State v. Clark, 20020338.

• Decision Date: 04 November 2005
• Docket Number: No. 20020338.,20020338.
• Citation: 2005 UT 75,124 P.3d 235
• Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Geoffrey L. CLARK, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

Page 235

124 P.3d 235

2005 UT 75

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Geoffrey L. CLARK, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 20020338.

Supreme Court of Utah.

November 4, 2005.

Mark L. Shurtleff, Att'y Gen., Laura B. Dupaix, Asst. Att'y Gen., Salt Lake City, Dean Saunders, Ogden, for plaintiff.

Michael N. Martinez, Murray, for defendant.

PARRISH, Justice:

¶ 1 Felipe Ruiz Santana retained attorney Geoffrey Clark to defend him against a murder charge. At the end of a four-day trial described by the trial court as an "adventure," the jury convicted Santana as charged. The State thereafter asked the trial court to hold Clark in criminal contempt for his actions during the trial. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court granted the motion, sentencing Clark to thirty days in jail without work release or time off for good behavior. Clark appeals both the substance of the criminal contempt order and the sentence imposed. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 The State filed a motion in limine before trial to prevent Santana from offering evidence as to the victim's history of illegal drug use and propensity for violence. The trial court's in-court ruling on the State's motion, as well as a subsequently-issued written order supplementing that in-court ruling (collectively, the "order"), constituted the predicate for some of Clark's contemptuous acts. The order addressed two issues. First, it specified that "[o]nly criminal convictions for violent offenses can be offered at trial," that "[n]o convictions that are ten years or older may be offered at trial," and that "[n]o arrests are admissible at trial."

¶ 3 The order also addressed the admissibility of evidence indicating the victim's history of illegal drug use. During the preliminary hearing, the medical examiner testified that the victim had a trace of cocaine metabolite in his blood.¹ On the basis of this evidence, Clark argued that the victim had attacked Santana while under the influence of illegal drugs and that Santana's actions should be excused on the theory that Santana acted in self-defense. The trial court ruled that the medical examiner's testimony was irrelevant without expert testimony tying the presence of cocaine metabolite to the victim's behavior on the night of his death. Accordingly, its order prohibited the medical examiner from testifying regarding the cocaine metabolite. The order allowed, however, the testimony of any eyewitnesses who saw the victim actually using cocaine on the night of his death.

¶ 4 The adventure began on the first day of trial, when Clark cross-examined a witness by inquiring if she had ever experienced any alcohol-related legal problems. When she denied having any such problems, Clark asked her to "explain" a piece of paper he held in his hand, though the paper displayed only the witness's name and a charge of disorderly conduct and intoxication. Apart from not being a certified conviction, it displayed no other identifying information and reflected nothing about the resolution of the charge. The State objected, and the trial court sustained the objection. The next morning, before the trial resumed, the trial court reminded Clark:

I think you know you cannot impeach a witness who's on the stand by saying that they have been arrested. I thought I made that fairly clear in the ruling. Arrests are not admissible. Convictions are, depending on what it's for. And so to just show her a rap sheet or some kind of a printout, I don't think it was appropriate.

¶ 5 Later that day, the State called the medical examiner as a witness. On cross-examination, Clark asked him what he had found in the victim's system. The State objected, and the trial court sustained the objection. Later, when the trial court gave the jury the opportunity to suggest questions in writing, the jury suggested that the medical examiner be questioned regarding the presence of drugs in the victim's system, though it was unclear whether the suggested question referred to illegal drugs or prescription drugs administered to the victim at the hospital. Seizing upon the opportunity presented by the jury's suggestion, Clark audibly proclaimed it a "great question." When the trial court then asked the medical examiner to identify the drugs the victim received in the hospital, Clark announced his belief that the jury's question addressed illegal — not prescription — drugs.

¶ 6 Out of the jury's presence, the trial court sternly admonished Clark, both for seeking to introduce evidence of the cocaine metabolite in violation of the order and for highlighting the issue by audibly declaring that the jury had suggested a "great question." Nevertheless, the cat was out of the bag, and it appeared to the jury as if the State were withholding evidence. Accordingly, the trial court allowed Clark to question the medical examiner about the presence of cocaine metabolite in the victim's blood.

