Duckett v. State
| Decision Date | 04 September 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-54,97-54 |
| Citation | 966 P.2d 941 |
| Parties | Steven Wayne DUCKETT, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Sylvia L. Hackl, State Public Defender; Donna D. Domonkos, Appellate Counsel; and Diane M. Lozano, Assistant Appellate Counsel, for Appellant.
William U. Hill, Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Georgia L. Tibbetts, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Theodore E. Lauer, Director, Prosecution Assistance Program and Krista L. Noonan, Student Director, for Appellee.
Before LEHMAN, C.J., and THOMAS, MACY, GOLDEN and TAYLOR, * JJ.
Convicted of aggravated assault for stabbing his opponent in an altercation, appellant claims the district court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on defense of others as a legal justification for his actions. Appellant contends the district court compounded that error by an improper instruction in response to the jury's inquiry, during deliberations, regarding the lengths to which one might go in defense of another. Finding appellant presented sufficient evidence to warrant an instruction on his theory of defense, we reverse and remand for a new trial.
Appellant, Steven Wayne Duckett (Duckett), presents three issues for review:
ISSUE I
Whether the appellant was denied his constitutional rights to due process when the court refused Defense Instruction B regarding defense of others.
Whether the trial court erred when it refused to instruct the jury that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant did not act in self-defense as per Defense Instruction A.
Whether the appellant was denied his right to a trial by jury as guaranteed by the United States and Wyoming Constitutions when the trial court effectively directed the verdict against the appellant by its response in Instruction 23.
The State of Wyoming, as appellee, phrases the issues as follows:
I. Did the district court err in denying appellant's requested jury instruction on defense of others?
II. Did the district court err in refusing appellant's proposed instruction informing the jury that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant did not act in self-defense?
II. FACTS
On June 12, 1996, at about 10:00 or 11:00 a.m., Duckett went to the home of Mary Carlson (Carlson) bearing his guitar and a 12-pack of beer. Duckett, Carlson, and her boyfriend, Mylo Hetler (Hetler), spent the day drinking while Duckett and Carlson played music together. At some point, Duckett and Carlson decided to tape the music on Carlson's daughter's karoake machine. After a short break early in the evening, Duckett returned to Carlson's home with his wife. Carlson's neighbor, Sonny Zentner (Zentner), and another friend, Rodney Miears (Miears), joined them. All continued drinking, while Duckett and Carlson continued to "jam" in the garage.
As time went on, the comradery deteriorated in conjunction with the sobriety of the participants. Eventually, Carlson and Duckett argued about their respective talents, which culminated in Carlson's order that the Ducketts leave the premises. Duckett and his wife left, but moments later returned in order to retrieve the musical tape so that no one could steal Duckett's uncopyrighted original material.
It is undisputed that after Duckett and his wife returned to the garage, Carlson and Duckett's wife engaged in a physical altercation, while at the same time Hetler and Duckett struggled on the floor. It is also uncontested that during the fight between Duckett and Hetler, Duckett stabbed Hetler eight times. However, the testimony conflicts as to who initiated the battles, why, and the extent of the violence. Because the issue in this case is whether sufficient facts were presented to warrant a jury instruction on the defense of others, we recount the facts as advanced by Duckett at trial. Oien v. State, 797 P.2d 544, 549 (Wyo.1990).
Duckett testified that when his wife reached for the musical tape, Carlson pushed her away. Duckett then reached for the musical tape, but stopped when he heard his wife scream, Duckett turned, and saw Carlson on top of his wife, slamming her head against the concrete floor. When he moved to help her, Hetler jumped off the couch and tackled him. As he hit the floor, Duckett's glasses flew off; he could not clearly see what was happening but could hear his wife screaming. Hetler was on top of Duckett as they struggled. Duckett told Hetler to free him because Carlson was killing his wife and he needed to help her. Duckett asked Hetler to help him stop Carlson. As the two men fought, Duckett could hear his wife begging for help while he continued to hear her head hitting the floor. Finally, he told Hetler he "was going to have to hurt him[.]" Duckett pulled his knife and stabbed Hetler, but it only made Hetler angrier. Duckett continued to stab until he was able to push Hetler off of him. As Duckett tried to get to his wife, "[s]omebody grabbed [his] shirt from the back * * * and they swung [him] towards the garage door." He again moved toward his wife, and "somebody had the baseball bat * * * and chased [him] out the door."
