State v. Holland
| Decision Date | 12 January 2012 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. Yor–11–98. |
| Parties | STATE of Maine v. Rory HOLLAND. |
| Court | Maine Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Clifford B. Strike, Esq., and Amanda J. Doherty, Esq. (orally), Strike, Goodwin & O'Brien, Portland, for appellant Rory Holland.
William J. Schneider, Attorney General, Donald W. Macomber, Asst. Atty. Gen. (orally), Augusta, for appellee State of Maine.
Panel: ALEXANDER, LEVY, SILVER, MEAD, GORMAN, and JABAR, JJ.
[¶ 1] Rory Holland appeals from a judgment of conviction and concurrent life sentences on two counts of intentional or knowing murder, 17–A M.R.S. § 201(1)(A) (2011), entered in the Superior Court (York County, Cole J.) following a jury trial.
[¶ 2] Holland argues on appeal that the court erred in (1) denying Holland's motion in limine seeking to admit evidence of the victims' characters that may not have been known to Holland; (2) allowing into evidence a 2002 book that contained the Maine Criminal Code; (3) determining that there was sufficient evidence to disprove Holland's claim of self-defense; (4) denying Holland's motion in limine to permit statements from a 2007 civil trial to be admitted into evidence to provide context for Holland's reaction to threats and violence; (5) allowing the State to reopen its case to present evidence regarding identification of Holland; (6) failing to declare a mistrial when the State asked a question regarding the timing of the victims' funerals; and (7) addressing the first and second steps of the sentencing analysis, 17–A M.R.S. § 1252–C(1), (2) (2011), when it sentenced Holland to two life sentences. We affirm the judgment and the sentences.
[¶ 3] Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the court's judgment, the jury rationally could have found the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt. See State v. Taylor, 2011 ME 111, ¶ 3, 32 A.3d 440.
[¶ 4] Holland shot Derek Greene and Gage Greene, brothers who were 21 and 19 years of age respectively, in the early morning of June 30, 2009. Holland and the victims lived within blocks of each other in a neighborhood in Biddeford.
[¶ 5] Approximately one month prior to the shooting, Holland had allegedly grabbed the older brother's genitals at Holland's house. In response, the older brother, with two of his friends, assaulted Holland. Subsequently, the older brother was arrested and, as a condition of his bail, prohibited from having contact with Holland. After the assault, Holland was seen on numerous occasions walking past the older brother's home patting his side, suggesting to observers that he was armed.
[¶ 6] On the night of June 29, 2009, the younger brother hosted a party at his apartment with his older brother and approximately ten friends present. At approximately 10:30 p.m., the younger brother and a friend walked to another individual's home to collect money that individual owed to the younger brother. To get to this individual's home, about a ten-minute walk, the younger brother and his friend walked by Holland's home, but they did not see Holland. Because the individual did not have the money, but indicated that he might have it later that night, the younger brother and his friend returned to the party.
[¶ 7] A few hours later, the older brother and the younger brother, accompanied by three friends, walked back to the individual's home to collect the money owed. Again, they walked by Holland's home, but they did not see Holland.
[¶ 8] At approximately 1:00 a.m., they left the individual's home to return to the younger brother's apartment. As the younger brother, the older brother, and a friend turned onto South Street, Holland was standing on the sidewalk just outside the opening in the fence that surrounds Holland's property. Because of the older brother's no-contact bail condition, he remained across the street from Holland's home, while the younger brother walked towards Holland.
[¶ 9] Standing face-to-face, approximately two feet apart, the younger brother pushed Holland in the chest with two open-faced palms. Holland took one step back, pulled a nine millimeter Glock pistol from his waistband, and shot the younger brother in the chest. The younger brother collapsed to the ground.
[¶ 10] A friend of the victims, who was approximately ten to fifteen feet from the shooting, ran towards the younger brother. Holland pointed the gun toward the friend's face and told him to back up. Holland did not shoot the victims' friend. Instead, Holland shot the older brother three times as he was running across the street screaming, “You shot my brother!” Holland shot the older brother in the chest, upper abdomen, and back of his elbow. The victims, who were shirtless, were unarmed; Holland was the only person observed with any type of weapon that night.
[¶ 11] Holland retreated into his home after shooting the victims. Hearing the gunshots, Holland's neighbor left the neighbor's house to offer assistance. While the neighbor was attending to the younger brother, Holland opened his door and asked him, “What's going on?” The neighbor advised Holland to stay in the house.
