State v. Doyle

• Decision Date: 31 May 2007
• Docket Number: No. 05-362.,05-362.
• Parties: STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Keith Eugene DOYLE, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

160 P.3d 516

2007 MT 125

STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Keith Eugene DOYLE, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 05-362.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs January 17, 2007.

Decided May 31, 2007.

For Appellant: Palmer Hoovestal, Hoovestal Law Firm, Helena, Montana W.M. Hennessey, Hennessey Law Firm, Butte, Montana.

For Respondent: Mike McGrath, Attorney General; Mark W. Mattioli, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana, Robert McCarthy, County Attorney; Michael W. Clague, Samm Cox and Mollie Maffei, Deputy County Attorneys, Butte, Montana.

Justice BRIAN MORRIS delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Keith Eugene Doyle (Doyle) appeals from his conviction in the Second Judicial District, Silver Bow County, of deliberate homicide by accountability. We affirm.

¶ 2 Doyle presents the following litany of issues for review:

¶ 3 1. Whether the State of Montana (State) violated Doyle's right to speedy trial.

¶ 4 2. Whether the District Court violated Doyle's Sixth Amendment right to confrontation by limiting his cross examination of the State's witness.

¶ 5 3. Whether sufficient credible evidence exists to support Doyle's conviction of deliberate homicide by accountability.

¶ 6 4. Whether the District Court properly denied Doyle's instruction for lesser included offenses of criminal endangerment and negligent homicide.

¶ 7 5. Whether the District Court properly instructed the jury on the elements of "purposely" and "knowingly."

¶ 8 6. Whether the District Court abused its discretion in denying Doyle's motion for mistrial.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 9 Richard Solwick (Solwick) was beaten to death inside his Butte apartment on the night of March 3, 2003. The State charged Dean Maestas (Maestas) and Cheren Day (Day) with deliberate homicide, or in the alternative, deliberate homicide by accountability, for Solwick's murder. Law enforcement officers also named Doyle as a third suspect in Solwick's murder. Doyle fled Montana the day after Solwick's death. He absconded to Washington, Southern California and Missouri before returning to Butte in late March.

¶ 10 Butte law enforcement officers arrested Doyle on May 5, 2003. The court set Doyle's bail at $250,000. The State charged Doyle on May 30, 2003, with deliberate homicide, or in the alternative, deliberate homicide by accountability. Maestas and Day pled guilty to deliberate homicide by accountability. They agreed to testify in Doyle's trial in exchange for a lighter sentence. The court set Doyle's jury trial for December 15, 2003. Doyle moved to continue the trial date on November 4, 2003. He also moved the court on May 11, 2004, September 9, 2004, and November 23, 2004, to continue subsequent trial settings. Trial began January 3, 2005.

¶ 11 Maestas testified that he and Day went to Solwick's apartment on the night of March 3, 2003, in search of Doyle. Maestas admitted that he had been drinking at the Corner Bar, was inebriated, and wanted to fight Doyle because he had heard from Solwick that Doyle had called him a "punk" who could not be trusted. Maestas testified that he knocked on the front door, walked inside, and confronted Doyle about what had been said. A "shoving match" ensued between Doyle and Maestas. Maestas then turned his attack toward Solwick. He punched and kicked Solwick several times. Maestas also held a steak knife to Solwick's throat. The knife left an abrasion on Solwick's neck, but did not cut Solwick's skin. Maestas testified that Doyle became "pretty much upset about the situation" and began beating Solwick with a hammer. Maestas further testified that he did not know if Solwick was alive when he left Solwick's apartment. He went home, changed clothes, and returned to Solwick's apartment only to find him dead on the living room floor.

¶ 12 Day provided a similar account. Day testified that she and Maestas left the Corner Bar to confront Doyle. They walked into Solwick's apartment. Doyle and Maestas began to brawl. Day further testified that the attack turned to Solwick because "the whole melee had been started by a lie that [Solwick] said." Day testified that both Maestas and Doyle punched Solwick as he sat in a chair in his living room. Day tipped the chair over and Solwick fell to the ground. Day testified that Solwick grabbed a hammer and that Doyle took it away from him. Day testified that she left the apartment as soon as she saw "a weapon."

