State v. Farrell-Quigle
| Decision Date | 03 December 2020 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 46107 |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Robert James FARRELL-QUIGLE, Defendant-Appellant. |
STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
Robert James FARRELL-QUIGLE, Defendant-Appellant.
Docket No. 46107
Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, August 2020 Term.
Opinion filed: December 3, 2020
Eric Don Fredericksen, State Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for Appellant. Andrea Reynolds argued.
Lawrence G. Wasden, Idaho Attorney General, Boise, for Respondent. Mark Olson argued.
MOELLER, Justice
Robert Farrell-Quigle appeals his judgment of conviction for two counts of lewd conduct. He contends that the use of a shielding screen at trial during the testimonies of the alleged victims deprived him of his Fourteenth Amendment due process right to a fair trial, violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him, and failed to comply with Idaho's laws on alternative methods for child witness testimony. For the reasons stated below, we vacate Farrell-Quigle's judgment of conviction and remand the case for a new trial.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In June 2016, Rathdrum police arrested Robert Farrell-Quigle for two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct against two of his daughters, both minors under the age of eight at the time of the alleged crimes. This case concerns the trial testimony of both daughters, referred to as "Older Daughter" and "Younger Daughter."
Leading up to trial, the State filed a motion seeking permission for both daughters to testify by alternative methods to avoid "increased emotional and mental trauma" from testifying in Farrell-Quigle's presence. In the State's motion, it proposed that the children be permitted to testify "outside the presence of the defendant via a closed-circuit television ("CCTV"), or in the alternative, the defendant's presence in the courtroom should be screened from both children." In support of this motion, the State presented evidence that the daughters would endure "serious emotional trauma" were they to testify in Farrell-Quigle's presence. A psychiatrist submitted an affidavit explaining that Younger Daughter would suffer serious trauma that would impair her ability to testify if she had to do so in the presence of her father. At the hearing on the motion for testimony by alternative means, Older Daughter's supervising social worker also explained that testifying in Farrell-Quigle's presence "would most likely be a triggering event," meaning it would be a "trigger" for emotional and physiological responses that could have a lasting impact "as re-traumatizing as the original event."
At the hearing on the motion, the prosecutor suggested several potential plans, including witness entry through an alternative door, rearranged seating, or the placement of a barrier between Farrell-Quigle and his daughters on the witness stand. Farrell-Quigle objected to allowing the testimony of either daughter by alternative means, arguing that the State (1) had yet to lay out a specific plan for the daughters to testify, and (2) had failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the daughters would suffer serious emotional trauma by testifying in Farrell-Quigle's presence. The district court reserved ruling on the motion, explaining its concerns with safeguarding Farrell-Quigle's due process rights and its desire to adopt a concrete plan, preferably by using CCTV:
I would certainly be concerned if we had a jury walk in and had some kind of a setup that made it look like the child — the innocent, truthful child is being protected from the evil, guilty defendant, that that's — and that's an oversimplification of the problem, but that is a concern and I think [defense counsel] was attempting to address it. We need to figure out exactly how we can do this. And so I'm going reserve ruling on this. ... I don't know if we can explore the [CCTV] testimony method in some fashion, but certainly the Court is open to any number of possibilities in that regard. I'm sure that you might even communicate further with the court or the trial court administrator in terms of the district court being able to provide some kind of funding or solicit the service from a reporting agency something to set this up. I know we don't have anything available directly with the court system itself, but that doesn't mean that we can't retain the services from one of the local reporting agencies to set some kind of a [CCTV] arrangement up that would then be palatable for the Court.
After examining the assigned courtroom, the State proposed a plan for the daughters to enter the courtroom through a side door in the northwest corner of the courtroom. A projector screen would be set up in front of the defense table, blocking those on the witness stand from viewing the defendant, and the defendant from viewing the witness. There was to be no mention of the screen's presence or attention drawn to it. The district court did not hold another hearing on the motion; instead, further arguments and concerns were reserved until the trial commenced.
