Requejo v. State

• Decision Date: 19 April 2019
• Docket Number: S-18-0186
• Citation: 439 P.3d 747
• Parties: Christopher M. REQUEJO, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

439 P.3d 747

Christopher M. REQUEJO, Appellant (Defendant),

v.The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).

S-18-0186

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

April 19, 2019

Representing Appellant: Diane Lozano, State Public Defender; Kirk A. Morgan, Chief Appellate Counsel; David E. Westling, Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel. Argument by Mr. Westling.

Representing Appellee: Peter K. Michael, Wyoming Attorney General; Christyne M. Martens, Deputy Attorney General; Caitlin F. Harper, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Darrell Duane Jackson, Faculty Director, PAP; Catherine M. Mercer, Student Director, PAP; Jenna N. Niehl, Student Intern. Argument by Ms. Niehl.

Before DAVIS, C.J., and FOX, KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN and GRAY, JJ.

KAUTZ, Justice.

[¶1] A jury convicted Christopher Michael Requejo of two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon. Four and one-half months before his trial, Mr. Requejo demanded disclosure by the State of any recorded statements he or any witnesses had made. Although the State had access to such statements before Mr. Requejo’s demand, it did not disclose them until three working days prior to trial. Mr. Requejo moved for dismissal of the charges as a sanction for the late discovery and now appeals the district court’s denial of that motion. We find that the district court properly exercised its discretion by imposing other sanctions against the State and affirm the court’s order denying Mr. Requejo’s motion to dismiss.

ISSUE

[¶2] Mr. Requejo presents the following issue on appeal:

Whether the district court abused its discretion in not dismissing with prejudice the charges against Mr. Requejo as a sanction for the State’s violation of Wyoming Rule of Criminal Procedure 16.

FACTS

[¶3] On July 20, 2017, the State charged Mr. Requejo with two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-2-502(a)(ii) and (b) (Lexis Nexis 2017). The charges stemmed from an incident where he attempted to forcibly enter the residence of his girlfriend’s sister while swinging a machete at a window and yelling threats at the two occupants inside. Mr. Requejo pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on August 10, 2017, and the case was set for trial. On September 11, 2017, he served discovery demands on the State. Under W.R.Cr.P. 16, he demanded, among other discovery, any recorded statements he had made. Under W.R.Cr.P. 26.2 he requested "any and all statements which Rule 26.2 required be turned over." The district court did not enter an order requiring any discovery.

[¶4] While the State timely responded to most of Mr. Requejo’s discovery requests, it failed to produce two items until January 24, 2018—three working days, or five days total before trial. These items were a recording of a 911 call made by the victim on the night of the incident and a statement made by Mr. Requejo to the police on the night of his arrest. Based on the late disclosure, Mr. Requejo filed a Motion to Dismiss Case with Prejudice on January 25, 2018.

[¶5] The district court held a hearing on the motion on January 29, 2018. The State denied any bad faith and asserted a lack of diligence and a glitch in their records acquisition process as the reason for the late disclosure. This glitch kept the State from discovering the records until several days before trial, after which they promptly disclosed them to Mr. Requejo. Acknowledging their violation of discovery rules, the State voluntarily stipulated to suppression of the late disclosed evidence and listed several remedial mechanisms it had implemented to avoid any future mistakes. It argued this stipulation materially weakened its case since the evidence in question was only inculpatory and thus damaging to Mr. Requejo’s case, not helpful. Mr. Requejo agreed the State probably did not act in bad faith but stated that the late disclosure should not have occurred in any event. In addition, he argued that the late disclosure caused him to suffer prejudice due to its effect on plea negotiations and his inability to pursue a voluntary intoxication defense. The court offered Mr. Requejo a one-week continuance to consider a voluntary intoxication defense based on the late discovery materials, but he declined this offer. He declined two further offers of continuances made by the judge later in the proceedings, as well. The court issued its Order Denying Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss on February 2, 2018, finding that Mr. Requejo agreed the State did not act in bad faith when it violated the discovery rules, that Mr. Requejo was not prejudiced by the error, that he declined the offer of a continuance for trial preparation, and that he requested the trial proceed as scheduled.