¶ 13 Doyle testified that he and Solwick had been drinking beer at Solwick's apartment when Maestas and Day "barged" through the front door. Doyle stated that Maestas confronted him and Solwick about Doyle having called Maestas a "punk" and that Maestas assaulted Solwick. Doyle testified that he left Solwick in the apartment with Maestas and Day, because he did not want to be around when Maestas was handing out "sucker shots." Doyle spent the night at his sister's house. Doyle testified that he was shocked to learn the next day from his girlfriend, who lives in the apartment downstairs from Solwick, that Solwick had been murdered. Doyle further testified that he fled to Washington and then Southern California, where he considered crossing the border to Mexico. Doyle testified that he realized that the idea was "crazy" as he became more sober. Doyle traveled to Missouri to visit his father. Doyle contacted authorities by phone on three occasions while he was on the run. He provided a statement to detectives on March 27, 2003, following his return to Butte.

¶ 14 The jury found Doyle guilty of deliberate homicide by accountability. The court sentenced Doyle to 65 years in Montana State Prison. Doyle appeals his conviction.

DISCUSSION

¶ 15 Whether the State violated Doyle's right to a speedy right?

¶ 16 Doyle argues that the State violated his right to a speedy trial based on the 598 days that elapsed between his arrest on May 5, 2003, and the beginning of his trial on January 3, 2005. Doyle asserted his right to speedy trial in a motion to dismiss filed two months before the start of trial. The court held a hearing on Doyle's motion. The court allocated four of five delays to Doyle and found that Doyle suffered no prejudice to his defense in light of his request for "numerous continuances."

¶ 17 Whether a defendant has been denied the right to a speedy trial constitutes a question of law. We review for correctness the district court's legal conclusions on speedy trial. State v. LaGree, 2007 MT 65, ¶ 10, 336 Mont. 375, ¶ 10, 154 P.3d 615, ¶ 10. We refuse to disturb the trial court's findings underlying a speedy trial ruling unless such findings are clearly erroneous. State v. Spang, 2007 MT 54, ¶ 7, 336 Mont. 184, ¶ 7, 153 P.3d 646, ¶ 7.

¶ 18 The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 24 of the Montana Constitution guarantee a criminal defendant the right to a speedy trial. We analyze speedy trial claims based on the guidelines set forth in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). We consider the following factors in determining whether a defendant was denied the right to a speedy trial: 1) the length of the delay, 2) the reason for the delay, 3) the defendant's timely assertion of the right to a speedy trial, and 4) the prejudice to the defense caused by the delay. City of Billings v. Bruce, 1998 MT 186, ¶ 19, 290 Mont. 148, ¶ 19, 965 P.2d 866, ¶ 19. No single factor controls the speedy trial analysis. We engage in a lengthy and difficult balancing process. State v. Highpine, 2000 MT 368, ¶ 14, 303 Mont. 422, ¶ 14, 15 P.3d 938, ¶ 14.

¶ 19 The first and third factors of Doyle's speedy trial analysis are not at issue. The parties agree that a sufficient number of days had elapsed between Doyle's arrest and the start of trial to trigger further speedy trial analysis. See Bruce, ¶ 55 (a delay of 200 days or more between the date that the State filed initial charges and trial triggers further speedy trial analysis regardless of which party caused the delay). The State also concedes that Doyle satisfied the third factor by asserting his right to a speedy trial before trial. Doyle challenges the court's conclusions on the second and fourth factors: the reason for the delay and whether such delay caused prejudice to the defense. We address Doyle's contentions in turn.

Reason for the Delay

¶ 20 Doyle argues that the State should have been held responsible for all 598 days of delay. He contends that the court incorrectly assigned fault to him for four of the five delays based on the fact that he had "moved to continue the trial setting or hearings on five separate occasions." Doyle admits that he sought to continue an omnibus hearing and three trial settings. Doyle contends that no delay occurred as a result of his continuance of the omnibus hearing as the court had not yet set a trial date. Doyle further argues that the State's failure to release crucial evidence in a timely manner forced him to move for the first two continuances for trial. Doyle also blames the State's untimely disclosure of two witnesses for the third trial delay.

¶ 21 The court allocates the total number of days of delay between the parties for the purpose of determining which party carries the burden of proof under the prejudice factor. Spang, ¶ 11. The court determines which party is responsible for specific periods of delay based on the unique facts of each case. Bruce, ¶ 56 If the court determines that 275 or more days of delay are attributable to the State, then the State carries the burden to show that the defendant was not prejudiced by the delay. The State's proof includes demonstrating a lack of prejudice based on: 1) the defendant's pretrial incarceration, 2) the defendant's anxiety and concern, and 3) the impairment to the defense. Spang, ¶ ¶ 11-12. The State may shift the burden to demonstrate prejudice caused by the delay back to the defendant if the State can show a lack of prejudice based on one of those...