Case Name: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Bruce Dallas GOODMAN, Defendant and Appellant
Court: Utah Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Utah
Decision Date: 1988-09-09
Citations: 763 P.2d 786
Docket Number: No. 860116
Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Bruce Dallas GOODMAN, Defendant and Appellant.
Judges: HALL, C.J., and HOWE, Associate C.J., concur.
Reporter: Pacific Reporter 2d
Volume: 763
Pages: 786–791

Head Matter:
STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Bruce Dallas GOODMAN, Defendant and Appellant.
No. 860116.
Supreme Court of Utah.
Sept. 9, 1988.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 4, 1988.
James L. Shumate, Cedar City, for defendant and appellant.
David L. Wilkinson, Earl F. Dorius, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff and appellee.

Opinion:
DURHAM, Justice:
Defendant Bruce Dallas Goodman appeals his conviction in a bench trial of second degree murder on the ground that there was insufficient evidence to convict him. We affirm.
Defendant was convicted of the murder of Sherry Ann Fales Williams, a 21-year-old woman. Ms. Williams' body was found the morning of November 30, 1984, near a freeway off-ramp at the Manderfield exit north of Beaver, Utah. She had been bound at the knees and wrists and was unclothed below the waist, with the exception of a pair of socks. An autopsy revealed that Ms. Williams had received at least eight severe blows to the head which caused her death. She also had several contusions and lacerations, including wounds to her hands and an anal injury which was inflicted by the introduction of a blunt object. In the snow near the body, the investigators found a partially smoked cigarette which had been smoked by a type "A" secretor. Further, she had had sexual intercourse with a type "A" secretor within the previous 24 to 36 hours. Evidence at the scene also suggested that Ms. Williams had suffered extreme violence. Her skull was crushed and broken in several locations. Blood had been sprayed onto the snow by the blows, and the injuries to Ms. Williams' hands were very likely the result of unsuccessful attempts to thwart her attacker.
When reviewing a bench trial for sufficiency of the evidence, we must sustain the trial court's judgment unless it is "against the clear weight of the evidence, or if the appellate court otherwise reaches a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made." State v. Walker, 743 P.2d 191, 193 (Utah 1987); Utah R.Civ.P. 52(a). As we explained in Walker, this standard accords "appropriate recognition of the relative deference owed multi-member panels as opposed to single-judge findings." Walker, 743 P.2d at 193. Under this less deferential standard, the likelihood that a defendant's conviction will be reversed following a bench trial, as opposed to a jury trial, is increased. The clear weight of the evidence standard does not, as the dissenting opinion suggests, require that the defendant present the more compelling evidence at trial. Instead, this standard requires that the clear weight of the evidence presented at trial not be contrary to the verdict. If the weight of the State's evidence does not support the verdict, where the defendant presents no case, the verdict still must be reversed. Even if the clear weight of the evidence supports the verdict, however, this Court will reverse if it otherwise reaches a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made, thus providing the defendant an additional opportunity to obtain a reversal.
This approach does not diminish the presumption of innocence or the requirement that guilt be established beyond a reasonable doubt. Upon review, we accord deference to the trial court's ability and opportunity to evaluate credibility and demeanor. Without retrying cases before us, we cannot fulfill that particular function of trial courts. After the defendant has been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt based upon the evidence, including the witnesses' demeanor and credibility, we will review the record to see if the clear weight of the evidence, not including demeanor and credibility, is contrary to the verdict. In reviewing a bench trial for sufficiency of the evidence, we require that the weight of the evidence, discounting questions of credibility and demeanor, not oppose the verdict. Hence, a defendant's conviction must still be based on evidence establishing guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but, on appeal, the standard of review aids the defendant in his efforts to obtain a reversal. Although this case is very close, we do not have a definite and firm conviction that a mistake was made, and we do not believe that the judgment is against the clear weight of the evidence.
Defendant and Ms. Williams met at the Arizona state fair, where they were both employed, in October 1984. They began living together in an intimate relationship. After the fair was over, they moved to the "Little Hotel" in Las Vegas, Nevada. While there, defendant was employed as a hired hand at the Snyder & Sons ranch, located south of Las Vegas.
On November 19, defendant asked his employer if he could borrow a pickup truck in order to move his personal belongings. Defendant did not return the pickup, but kept it for his personal use. The manager of the hotel confirmed that defendant and Ms. Williams moved out on November 19, but it is not clear where they went next. Defendant claims that he abandoned the stolen pickup on November 19 behind the Blue Diamond truck stop, locking the keys inside. This, however, is not true. The Las Vegas police officer responsible for patrolling the parking lot where defendant left the pickup testified that the truck was not there until shortly before he found it at 12:05 a.m. on November 30, the day Ms. Williams' body was found. Indeed, an eyewitness placed defendant and Ms. Williams together with the pickup in Nevada after the 19th of November.