On the first day of trial—outside the presence of the jury—the district court informed the parties it had contacted the federal courthouse regarding use of its CCTV as an alternative method of testimony for the daughters. However, no arrangement was made to utilize a federal courtroom at that time. At the conclusion of the first day of trial, the district court informed the jury that the following day could have "a little confusion" regarding courtrooms and the presentation of testimonies.
The next morning, the district court examined the setup for the daughters’ testimony arranged by the State in a courtroom in a different courthouse. The State had placed a 48 by 40 inch piece of blank, white cardboard on an aluminum easel to act as a screen between the defendant and the witness stand. The screen was perpendicular to the wall and placed in such a manner that it blocked only a portion of the defense table, thereby keeping Farrell-Quigle in full view of the judge, jury, and prosecution, while shielding witnesses from viewing him as they entered the room and sat on the witness stand. The district court described the screen and easel as "simply some courtroom equipment, basically, an aluminum tripod that has a large board that might be used to demonstrate an exhibit in front of the jury, and it seems basically to be shoved out of the way to one corner up against the wall." Defense counsel, the jury, and judge all still had a view of the witness stand and all other areas of the courtroom. A diagram of the courtroom arrangement and a photo depicting it are shown below.
Augmented Record, page 8.
Farrell-Quigle objected to the use of the screen, arguing it created a prejudicial effect by treating the defendant differently from the rest of the court participants. In addition, Farrell-Quigle argued that the preferred means of alternative testimony would be through CCTV, which had been expressly approved by the Idaho Supreme Court in State v. Baeza , 161 Idaho 38, 383 P.3d 1208 (2016).
The State countered that scheduling conflicts prevented use of the federal courtroom—the CCTV was only available in the afternoon while the daughters were scheduled to testify in the morning. However, there were no findings as to why the daughters could not have testified in the afternoon. In addition, the State argued that the screen was "not at all obvious" in blocking the defendant from the witnesses, and that problems could arise by trying to shout questions or show the daughters exhibits through CCTV. Notably, however, no exhibits were shown to the daughters during their testimony. After hearing arguments from both sides, the district court approved the use of the shielding screen in the courtroom, but still expressed an overall preference for using CCTV. To explain the courtroom change, the bailiff informed the jury there were scheduling conflicts at the courthouse.
When the trial resumed, the screen was placed directly between Farrell-Quigle and the witness stand for the duration of both daughters’ testimony. During Younger Daughter's testimony, her treating psychiatrist, Dr. Carlisle, sat near the witness stand for emotional support, using a chair in front of the clerk's stand. Both daughters were eleven years old at the time of the trial.
During a recess after the daughters finished testifying, the State turned the easel sideways 90 degrees so that the shielding
screen was parallel with the wall. Although the easel remained in the same general location, the shielding screen no longer blocked anyone on the witness stand from viewing Farrell-Quigle. Nothing was ever said or done in front of the jury to deliberately bring attention to the screen. That afternoon, a subsequent witness entered through the northwest door, like both daughters, to maintain consistency of the procedure used before the jury. In addition, the trial concluded on the third day in this same courtroom, as the district court explained, "[s]o it doesn't look like we just came here for a limited number of witnesses."
At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found Farrell-Quigle guilty on both counts of lewd conduct. The district court sentenced him to serve twenty-five year concurrent sentences on both counts with twelve years fixed. Farrell-Quigle timely appealed.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
This case primarily concerns rights protected under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as the procedural safeguards contained in Idaho Code section 9-1806. This Court freely reviews constitutional issues, which are questions of law. State v. Baeza , 161 Idaho 38, 40, 383 P.3d 1208, 1210 (2016). Likewise, as with questions of law, the Court exercises free review over questions of statutory interpretation. State v. Leary , 160 Idaho 349, 352, 372 P.3d 404, 407 (2016).
III. ANALYSIS
A. The use of a shielding screen deprived Farrell-Quigle of his Fourteenth Amendment due process right to a fair trial.
Farrell-Quigle argues the use of the shielding screen...
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