People v. Hopson, S228193

• Decision Date: 03 July 2017
• Docket Number: S228193
• Citation: 3 Cal.5th 424,396 P.3d 1054,219 Cal.Rptr.3d 717
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Ruthetta Lois HOPSON, Defendant and Appellant.

3 Cal.5th 424

396 P.3d 1054

219 Cal.Rptr.3d 717

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.Ruthetta Lois HOPSON, Defendant and Appellant.

S228193

Supreme Court of California

Filed July 3, 2017

Gordon S. Brownell, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris and Xavier Becerra, Attorneys General, Dane R. Gillette and Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Steven T. Oetting, Deputy State Solicitor General, Andrew S. Mestman, Sean M. Rodriquez, Michael Pulos and Seth M. Friedman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Kruger, J.Defendant Ruthetta Lois Hopson was tried on charges that she, along with her boyfriend, Julius Thomas, was responsible for the 2011 murder of her housemate, Laverna Brown. In her trial testimony, defendant pinned the blame on Thomas, who had since died. In rebuttal, the prosecution introduced a confession Thomas had given to detectives following his arrest, in which he pinned much of the blame on defendant. Defendant argues that the admission of Thomas's confession violated her right under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution to confront the witnesses against her. The Court of Appeal rejected the argument, concluding that the claim fails because Thomas's confession was presented not to establish the truth of his account, but instead to undermine defendant's competing account of their joint crime.

We conclude, contrary to the Court of Appeal, that the jury was in fact asked to consider Thomas's confession for its truth and that the admission of the confession thus violated defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront her accusers. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal and remand for further proceedings to determine whether the error was prejudicial in light of other evidence in the case and whether defendant therefore must be given a new trial.

I.

Defendant and the victim, Brown, both rented rooms in a house in Riverside. Brown planned to fly to Georgia early on October 28, 2011, but she never took the flight. The next day, the police located Brown's minivan in the parking lot of an automobile auction house. Her body and suitcase were found inside. Defendant and Thomas were arrested and charged with Brown's murder. Thomas initially denied involvement, but, three days after his arrest, he gave a confession to detectives that implicated himself and defendant. Thomas also showed the police where he had disposed of items he had used during the crime, which enabled the police to recover one of the murder weapons. Roughly six weeks later, Thomas committed suicide in jail.

At defendant's trial, the content of Thomas's confession to police was presented to the jury. Because the course of events that led to this result was somewhat circuitous—as the Court of Appeal noted, "evidentiary rules were very loosely applied at this trial and few restrictions were observed by either side, or by the trial court"—we describe this history at some length.

Before trial, the prosecution asked the court to rule on the admissibility of various pieces of evidence, including Thomas's confession to police. The defense objected to the admission of Thomas's confession, arguing that admitting the confession would violate defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against her. The prosecutor agreed he could not introduce Thomas's confession, but advised the trial court that he might wish to revisit the issue at a sidebar if defendant testified and "opened any doors." The trial court ordered Thomas's confession excluded "absent further order of the Court following a sidebar in the event that the prosecution believes that Ms. Hopson may have opened the door with her testimony."

At trial, the prosecution's theory was that defendant needed money and, with Thomas, planned to rob Brown the morning of Brown's trip. During its case-in-chief, the prosecution introduced evidence tending to prove the following: Defendant intended to move into her own apartment around the beginning of November 2011, but she needed money to pay an $800 security deposit. On October 27, the day before the murder, defendant purchased several items, including pepper spray, a folding knife, and a sweatshirt and sweatpants that were too big for her. Thomas called defendant at 1:49 a.m. and 2:09 a.m. on October 28; between calls, he had traveled toward the Riverside house. Brown was killed in the garage early that morning. After the owner of the house awoke around 5:15 a.m., she noticed "things were out of place in the garage" and realized that a butcher knife and machete were missing. Around 6:00 a.m., defendant came home with Thomas; defendant denied knowing anything about the missing machete or knife, and she warned the owner that the sidewalk was wet because she tried to clean up some Coke that she had spilled there. Later that morning, the owner found a bloody blanket in a garbage can; scared, she called 911.

