State, ex rel. Coburn v. Bennett

• Decision Date: 23 December 1982
• Docket Number: No. 82-353,82-353
• Citation: 655 P.2d 502,39 St.Rep. 2300,202 Mont. 20
• Court: Montana Supreme Court
• Parties: The STATE of Montana, ex rel., Daniel Christopher COBURN, Relator, v. The Honorable Gordon R. BENNETT, District Judge of the First Judicial District of the State of Montana, in and For the County of Lewis & Clark, Respondent.

Page 502

655 P.2d 502

202 Mont. 20

The STATE of Montana, ex rel., Daniel Christopher COBURN, Relator, v. The Honorable Gordon R. BENNETT, District Judge of the First Judicial District of the State of Montana, in and For the County of Lewis & Clark, Respondent.

No. 82-353.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs Sept. 23, 1982.

Decided Dec. 23, 1982.

Jackson Law Firm, Gregory Jackson, Helena, for relator.

Charles Graveley, County Atty., Helena, for respondent.

WEBER, Justice.

This matter comes before us on a petition for writ of supervisory control. In issuing the writ, we assumed jurisdiction over a single issue in this cause: Did the District Court abuse its discretion by refusing to grant relator's motion for a change of venue? We find that the refusal to grant the motion was an abuse of discretion under the facts of this case.

On May 20, 1982, R.H., an eleven-year-old Helena schoolgirl, reported that she had been abducted and sexually assaulted while on her way to school that morning. R.H. provided police with a description of her assailant and the vehicle used in the abduction. Later that day police located the vehicle at the home of Daniel Coburn's parents. Coburn, who was visiting his parents, was contacted and agreed to go to the sheriff's department for questioning. Sometime after his arrival at the sheriff's office, Coburn allowed officers to take a photograph of him for use in a photo lineup. R.H. identified Coburn's picture from amongst those in the photo array. Coburn was then arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual intercourse without consent.

On May 21, 1982, Coburn was brought before a justice of the peace for his initial appearance. Bail was set at $100,000. Later that same morning Coburn was brought before District Judge Gordon Bennett, whereupon his bail was reduced to $15,000. Coburn's parents furnished bail by using their residence as security, the unencumbered value of which was twice the amount of the bail as required by section 46-9-401(2), MCA. Coburn was released sometime in the early afternoon of May 21, 1982. It was at this point that public sentiment toward relator Coburn began to manifest itself. The exhibits and affidavits attached to relator's motion for change of venue show the following facts.

The arrest of Coburn was front-page news in the Independent Record, the only daily newspaper in Lewis and Clark County. The article about Coburn's arrest was entitled, "Helenan Charged With Rape," and was accompanied by a front-page photograph of Coburn being led from the jail to the courthouse by two sheriff's deputies. It appears in the photograph that Coburn's hands are bound behind his back. The article reported that, "Sheriff Chuck O'Reilly said this morning he expected Coburn to be bailed out of jail at any time. He said his reaction to Bennett's action lowering bond was 'unprintable--and you can print that.' "

A second article in the May 21 Independent Record was headlined "Help From Young Victim Amazed Helena's Police." The article read as follows:

"County Attorney Charles Graveley was shaking his head in wonder.

" 'When you read her statement,' he said of Thursday's 11-year-old rape victim, 'you'd think she was 28 or 29, and well-educated at that.

" 'It's the best statement from a rape victim I have seen in five years,' he said.

"Assistant County Attorney Steve Garrison had another way of putting it this morning.

" 'He picked the wrong little girl,' he said. 'She's the kind that when you say, "describe the vehicle," she just does it.'

"Graveley, Sheriff Chuck O'Reilly and Police Chief Bill Ware all credited the young victim's careful descriptions of her assailant and his pickup truck for their officers' speedy arrest of the suspect, 29-year-old Daniel Coburn of Leisure Village.

"Even as worried as Central School officials were warning students about strangers, and sending notes home advising parents to do the same, officers aided by the victim's tellingly detailed descriptions were zeroing in on the suspect.

"The girl's statement, written in her neat handwriting about four hours after the incident, is revealing. The grim facts, detailed in logical sentences of perfectly spelled words, were laid out in careful chronological order. With the exception of the last few numbers of her assailant's license plate, few details escaped her attention.

"Those details made for a compelling case during this morning's court hearing to show probable cause that Coburn committed the crime.

