State v. Gallegos

• Decision Date: 21 July 2009
• Docket Number: No. 20070212.,20070212.
• Citation: 220 P.3d 136,2009 UT 42
• Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. James M. GALLEGOS, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

220 P.3d 136

2009 UT 42

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. James M. GALLEGOS, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 20070212.

Supreme Court of Utah.

July 21, 2009.

Rehearing Denied November 17, 2009.

Mark L. Shurtleff, Att'y Gen., Jeffrey S. Gray, Paul G. Amann, Asst. Att'ys Gen., Salt Lake City, for plaintiff.

Kenneth R. Brown, Ann Marie Taliaferro, Salt Lake City, for defendant.

WILKINS, Justice:

¶ 1 Defendant James M. Gallegos asks us to reverse his criminal convictions for two counts of enticing a minor over the internet, alleging several points of error below. Specifically, Gallegos argues that Utah's Internet Enticement Statute (the enticement statute) is unconstitutionally vague, both facially and as applied to him. Gallegos also contends that the trial court erred in reversing a pretrial decision to allow him to present a voluntary termination affirmative defense. Additionally, Gallegos argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements he made regarding the destruction of his computer and in excluding his proposed expert testimony on relevancy grounds. Finally, Gallegos argues that the cumulative damage of these errors warrants a vacation of his sentence or a remand for a new trial. We disagree and, therefore, affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 In March 2006, Lieutenant Jessica Eldredge of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) was conducting an undercover operation on the internet in search of child predators. Eldredge was posing as a thirteen-year-old girl named "Chantel," and included an age-appropriate photograph on her profile page. On March 16, 2006, Eldredge entered Yahoo! Utah chatroom and waited for someone to contact "Chantel."

¶ 3 Several individuals contacted Chantel that day, including Gallegos. When Gallegos inquired about Chantel's age, she told him that she was thirteen years old. Gallegos informed Chantel that he was a 28-year-old male from Clearfield and stated that he was "to[o] old" for her. Despite this acknowledgment, their online dialogue continued, eventually progressing to a discussion in which Gallegos proposed that Chantel provide him sexual favors in exchange for the use of his car. Shortly after this discussion, the conversation ended.

¶ 4 Eldredge returned to the Yahoo! chatroom on March 23, 2006. Sometime after Eldredge signed on, Gallegos contacted Chantel and resumed their conversation. Eventually, Gallegos and Chantel engaged in a graphic sexual conversation. This time, however, the conversation culminated in an agreement to meet in the parking lot of Union Middle School for the proposed sexual activity. Before signing off of the chatroom, Gallegos confirmed their plans, saying, "ok see you there . . . make sure you show up . . . cause I am. . . ."

¶ 5 After Eldredge logged off her computer and briefed the ICAC team, eight officers went to various locations near Union Middle School to wait for Gallegos to arrive. At approximately 10:30 p.m., one of the officers spotted Gallegos' car near the school. Other officers also noticed Gallegos approach the school, then slow down as he passed the parking lot. The officers then saw Gallegos turn around and pass the school two more times. At this point, Gallegos apparently spotted some of the officers parked by the school and sped off into a residential neighborhood. The officers chose to not pursue the car and, instead, returned to police headquarters.

¶ 6 After obtaining a photograph of Gallegos, six officers drove to the Ogden address that appeared on his driver license. The officers verified that the home belonged to Gallegos' wife and knocked on the door. Gallegos' wife informed them that Gallegos had moved out and gave them his current address in Clearfield, Utah. The officers then proceeded to Gallegos' Clearfield apartment.

¶ 7 While the officers were still en route to Clearfield, Gallegos, who had been tipped off by his wife, telephoned Eldredge and told her that he "was really scared" and "didn't know what to do." He also asked if he was "going to go to jail." Eldredge told him that she did not know whether he would be arrested and asked him to meet her at his apartment. Gallegos complied and per his request, met the officers at the clubhouse of his apartment complex.

¶ 8 When Gallegos arrived, Eldredge directed him where to park, and an SUV and a police vehicle pulled in directly behind him with their back lights flashing. Eldredge then instructed Gallegos to get out of his car while keeping his hands visible. As he got out of the car, six to seven officers walked toward him and began surrounding him. Some of the officers had police vests on, while others simply wore badges around their necks. After officers patted him down for weapons, Gallegos placed his car keys and other items inside his car. Eldredge then asked him for his computer. Gallegos responded that because he was afraid, he had thrown it out at a friend's garbage can. At this point, officers read Gallegos his Miranda rights, and he invoked his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney.

