State v. Campoy
| Decision Date | 28 April 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 2 CA-SA 2009-0010.,2 CA-SA 2009-0010. |
| Parties | The STATE of Arizona, Petitioner, v. Hon. Hector E. CAMPOY, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in and for the County of Pima, Respondent, and Leland Florencio Crockwell, Real Party in Interest. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
Barbara LaWall, Pima County Attorney By Jacob R. Lines, Tucson, Attorneys for Petitioner.
Robert J. Hirsh, Pima County Public Defender By Paul Skitzki, Amy S. Chapman, and David J. Euchner, Tucson, Attorneys for Real Party in Interest.
¶ 1 In this special action, petitioner State of Arizona challenges the respondent judge's order granting real party in interest Leland Florencio Crockwell's motion in limine to preclude the state from introducing in its case-in-chief in the underlying criminal proceeding statements Crockwell made to law enforcement officers on three separate occasions: in anticipation of a possible plea agreement, and on two separate occasions pursuant to a truthful-cooperation clause after Crockwell and the state had entered into a plea agreement from which the state subsequently withdrew. The respondent judge limited the state's use of these statements to impeachment purposes, in the event Crockwell testified. The state's special action petition, filed after the respondent judge denied its motion to clarify or reconsider his earlier ruling, raises important issues of law regarding the scope and application of Rule 410, Ariz. R. Evid., and Rule 17.4(f), Ariz. R.Crim. P. For the reasons stated below, we accept jurisdiction of this special action and grant relief.
¶ 2 It is appropriate that we exercise our discretion and accept jurisdiction of this special action. See State ex rel. Thomas v. Ditsworth, 216 Ariz. 339, ¶ 7, 166 P.3d 130, 132 (App.2007) (). First, the state has no equally plain, speedy, or adequate remedy by appeal. See Ariz. R.P. Spec. Actions 1(a); see also State ex rel. Thomas v. Duncan, 216 Ariz. 260, ¶ 4, 165 P.3d 238, 240 (App.2007); A.R.S. § 13-4032 (); cf. State ex rel. Romley v. Martin, 203 Ariz. 46, ¶ 5, 49 P.3d 1142, 1143 (App.2002), aff'd, 205 Ariz. 279, 69 P.3d 1000 (2003) (). Second, the issues raised in this special action involve questions of law relating to the interpretation and application of procedural rules and are "of statewide importance to the judiciary and the litigants who come before it on criminal matters." Bergeron ex rel. Perez v. O'Neil, 205 Ariz. 640, ¶ 12, 74 P.3d 952, 958 (App.2003).
¶ 3 Crockwell correctly asserts that the state had a burden to provide this court with the portions of the record that relate to the issues it is raising in this special action. See Ariz. R.P. Spec. Actions 7(e) (). He argues, however, that the state did not sustain that burden and for this reason alone we should decline to accept jurisdiction of the special action. But the state has provided us with a sufficient record to address the disputed issues raised here. Neither the state's nor Crockwell's filings below or here raised any issues concerning the proceedings for which portions of the record are missing. The state therefore was not on notice that any additional portions of the record were necessary or that Crockwell would attempt to expand the issues. And any facts relating to the issues actually raised that might have been established by missing portions of the record have either been conceded by Crockwell in his response to the state's special action petition or are adequately established by the record provided. See Piner v. Superior Court, 192 Ariz. 182, ¶ 10, 962 P.2d 909, 912 (1998) ().
¶ 4 Moreover, if Crockwell believed that portions of the record critical to issues he intended to raise had been omitted, he should have provided this court with those materials. See Ariz. R.P. Spec. Actions 7(e) (). Accordingly, we reject Crockwell's request that we decline jurisdiction on the ground that the state allegedly failed to provide this court with a complete record.
¶ 5 Crockwell was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit possession and/or transportation of marijuana for sale and possession of marijuana for sale. In a letter to Crockwell's attorney dated March 30, 2007, the Deputy Pima County Attorney stated that, if Crockwell was interested in obtaining a beneficial, non-trial resolution of the charges and was willing to assist law enforcement, he would be required to participate in "a debriefing" or "free talk." Once the state had the opportunity to evaluate the information he provided, a decision would be made whether to make Crockwell an offer. The letter provided further that, subject to specified exceptions, "[a]nything [Crockwell] said during the debriefing will not be used against [him] or disclosed in any fashion...." Among the exceptions were the following:
1. If your client gives false, misleading, or incomplete information during the debriefing, what he says may be used against him.
. . . .
3. If no working agreement is reached after the debriefing, the debriefing will not be used by the State in its case in chief, but if your client takes the stand and testifies inconsistently to what was said in the debriefing, the debriefing will be used to impeach him and your client is subject to possible perjury prosecution. The same thing applies to Rule 32 hearings, ROPs, etc.
¶ 6 Accompanied by his counsel, Crockwell met with detectives Hedrick and Figueroa at the office of the Pima County Attorney on April 11, 2007, for the debriefing. Crockwell gave the officers a version of the events that had resulted in his arrest. In sum, Crockwell stated that a number of individuals, including his codefendants, had intimidated him into allowing them to bring almost 5,000 pounds of marijuana to Crockwell's place of employment, leave the drugs there overnight, and transport them out the next morning. Crockwell maintained that these individuals had been armed and that he had been coerced into cooperating with them.
¶ 7 On April 19, 2007, Crockwell and the state entered into a plea agreement, pursuant to which Crockwell pled guilty to the conspiracy charge. The agreement provided that Crockwell would truthfully cooperate with the investigation and prosecution of, inter alia, "any co-defendants or co-conspirators." The plea agreement further provided as follows:
Should the State in its sole discretion determine the Defendant has been untruthful or uncooperative, the State may in its sole discretion elect to declare this agreement, null and void thus placing the parties in the same position they were before this agreement was entered or the State may elect to advise the Court of its conclusion for the Court to consider in sentencing the Defendant.
Should the Court make a finding that the Defendant testified untruthfully or otherwise falsely incriminated others, the Court may order this agreement to be set aside, placing the parties in the same position they were before the agreement was entered, or may consider its findings in sentencing the Defendant under this agreement. Nothing in this agreement shields the Defendant in anyway [sic] from any consequences of any act of untruthfulness in the performance of [his] obligations pursuant to this agreement.
¶ 8 Crockwell met with Hedrick a second time on July 12, 2007, at defense counsel's office. He provided additional information regarding the persons who had been involved in the marijuana transaction. Apparently, on August 26, either Crockwell or a family member reported to the Pima County Sheriff's Department that someone had tried to force Crockwell into his car at gunpoint. Crockwell's attorney contacted the county attorney's office and, on the following day, August 27, Crockwell met Detective Hedrick and another officer at a fast-food restaurant and gave his third statement. Crockwell made statements that were inconsistent with what he had said in his previous two statements. He essentially admitted that his participation in the drug deal had not been under duress, that he had known and expected the drugs would be delivered, and that he had attempted to arrange transactions with the same individuals in the past.
¶ 9 The respondent judge subsequently permitted the state to withdraw from the plea agreement. In August 2008, Crockwell filed a motion in limine seeking to preclude the state from introducing at trial in its case-in-chief what Crockwell referred to as his "four free talks." Relying on the state's letter of March 30, 2007, Crockwell asserted the third exception to the state's agreement not to use his statements against him applied and, therefore, based on "contractual theories" and Rule 17.4(f), Ariz. R.Crim. P., the state could only introduce his statements in the event Crockwell testified at trial inconsistently with the statements he had made. On October 21, 2008, the respondent judge ruled "that the defense motion to preclude the defendant's statements made to law enforcement officers in connection...
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