Pierson v. State, 96-91

Decision Date19 March 1998
Docket NumberNo. 96-91,96-91
PartiesLewis R. PIERSON, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).
CourtWyoming Supreme Court

Sylvia L. Hackl, State Public Defender; Deb Cornia, Appellate Counsel; Michael Dinnerstein and Gerald M. Gallivan, Directors, Wyoming Defender Aid Program; and Dianna Bennett and Karl Linde, Student Interns., for Appellant (Defendant).

William U. Hill, Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; and Kimberly A. Baker-Musick, Assistant Attorney General, for Appellee (Plaintiff).

Before TAYLOR, C.J., and THOMAS, MACY, GOLDEN, and LEHMAN, JJ.

TAYLOR, Chief Justice.

Appellant was convicted of one count of indecent liberties with a minor in violation of Wyo. Stat. § 14-3-105(a) (Repl.1994). Appellant claims on appeal that the statute, as applied to the facts of his case, is unconstitutionally vague. Appellant also alleges error arising from evidentiary rulings, improper prosecutorial argument, and faulty instructions to the jury.

We find that Wyo. Stat. § 14-3-105(a) is not unconstitutionally vague as applied to the facts of this case. However, due to the misleading and confusing nature of the instructions given the jury, we reverse.

I. ISSUES

Appellant, Lewis R. Pierson (Pierson), presents the following issues:

I. Would a person of ordinary intelligence know that intercourse with a 16 year old is indecent when intercourse with a 16 year old does not constitute statutory rape and is the application of the indecent liberties statute here therefore unconstitutionally vague?

II. Did the court deny appellant his fundamental constitutional right to present a defense by prohibiting him from presenting evidence relevant to his innocence and by improperly instructing the jury on the law relating to his defense?

III. Did the prosecutor deprive appellant of his due process right to a fair trial by testifying as an unsworn witness, denigrating appellant's right to counsel, asking the jury to use its verdict to send a message to the community, and repeatedly emphasizing irrelevant impact statements of the complainant?

IV. Was appellant deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial by the introduction of voluminous evidence of misconduct with which appellant was never even charged?

Appellee, the State of Wyoming, responds:

I. Whether Wyo. Stat. § 14-3-105 is unconstitutionally vague?

II. Whether appellant received a fair trial?

II. FACTS

Pierson met CG while visiting her parents, who were hospitalized after a fire at their business in May 1992. Both Pierson and CG's father were automobile mechanics, and both families were affiliated with the same church. Pierson took CG and her younger brother out for ice cream in order to assuage their concern over their parents' condition. At that time, CG was fifteen years old, and Pierson was thirty-six and married.

After CG's parents returned to work, Pierson frequently stopped by their shop to visit. CG was often present because she was being home-schooled and spent her days assisting at her parents' shop. During this time, Pierson developed a "friendship" with CG as well as her parents, and CG appeared to have a "crush" on Pierson. However, the friendship took a different turn in December 1992, when Pierson told CG he thought "[he was] falling in love with [her]."

CG had never before had a boyfriend, and was not allowed to date. Over the next six months, the relationship between CG and Pierson intensified, fueled by the fact that CG's father moved his business into Pierson's shop in April 1993. Pierson and CG would steal affectionate moments which became increasingly passionate.

Pierson and his wife separated in April 1993. CG celebrated her sixteenth birthday on May 20, 1993. In June 1993, Pierson accompanied CG and her family to a religious meeting in Billings, Montana. There, while parked outside of a shopping mall, the physical relationship between the two escalated to fondling underneath their clothing which ceased when CG's younger brother returned to the truck.

The couple began to discuss the possibility of marriage. Despite CG's expressed wish to wait until she was eighteen, CG testified that Pierson sent for her birth certificate, impersonating her father on the telephone and forging her father's signature when the birth certificate arrived.

In July 1993, CG's mother discovered a note written by CG to Pierson in which CG referred to him as "lover." CG's parents confronted their daughter and Pierson separately, and forbade CG from further contact with Pierson.

