Martin v. State
| Decision Date | 10 May 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-263.,05-263. |
| Citation | 2007 WY 76,157 P.3d 923 |
| Parties | Russell James MARTIN, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Representing Appellee: Patrick J. Crank; Wyoming Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; and James Michael Causey, Assistant Attorney General. Argument by Mr. Causey.
Before VOIGT, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, KITE, and BURKE, JJ.
[¶ 1] In of June 2005, Appellant, Russell James Martin ("Martin"), was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 6-2-1041 and 6-1-3012 (LexisNexis 2005). On appeal, Martin contends that the district court erred in admitting hearsay testimony relating to previous uncharged misconduct and in providing an improper limiting instruction on the suitable use of this evidence. Martin also claims that the district court erred in allowing a mental health expert to invade the province of the jury and testify that the statements Martin voiced shortly after the charged crime established that he intended to kill his wife. We affirm.
[¶ 2] Martin presents these issues for our review:
I. Whether the district court erred by allowing hearsay accounts of uncharged misconduct evidence, when the victim was available and testified at trial. Were both the form of the evidence and the uses to which the court told the jury the evidence could be put improper.
II. Whether the district court erred in allowing a mental health expert to invade the province of the jury and exceed her expertise by letting her testify to her semantic interpretation that Martin's statements showed he intended to kill his wife.
[¶ 3] On the morning of August 22, 2004, Martin was having an unpleasant conversation with his wife, Marla Martin ("Mrs.Martin"). During this discussion, Martin accused Mrs. Martin of, inter alia, being a "pathetic mother." Later that morning, as Mrs. Martin stood in the kitchen preparing her young daughter's breakfast, Martin picked up a hammer, approached Mrs. Martin from behind, and struck her multiple times on her head.
[¶ 4] When Martin witnessed Mrs. Martin collapse to the floor, he believed that he had killed her. Martin then went upstairs to his mother's apartment, where he told his mother that he thought he had killed his wife, and called 911. Martin also told the 911 dispatcher that he thought he had killed Mrs. Martin. While he was still on the cellular telephone with the 911 dispatcher, Martin went back to his apartment where he found that his wife was still alive. The dispatcher instructed Martin to wait outside of the apartment for the EMTs to arrive and Martin complied.
[¶ 5] Shortly thereafter, emergency medical care arrived at the Martin residence and Mrs. Martin was taken to the Campbell County Memorial Hospital. There, physicians determined that Mrs. Martin had suffered a severe bilateral skull fracture and required immediate neurosurgery.
[¶ 6] While Mrs. Martin was undergoing medical treatment, law enforcement collected physical evidence from the crime scene and interviewed Martin. During Martin's crime scene interview, which was recorded on audiotape, he stated that he had been awake since the previous night, as he had ingested a small amount of methamphetamine and was hearing voices. Martin also informed law enforcement that these voices did not instruct him to harm Mrs. Martin, instead, Martin claimed that he had "just lost it."
[¶ 7] The State of Wyoming charged Martin with attempted second-degree murder, a felony in violation of §§ 6-2-104 and 6-1-301. Subsequent to the filing of the Information, the circuit court suspended the proceedings against Martin so that the Wyoming State Hospital's Criminal Justice Service could evaluate him for competency. Dr. Cathy Buckwell, a forensic psychologist for the Hospital, evaluated Martin and determined that he was fit to proceed to trial.
[¶ 8] After the case had been bound over to district court, the State filed its Notice of Intent to Introduce W.R.E. 404(b) evidence of uncharged misconduct, in the form of prior incidents of domestic violence. Defense counsel objected to the introduction of this evidence. Following a 404(b) hearing, the district court concluded that the uncharged misconduct evidence was admissible for the purpose of showing "intent, motive, or absence of mistake or accident."
[¶ 9] The jury trial commenced on June 27, 2005. As part of its case, the State called Mrs. Martin, who testified to multiple incidents of prior domestic abuse by Martin. Particularly, Mrs. Martin testified that Martin had threatened to kill her "a couple times." Mrs. Martin also stated that over the length of their marriage, Martin had pushed her down, hit her, and punched her in the back. Mrs. Martin further testified that approximately one year after their wedding, Martin had gotten on top of her and choked her.
[¶ 10] On cross-examination, defense counsel attempted to prove that the choking incident was not as serious or brutal as Mrs. Martin had portrayed it. For example, defense counsel questioned Mrs. Martin as to why Martin had not killed her, given his larger size and greater strength. In response, Mrs. Martin stated that she was uncertain whether Martin had let her go or whether she had escaped.
[¶ 11] The State then sought to supplement Mrs. Martin's testimony with the W.R.E. 404(b) domestic violence evidence through the testimony of Officers Hloucal and West. Prior to the officers' testimony, the district court gave a limiting instruction and informed the jury that any uncharged acts of domestic violence could only be considered for a limited purpose. Defense counsel did not object to this instruction or propose any alterations.
