Jackson v. State
| Decision Date | 19 May 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 83S00-9812-CR-770.,83S00-9812-CR-770. |
| Citation | 728 N.E.2d 147 |
| Parties | Ricky Lee JACKSON, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff Below). |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Susan K. Carpenter, Public Defender of Indiana, David P. Freund, Deputy Public Defender, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorneys for Appellant.
Jeffrey A. Modisett, Attorney General of Indiana, Arthur Thaddeus Perry, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorneys for Appellee. BOEHM, Justice.
Ricky Lee Jackson was convicted of the murder of his wife. He was sentenced to fifty-five years imprisonment. In this direct appeal, he raises five issues for review: (1) whether the trial court improperly dismissed a juror; (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion in permitting the prosecution to cross-examine Jackson regarding a prior battery against the victim; (3) whether the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to allow Jackson to impeach a prosecution witness with extrinsic evidence; (4) whether the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction of murder; and (5) whether the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing him. We affirm the conviction and remand for resentencing on this record.
Factual and Procedural Background
On the morning of March 20, 1998, at approximately 8:00 a.m., Jackson's wife Debbie refused to get out of bed. This triggered an argument that continued as Jackson and his wife made three or four circuits of the downstairs of their house. Jackson then looked for his gun to "scare her with." He became angry when he did not find it in the top drawer of their dresser. Debbie located it in the second drawer, handed it to him, and proceeded to the kitchen. Jackson followed. Jackson testified that he then cocked the gun, with an eye to shooting it at the ceiling. According to Jackson, he decided not to fire, but as he was lowering the gun, it discharged, striking Debbie in the head. When Deputy Larry Keller arrived at the scene, Jackson was holding Debbie's head in his hands. Keller ordered Jackson to move away from Debbie, but Jackson responded that if he did Debbie would bleed to death. Keller observed that the living room was in a disarray—a table had been pushed up against the couch and the items on it had fallen to the floor. Keller also observed that the couple's top dresser-drawer was broken and that the pewter buckle on Jackson's belt was broken in half.
Debbie died later that day as a result of the gunshot wound. Jackson maintained throughout the investigation and trial that the shooting was accidental. The jury convicted him of murder.
The morning after opening statements were given, a teacher-juror asked to be excused, stating that she believed Jackson's nephew was one of her students. The trial court announced that it would bring her in for questioning, but would not allow the parties to question her. No objection was made at that point. The juror told the court she had just discovered this relationship and thought it would be difficult for her to be fair and impartial. After the trial court had excused the juror, defense counsel moved for a mistrial, arguing that the defense should have been given the opportunity to question the juror.
The trial court's inquiry consisted of a few questions establishing that the juror felt unable to be fair and impartial. We agree with Jackson that the better course of action for the trial court would have been to allow the parties to question the juror, at a minimum to confirm whether the factual predicate of her concern—that she was a teacher of a nephew of Jackson's-was true. See Harris v. State, 659 N.E.2d 522, 525 (Ind.1995)
(); Threats v. State, 582 N.E.2d 396, 398 (Ind.Ct.App.1991) (same).
Jackson argues that excusing this juror violated Trial Rule 47(B), which provides for replacement when a juror is "unable or disqualified to perform" his or her duties. Jackson does not allege that the trial court's decision to dismiss the juror resulted in the impaneling of a biased juror. Rather, he alleges that the procedure the trial court followed was reversible error because it did not allow him to question the juror who was dismissed. However, because no objection was lodged to this procedure before the juror had been dismissed, that issue is not preserved, and the only issue for appeal is whether a mistrial was required.
