Davidson v. State
| Decision Date | 15 March 2021 |
| Docket Number | Court of Appeals Case No. 20A-CR-1863 |
| Citation | 167 N.E.3d 719 (Table) |
| Parties | Ronald DAVIDSON II, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Attorney for Appellant: Glen E. Koch II, Boren, Oliver & Coffey, LLP, Martinsville, Indiana
Attorneys for Appellee: Theodore E. Rokita, Attorney General, Josiah Swinney, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana
[1] Ronald Davidson II appeals his conviction for Level 5 felony domestic battery, arguing the trial court erred in admitting testimony about threats he made to the victim's friend. We affirm.
[2] On June 11, 2019, Davidson's mother, Janice, asked him to drive her to the Indianapolis airport. Janice and Davidson lived together in Paragon, Indiana. Janice planned to fly to California to help her sister move to Indiana. Davidson drove, and Janice sat in the passenger seat. While he was driving, Davidson started "screaming" at Janice for borrowing his car the day before with a friend, Joe, whom Davidson did not like. Tr. Vol. II p. 239. He then began driving erratically—"stomping on the brake, coming to a complete stop, and then pushing his foot on the gas pedal and taking off real fast" while "hitting [Janice] in the head and the arm" with a closed fist. Id. at 239, 240. Davidson hit her "fifty or sixty times" but stopped when they reached the airport. Id. at 250. Janice was "terrified" and "disoriented." Id. at 242. Her arm was "sore," and she had a headache. Id. at 243. She arrived in California later that day. The following morning, her sister noticed she had a large bruise on her arm
and discoloration around her eye. Janice said Davidson had hit her, and her sister took photos of the injuries.
[3] Janice spent around two weeks in California helping her sister pack and get ready to move. As the two were driving back to Indiana, Janice received a text message from Davidson in which he "threatened to take Joe out." Tr. Vol. III p. 11. She and her sister stopped in Utah and reported the threat to law enforcement there and called the Morgan County Sheriff's Department in Indiana. Deputies attempted to follow up with both Davidson and Joe but could not make contact. Janice arrived in Morgan County on June 30 or July 1. She then reported the battery to the Morgan County Sheriff's Department.
[4] In July 2019, the State charged Davidson with Level 5 felony domestic battery, enhanced from a Level 6 felony because of a prior domestic battery against Janice, and Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Before trial, the trial court granted Davidson's motion in limine to keep out evidence of the text message he sent to Janice threatening Joe.
[5] At trial, the State acknowledged in its opening statement that Janice had waited over two weeks to report the battery and explained she waited because she needed to help her sister and knew California was not the proper jurisdiction. Janice testified on direct examination that after the battery, she decided Tr. Vol. II p. 243. She confirmed she reported the battery to Indiana law enforcement when she returned from California.
[6] The following exchange then occurred on cross-examination:
[7] Davidson did not object to Janice's statement regarding the threat. At a sidebar after Janice's cross-exam, the State asked permission to elicit testimony from Janice on redirect as to the threat against Joe, arguing the defense had "opened the door" to such testimony on cross. Id. at 10. Davidson argued he had not opened the door because his questions "didn't specifically call for" Janice to mention the threat. Id. The trial court agreed Davidson had opened the door on cross and allowed redirect questioning on "the threat." Id. at 11. Janice testified on redirect:
Id. at 11-12 (formatting altered). Janice's sister also testified as to the bruises she saw on Janice the morning after the battery, and the court admitted the photos she took.
[8] The jury found Davidson guilty of Level 6 felony domestic battery and Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Davidson then admitted to the prior battery and the enhancement, and the court entered judgment of conviction for Level 5 felony domestic battery. Due to double-jeopardy concerns, the court did not enter judgment on the disorderly-conduct count. The court sentenced Davidson to six years.
[9] Davidson now appeals.
[10] Davidson argues the trial court erred in admitting Janice's testimony about his threats to Joe because such testimony was "uncharged bad act evidence" within the purview of Indiana Rule of Evidence 404(b), "irrelevant," and "prejudicial." Appellant's Br. p. 7. However, the trial court held the testimony was admissible because the defense "opened the door" to such testimony. We agree.
[11] Otherwise inadmissible evidence can be admissible where the defendant "opens the door" to questioning on that evidence. Clark v. State , 915 N.E.2d 126, 130 (Ind. 2009), reh'g denied. "Opening the door refers to the principle that where one party introduces evidence of a particular fact, the opposing party is entitled to introduce evidence in explanation or rebuttal thereof, even though the rebuttal evidence otherwise would have been inadmissible." Sampson v. State , 38 N.E.3d 985, 992 n.4 (Ind. 2015). "Evidence which opens the door must leave the trier of fact with a false or misleading impression of the facts related." Wilder v. State , 91 N.E.3d 1016, 1023 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018) (quotation omitted). When this happens, "the State may introduce otherwise inadmissible evidence if it is a fair response to evidence elicited by the defendant." Id. (quotation omitted).
[12] Here, Davidson opened the door to Janice's testimony by attacking the timing of her battery report. On direct, the State and Janice—in trying to comply with the motion in limine...
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