Reeves v. State

• Decision Date: 23 September 1991
• Docket Number: No. F-87-324,F-87-324
• Citation: 1991 OK CR 101,818 P.2d 495
• Parties: Jack REEVES, Appellant, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

Page 495

818 P.2d 495

Jack REEVES, Appellant, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.

No. F-87-324.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma.

Sept. 23, 1991.

An appeal from the District Court of McIntosh County; J.M. Lemasters, Associate District Judge.

Jack Reeves, Appellant, was tried by jury and convicted of seven (7) counts of Lewd Molestation of a Minor Child in violation of 21 O.S.Supp.1983 and 1985, § 1123, in the District Court of McIntosh County, Case No. CRF-86-44. The jury recommended as punishment four (4) years imprisonment on each of Counts I and VI, five (5) years imprisonment on each of Counts II and III, six (6) years imprisonment on Count V, and ten (10) years imprisonment on Count VII. The trial court sentenced accordingly and it is from this judgment and sentence that Appellant appeals.

AFFIRMED.

Thomas Purcell, Norman, for appellant.

Robert H. Henry, Atty. Gen. of Oklahoma and Susan Stewart Dickerson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Chief, Criminal Div., Oklahoma City, for appellee.

OPINION

LUMPKIN, Vice-Presiding Judge:

Appellant Jack Reeves was tried by jury and convicted of seven (7) counts of Lewd Molestation of a Minor Child in violation of 21 O.S.Supp.1983 and 1985, § 1123, in the District Court of McIntosh County, Case No. CRF-86-44. The jury recommended as punishment four (4) years imprisonment on each of Counts I and VI, five (5) years imprisonment on each of Counts II and III, six (6) years imprisonment on Count V, and ten (10) years imprisonment on Count VII. The trial court sentenced accordingly and it is from this judgment and sentence that Appellant appeals.

Appellant was convicted of molesting four (4) young boys, ages thirteen through fifteen, during the fall of 1985. The victims, B.H., L.B., S.T., and R.J. met Appellant through his son, "Little Jack" with whom they were school friends. Each of the boys testified that the molestations occurred when they were at Appellant's trailer house spending the night with "Little Jack". The basic scenario for each of the molestations was similar with three of the boys testifying to being alone in the trailer with "Little Jack" and the Appellant. At one point during the evening, Appellant would ask "Little Jack", using a variety of reasons, to leave the room. Appellant would then ask his victim if he had ever had sex. Regardless of the answer he received, Appellant said he would have to measure the victim's penis, and if it measured to a particular length, he would bring some girls over.

B.H. testified that he resisted, but Appellant grabbed his hands behind his back and forced him to comply. L.B. said he complied because he thought all the guys were doing it, and S.T. said he was talked into it. As a result of the boys protests or "Little Jack's" return to the room, Appellant stopped the molestation. Appellant told the boys to go to bed and told his victim to wake him up later and he would call the girls to come over.

B.H. testified that he went to sleep in "Little Jack's" room, but woke up later to remind Appellant as requested. In Appellant's bedroom, B.H. was told no girls were coming over and Appellant proceeded to orally sodomize B.H. B.H. was able to eventually escape from Appellant and returned to "Little Jack's" room. B.H. did not see Appellant again until after Christmas 1985, when Appellant and "Little Jack" were to pick him up to spend the night with "Little Jack". When Appellant arrived without "Little Jack", B.H. was hesitant to get in the truck alone with him. However, he consented when told they were going to pick up "Little Jack". On the way, Appellant molested B.H.

S.T. testified that he also woke Appellant as requested and was also molested in Appellant's bedroom. S.T. further testified to another incident at Bob's Boat Storage. S.T., knowledgeable about car repairs, had gone with Appellant to the boat storage to help repair his truck. Once Bob left the room, Appellant asked S.T. if he wanted to "mess around". S.T. was then forced to commit oral sodomy on Appellant. S.T. testified to another incident occurring at Appellant's apartment in Checotah during Christmas vacation 1985. Along with B.H., "Little Jack", Appellant and his girlfriend, S.T. was present for a beer party. Having drunk several beers, S.T. remained in the apartment when the others left to buy more beer. Appellant, who had also remained behind, forced S.T. to commit oral sodomy.

