Alford v. State
| Citation | 906 P.2d 714,111 Nev. 1409 |
| Decision Date | 30 November 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 24865,24865 |
| Parties | Frederick Edson ALFORD, Jr., Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Nevada |
In this appeal we hold that a first-degree murder conviction based on felony-murder cannot be sustained unless the indictment or information puts the defendant on notice of this charge and states facts which support the conclusion that the murder was committed during the commission of an identified felony.
Appellant Alford stands convicted of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon. The State charged Alford under an "open" charge of murder, which is to say that the State charged only that Alford killed with "malice aforethought." There was no specific charge of first-degree murder; and there was no specific charge of premeditation and deliberation and no charge that Alford was guilty of committing a homicide during the commission of a felony.
In his opening statement to the jury the prosecutor revealed the State's theory of its case, stating that The defense response to these charges was to call a psychiatrist 1 to testify as to the mental condition of Alford at the time of the stabbing, hoping to convince the jury either that Alford was so overcome by emotions of hate, anger and jealousy as to be incapable of forming the specific intent to kill or that Alford had a mental state consistent with the commission of voluntary manslaughter rather than first-degree murder. Alford was not put on notice, by the information or by the prosecutor during trial, that he was being charged with first-degree murder under a felony-murder theory. Alford was thus not made aware until after the close of the evidence that he was going to be subject to a conviction of first-degree, felony-murder, a conviction that would be entered irrespective of his intent or other mental state at the time of the killing. Because of the manner in which he was accused and tried, Alford necessarily geared his defense to the mental aspects of the crime as they relate to the crime of manslaughter and to the mental elements of premeditation and deliberation required for first-degree murder.
Quite understandably Alford's defense was not directed toward felony-murder charges, which were specifically levied against him only after the close of evidence in this case. Because Alford was not given fair notice of the charges of felony-murder and was not given an opportunity to defend against these charges, we reverse the conviction and rule that in future murder cases the State must, if it is going to seek a murder conviction based on a felony-murder theory, give notice in its charging document that it is seeking conviction based on a felony-murder theory and must state specific facts which would support such a charge.
The homicide in this case could have fallen into the category of first-degree (premeditated and deliberated) murder, second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. The homicide was committed during a time when Alford was attempting to effect a reconciliation with his former wife, and he found her in bed with another man. In apparent heat of passion he pounced upon the man and stabbed him a number of times with his small two-inch-bladed pocket knife. After the stabbing Alford attempted to take his own life with the same knife, cutting his throat and wrists and ending up in the hospital. Alford has never made any attempt to deny the actual killing, and the only defense available to his attorney was to negate the mental elements of premeditation and deliberation and to show that the killing was either second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter, depending on what version of the facts the jury accepted.
The events on the morning of the killing were as follows: Alford arrived at his former wife's trailer home early in the morning and engaged in a conversation with two babysitters who were in the living room. He asked the babysitters if his wife was in the bedroom, and they told him that she was. There is no evidence that at that time he had illegally entered the premises or that he was a trespasser.
Upon being told where his wife was, Alford proceeded to the bedroom. In the bedroom he saw his former wife and her boyfriend in bed together. There is conflicting evidence about the manner in which Alford entered the bedroom. One of the witnesses stated that there was nothing unusual about Alford's entry into the bedroom; however, his former wife testified that the "door came crashing down," intimating that Alford had forced his way into the bedroom. Whether Alford forced 2 his way into the bedroom or not, there is no question that, once in there, he stabbed the boyfriend to death.
After the State and the defendant had rested their cases, the State offered jury instructions (numbered 8, 10 and 11) which were to the effect that the jury was entitled to convict Alford of first-degree murder on a felony-murder theory, and that the jury could find Alford guilty of first-degree murder, regardless of Alford's state of mind at the time of the killing. The felony-murder instructions were based on Alford's supposed burglary of the trailer home. 3
Alford had no opportunity to respond to these new charges (except perhaps through the closing argument of his defense counsel); and it was error for the trial court to have instructed the jury that it could convict Alford on this uncharged crime. Upon receiving the mentioned instructions the jury was free to find Alford guilty of first-degree murder without any proof of intention to kill or proof of premeditation and deliberation. Upon the court's giving of these felony-murder instructions, the jury was permitted to convict Alford if it believed beyond a reasonable doubt that he was in the process of committing a burglary, that is to say, unlawfully breaking into the trailer home with an intent to commit a felony. NRS 205.060(1). Alford had no opportunity to produce evidence to oppose these charges; and he had no reason to believe, before the time that these instructions were proposed and given (after the close of evidence), that the prosecution was going to pursue a felony-murder theory.
It simply was not fair for the prosecution to bring in charges of felony-murder after the close of the case. In support of this proposition we cite the federal case of Sheppard v. Rees, 909 F.2d 1234 (9th Cir.1989). In state proceedings, the defendant in Sheppard had been charged with premeditated murder with the use of a deadly weapon. As in the present case, following the close of evidence and prior to argument, the prosecution requested...
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