Opinion ID: 883934
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The lack of evidence as indicative of bias.

Text: Ahmed asserts that the District Court's bias against him is also illustrated by the fact that it convicted him of felony charges which the evidence presented did not support. This is merely another way of saying that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the convictions. Therefore, we next turn our attention to the question of the sufficiency of the evidence. 2. Were Ahmed's convictions for aggravated kidnapping and felony assault supported by substantial credible evidence? Ahmed argues that his convictions for aggravated kidnapping and felony assault must be reversed because they are not supported by substantial credible evidence. Ahmed notes that, since only he and J.F. were present during the period when the offenses took place, the case essentially comes down to his word against hers. He argues that J.F.'s testimony was inherently incredible and uncorroborated and, as such, is insufficient to support the convictions. Ahmed claims that J.F.'s testimony was inherently incredible because it was contradicted not only by Ahmed's testimony, but also by her own prior statement made to the police after the events in question occurred. Ahmed further argues that J.F.'s testimony was not corroborated by physical evidence such as bruises or scratches from when she claimed he had struck her and held a knife to her neck. In the face of these inconsistencies and lack of corroboration, Ahmed argues that the evidence presented was insufficient to convict him of the crimes with which he was charged. As this Court stated in State v. Brogan (1993), 261 Mont. 79, 862 P.2d 19: [w]here the sufficiency of the evidence is at issue on appeal in a criminal bench trial, the standard of review is whether, after reviewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Brogan, 862 P.2d at 24. Moreover, the credibility of witnesses and the weight to be given to their testimony are to be determined by the trier of fact, and disputed questions of fact and credibility will not be disturbed on appeal. Brogan, 862 P.2d at 24. See also State v. Santos (1995), 273 Mont. 125, 131, 902 P.2d 510, 514; State v. Moreno (1990), 241 Mont. 359, 361, 787 P.2d 334, 336. In the event that the evidence conflicts, it is within the province of the trier of fact to determine which will prevail. Santos, 902 P.2d at 514 (citing State v. Flack (1993), 260 Mont. 181, 860 P.2d 89). In State v. Maxwell (1982), 198 Mont. 498, 647 P.2d 348, this Court held that prior inconsistent statements do not necessarily render a witness's testimony inherently incredible. On the contrary: [o]nly in those rare cases where the story told is so inherently improbable or is so nullified by material self-contradictions that no fair-minded person could believe it may we say that no firm foundation exists for the verdict based upon it. Maxwell, 647 P.2d at 351 (quoting State v. Gaimos (1916), 53 Mont. 118, 126, 162 P. 596, 599). Further, the testimony of one witness is sufficient to establish a fact, Santos, 902 P.2d at 514, and the absence of corroboration alone is not sufficient reason to distrust the testimony of a complaining witness. State v. Higley (1980), 190 Mont. 412, 427, 621 P.2d 1043, 1052. The District Court heard all the evidence presented as well as the testimony of both J.F. and Ahmed. It noted that J.F. had explained that her testimony differed, in part, because she could not remember some of the details she had reported to the police in her written statement. Noting that the trial took place almost four years after the events in question, the District Court found her to be candid in admitting when she simply could not remember certain details. The District Court included in its findings all the contradictions of which Ahmed complains, yet it still found J.F.'s testimony to be more credible than his. Looking at the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we hold that sufficient evidence existed for the District Court to convict Ahmed of the crimes charged. 3. Did the District Court abuse its discretion by considering evidence of flight? Ahmed contends that the District Court abused its discretion by considering evidence regarding how and when he left Montana, and by construing that evidence as proof of flight. He admits that flight evidence may be admitted as a circumstance tending to show consciousness of guilt. State v. McKimmie (1988), 232 Mont. 227, 231, 756 P.2d 1135, 1138. But he also contends that flight evidence is admissible only if the District Court is satisfied that the crime charged has in fact been committed by someone. State v. Pepperling (1974), 166 Mont. 293, 299, 533 P.2d 283, 287. In this case, the question faced by the District Court was not who committed a given crime, but rather whether a crime occurred at all. Ahmed argues that the District Court employed circular reasoning. He contends that the District Court concluded that evidence of flight is admissible to infer consciousness of guilt because a crime was committed, but then found that a crime was committed because Ahmed allegedly fled. Ahmed misconstrues the decision of the District Court. In order to convict Ahmed of the crimes charged, the State had to show both that the crimes were committed and that Ahmed was the person who committed them. Having found from the testimony of J.F. and other witnesses that the crimes charged did in fact occur, the District Court properly considered flight evidence in reaching the conclusion that Ahmed was the one who committed them. It is undisputed that, on the same evening that J.F. took the gun and went to the police, Ahmed left the state for Fargo, North Dakota. He then took a bus to New York City where he remained for the next three and a half years, knowing that the Bozeman police department was looking for him. He left Montana on the night in question without taking his car or the new puppy he had recently acquired, and without forwarding his mail. He headed to New York although he had previously informed the police that he intended