Opinion ID: 867512
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lack of a Specific Offense Date in Counts One and Four

Text: ¶ 50 At trial, Davis objected to the instruction informing the jury that the prosecutor need not prove the exact date on which the offenses occurred, but that it was sufficient if the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime was committed by the defendant on or about these dates charged in the indictment. Davis argues that the State's failure to specify a date for counts one and four impermissibly amended the indictments on those counts. This, he claims, resulted in a duplicitous charge, which created the possibility of a non-unanimous jury verdict as to count one and nullified his alibi defense on counts one and four. We affirm Davis's conviction on count four, but reverse and remand for a new trial on count one.
¶ 51 Count one charged Davis with having sex with T.E. on or about the 18th day of January, 1999. At trial, T.E. testified that she had sex with Davis twice, once around the middle of January and once again during the weekend of January 29-31. The State presented the doctor who examined T.E. in early February. She testified that the examination revealed signs consistent with T.E. having had sexual intercourse within the past week, which would have been the end of January. Although the prosecutor mentioned briefly in closing that the event charged occurred on the 18th, she also argued that the doctor's testimony supported a finding that the act occurred on Super Bowl weekend. Thus, the jury heard evidence that Davis had sex with T.E. on two separate occasions, occurring at least eleven days apart. The verdict form for count one, sexual conduct with T.E., did not specify the date of the offense. ¶ 52 Davis contends that because the trial judge informed the jury that the exact dates were not important, the verdict form for count one contained no date, and there was evidence that he had sex with T.E. on two separate occasions, count one effectively and impermissibly charged two crimes. [11] Some jurors might have concluded that he had sex with T.E. on January 18, while others, relying on the doctor's testimony, might have concluded that he had sex with her the weekend of January 29-31, but the jury was not unanimous on either date. ¶ 53 We agree with Davis that such a possibility existed.
¶ 54 [E]ach offense must be charged in a separate count in an indictment or complaint. State v. Whitney, 159 Ariz. 476, 480, 768 P.2d 638, 642 (1989) (citing Ariz. R.Crim. P. 13.3(a)). Charging more than one act in a single count is forbidden because it does not provide adequate notice of the charge to be defended, ... present[s] a hazard of a non-unanimous jury verdict, and ... make[s] a precise pleading of prior jeopardy impossible in the event of a later prosecution. Id. (citations omitted). ¶ 55 We considered an argument similar to the one Davis now makes in Spencer v. Coconino County Superior Court (State), 136 Ariz. 608, 667 P.2d 1323 (1983). In Spencer, a father was charged with one count of incest and one count of molestation for a series of offenses occurring over the course of nearly four years. Id. at 609-10, 667 P.2d at 1324-25. We concluded that the defendant was put in jeopardy in the two counts charged for any one of what could be one hundred separate criminal offenses. Id. at 611, 667 P.2d at 1326. Charging in this manner does not give a defendant clear notice of the crime with which he is charged, and does not allow him to mount an adequate defense. State v. Martin, 139 Ariz. 466, 471, 679 P.2d 489, 494 (1984). Although the scale is smaller in Davis's case, the principle applies. ¶ 56 But the State asserts, and the court of appeals agreed, that State v. Schroeder, 167 Ariz. 47, 804 P.2d 776 (App.1990), disposes of Davis's claim. In Schroeder, the defendant was charged with only one count of sexual abuse, but the victim testified to seven distinct acts of fondling that occurred one evening. Id. at 51, 804 P.2d at 780. The defendant argued that the charge was duplicitous because it failed to specify the particular act on which the charge was based. Id. ¶ 57 The court in Schroeder held the charge not duplicitous because it determined the question to be simply one of credibility; only if the jury unanimously accepted the victim's version of the events could they find defendant guilty of sexually abusing her. Id. at 53, 804 P.2d at 782. ¶ 58 The acts alleged by T.E., on the other hand, occurred eleven days apart, and, unlike the defendant in Schroeder, Davis offered more than one defense. Davis offered an alibi defense for the charge that he engaged in sexual conduct with the victims over the Super Bowl weekend and contended that he did not have sex with T.E. at all. He also attempted to show that T.E. could have engaged in sex with another person staying at his house during the Super Bowl weekend. Thus, the two distinct acts here differ from the evening's events in Schroeder, and call for a different conclusion. ¶ 59 We conclude that Davis's case is more like Spencer's. Spencer, 136 Ariz. at 611, 667 P.2d at 1326. We think it possible that some jurors may have believed Davis's alibi defense and convicted him for an offense on January 18, while other jurors may have convicted him for the Super Bowl weekend offense, based on the doctor's testimony that T.E. had engaged in sex within the preceding week. Because we cannot be certain which offense served as the predicate for the conviction, we conclude that the real possibility of a non-unanimous jury verdict exists. ¶ 60 The State contends, however, that the charge is not duplicitous because the date of the offense is not an element of the crime of sexual conduct with a minor. See Jones, 188 Ariz. at 543, 937 P.2d at 1191. While we agree with the general proposition, the case on which the State relies is inapposite to the point. In Jones, the evidence showed and the jury found the same number of sexual assaults as alleged in the indictment. Id. Here, Davis was convicted of one count, based on proof of two acts. ¶ 61 If the indictment, the evidence, the jury instructions, and jury forms reflect the same number of offenses, the State does not need to prove the exact date of the offenses. When, however, the evidence shows, or tends to show, that several acts of intercourse have occurred between defendant and prosecuting witness, it is incumbent upon the prosecution to elect which one of such acts it relies upon for a conviction. Hash v. State, 48 Ariz. 43, 50, 59 P.2d 305, 308 (1936). Failure to do so results in a duplicitous charge. That is what happened here, and the resulting risk that the jury returned a non-unanimous verdict constituted error.