¶ 7 Clark's lack of adherence to the court's order was only the first chapter of the adventure. On the third day of trial, Clark objected when the State asked a witness for his address, announcing to the jury that "[t]he [c]ourt is well aware of the threats of violence in this case." In fact, there was no evidence of any threat of violence against the witness.² During a recess, Clark suggested that the witness really did fear for his life, but the court was not persuaded, noting that Clark could have explained the basis for his objection outside of the jury's presence and concluding that Clark had attempted to prejudice and frighten the jury.

¶ 8 Another chapter of the adventure involved Clark walking away from bench conferences. Clark's co-counsel in the murder trial, who later represented Clark during the contempt hearing, admitted during the contempt proceedings that he "grabbed [Clark] by the collar and pulled him back" to the bench when Clark left the conferences. Clark attempted to explain his behavior by suggesting that he had merely been retrieving his notes or picking up certified copies and that the attorneys attending the conference were "fairly large guys" who could not all fit around the bench.

¶ 9 The final chapter of the adventure unfolded on the fourth and final day of trial, during Clark's closing argument, when he stated that the victim had cocaine in his system. The State objected, claiming the evidence was limited to cocaine metabolite. The court indicated to the State that it could refute Clark's statement in its rebuttal. A few minutes later, Clark described the victim as "hopped up on coke." The State did not object to that statement.

¶ 10 The State did object, however, when it appeared that Clark was tampering with evidence during his closing argument. In his opening statement, Clark had read from Santana's police statement, in which Santana had claimed that his sweatshirt had been torn in the altercation that led to the victim's death. To rebut that claim, the State introduced the sweatshirt into evidence and a police officer testified that it was free of tears when it was collected from the crime scene. During his closing argument, Clark began pulling on the sweatshirt until some of its stitches audibly popped. The State objected. The court deferred comment on the sweatshirt issue until "later" and did not address it again until Clark's contempt hearing.

¶ 11 Following the trial, the State asked the court to hold Clark in contempt. Because the allegedly contemptuous acts occurred in the court's presence, the court could have summarily held Clark in criminal contempt at any point during the trial. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-32-3 (2002). Nevertheless, the court scheduled a separate hearing nearly three weeks later in order to "give [Clark] his day in court" and to avoid "disrupt[ing] the trial or distract[ing] parties from the real issue at trial."

¶ 12 After the hearing, the court held Clark in criminal contempt pursuant to Utah Code section 78-32-1.³ Its factual findings identified six contemptuous acts: (1) Clark's first violation of the order on the motion in limine, when he attempted to impeach a witness while holding and referring to a piece of paper that was not a certified conviction; (2) Clark's second violation of the order on the motion in limine, when he attempted to introduce evidence of cocaine metabolite in the victim's system; (3) Clark's reference to threats of violence, designed to frighten the jury; (4) Clark's defiance of and lack of respect for the court as demonstrated by his abandonment of bench conferences; (5) Clark's statement during closing argument that the victim was "hopped up on cocaine," which had no support in the evidence; and (6) Clark's attempt to tamper with the evidence by pulling on the sweatshirt during his closing argument.

¶ 13 The trial court found that Clark (1) knew of and understood the order "concerning the use of the toxicology report"; (2) "knew or should have known the proper method to impeach witnesses"; (3) "knew what could be said in front of the jury during trial and in closing argument"; (4) "willfully and intentionally failed to comply" with the court's orders; (5) "disobeyed [the] [c]ourt's orders several times during the four-day trial"; and (6) "had the ability to comply with the orders, and was warned in chambers and out of the presence of the jury about his conduct." The court found the contemptuous acts to have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, held Clark in criminal contempt, and sentenced him to thirty days in jail without work release or time off for good behavior. Clark appeals from that order, and we have jurisdiction. Id. § 78-2-2(3)(i).

ANALYSIS

¶ 14 Clark mounts a four-pronged attack on the trial court's contempt order. First, he asserts that the findings of fact on which the order is based are clearly erroneous. Second, he argues that the facts and findings in the record fail to satisfy the substantive requirements for an order of contempt. Third, Clark suggests that the trial...