Realizing there was nothing more he could do to reach his wife, Duckett fled the garage and "stumbled" down the street knocking on doors, looking for help. When he knocked on a motel office door, it roused the proprietors next door. Duckett told them to call 911 because his wife was assaulted and he had stabbed someone. The proprietors complied, and Duckett spoke briefly with the operator before returning to his wife. When he got back to the area, he saw his wife leaving Zentner's, the house next door to Carlson's. Duckett grabbed his wife, and then ran away.
Portions of Duckett's version were corroborated by other witnesses. Carlson testified that during the fight, Mrs. Duckett "scream[ed] like a banshee," and that she remembers Duckett saying, Mrs. Duckett testified that Carlson jumped on her, pinned her arms down and beat her head against the concrete floor. She screamed Duckett's name four or five times, then blacked out. Mrs. Duckett also testified that as they ran from the scene, she remembers Duckett saying, The proprietors of the motel and the officer who found Duckett and his wife running from the scene all stated that Duckett told them his wife had been assaulted, he was being held down and couldn't help his wife, so he stabbed his assailant. Duckett repeated this statement during questioning at the police station, adding that he warned Hetler to get off, but that Hetler "kept punching him * * *."
Duckett was charged with aggravated assault and tried before a jury on October 15, 1996. During the jury instruction conference, the district court refused Duckett's proposed instruction regarding "defense of others," and another instruction explaining that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Duckett did not act in self-defense. At the close of evidence, the jury was instructed on the justification of self-defense. After the jury retired for deliberations, several notes were sent to the judge asking for further instruction, including questions regarding the right to use force to protect others. Over Duckett's objection, the district court further instructed the jury, "For the 'defense of others' to be a right and lawful defense, the Defendant must have used necessary force against the person perceived to be threatening someone else."
After a verdict of guilty was returned, Duckett moved for a new trial. The district court denied this motion, and Duckett timely filed an appeal to this court.
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
The district court is "given wide latitude in instructing the jury; and as long as the instructions correctly state the law and the entire charge to the jury adequately covers the issues, reversible error will not be found." Baier v. State, 891 P.2d 754, 756 (Wyo.1995). We look at all the instructions together to determine whether the charge to the jury properly expressed the law of the case. Vigil v. State, 859 P.2d 659, 663 (Wyo.1993).
"The duty of the trial court is to present in the instructions to the jury the law applicable to the issues actually raised by the evidence." Baier, 891 P.2d at 756; Hatheway v. State, 623 P.2d 741, 743 (Wyo.1981). A defendant has the right to have instructions on his theory of the case, or his defense presented to the jury, if the instructions sufficiently inform the jury of the theory of defense and if competent evidence exists which supports the law expressed in the instructions. Amin v. State, 811 P.2d 255, 261 (Wyo.1991) (citing Thom v. State, 792 P.2d 192, 195 (Wyo.1990)). We view the evidence in a light favorable to the accused and "the accused's testimony must be taken as entirely true" to determine if the evidence is competent. Oien, 797 P.2d at 549. Even if the court deems the evidence to be weak, or unworthy of belief, the instruction must be given if a jury could reasonably conclude the evidence supports the defendant's position. Stagner v. State, 842 P.2d 520, 523 (Wyo.1992) (quoting Goodman v. State, 573 P.2d 400, 409 (Wyo.1977)). "The refusal to allow an instruction requested by the defendant when due process requires the defendant's instruction be given is reversible error per se." Oien, 797 P.2d at 549.
Duckett contends the district court erred in denying the jury the opportunity to consider whether his actions were legally justified under the theory of defense of others. 1 In Leeper v. State, 589 P.2d 379, 383 (Wyo.1979), we recognized this common law defense:
One asserting the justification of defense of another steps into the position of the person defended....
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