State v. Boyd

• Decision Date: 27 March 2001
• Docket Number: No. 981336.,981336.
• Citation: 2001 UT 30,25 P.3d 985
• Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Tyrone T. BOYD, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

25 P.3d 985

2001 UT 30

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Tyrone T. BOYD, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 981336.

Supreme Court of Utah.

March 27, 2001.

Mark L. Shurtleff, Att'y Gen., Jeffrey S. Gray, Asst. Att'y Gen., Salt Lake City, W. Brent Langston, St. George, for plaintiff.

Kenneth L. Combs, St. George, for defendant.

DURRANT, Justice:

¶ 1 The State charged Tyrone Boyd in an information with rape, a first degree felony, and possession or consumption of an alcoholic beverage by a minor, a class B misdemeanor. Boyd pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge, and a jury convicted him of rape. He appeals that conviction. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 "`In reviewing a jury verdict, we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in a light most favorable to the verdict. We recite the facts accordingly.'" State v. Hopkins, 1999 UT 98, ¶ 2, 989 P.2d 1065 (quoting State v. Hamilton, 827 P.2d 232, 233-34 (Utah 1992)). On the evening of August 15, 1999, S.B., a fifteen-year-old girl from Santa Clara, Utah, went to what was planned as a small, overnight, "back-to-school" party at Baker's Dam, near St. George, Utah. S.B. went to the party with her stepsister and a friend. While initially only about ten people were present, the party quickly grew to somewhere between 35 and 180 people. The group congregated around a bonfire in a basin near the dam.

¶ 3 Boyd arrived at the party sometime after S.B. and introduced himself to several partygoers, including S.B., as "Freakazoid." S.B. had never met him before, and neither had any of the other partygoers who testified for the State. Boyd came with two other young men, who were introduced as "Psycho" and "Devil Man." Shortly after his arrival, Boyd made several attempts to kiss various girls at the party; however, his efforts were rebuffed, as one girl stated, because he made her feel "uncomfortable." He also attempted to start a fight with one of the other partygoers and danced around the campfire while chanting unintelligibly.

¶ 4 Many people at the party, including both S.B. and Boyd, were drinking, and loud music was playing. The music was played at such a high volume that even in close conversation the partygoers had to yell to be heard. Some time between 11:00 and 12:00 that night, several partygoers reported that police officers had arrived at the scene of the party. Due to the rough terrain, the officers were unable to actually drive their vehicles down into the basin where the party was held, and, while not entirely clear from the record, it appears that they remained some distance away. Many people drinking at the party were underage, and, on learning of the police presence, they fled. In this confusion, Boyd grabbed S.B. and dragged her into a wooded area. At first, S.B. thought it was one of her friends helping her to get away from the police. However, when she realized it was Boyd, she told him "no" and asked him to let her go. Instead, Boyd threw her on the ground, some distance from the bonfire. Boyd then held her hands above her head with one hand while she lay on her back, pulled down both his pants and hers with his free hand, and raped her. She screamed during the ordeal, but no one came to her aid.

¶ 5 One of Boyd's friends happened to be walking through a wooded area near Boyd and S.B. during the course of the rape. Boyd asked him for a condom. Boyd then let S.B. go on the condition that she would come back and told her, "If you don't, I'm going to send the devil after you." S.B. ran back to the bonfire and found one of her friends. She asked the friend to take her to the hospital because she had just been raped. Shortly afterward, another young man overheard Boyd tell a friend, in crude terms, that he had just had sexual intercourse. Several witnesses then observed Boyd and a couple of his friends again dancing around the campfire while chanting unintelligibly.

¶ 6 S.B. was driven to a friend's house and, shortly afterward, was taken to a local hospital. She arrived sometime between 2:30 and 3:00 in the morning and was examined by Dr. Ronald Larsen. Dr. Larsen described S.B. as emotionally distraught, "a bit disheveled," and "very tearful." She had linear streaks on her back that Dr. Larsen felt were "consistent with a struggle of some kind." In S.B.'s perineal area, Dr. Larsen found "dirt and some wood chips and leaves that [were] still sticking to her skin in that area." Accordingly, he noted, "There had to be some kind of a struggle or movement pushing leaves and dirt up into that area." He determined this was consistent with a rape scenario. Additionally, S.B. had bruising on her external genitalia, "as if there had been an attempt to penetrate the vagina." The attempt was "forceful," "more than just a casual attempt," although the hymen remained intact. S.B. was agitated and did not wish to allow a full internal exam. Dr. Larsen felt it was acceptable not to perform the full internal exam because there did not appear to have been penetration beyond the hymen, and only took swabs for semen analysis.

