Opinion ID: 2626357
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Jurisdictional Issues on Appeal

Text: ¶ 55 Mr. Green appeals the trial court's conclusion that it had jurisdiction over his prosecution for rape of a child. The trial court found that the State had not proven that Mr. Green had engaged in sexual intercourse with Linda in the state of Utah. It nevertheless concluded that jurisdiction was proper because under Utah law Mr. Green's conduct in Utah constituted a solicitation of or a conspiracy to commit a rape of a child in Mexico, where Mr. Green's sexual intercourse with the thirteen-year-old Linda was also unlawful. [7] ¶ 56 The trial court grounded its jurisdiction in the substance and purpose of Mr. Green's conduct and communications with Linda's father, John Kunz, [8] and with Linda's mother, Mr. Green's ex-wife, Beth Green. In them, the trial court found evidence to support Mr. Green's solicitation of, and conspiracy with, these individuals to commit the rape of Linda. It found that Mr. Green had solicited the consent of Mr. Kunz to marry Linda during a conversation in Lehi, Utah. Mr. Kunz left no room for confusion over his rejection of Mr. Green's request for his consent. The trial court construed Mr. Green's request, and the reaction to it, to be a request for marriage, which would include sexual relations. Applying Utah Code section 76-2-202 [9] to its findings, the trial court determined that had Mr. Kunz consented to the marriage of his daughter to Mr. Green, he would have been criminally liable as a party to Mr. Green's rape of Linda and, therefore, Mr. Green's request for consent constituted criminal solicitation in Utah. ¶ 57 The trial court found that Beth Green consented to the betrothal of Linda to Mr. Green while in Utah and that the weight of the evidence supported a definition of betrothal that contemplated a sexually consummated marriage. It determined, therefore, that Mr. Green had both solicited and conspired with Beth Green to commit the rape of Linda. See Utah Code Ann. § 76-4-201 (providing the elements of a conspiracy). [10] ¶ 58 Mr. Green's brief challenges these findings in a discursive and argumentative presentation of his version of the facts. As with his challenges to the trial court's factual findings relating to the statute of limitations, he once again fails to give so much as a nod to his duty to marshal the evidence in support of the trial court's findings. According to Mr. Green, the central flaw in the trial court's assessment of the evidence is its misapprehension of the concept of betrothal. Under Mr. Green's definition, betrothal constitutes a commitment to marry in the future and nothing more. It falls short of the contemplation, plan, or intent to marry and have sexual intercourse necessary to establish the elements of a conspiracy. The trial court found incredible Mr. Green's testimony that the decision to marry Linda was made spontaneously while vacationing in Mexico. It chose instead to take seriously the comments that Mr. Green and members of his family made in numerous media appearances that demonstrated the falsity of Mr. Green's definition of his betrothal to Linda. ¶ 59 Mr. Green has presented us with no evidence that the trial court erred when it found that a betrothal manifested a plan or intention to engage in sexual relations. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's ruling that the prosecution of Mr. Green was subject to the court's jurisdiction.