¶ 62 The court of appeals found, and our review of the record confirms, that Davis did not object at trial to the jury form for count one. Failure to object at trial waives an error unless the error is fundamental. Ariz. R.Crim. P. 21.3(c); State v. Gendron, 168 Ariz. 153, 154, 812 P.2d 626, 627 (1991). The court of appeals concluded that the failure to specify the date on the form was not fundamental error. ¶ 63 While we agree that failure to object to a jury form will rarely result in reversal, that is not the gravamen of Davis's complaint. Davis complains that the verdict form allowed the jury to choose between two acts on which to convict him on count one, creating a duplicitous charge. Therefore, the heart of Davis's complaint regarding count one is not an incorrect jury form, but rather a duplicitous charge, which led to a non-unanimous jury verdict. ¶ 64 Article 2, Section 23 of the Arizona Constitution guarantees a defendant the right to a unanimous jury verdict in a criminal case. A violation of that right constitutes fundamental error. State v. Woods, 141 Ariz. 446, 456, 687 P.2d 1201, 1211 (1984); see also State v. Counterman, 8 Ariz.App. 526, 531, 448 P.2d 96, 101 (1968); cf. United States v. Ullah, 976 F.2d 509, 512 (9th Cir.1992) (stating that under federal law a unanimous jury verdict is nonwaivable). ¶ 65 In Counterman, a defendant who fired his weapon twice during a domestic dispute argued that the prosecution presented evidence of two separate assaults and had to elect which event supported the charge, otherwise the charge would be duplicitous. 8 Ariz.App. at 530, 448 P.2d at 100. The court noted that a duplicitous charge creates the danger that the jury will not return a unanimous verdict and failure to do so is fundamental error. Id. at 531, 448 P.2d at 101; see also Woods, 141 Ariz. at 456, 687 P.2d at 1211. While in Counterman the court upheld the defendant's conviction because it determined that the series of events formed a single transaction, such is not the situation in Davis's case. The two acts that the State relied upon to support the charge involving T.E. occurred approximately eleven days apart and were not part of a single transaction. ¶ 66 Because the State offered evidence of more than one offense to support its first charge against Davis and the events were not part of a single transaction, we conclude that the charge was duplicitous. And because the jury determination may have been other than unanimous, we find the error fundamental. Accordingly, we vacate Davis's conviction as to count one and remand for a new trial. Because we vacate Davis's conviction for count one based on duplicity, we need not consider the effect of the jury instruction on his alibi defense for that count.
¶ 67 Count four charged Davis with having sex with P.T. on or about January 29. At trial, the State attempted to prove that P.T. had sex with Davis on three separate occasions: January 20, 25, and 29 (counts two, three, and four). Davis presented an alibi for January 29, and thus asserted that he could not have committed the crime charged in count four. The trial court instructed the jury that the exact date was not an element of the offense and that the State need only prove that the crime was committed on or about the date alleged. ¶ 68 Davis argues that because the State was not required to prove the specific date for count four, he was effectively prevented from presenting an alibi defense. We disagree. ¶ 69 Davis testified that he worked all day on January 29, adding that he spent the night in his truck at the job site. Davis's boss confirmed that Davis worked at the job site that day. Davis's trial counsel argued in closing that Davis was not at home on January 29 and thus could not have committed the crime on the 29th. The trial judge gave an alibi instruction before the jury began its deliberations. Thus, Davis presented evidence of an alibi, his counsel argued the alibi defense in closing, and the trial judge instructed the jury regarding the alibi defense. The jury simply did not believe the defense. ¶ 70 A defendant's mere assertion of an alibi defense cannot compel the state to elect an exact day. State v. Simmering, 89 Ariz. 261, 264, 361 P.2d 4, 6 (1961). In State v. Verdugo, for example, the defendant was charged with two counts of rape occurring on or about the month of August. 109 Ariz. 391, 392, 510 P.2d 37, 38 (1973). The defendant put forth an alibi defense, offering evidence that he was out of town during the summer and fall of that year and presenting witnesses who testified that he worked with them in Nashville, Tennessee until Halloween that year. Id. This court concluded that the defendant was not deprived of his alibi defense; rather, the jury apparently failed to believe his defense. Id. ¶ 71 In this case, the State presented evidence that count four occurred on January 29, but it also presented evidence that the offense occurred sometime during that weekend. The jury heard from P.T. that she could not remember the exact dates of her sexual encounters with Davis, but she narrowed the date of the third encounter to Super Bowl weekend, which included January 29. Perhaps most damaging to Davis's defense was his own admission that he had sex with P.T. on three separate occasions in January. Thus, the jury either rejected Davis's alibi defense outright or concluded that, although he may have been at work on the 29th, he nevertheless had a sexual encounter with P.T. on or about January 29th. In either circumstance, there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction on count four of the indictment.