to go to California. Based on this evidence, the District Court concluded that Ahmed had fled from Bozeman to avoid arrest or prosecution for his crimes. Ahmed argues that the foregoing does not establish that he was fleeing from criminal charges because, in reality, no crimes had occurred. According to him, after spending the day saying goodbye to J.F., he left the state according to plan. This, however, is merely a reargument of the sufficiency of the evidence. The District Court concluded that Ahmed had held J.F. in her apartment against her will for almost three days and that, in the course of that time, he caused her reasonable apprehension that he would seriously injure her with the gun or the knife. As stated above, the evidence presented was sufficient to justify such a finding. Having satisfied itself that the crimes alleged did in fact occur, the District Court did not err in considering flight evidence in order to infer that Ahmed was conscious of his own guilt. 4. Did the District Court abuse its discretion by allowing testimony regarding a telephone conversation between Ahmed's New York attorney and a Gallatin County deputy sheriff? When Ahmed learned about the charges pending against him, he retained a New York attorney in an attempt to have the attorney look into the matter. At trial, a Gallatin County deputy sheriff testified that he had received several phone calls from Ahmed's attorney. He further testified that the attorney had inquired into the circumstances of the charges and indicated a desire to resolve the situation. The deputy sheriff also testified to telling the attorney that the situation could only be resolved by Ahmed's returning to Montana to face the charges. The attorney then indicated that he would advise Ahmed to turn himself in. Defense counsel objected to this entire line of questioning on the grounds that it was impermissible hearsay evidence. The State responded that the testimony was admissible as a statement of a party-opponent made through an agent, which is not hearsay under Rule 801(d)(2)(C) and (D), M.R.Evid. We agree with the State. Rule 801(d) provides, in part: Statements which are not hearsay. A statement is not hearsay if: ....... (2) Admission by a party-opponent. The statement is offered against a party and is ... (C) a statement by a person authorized by the party to make a statement concerning the subject, or (D) a statement by the party's agent or servant concerning a matter within the scope of the agency or employment, made during the existence of that relationship.... Rule 801(d)(2)(C) and (D), M.R.Evid. Ahmed testified that he had retained the New York lawyer in an effort to resolve the charges against him. In attempting to do so, the attorney called the Gallatin County deputy sheriff to discuss the status of the case. In so doing, the attorney was acting as an agent for Ahmed. He was representing Ahmed's interests and following Ahmed's instructions by exploring how the charges might be resolved. The disputed conversation took place during the existence of the agency relationship, and the attorney's comments concerned a matter within the scope of that relationship. Therefore, the attorney's statements were not hearsay and the District Court properly refused to exclude them on that basis. Ahmed also argues that the testimony should have been excluded because it constituted a violation of his attorney-client privilege. In Montana, the attorney-client privilege is codified in § 26-1-803, MCA, which states: (1) An attorney cannot, without the consent of his client, be examined as to any communication made by the client to him or his advice given to the client in the course of professional employment. (2) A client cannot, except voluntarily, be examined as to any communication made by him to his attorney or the advice given to him by his attorney in the course of the attorney's professional employment. By its terms, this statutes applies to communications made by a client to an attorney or vice versa. In this case, however, the attorney made the disputed statements to a third party, the Gallatin County deputy sheriff. Ahmed correctly cites Palmer v. Farmers Ins. Exchange (1993), 261 Mont. 91, 861 P.2d 895, as standing for the proposition that an attorney may not disclose advice given to his client without the consent of the client. Palmer, 861 P.2d at 906. However, Palmer is not on point for two reasons. First, Ahmed's attorney did not reveal advice he had given to Ahmed, but rather conveyed what he intended to tell him. Second, Ahmed implicitly consented to the entire conversation by directing his attorney to attempt to take care of the charges. In contrast, Palmer concerned an attempt by a claimant to compel production of confidential files detailing communications between an insurer and its attorney. Voluntary disclosure to a third party was not the issue in Palmer and, therefore, it is not on point. Because the conversations between the Gallatin County deputy sheriff and Ahmed's attorney involved communications made by an agent in the course of his agency, they were not hearsay. Because the conversations took place between the attorney and a third party, with the client's implicit consent, they are not subject to the attorney-client privilege. Accordingly, the District Court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the deputy sheriff's testimony. Ahmed raises several other specifications of error regarding various testimony which he claims the District Court should not have allowed into evidence. However, a review of the record reveals that no objections were made at trial to any of the testimony in question. As articulated in the discussion of issue 1(a), the lack of a contemporaneous objection precludes this Court from considering an alleged error. Section 46-2-104, MCA; Arlington, 875 P.2d at 321. Nor do any of the alleged errors justify invocation of the common law plain error doctrine. Because these issues were not properly preserved for appellate review, we decline to address them. Affirmed. TURNAGE, C.J., and GRAY, ERDMANN, TRIEWEILER and NELSON, JJ., concur.