[¶ 12] Officer Hloucal stated that in July of 1998, he had been called to the Martin residence due to a "family violence incident." When Officer Hloucal began to recount what Mrs. Martin had told him at the scene, defense counsel objected as to hearsay. The State argued that the testimony was admissible as Mrs. Martin's prior consistent statement, and the district court concurred. Therefore, Officer Hloucal went on to testify that Mrs. Martin had told him that she had been choked and hit in the face by Martin.
[¶ 13] Officer West then testified to a 2004 domestic violence episode that had also occurred at the Martin residence. West testified that during her conversations with the Martins, she observed physical injuries to Mrs. Martin's left arm. When the State questioned Officer West about what Mrs. Martin had told her during their conversation, defense counsel again objected as to hearsay. The prosecution responded that he wanted to use the testimony to "establish the time frame in which [Martin's threats to kill Mrs. Martin] occurred and the specific nature of the statement." The district court again overruled the objection and the testimony was admitted. Officer West then testified that Martin "had threatened to slit her throat."
[¶ 14] When the defense presented its case, Martin did not deny that he had struck his wife with the hammer. Martin also admitted to previous incidents of domestic violence, but stated that he loved her and never wanted to kill her. Instead, Martin's defense was premised upon two theories: (1) At the time of the incident, he was suffering from a mental disease or defect that made him unable to appreciate what he was doing; and (2) based upon his methamphetamine-induced psychosis, he had not acted with the specific intent to kill his wife.
[¶ 15] Martin's defense also consisted of the testimony of Dr. Berton Toews and Dr. Robert J. Innes. These doctors both opined that because of Martin's "methamphetamine psychosis," it was likely that Martin had acted impulsively on the morning that he took up the hammer.
[¶ 16] Mrs. Martin was also called to testify for the defense in relation to Martin's attitude and general disposition over the months preceding the incident. During this direct examination, Mrs. Martin was also asked questions regarding whether she had started any fights with Martin, whether he had threatened to kill her "when he got mad a lot of times," and whether he had ever really tried to kill her.
[¶ 17] The State then called Dr. Cathy Buckwell as a rebuttal witness. She was a forensic psychologist who had previously evaluated Martin's competency to stand trial. Dr. Buckwell testified that Martin did not satisfy the requirements for the defense of not guilty by reason of mental disease or deficiency. Dr. Buckwell also stated, over defense counsel's objection, that based upon her interpretation of the audio taped statements Martin had made after the incident, he had acted with the specific intent to kill Mrs. Martin. The district court later instructed the jury that it could consider expert testimony and the reasons offered therefor, but was not "bound to accept the expert's opinion as conclusive."
[¶ 18] At the conclusion of the trial, Martin was convicted of attempted second-degree murder. In September of 2005, the district court sentenced Martin to a term of imprisonment of 50 years to life.
[¶ 19] These facts will be supplemented when necessary.
[¶ 20] Martin claims that the district court erred in allowing hearsay accounts of uncharged misconduct and that Dr. Buckwell's testimony invaded the province of the jury. Decisions regarding the introduction of evidence are entrusted to the sound discretion of the district court. See Law v. State, 2004 WY 111, ¶ 14, 98 P.3d 181, 187 (Wyo.2004); Betzle v. State, 847 P.2d 1010, 1022 (Wyo.1993) ()....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Teniente v. State
...Whether the testimony violated a clear and unequivocal rule of law in an obvious way is our next concern. As we recently stated in Martin v. State, 2007 WY 76, ¶ 24, 157 P.3d 923, 929 Pursuant to Rule 802 of the Wyoming Rules of Evidence, hearsay is inadmissible "except as provided by these......
-
Griggs v. State
...statements, the second element of the test is satisfied. See Tombroek v. State, 2009 WY 126, ¶ 9, 217 P.3d 806, 810 (Wyo.2009); Martin v. State, 2007 WY 76, ¶ 27, 157 P.3d 923, 927 (Wyo.2007)(second element of the test was satisfied because the declarant was subject to cross examination abo......
-
Webb v. State
...the factual issues, judge the credibility of witnesses, and ultimately determine whether the accused is guilty or innocent." Martin v. State , 2007 WY 76, ¶ 38, 157 P.3d 923, 932 (Wyo. 2007). Expert testimony that opines on the guilt of the defendant or the credibility of a witness invades ......
-
Snow v. State
...106 P.3d 873, 876 (Wyo.2005), as requiring plain error analysis due to the lack of an objection below. Finally, the State quotes Martin v. State, 2007 WY 76, ¶ 34, 157 P.3d 923, 930-31 (Wyo.2007), where, in a case involving the failure to object to a limiting instruction, we said: "Furtherm......