[¶ 12] The victims were pronounced dead on arrival at Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford.
[¶ 13] Law enforcement secured the perimeter of Holland's house. Nearly four hours later, after negotiating with the police, Holland surrendered. After searching the exterior and interior of Holland's home, the police found (1) five shell casings on the street; (2) a Glock magazine with cartridges on the ground behind Holland's house; (3) a nine millimeter Glock gun on his roof; and (4) a 2002 edition of a book containing title 17–A of the Maine criminal statutes, tabbed on a page that addresses a defendant's culpable states of mind, on the floor in his house.
[¶ 14] The York County grand jury indicted Holland for two counts of intentional or knowing murder, 17–A M.R.S. § 201(1)(A), for the murder of Derek and Gage Greene, and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person (Class C), 15 M.R.S. § 393(1)(A–1)(3) (2011).1 Holland pleaded not guilty to the three charges. Venue for trial was changed to the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.
[¶ 15] Prior to trial, the court denied motions in limine filed by Holland to: (1) exclude any reference to the Maine Criminal Code book; (2) allow evidence, not known to Holland prior to the shooting, of the violent natures and reputations of the brothers; (3) allow evidence from a 2007 civil trial, except anything that Holland stated regarding that case on June 30, 2009; and (4) exclude evidence of Holland's possession of a firearm prior to June 30, 2009.2
[¶ 16] Holland's eight-day jury trial began on October 25, 2010. As was his right, Holland elected not to testify. Because the evidence generated a self-defense claim, the court instructed the jury on the elements of self-defense. On November 3, 2010, the jury found Holland guilty of both counts of intentional or knowing murder.
[¶ 17] The court conducted a sentencing hearing on February 7, 2011. Holland was sentenced to two life sentences, to be served concurrently, for the intentional or knowing murders of the two brothers. Holland timely appealed the convictions and was granted leave to appeal his sentence by the Sentence Review Panel, pursuant to M.R.App. P. 20.
[¶ 18] Holland contends that the court erred in excluding evidence of the victims' violent reputations, even if Holland may have been unaware of their reputations at the time of the shootings. Holland urges us to follow Fed.R.Evid. 404(a)(2), rather than M.R. Evid. 404(b), when determining the admissibility of evidence of a victim's character in a case with a self-defense issue.
[¶ 19] Rule 404(b) of the Maine Rules of Evidence provides that “[e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that the person acted in conformity therewith.” In essence, M.R. Evid. 404(b) makes evidence of a victim's violent nature inadmissible to prove that the victim was violent on a given occasion. See State v. Stanley, 2000 ME 22, ¶ 8, 745 A.2d 981. However, when a defendant raises the defense of self-defense, “this rule does not keep out the victim's reputation for violence, proved to have been known to the accused before the event, for the purpose of showing his reasonable apprehension of immediate danger.” M.R. Evid. 404 Advisers' Note; see Stanley, 2000 ME 22, ¶ 13, 745 A.2d 981.
[¶ 20] Pursuant to the federal rule, as Holland suggests, “evidence of a pertinent character trait of the victim of the crime” may be admissible, “such as reputation of the victim for violence to support a claim of self-defense in a homicide case.” Field & Murray, Maine Evidence § 404.3 at 139–40 (6th ed.2007). The federal rule does not require that the defendant be aware of the victim's character or reputation in order for the evidence to be admissible. See 2 Weinstein & Berger, Weinstein's Federal Evidence § 404.11[3][a] at 404–29 (2nd ed.2008).
[¶ 21] Our decision to diverge from the federal rule was intentional. 3 Reputation evidence not known to the accused “is omitted from [ Rule 404] because it has slight probative value and is likely to be highly prejudicial, so as to divert attention from what actually occurred.” M.R. Evid. 404 Advisers' Note; see State v. Lagasse, 410 A.2d 537, 542 (Me.1980) (); see also State v. Leone, 581 A.2d 394, 399–400 (Me.1990). The court did not abuse its discretion when it refused to admit evidence of the victims' reputations for violence that was not known to Holland prior to the events on June 30, 2009. Leone, 581 A.2d at 399; see also State v. Rickett, 2009 ME 22, ¶ 9, 967 A.2d 671 (...
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