¶ 9 Gallegos was subsequently charged with two felony counts of enticing a minor over the internet in violation of Utah Code section 76-4-401 (2008). The case proceeded to trial, and Gallegos filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the enticement statute was unconstitutional both facially and as applied to him. The trial court denied the motion. Gallegos also filed a motion to suppress the computer statements based on Miranda violations. The trial court again denied the motion, concluding that Gallegos was not being interrogated at the time he made the statements. Gallegos then proposed using a voluntary termination defense, which the trial court initially stated "was perfectly legitimate"; at the close of the trial, however, the trial court refused to give a jury instruction based upon voluntary termination. Finally, the State filed a motion in limine to exclude Gallegos' expert witness, Dr. Peter Byrne, arguing that his testimony was irrelevant. The trial court granted the motion. Gallegos now appeals each of those decisions, arguing that the cumulative damage of these errors warrants a vacation of his sentence or a remand for a new trial.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 10 Gallegos first argues that Utah's internet enticement statute is unconstitutionally vague. Constitutional challenges to statutes present questions of law, which we review for correctness. See State v. MacGuire, 2004 UT 4, ¶ 8, 84 P.3d 1171. Gallegos next contends that the trial court erred in failing to present a voluntary termination instruction for the jury. "A trial court's refusal to give a jury instruction presents a question of law, which [this court] review[s] for correctness, giving no particular deference to the trial court." State v. Quada, 918 P.2d 883, 885 (Utah Ct.App.1996).

¶ 11 Gallegos next argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the statements he made about his computer based on Miranda violations. Because of the "importance of uniformity in Utah courts' application of Fifth Amendment Miranda protections . . . [we] review for correctness trial courts' custodial interrogation determinations." State v. Levin, 2006 UT 50, ¶ 16, 144 P.3d 1096.

¶ 12 Finally, Gallegos avers that the trial court erred in excluding his proposed expert testimony on relevancy grounds. A trial court's denial of a party's presentation of expert testimony under Rule 702 of the Utah Rules of Evidence is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard. See State v. Hollen, 2002 UT 35, ¶ 66, 44 P.3d 794. "Under this standard, we will not reverse [a decision to admit or exclude expert testimony] unless the decision exceeds the limits of reasonability." Id. (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted).

ANALYSIS

I. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF UTAH'S INTERNET ENTICEMENT STATUTE

¶ 13 Gallegos claims that the enticement statute under which he was charged is unconstitutionally vague both facially and as applied to him because it does not put him, nor anyone else, on notice of the point at which the crime is completed. See Utah Code Ann. § 76-4-401 (2008). Until now, this court has not had the opportunity to examine the constitutionality of the enticement statute. Instead, the last word came from the court of appeals in State v. Ansari, where the court noted, albeit in dicta, that "the terms of the [enticement] statute are sufficiently precise. . . . Accordingly, we would conclude that [the statute] is not unconstitutionally vague." 2004 UT App. 326, ¶ 45 n. 6, 100 P.3d 231. Although the court of appeals used strong language suggesting it would uphold the statute as constitutional, this case presents an issue of first impression for this court.

¶ 14 "A statute may be unconstitutional either on its face or as applied to the facts of a given case." State v. Herrera, 1999 UT 64, ¶ 4 n. 2, 993 P.2d 854. "When asserting an as-applied challenge, the party claims that, under the facts of his particular case, the statute was applied . . . in an unconstitutional manner." Ansari, 2004 UT App. 326, ¶ 27, 100 P.3d 231 (omission in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). In contrast, when a party presents a facial challenge, he seeks to "`vindicate not only his own rights, but those of others who may be adversely impacted by the statute in question.'" Id. (quoting City of Chicago v. Morales, 527 U.S. 41, 55-56, 119 S.Ct. 1849, 144 L.Ed.2d 67 (1999)). Furthermore, in asserting a facial challenge, the party avers that "the statute is so constitutionally flawed that no set of circumstances exists under which the [statute] would be valid." Id. (alteration in original) (internal quotations marks omitted). However, if a "statute . . . is clear as applied to a particular complainant [it] cannot be considered impermissibly vague in all of its applications and thus will necessarily survive a facial vagueness challenge." State v. MacGuire, 2004 UT...