"For instance, the girl's description of the suspect--from the dark hair hanging over his beard-stubbled face to the brown corduroy pants, striped t-shirt, yellow and brown plaid jacket, white tennis shoes and dark sunglasses--exactly matched the appearance and clothing of the defendant, officers said.

"So did the small brown pocket knife she said was held by her assailant. It was found in Coburn's pickup.

"Her description of the pickup, a yellow Subaru Brat, included a dark stripe on the side of the truck's bed, plaid seat covers, a blue stick-shift handle, a brown vinyl dashboard, and the word 'Brat' and rainbow-type stripes near the window. All of it checked out as matching the suspect's vehicle.

"Graveley said the girl also was able to describe most of the route to the Davis Gulch scene of the assault in spite of being told to duck down, as well as many details about the area where she was assaulted, and she was able to tell officers where her finger prints could be found on the pickup.

"Graveley said small prints were found at those sites, but have not yet been matched with the victim's prints.

"Although the girl was described as being 'nearly hysterical' immediately after she had been released, Graveley said she was composed later in the day and appeared to be standing up well to her ordeal. He said she was a 'very cooperative little girl' who was getting 'tremendous support from her family.'

"Graveley said that as the suspect was being arraigned this morning, the young victim was at home asleep."

At 4:00 p.m. on May 21 a group of over 300 demonstrators gathered on the courthouse lawn. The Independent Record reported the demonstration in its Saturday morning edition. The large front-page headline read: "Angry Mob Resists Judge's Arguments." Three photographs accompanied the portion of the article which was on the front page. One was of the demonstrators on the lawn; one was of a demonstrator speaking with Judge Bennett; and one was of defendant Coburn. A fourth picture of other demonstrators was on an inner page. The article described the situation as an "angry confrontation" between Judge Bennett and an "outraged crowd"--"protests of a magnitude unprecedented in recent memory." The crowd was described as "leaderless but united by fear for their children and by their anger at Bennett." Twenty police officers were on hand when the protestors were allowed to enter the courthouse to meet with Judge Bennett. The crowd booed the judge when he arrived to speak with them. When Judge Bennett tried to explain bail laws, the Independent Record reported that, "[m]embers of the judge's angry audience weren't impressed, insisting again and again that Coburn clearly was too dangerous to be freed. Many said the constitutional provision regarding excessive bail should be changed. All cheered loudly when Graveley said it was his opinion that $100,000 bail to keep Coburn in jail to protect the community was legally proper."

On Sunday, May 23, the Independent Record carried a front-page article headlined, "Accused Rapist Free on Bail[;] Parents Still Angry at Sunday School Teacher's Release." The article was accompanied by a photograph of a large advertising sign at a Helena service station. The photograph was printed on the front page; the sign read, "JUDGE BENNETT IS WRONG." The photo was captioned, "[T]his sign at the Exxon station on Cedar Street exemplified continuing sentiment for the 11-year-old girl." The article described Coburn as "the man who sparked fear and outrage in hundreds of Helenans." The article was essentially a reiteration of the previous day's story, and included the comment, "[t]hat Coburn has not been confined might add more fuel to the outrage that caused the greatest spontaneous outpouring of anger in Helena in recent memory."

On May 25, 1982, the Independent Record published an editorial entitled, "Bail Issue Isn't Easy to Resolve." The editorial stated that the defendant's bail was reduced to $15,000, "enabling him to post bond and roam free until his next court appearance."

A front-page article in the Independent Record on May 26 was headlined, "Rape Case Spurs Helena Activism." The story was a report on a panel discussion on the subject of sex offenders and the law which was held at a Helena elementary school. The Lewis and Clark County Attorney was one of the panelists. The article said that:

"[Coburn] is at Warm Springs State Hospital for a mental evaluation to determine if he should plead innocent by reason of insanity.

"The rape incident clearly led to Tuesday night's three-hour meeting, but panelist County Attorney Charles Graveley told the group early on that the specifics of the case could not be discussed because Coburn has a right to fair trial.

"In response to an audience question, however, Graveley confirmed that a defendant who was found to be insane can be 'turned loose' after 180 days at a mental institution such as Warm Springs, if a psychiatrist says he is ready to leave.

" 'Once he's found insane, he virtually has a license to commit another crime and another crime and not go to prison,' Graveley said."

The Independent Record carried reports on two organizations which grew out of the Coburn incident and the panel discussion on sex offenders. A committee was formed to find a write-in candidate to run against Judge Bennett in the June 8 primary election. Judge Bennett was unopposed in his re-election campaign. A group called...