State v. Conroy
| Citation | 468 P.3d 208 |
| Decision Date | 30 June 2020 |
| Docket Number | SCWC-12-0000537 |
| Parties | STATE of Hawai‘i, Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Sean CONROY, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Hawai'i |
Matthew S. Kohm, Wailuku, for Petitioner
Richard K. Minatoya, for Respondent
Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant Sean Conroy ("Conroy") was convicted following a jury trial of assault in the second degree. The prosecutor made at least eight improper statements during closing argument in violation of Conroy's right to a fair trial. The misconduct affected the issue central to Conroy's self-defense claim: whether he acted with the intent to protect himself. The only witnesses to the incident at the time of the injury were Conroy and his wife (hereinafter CW). Therefore, in the circumstances of this case, the violation of Conroy's due process right to a fair trial was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
Conroy was indicted for assault in the first degree in violation of HRS § 707-710(1) (1993), in connection with an incident involving CW.1 At trial, CW testified that she was married to Conroy on the date of the incident and that they were living together in an apartment in Kihei, Maui.2 According to CW, on March 14, 2011, she and Conroy had an argument in their apartment parking lot; they were struggling over her Camaro car keys when Conroy punched her in the face with both of his fists, and CW lost consciousness. CW testified that she could not recall the number of times she was struck because she lost consciousness. CW also testified that she did not recall hitting Conroy prior to Conroy's first punch, and that she did not kick Conroy prior to being punched. CW further stated that on the day of the incident she was 5'9" and weighed 120 pounds, and that Conroy was 6'4" or 6'5" and weighed 240 or 250 pounds.
When CW was asked if she told a police officer that she slapped Conroy once on his left temple, CW stated, The State entered into evidence a photo of CW six months before the incident, and a photo of CW taken in April 2011 after the incident. CW testified that the two photos demonstrated that her smile was different as a result of the incident, and that she can "only smile with half [of her] face [because of] the injuries." CW also stated that she has had nightmares about the incident, which have clouded "[her] memories of the exact things that happened on [the day of the incident]."
Dr. Andrew Don ("Dr. Don"), who supervised CW's follow-up treatment, testified that eight days after the incident, CW's left cheek and nose were swollen, her eyes were swollen and possibly bloodshot, and that she had a "chip fractured
on the front of her teeth." He further testified that CW's nose was fractured on both sides, and that her cheekbone was also fractured and bruised on the left side. Dr. Don also testified that because of CW's swelling, a large blood clot was coagulating on that side of her face, causing scarring and restricting the movement of her face. According to Dr. Don, CW's condition could be permanent, and surgery would not make any difference. He also stated that CW's injuries were caused by at least two "full–force [blows] from the fist."
Officer William Melton ("Officer Melton"), who responded to the incident, testified that CW appeared to be dazed, and had a swollen face, swollen eyes, some blood to the left side of her eye, and some cuts on her body. Officer Melton stated that Conroy waived his right to remain silent, and recounted Conroy's statement as follows:
Basically, [Conroy] stated that he suspected his girlfriend, [CW], was fooling around. [Conroy] saw some things in the car that she wanted to drive off in. And further, [Conroy] believed that [CW] was going to be with another man, and they fought over a set of keys to the Camaro that [CW] wanted to use. [Conroy] got struck to the left side of his temple he said, and then he responded by punching [CW] twice to the face.
Officer Melton also testified that Conroy told him that when he punched CW twice in the face, she was knocked backwards onto the hood of the Camaro. Officer Melton stated that Conroy indicated that he had injuries to the left side of his temple where he had been struck, and that there was a "red linear marking, kind of purplish on the left side of [Conroy's] temple." According to Officer Melton, Conroy did not complain of any other injuries, such as being kicked in the groin. Officer Melton further testified that if Conroy told him that he had been kicked in the groin, then he would have indicated it in his report because "[a]nytime a guy gets kicked in the groin, that's an attention grabber."
Jon Brammer ("Brammer"), CW's and Conroy's neighbor, testified that immediately after the incident, CW looked like she "had hit her head on the steering wheel" in an auto accident. Brammer testified that at that time, CW was arguing and swearing at Conroy, and Conroy was verbally defending himself. Brammer testified that CW said, "You hit me," and Conroy replied, "Well, you hit me." Brammer also testified that Conroy stated that "[CW] asked for it[,]" and that he heard Conroy say to CW, "[Y]ou know you had it coming," and "[D]on't tell me you didn't deserve it." The State then rested its case.
The defense then presented its case, and recalled Brammer, who testified about a 2010 incident that occurred at his home, where CW was allegedly drunk and lying down on the floor. According to Brammer, CW did not want to be moved, and when Conroy attempted to pick CW up, she "thrashed out" and kicked Conroy's hand twice.
Conroy testified on his own behalf at trial. At the beginning of Conroy's testimony, he was asked about a previous incident in 2009 involving an argument with CW. He testified that CW hit him on the side of his head at least three times with a television remote control, knocking out his tooth.
Conroy testified that on the day of the incident, the nature of his relationship with CW was "more of a roommate situation," and that CW "did her own thing and was in her own room, [and] chose not to do anything with [him] in any sense."
CW asked him to move his truck and when he approached his truck, he saw his personal items in the back seat of the Camaro. Conroy thought that CW "was trying to rub something in [his] face, that she could do what she liked with whatever." He began to take his personal items from the Camaro and put them on the hood of his truck and in the empty adjacent parking stall. In response, CW retrieved the items and put them back into the Camaro. CW then yelled at him, accusing him of acting childish. In response, Conroy told CW,
He asked CW to give him the keys to the truck, house, mailbox, and Camaro because he owned them all.3 CW swore at him, and taunted him by asking, "These keys?" and "yanked" the keys back when he attempted to take them. He asked CW to give him the keys several more times, and CW then kicked him in the groin, causing him to bend over. Immediately after he was kicked, CW hit him on his head on the left side of his temple. He then punched CW twice in the face, causing her to fall back on the Camaro. When he tried to help CW onto her feet, she was dazed and fell to the ground, and he testified that he was "scared," "shaken," and thought, "oh my God, I've got to get help."
When Officer Melton arrived at the scene, Conroy started to explain that CW was his wife, and then explained that he guessed that CW was "more of a friend now." He informed Officer Melton that he had injuries to his head
and groin. On cross-examination, Conroy also testified that he re-broke the metacarpal bone of his little finger when he punched CW.
On rebuttal, CW testified that approximately a year before the incident in the instant case, Conroy accused her of having a "man's name in [her] contact list" in her phone, and an argument ensued. According to CW, Conroy punched her in the side of the face or head with a fist, and "grabbed [her] by the throat and neck and began to squeeze," making it difficult for CW to breathe.
In the State's closing argument, the prosecutor sought to persuade the jury that Conroy's intent was not to defend himself but to manifest his anger and jealousy by making "sure that she didn't give that smile to any other man [.]" The prosecutor's argument was objected to by Conroy's counsel three times, however the court sustained only one objection and did not strike the improper comment, allowing the two other statements over the defense's objections:4
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