A service station operator in Beatty, Nevada, 116 miles north of Las Vegas, positively identified defendant, Ms. Williams, and the stolen pickup as being at his station on or around November 22. The operator remembered defendant because of his distinctively decorated denim vest, the "Hay for Sale" signs on the pickup, and his attempt to sell certain items (such as a chainsaw) that were in the back of the truck.
Approximately one week later, the night clerk at the Blue Diamond truck stop, located south of Las Vegas on Interstate 15, saw defendant and Ms. Williams arguing between 12:00 a.m. and 12:20 a.m. on November 30. The cashier remembered Ms. Williams because she asked for change several times that evening. Defendant, once again, was clad in his unusual denim vest and was notable because of his heavily tattooed arms.
At approximately the time that defendant and Ms. Williams appeared at the Blue Diamond truck stop, an officer for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department discovered the stolen Snyder & Sons pickup in the Blue Diamond parking lot. The officer's meticulous records revealed that the pickup was not parked in the lot before that date and that it was discovered at 12:05 a.m. on November 30.
Ms. Williams apparently continued her journey with defendant, arriving at Mesquite, Nevada, between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. An eyewitness identified defendant, based on his denim vest, unkempt appearance, and facial features, in the company of Ms. Williams in the Peppermill Casino in Mesquite. The witness worked at the casino as a keno runner. Her practice was to follow a particular route around the casino floor every few minutes collecting and returning keno tickets. Defendant remained in the same location, and the witness was thus able to observe him numerous times and from several different angles. Because of his failure to play any casino games and his unusually unkempt appearance, defendant stood out in the witness's mind. His uniqueness was underscored by the fact that defendant and Ms. Williams became involved in a heated argument. The witness was about to ask security to calm the dispute, when the argument apparently subsided. Defendant and Ms. Williams remained in the casino for a relatively lengthy period before leaving sometime before 4:00 a.m.
Thus, defendant and Ms. Williams were travelling north along Interstate 15 toward Utah and were positively identified twice in the nine hours immediately preceding the discovery of Ms. Williams' body.
Defendant's own testimony revealed that Ms. Williams was leaving defendant in order to return to her estranged husband. Defendant stated that this angered him, and he admitted that he had argued with Ms. Williams several times concerning this topic.
Defendant put on alibi evidence at trial, claiming that he was in California at the time of the murder. The trial court, however, did not believe this defense evidence and instead chose to believe the eyewitness testimony placing defendant with Ms. Williams a relatively short distance and time from the murder scene. From Mesquite, defendant and Ms. Williams could either return to Las Vegas or continue to Utah on Interstate 15. There are few places to stop between Mesquite and Beaver and therefore few places for Ms. Williams to have had the opportunity to encounter any other persons.
Finally, available physical evidence, although limited, is consistent with the trial court's judgment. Ms. Williams had engaged in sexual intercourse with a type "A" secretor within 24 to 36 hours prior to her death. Additionally, a cigarette, partially smoked by a type "A" secretor, was found alongside the body. Defendant was a type "A" secretor, while the victim was a type "O" secretor.
Without question, this is a close case. However, defendant's alibi was disbelieved by the trial court and so was found to be untruthful. Eyewitness testimony showed that defendant was arguing loudly with Ms. Williams just hours before her death. Upon review of the entire record and giving "due regard . to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses," Utah R.Civ.P. 52(a), we are not of a definite and firm conviction that a mistake was made. Therefore, we find the evidence sufficient to support the trial court's judgment. Further, we have reviewed defendant's other contentions on appeal and hold that they are without merit. Judgment affirmed.
HALL, C.J., and HOWE, Associate C.J., concur.
. A type "A" secretor is a person with type "A" blood that secretes "A" antigens into body fluids. According to testimony at trial, 32 per cent of the general population falls into this category.
. Rule 52 applies to criminal actions under Utah Code Ann. § 77-35-26(7) (Supp.1988) and Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 81(e).
. When reviewing jury verdicts, we accord greater deference to the opportunity of twelve individuals to evaluate the evidence, and we will sustain the verdict if there is any evidence of substance that would allow a reasonable person to find the defendant guilty. Walker, 743 P.2d at 192.