious intent under K.S.A. 21-3502. We note at the outset that defendant lodged no objections to the instructions and unless the instructions given were clearly erroneous appellant may not now claim error. K.S.A. 22-3414(3); State v. Jones, 233 Kan. 112, 115, 660 P.2d 948 (1983).
The instructions submitted to the jury included the following:
2. That [Mrs. B.] was not the defendant's wife;
The State also points to Instruction No. 9, which was an expanded version of PIK Crim.2d 54.01, as bearing on defendant's intent, but that was only the standard "natural and probable consequence" instruction which is solely evidentiary in nature. See Notes, PIK Crim.2d 54.01.
Appellant contends these instructions are clearly erroneous, asserting rape is a specific intent crime, relying on State v. Gonzales, 217 Kan. 159, 161, 535 P.2d 988 (1975), and the following quote from State v. Hampton, 215 Kan. 907, 529 P.2d 127 (1974):
In Gonzales the defendant was charged with rape and one of the questions before the court was the admission of evidence of other similar offenses under K.S.A. 60-455. The evidence was admitted for the limited purpose of showing intent, motive and plan of operation. The majority of this court, in reliance upon Hampton, concluded the other crimes evidence was admissible. Justice Prager, in his dissent, stated:
*433 In State v. Carr, 230 Kan. 322, 327, 634 P.2d 1104 (1981), the defendant was convicted of aggravated burglary and attempted rape and among his claims on appeal was that there was insufficient evidence to establish his specific intent to commit the crimes. A majority of the court reversed the convictions stating:
Thus it appears that on occasion the court has indicated that rape is a specific intent crime.
K.S.A. 21-3201(1) states:
The distinction between a general intent crime and a crime of specific intent is whether, in addition to K.S.A. 21-3201, the statute defining the crime in question identifies a further particular intent which must accompany the prohibited acts. In the context of theft this distinction was made in State v. Gobin, 216 Kan. 278, 531 P.2d 16 (1975), where we said:
(K.S.A. 1973 Supp. 21-3110[6][a].)
*434 In State v. Clingerman, 213 Kan. 525, 516 P.2d 1022 (1973), involving a conviction of first-degree robbery, the court stated:
In State v. Cruitt, 200 Kan. 372, 436 P.2d 870 (1968), a prosecution for blackmail under K.S.A. 21-2412 (Corrick) (repealed 1970), the court stated the rule as follows:
Rape as defined in K.S.A. 21-3502 does not require as one of the statutory elements of the offense a specific intent on the part of the defendant to commit rape and therefore there is no necessity to instruct on such a specific intent. We conclude that Justice Prager's comments in his dissent in Gonzales correctly state the law on this question. Language to the contrary in Hampton and Carr is hereby overruled. Having concluded that rape is not a crime of specific intent, the instructions given were not clearly erroneous and appellant's point lacks merit.
Appellant's final contention is that if rape is not a specific intent crime requiring an instruction on that intent, then K.S.A. 21-3502 is unconstitutionally vague. In State v. Huffman, 228 Kan. 186, 612 P.2d 630 (1980), we set forth some principles to be followed in such a challenge. We held:
Appellant argues that without requiring instructions that defendant was aware of the victim's resistance and intended to engage in intercourse despite that resistance, men of ordinary intelligence might well differ as to the meaning and application of the acts prohibited by K.S.A. 21-3502. We disagree. The statute is clear, readily understandable by persons of common intelligence and as such was constitutional.
The judgment is affirmed.