Opinion ID: 1293641
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Exclusion of Evidence Concerning Defense Theory of Consent

Text: Prior to trial, the defense moved to admit evidence of prior sexual conduct of S.B. pursuant to K.S.A. 21-3525(b). At the in camera hearing, the defense sought to introduce evidence that (1) at the time of S.B.'s death, she was involved in a nonmonogamous sexual relationship with Czarnowski that included unprotected sexual intercourse and possibly anal intercourse on December 9, 1982, and (2) two of S.B.'s former neighbors would testify that S.B. was willing to engage in spontaneous, voluntary sexual relations with other men. The defense argued this evidence was relevant to the defendant's theory of consent and to explain the postmortem observations for S.B. The autopsy report indicated no signs of injury to S.B.'s vagina, anus, or the inner aspects of her legs. The district court granted the motion regarding S.B.'s sexual relationship with Czarnowski around the time of the murder. However, the court refused to admit evidence regarding the defendant's second request, reasoning that statements made by S.B.'s neighbors at a former residence 6 months to 1 year prior to the murder were not relevant. The defendant argues that the district court erred by excluding such evidence. A district court's decision to exclude evidence under the rape shield statute is subject to an abuse of discretion standard. However, the defendant is also claiming that he was denied his constitutional right to present a complete defense. When an appellate court is reviewing a constitutional challenge to the admission or exclusion of evidence, the appellate court applies the federal constitutional rule. Under that rule, an error may not be held to be harmless unless the appellate court is willing to declare beyond a reasonable doubt that the error had little, if any, likelihood of having changed the result of the trial. See State v. Atkinson, 276 Kan. 920, 925, 80 P.3d 1143 (2003). The Kansas rape shield statute, K.S.A. 21-3525, provides that in a prosecution for rape: (b) . . .evidence of the complaining witness' previous sexual conduct with any person including the defendant shall not be admissible, and no reference shall be made thereto in the presence of the jury, except under the following conditions: The defendant shall make a written motion to the court to admit evidence or testimony concerning the previous sexual conduct of the complaining witness.. . . The court shall conduct a hearing on the motion in camera. At the conclusion of the hearing, if the court finds that evidence proposed to be offered by the defendant regarding the previous sexual conduct of the complaining witness is relevant and is not otherwise inadmissible as evidence, the court may make an order stating what evidence may be introduced by the defendant and the nature of the questions to be permitted. The defendant may then offer evidence and question witnesses in accordance with the order of the court. Under K.S.A. 21-3525, a rape victim's prior sexual activity is generally inadmissible since prior sexual activity, even with the accused, does not of itself imply consent to the act complained of. The rape shield statute does allow evidence of a victim's prior sexual conduct if it is proved relevant to any fact at issue. Atkinson, 276 Kan. 920, Syl. ¶ 2. The rape shield statute does allow evidence of a victim's prior sexual conduct if it is proved relevant to any fact at issue, such as the identity of the rapist, the consent of the victim, or whether the defendant actually had intercourse with the victim. See 276 Kan. at 926. Relevant evidence is defined as evidence having any tendency in reason to prove any material fact. K.S.A. 60-401(b). The defendant argues the proffered evidence that the victim was prone to spontaneous sexual relationships with men was relevant because it contradicted the State's theory that the motive for the rape and murder was the victim's refusal to engage in a sexual relationship with the defendant and supported his defense of consent. He contends the policies of the rape shield statute would still be met through introduction of such evidence in this case. The defendant relies primarily upon the following two cases in support of his position. In Atkinson, this court found the trial court violated the Confrontation Clause by excluding evidence that Atkinson and the victim had sexual intercourse the night before the alleged rape because it was highly relevant to explaining why Atkinson's DNA matched the sperm found during the rape examination. 