¶ 7 Police Officer Ron Edwards interviewed S.B. at the hospital. He found her distraught, confused, and in trauma. She had bruises on her arms and back. Officer Edwards showed S.B. a photo line-up with pictures of Boyd and five other men. She identified Boyd as her assailant. He was arrested shortly afterward.

¶ 8 At trial, Dr. Larsen testified as a witness for the prosecution. On cross-examination, he stated that he believed S.B. was a virgin. S.B testified that Boyd "took something from me that I can't ever take back." Responding to these statements, Boyd attempted to introduce evidence that S.B. had also engaged in sexual intercourse with another young man on the evening of the rape, both to impeach the witnesses and to show that there was a second potential source for the physical evidence of S.B.'s condition. The trial court refused to admit the evidence, finding it was barred by rule 412 of the Utah Rules of Evidence. The jury found Boyd guilty of rape.

¶ 9 Following his conviction, Boyd filed several motions, including a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. Boyd's counsel submitted an affidavit to the court in which he swore that, following the trial, he had received a telephone call from an attorney in Salt Lake City informing him that S.B. had told several individuals that Boyd had not raped her, but rather the two had engaged in consensual intercourse.

¶ 10 At the sentencing hearing, Boyd's counsel elaborated on this evidence. The Salt Lake attorney "had received a phone call from a lady who had had a conversation with another lady who was told by the victim that she had not in fact been raped." Boyd's counsel spoke with the woman, identified only as Mrs. Peterson, who had spoken with the Salt Lake attorney. She confirmed the statement of the Salt Lake attorney. Boyd's counsel then spoke with the woman who allegedly told Mrs. Peterson that S.B. admitted she had not been raped. The woman denied this, stating, "No. No. It's just wishful thinking. I read it in the newspaper. I knew right off. I had this intuition he was not guilty, except it was hopeful wishful thinking." Boyd's counsel then spoke with Mrs. Peterson again, who claimed the woman was lying. Because the woman who had allegedly heard S.B. state that she was not raped would not verify that statement, Boyd rested his motion on his counsel's affidavit. The trial court denied the motion and sentenced Boyd for the rape of S.B. Boyd appeals.

DISCUSSION

¶ 11 Boyd raises numerous issues on appeal. He contends (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict; (2) the absence of a court reporter at trial was plain error; (3) the trial court improperly allowed testimony regarding his and his friend's nicknames; (4) the trial court improperly admitted evidence that he and his friends were dancing and chanting around a campfire on the night of the rape; (5) the trial court erroneously denied his motion for a new trial; (6) the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict; (7) the trial court erred in denying his motion for conviction of lower degree of offense; (8) the trial court erred in refusing to allow him to present evidence of S.B.'s past sexual conduct; (9) the trial court erred in not allowing him to proffer evidence of S.B.'s past sexual conduct for the appellate record; and (10) the trial court coerced the jury into reaching a verdict. We address each of these contentions.

I. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE JURY'S VERDICT

¶ 12 The evidence of rape presented to the jury at trial included S.B.'s testimony of the rape and physical evidence of the rape. It further included testimony regarding S.B.'s emotional state on the evening of the rape, as witnessed by several of her friends, Dr. Larsen, and Officer Edwards. However, Boyd contends the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict because (1) some of the State's witnesses gave contradictory testimony and (2) S.B.'s version of how the rape occurred was unbelievable, especially when compared with Boyd's own testimony and that of his friend, who witnessed the encounter between Boyd and S.B.

¶ 13 To succeed on this claim, Boyd "`must marshal the evidence in support of the verdict and then demonstrate that the evidence is insufficient when viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict.'" Hopkins, 1999 UT 98, ¶ 14, 989 P.2d 1065 (quoting Crookston v. Fire Ins. Exch., 817 P.2d 789, 799 (Utah 1991)). We will "overturn a conviction for insufficient evidence when it is apparent that there is not sufficient competent evidence as to each element of the crime charged for the fact-finder to find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant committed the crime." State v. Layman, 1999 UT 79, ¶ 12, 985 P.2d 911.

¶ 14 First, Boyd contends the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict because some...