The decision to grant or deny a motion for a mistrial lies within the discretion of the trial court. Heavrin v. State, 675 N.E.2d 1075, 1083 (Ind.1996). A mistrial is an extreme remedy granted only when no other method can rectify the situation. Id. On appeal, in order to succeed from the denial of a mistrial, the defendant must demonstrate that the conduct complained of was so prejudicial that it had a probable persuasive effect on the jury's decision. See James v. State, 613 N.E.2d 15, 22 (Ind.1993)
; Kelley v. State, 555 N.E.2d 140, 141 (Ind.1990). At the time Jackson moved for a mistrial, the trial court's only alternatives were to send an already impaneled jury home or to deny the motion. Because there was no showing of any prejudice to Jackson, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Jackson's motion.1
Prior to trial, Jackson filed a request for notice of any proposed Rule 404(b) evidence. The State responded by announcing its intention to introduce evidence that Jackson had been arrested for committing a battery on Debbie in August 1996. Jackson filed a motion in limine, requesting that the evidence be excluded. The trial court concluded that, given Jackson's contention that the killing was accidental, the evidence was relevant to prove motive. The trial court nevertheless ruled that the evidence should be excluded under Evidence Rule 403 because the danger of unfair prejudice substantially outweighed its probative value. The trial court then stated that, although the State would not be allowed to use the evidence in its case-in-chief, the evidence could have some "rebuttal value" and the issue might need to be revisited.
On direct examination, Jackson testified to his love for Debbie throughout their twenty-one years of marriage, and to his love for her on the day he shot her. On cross-examination, the State asked him if had also loved his wife on March 3, 1996.2 Defense counsel objected, and at a hearing outside the presence of the jury, the State argued that evidence of the battery was admissible to rebut Jackson's contention that he had always loved his wife. The trial court agreed that "the statement by the defendant that he loved his wife every day of their marriage calls in the question of that relationship so I will overrule the objection." Jackson challenges admission of that evidence.
Under Evidence Rule 404(b), In order to admit 404(b) evidence, the court must (1) determine that the evidence is relevant to a matter at issue other than the defendant's propensity to commit the charged act, and (2) balance the probative value of the evidence against its prejudicial effect pursuant to Rule 403. Byers v. State, 709 N.E.2d 1024, 1026-27 (Ind.1999); Hicks v. State, 690 N.E.2d 215, 222-23 (Ind.1997). This balancing is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See Byers, 709 N.E.2d at 1026-27
; Hicks, 690 N.E.2d at 223. In addition, otherwise inadmissible evidence may become admissible where the defendant "opens the door" to questioning on that evidence. See Gilliam v. State, 270 Ind. 71, 76, 383 N.E.2d 297, 301 (1978).
Jackson cites Gilliam, in which this Court held that "the evidence relied upon to `open the door' must leave the trier of fact with a false or misleading impression of the facts related." 270 Ind. at 76-77, 383 N.E.2d at 301. According to Jackson, because there was other evidence that demonstrated that Jackson's marriage to Debbie was not always peaceful, and because he merely "professed his love" for Debbie, the jury was not left with a false impression that they did not have marital conflicts, and evidence of the battery was inadmissible.
The trial court acted well within its discretion in making the pretrial determination that although the battery was relevant to establish motive, the prejudice from admitting the battery outweighed its probative value. It was also well within the discretion of the trial court to determine that the unfair prejudice to Jackson did not substantially outweigh the relevance of the battery and allow this evidence as cross-examination on the point of Jackson's professed love for his wife. Although it was clear that the Jacksons' marriage was imperfect, cross-examination on the battery was nevertheless relevant to rebut the suggestion, or the "false impression," that Jackson would not knowingly or intentionally harm someone he loved.3
Deputy Larry Keller, the first person to arrive at the Jackson home after the shooting, found Jackson holding Debbie's head in an attempt to stop the bleeding. At trial, Keller was cross-examined regarding a conversation Keller had with Jackson's sister in which he allegedly surmised that the shooting was accidental:
Q. Subsequently calling your attention to July 11th, 1998, did you tell his sister, Karen Lubovich, that you thought that this was an accident?
A. I told . . . let me try that again . . . I told her I was not sure.
Q. On July 11th, 1998, you told her you weren't sure.
A. I don't recall the date. I remember talking to her.
Q. But my question is did you tell her you thought it was an accident?
A. I don't recall.
Jackson argues that the...
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