When Brown did not arrive in Georgia on the afternoon of October 28, as scheduled, her daughter became concerned and reported her missing. Brown's daughter also called the owner of the house, who again called 911; she told the dispatcher she suspected defendant was involved in Brown's disappearance. Police investigators interviewed defendant that evening while she was at work, and again the following morning at the police station. At the time of these interviews, defendant was not under arrest. Recordings of the interviews were played for the jury. In the interviews, defendant told police that she had spent the early morning with Thomas, denied knowing what had happened to Brown, and suggested that a homeless person she had seen in the neighborhood may have been involved.

Early on October 29, the police used Thomas's mobile phone records to trace his location. They searched the area and found Brown's minivan nearby. They discovered Brown's body, with her throat cut, and her suitcase inside the minivan. Police then arrested defendant and Thomas for the murder. On November 1, Detectives Rick Cobb and Richard Wheeler conducted a custodial interview of Thomas, following which Thomas showed the detectives where he had dumped clothing and other items used during the crime. The police used this information to recover one of the murder weapons, a machete, which had Brown's blood on it. In the weeks after her arrest, defendant wrote Thomas a letter expressing continuing affection toward him. On December 15, Thomas committed suicide in jail.

Defendant testified in her own defense. She began by describing her relationship with Thomas. Defendant and Thomas had been dating since 2008, but defendant never went to his house and did not know his address. Defendant and Thomas usually saw each other only at the Riverside house, typically late at night to avoid disturbing the owner and Brown. Defendant testified that Thomas had previously told her that he was in a motorcycle club that "did things that were shady," and that he had killed a man. The prosecutor objected to this testimony on hearsay grounds. The trial court overruled the objection and instructed the jury to consider the testimony "for the limited purpose ... of establishing [defendant's] state of mind at the time the statement was overheard." Defendant went on to testify that Thomas had "made allusions that if we broke up that he would have to take care of me," that is, "[t]hat he would hurt me, possibly kill me."

Defendant's testimony then turned to the events of October 27 and 28, 2011. Defense counsel asked defendant, "[D]id Julius [Thomas] ever tell you that, ‘Hey, I want to plan a robbery upon Laverna [Brown] before she goes on her trip’?"

Defendant responded in the negative. The prosecutor objected on hearsay grounds. The trial court again overruled the objection, stating, "The answer is in." The prosecutor raised no further objections during defendant's direct testimony.

Defendant went on to explain that she had previously told Thomas that Brown was going on a trip to Georgia and had asked if they could spend time together while Brown was away. The day before the murder, defendant purchased a folding knife and pepper spray for personal protection. Thomas had also asked her to buy a gift for his sister, so she bought sweatpants and a sweatshirt, which she gave to Thomas that evening. Thomas called defendant twice around 2:00 a.m. on October 28; in the first call, he told her that he was "on his way" to the Riverside house, and in the second, he told her that "he was there."

Defendant went to the back door of the house and was shocked to see Brown lying in a pool of blood on the garage floor with Thomas standing over her. Thomas was wearing the sweatshirt and sweatpants defendant had purchased, as well as protective foot covers she claimed to have given him months earlier. Thomas told defendant that he needed money, thought Brown would have money because she was going on a trip, and tried to rob her. He told defendant that Brown could identify him, and when Brown began to scream, he sliced her throat with the machete, and then with the butcher knife when the machete proved too dull.

Defendant further testified that she helped Thomas clean up the crime scene because Thomas threatened to hurt her and her adult son if she refused. Defendant and Thomas moved Brown's body into Brown's minivan and cleaned up the murder scene. They wore gloves defendant kept in her room and used cleaning supplies stored in the garage. Thomas told defendant to put Brown's suitcase in the minivan to make it look like Brown had gone on her trip. Defendant, driving Brown's minivan, followed Thomas to the automobile auction house, where they abandoned Brown's vehicle, with her body and suitcase inside. They bought food at McDonald's and two Cokes from 7-Eleven, then returned to the Riverside house; Thomas told defendant to pour the Coke on the bloodstains to eliminate them.

On...