Thirteen year old R.J. testified to spending four nights with "Little Jack" at the trailer house. One morning, Appellant woke him up and asked him to come into the kitchen. Appellant proceeded to orally sodomize R.J. Appellant then asked if he could take a photograph of R.J. Despite his protests, Appellant forced R.J. to remove his clothes and took a picture of the naked boy. Appellant put the photograph in the pocket of his robe and told R.J. not to tell anyone about it.

Appellant took the stand in his own defense and testified that the boys were lying and that they and their families had conspired against him because of his prior relationships with various family members.

In his first assignment of error, Appellant contends that the trial court erred in excluding the public from the courtroom during the testimony of the victims. Relying on Globe Newspaper Company v. Superior Court for the County of Norfolk, 457 U.S. 596, 102 S.Ct. 2613, 73 L.Ed.2d 248 (1982), and Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39, 104 S.Ct. 2210, 81 L.Ed.2d 31 (1984), the Appellant argues that closure was not warranted upon the facts and that the trial court failed to consider reasonable alternatives to closure.

After the opening statements had been given, the State moved to clear the courtroom of all those not directly involved in the case during the testimony of the juvenile victims, on the grounds that "they are juveniles and the nature of the testimony about which we expect the testimony to center on is a very sensitive matters that are difficult and rather embarrassing to all parties involved ..." (Tr. 55). The trial court overruled the defense objection and closed the courtroom during the testimony of the juvenile victims. (Tr. 55-56)

The right to a public trial is provided in both the United States and the Oklahoma Constitutions. U.S. Const. amend. VI, Okla. Const. art. II, § 20. Although this right is of constitutional stature, it is not absolute. Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555, 100 S.Ct. 2814, 65 L.Ed.2d 973 (1980). This right may not be abridged without "findings that the closure is essential to preserve higher values and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest." Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of California, 464 U.S. 501, 510, 104 S.Ct. 819, 824, 78 L.Ed.2d 629 (1984).

In Globe Newspaper Company, the Court addressed the First Amendment rights of the press and the public to a criminal trial. The Court held that a state statute mandating closure of a trial for rape of a minor violated the First Amendment rights of the press and general public. On appeal, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court interpreted the statute as requiring, under all circumstances, the exclusion of the press and public during the testimony of a minor victim in a sex-offense trial. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court reversed the Massachusetts Supreme Court and held that the mandatory closure rule violated the First Amendment rights of the press and general public to attend a criminal trial. The Court found that the State's interests in protecting minor victims of sex offenses from further trauma and embarrassment and the encouragement of such victims to come forward and testify in a truthful manner, while compelling reasons, did not justify a mandatory closure of the entire trial. Trial courts must determine on a case-by-case basis whether closure is necessary to protect the welfare of a minor victim.

Globe is distinguishable from the present case in that it focused on the First Amendment rights of the press and public to a public trial. The Court refused to consider Globe's additional argument that the statute violated the Sixth Amendment as the right to a public trial is personal to the defendant. Gannett v. DePasquale, 443 U.S. 368, 380, 99 S.Ct. 2898, 2905-6, 61 L.Ed.2d 608 (1979). The Appellant in the instant case therefore, cannot rely on Globe as he has standing only to bring a Sixth Amendment claim. Further, the Supreme Court held that mandatory closure was not justified because the State's interests could be served just as well by requiring a case-by-case analysis of closure. In the present case, the court was not mandated to close the courtroom, but did so on its own discretion.

The trial court's discretion to close a courtroom and its effects upon the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a public trial were considered in Waller v. Georgia, wherein the Supreme Court stated that the public-trial guarantee has been uniformly recognized as created for the benefit of the defendant. In Waller, the trial court closed an entire suppression hearing to all parties not directly involved on the basis that wiretap evidence would include references to alleged offenders not then on trial. The Georgia Supreme Court held on appeal that the trial court properly balanced the petitioner's right to a public hearing against the privacy rights of others under Georgia law and the Sixth Amendment. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the case was reversed with the Court holding that the trial court was not justified in closing the entire suppression hearing. Citing to Press-Enterprise v. Superior Court of California, 464 U.S. 501, 104 S.Ct. 819, 78 L.Ed.2d 629 (1984), the Court stated that the party seeking to close the hearing must advance an overriding interest that is likely to be prejudiced, the closure must be no broader than necessary to protect that interest, the trial court must consider reasonable alternatives to closing the proceeding, and it must make findings...