276 Kan. at 928-29. In State v. Perez, 26 Kan. App. 2d 777, 780-83, 995 P.2d 372 (1999), rev. denied 269 Kan. 939 (2000), the Court of Appeals found the trial court erred in excluding evidence of the complaining witness' sexual activities with two other men during the evening of the alleged rape pursuant to the rape shield statute. Applying the following relevancy factors, the court found that based on the proximity in time between the encounters, the distinctive pattern of the sexual behavior, and the lack of physical evidence connecting the defendant with the rape, the prior sexual conduct was relevant to credibility and consent. 26 Kan. App. 2d at 781-83. The Perez court stated: In a prosecution for sex offenses, when addressing whether prior sexual conduct of a complaining witness is relevant to the issues of consent and credibility, factors to be considered include: (1) whether there was prior sexual conduct by complainant with defendant; (2) whether the prior sexual conduct rebuts medical evidence on proof of origin of semen, venereal disease, or pregnancy; (3) whether distinctive sexual patterns so closely resembled defendant's version of the alleged encounter so as to tend to prove consent or to diminish complainant's credibility on the questioned occasion; (4) whether prior sexual conduct by complainant with others, known to the defendant, tends to prove he or she believed the complainant was consenting to his or her sexual advances; (5) whether sexual conduct tends to prove complainant's motive to fabricate the charge; (6) whether evidence tends to rebut proof by the prosecution regarding the complainant's past sexual conduct; (7) whether evidence of sexual conduct is offered as the basis of expert psychological or psychiatric opinion that the complainant fantasized or invented the acts charged; and (8) whether the prior sexual conduct and the charged act of the defendant are proximate in time. 26 Kan. App. 2d 777, Syl. ¶ 3. Application of these factors distinguishes this case from both Atkinson and Perez. None of the factors were met in this case. No evidence was presented that the victim had engaged in prior sexual conduct with the defendant, nor was any factual similarity established between the instant case and the victim's alleged prior sexual conduct of being prone to having spontaneous, voluntary sexual relations with men. The victim's alleged prior sexual conduct and the defendant's charged act were not proximate in time, as those allegations were made by previous neighbors of the victim some 6 months to 1 year prior to the incident in this case. Cf. State v. Montes, 28 Kan. App. 2d 768, 774, 21 P.3d 592, rev. denied 271 Kan. 1040 (2001) (proximity factor not satisfied when prior conduct was 1-2 months earlier). Furthermore, physical evidence was presented in this case connecting the defendant to the victim. The inability of the defendant to establish any of the above factors reveals his purpose in seeking to admit such evidence. The defendant sought to establish that S.B. had a propensity to engage in consensual sex with the defendant based on her alleged prior behavior, despite evidence that she had previously rejected his sexual advances. This is the type of situation that the Kansas rape shield statute was designed to prevent: `The Kansas [rape shield] statute merely serves to focus both judges' and attorneys' attention upon the fact that the victim's prior sexual activity is not generally relevant, reminding them that a victim's lack of chastity has no bearing whatsoever on her truthfulness and generally has no bearing on the important issue of consent. ' (Emphasis added.) Atkinson, 276 Kan. at 926 (quoting In re Nichols, 2 Kan. App. 2d 431, 433-34, 580 P.2d 1370, rev. denied 255 Kan. 844 [1978]). Although the victim's death negated some of the policy concerns of the rape shield statute, its application was still important to prevent the jury from using irrelevant evidence of alleged sexual conduct in assessing whether the victim consented to the charged act. See also State v. Gonzales, 245 Kan. 691, 699-700, 783 P.2d 1239 (1989) (trial court properly excluded evidence under the rape shield statute that victim had a propensity to establish her social acquaintances with males on a spontaneous basis in a felony-murder and attempted rape prosecution). We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by excluding this evidence under the rape shield statute. Moreover, even if we were to conclude that the exclusion of this evidence was error, it is highly unlikely that this testimony would have had any effect on the outcome of the trial in light of the substantial evidence placing the defendant at the scene of the crimes, the DNA evidence establishing that the defendant's semen was found in S.B., and the defendant's abrupt unexpected departure from the Mission on the alleged night of the crimes.