[¶6] On January 30, 2018, a jury convicted Mr. Requejo of both counts. The court sentenced him to concurrent six to ten-year periods of incarceration in a Wyoming State Penal Institution, with credit for 287 days of presentence confinement. Mr. Requejo subsequently filed a timely notice of appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶7] "A trial court has discretion in determining the proper sanction for a party’s violation of its discovery responsibilities." Lawson v. State, 994 P.2d 943, 946 (Wyo. 2000) ; Lindsey v. State, 725 P.2d 649, 655 (Wyo.1986). State v. Naple , 2006 WY 125, ¶ 8, 143 P.3d 358, 360-61 (Wyo. 2006). The decision of a trial court in addressing a violation of required discovery will be set aside only for an abuse of discretion. Naple, ¶ 8, 143 P.3d at 361. We will find an abuse of discretion only if the trial court could not reasonably conclude as it did, and we will not reverse its decision if there is a legitimate basis for its ruling. Lawson , 994 P.2d at 947. The party challenging the trial court’s decision has the burden of showing an abuse of discretion. Anderson v. State , 2014 WY 13, ¶ 11, 317 P.3d 1108, 1113 (Wyo. 2014).

DISCUSSION

[¶8] Our analysis begins with the Wyoming Rules of Criminal Procedure. Mr. Requejo served the State with a written demand for discovery materials on September 11, 2017. Wyoming Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(a)(1)(A)(i)(1) mandates the production of any "relevant written or recorded statements made by the defendant" that the State controls or should know about after acting in due diligence, upon request by the defendant. In addition, W.R.Cr.P. 26.2(a) mandates, upon order by the court, the production of any written or recorded witness statements relating to that witness’s past or future testimony that the State possesses or can reasonably obtain. This may include the late-disclosed 911 recording made by the victim to police the night Mr. Requejo attacked her at her house.

[¶9] Neither Rule 16 nor Rule 26.2 indicates a specific time frame for disclosure of demanded discovery materials. The advisory committee notes to F.R.Cr.P. 16, from which our rule is derived, state that "although no specific timing requirements are included, it is expected that the parties will make their requests and disclosures in a timely fashion." The purpose of the discovery rules "logically means that such disclosures must occur prior to the start of trial, if not earlier." United States v. Slough, 61 F.Supp.3d 103, 108 (D.D.C. 2014). Rule 26.2 only requires production of statements of witnesses "upon order of the court." Here, Mr. Requejo did not file any motions requesting the district court order the State to disclose any discovery materials, and the court did not issue a discovery order.

[¶10] The State did not argue that the timing of its disclosure of the recorded items complied with Rule 16. Although the district court did not enter an order for discovery, the State did not argue that disclosure of witness statements was not required under Rule 26.2. The State also did not contend that the 911 recording was not a witness "statement" under Rule 26.2. See Jones v. State, 568 P.2d 837 (Wyo. 1977). Consequently, for purposes of this opinion, we will assume that the timing of the State’s disclosure of both recordings three working days before trial constituted a failure to comply with its duty to disclose under Rules 16 and 26.2. Rule 16(d)(2) provides direction in the event the State fails to comply with mandated discovery under that rule:

If at any time during the course of the proceedings, it is brought to the attention of the court that a party has failed to comply with this rule, the court may order such party to permit the discovery or inspection, grant a continuance, or prohibit the party from introducing evidence not disclosed, or it may enter such other order as it deems just under the circumstances.

[¶11] The court may dismiss with prejudice if it finds the sanction to be just under the circumstances. Naple , ¶ 11, 143 P.3d at 361. When evaluating whether a sanction is just under the circumstances, courts consider the following three factors:

(1) the reasons the State delayed producing the requested materials, including whether or not the prosecutor acted in bad faith when it failed to comply with the discovery order; (2) the extent of prejudice to the defendant as a result of the delay; and (3) the feasibility of curing the prejudice with a continuance.

Id. , ¶ 24, 143 P.3d at 365. Additionally, the court must impose the least severe sanction that will effectively ensure the State’s future compliance with discovery responsibilities. Id . In Naple , the Court approved of a quote from 21 Am.Jur.2d. Criminal Law § 784 (2006) detailing the "exceptional circumstances" when dismissal is an appropriate remedy for a discovery violation.

A court’s dismissal of a criminal case is a remedy of last resort, and a trial judge abuses his or her discretion by ignoring intermediate remedial steps. Such dismissal is reserved for severe situations because dismissal of a charging instrument frustrates the public interest in the prosecution of crimes.

Id. , ¶ 13, 143 P.3d at 362-63.

[¶12] Further elaborating on this principle, the Court in Naple quoted the Tenth Circuit, which stated...