Parental disapproval did not dissuade Pierson from continued meetings with CG at various places outside town, at Pierson's shop and at the home of CG's grandfather. On July 14, 1993, CG telephoned Pierson while she was visiting a friend in Sheridan, Wyoming. The next day, Pierson drove to Sheridan and the two went for a drive in the country. As described by CG, "one thing led to another and it went into sex." Shortly thereafter, Pierson made several telephone calls in an effort to find a state where sixteen year olds could marry without parental consent.

Testimony established three later sexual interludes, once in July and twice in August; the latest being the charged event on August 29, 1993. The State also introduced evidence of another assignation in early September 1993.

During the first week in September 1993, CG's parents were contacted by local law enforcement regarding the relationship between CG and Pierson. CG's parents confronted her and she admitted she and Pierson were "involved" sexually. CG then gave a statement to the officer who was investigating the allegations. Within days, CG and her family moved to Anaconda, Montana.

Several days after the family moved, hearing that CG may be in physical danger, Pierson submitted to an interview with the investigating officer. Declaring that he and CG were in love, Pierson admitted he was having sexual intercourse with her. Pierson also stated that "people told him he'd be in trouble" and "he knew he was in" serious difficulty.

Having learned from CG her new location, Pierson arrived in Anaconda on September 11, 1993. Pierson enlisted CG's younger brother to bring CG to the motel where he was staying. When CG and her younger siblings appeared at the motel, Pierson told CG that he wanted her to leave with him. At first, CG stated she did not want to hurt her parents; but, "within a matter of minutes," changed her mind and agreed to accompany Pierson.

CG returned to the motel the next morning, and thus began a cross-country sojourn which was to last for fourteen months. During that time, CG wrote numerous letters to her parents, the FBI, the district attorney and other relatives and friends. Among other things, the letters requested that the couple be left alone and promised their return if charges were dropped. CG testified she wrote the letters under duress, and Pierson allowed her no other contact with her family.

CG also testified that through the entire relationship, she was under the domination of Pierson. In contrast, Pierson introduced the testimony of several witnesses who testified that CG invited Pierson's attentions and appeared to be a mature and equal participant during all times they were together.

While in New Jersey, CG and Pierson discovered that Oregon law allows a seventeen year old to marry if he or she has no parent within the state and has resided within the county for six months. The couple went to Oregon where Pierson paid a stranger to sign a false affidavit stating that CG had lived in that Oregon county for six months. They married in Oregon on May 20, 1994, CG's seventeenth birthday. 1 Some time later, the couple returned to New Jersey where they resided with Pierson's relatives.

Pierson was arrested in New Jersey on November 5, 1994 and CG returned to Montana with her parents the next day. Prior to trial, the State filed a Notice of Intent to Offer Evidence of Uncharged Misconduct which identified evidence of five instances of sexual conduct other than the charged event. Pierson was found guilty of one count of indecent liberties with a minor after a three-day trial. This timely appeal followed.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Pierson's constitutional challenge to Wyo. Stat. § 14-3-105 was not raised at the trial level. Nor was timely objection made to the arguments of counsel or the admission of the uncharged conduct which underlie his claims on appeal. Therefore, these claims must be reviewed under a "plain error" standard. Britt v. State, 752 P.2d 426, 428 (Wyo.1988). To establish plain error,

" '[f]irst, the record must clearly present the incident alleged to be error. Second, appellant must demonstrate that a clear and unequivocal rule of law was violated in a clear and obvious, not merely arguable, way. Last, appellant must prove that he was denied a substantial right resulting in material prejudice against him. Brown v. State, Wyo., 736 P.2d 1110, 1115 (1987).' "

Britt, 752 P.2d at 428 (quoting In the Interest of CB, 749 P.2d 267, 268-69 (Wyo.1988)).

Error claimed with respect to jury instructions must be addressed in both a procedural and substantive context:

From the procedural perspective, substantive review will depend upon an appropriate objection * * *. The purpose is to advise the trial court of the precise nature of the claim so the judicial discretion is appropriately exercised. We consider the charge as a whole and in the light of the entire record from pleadings through argument to the jury. Our goal is to identify any prejudice, and the standard is whether the charge is a comprehensive, balanced and essentially accurate statement of the law that is not likely to confuse or mislead the jury.

Hatch v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 930 P.2d 382, 391 (Wyo.1997). The trial court is given wide latitude in instructing the...

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