State v. Goetz, 108,539.
| Decision Date | 13 September 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. 108,539.,108,539. |
| Citation | 308 P.3d 31 |
| Parties | STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Jennifer R. GOETZ, Appellant. |
| Court | Kansas Court of Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from Kingman District Court; Larry T. Solomon, Judge.
Melanie S. Morgan, of Morgan Pilate, LLC, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Kurt P. Kerns, of Ariagno, Kerns, Mank & White, LLC, of Wichita, for appellant.
Matthew W. Ricke, county attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, for appellee.
Before MALONE, C.J., POWELL and SCHROEDER, JJ.
A jury convicted Jennifer Goetz of battery, felony obstruction of official duty, criminal damage to property, and criminal trespass. In this direct appeal, Goetz argues that (1) there was insufficient evidence to support her conviction of felony obstruction of official duty, (2) the district court erred in denying her motion for change of judge, and (3) the district court did not properly assess the Board of Indigents' Defense Services (BIDS) attorney fees against her. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm Goetz' convictions, but we remand for reconsideration of the BIDS fees.
On August 20, 2011, Goetz requested a civil standby to collect property from the residence of Paul Gonzales, whom she had dated for a number of years. A “civil standby” occurs when law enforcement is present at a scene to keep the peace, typically while one person collects property from another following a domestic dispute. Kingman County Sheriff's Deputy Chrystal Woodson and Investigator Darrin Werner arrived at Gonzales' house at approximately 4:30 p.m. and met with Goetz and Gonzales. Werner and Woodson later testified that Goetz was agitated and loud. Werner noticed a cardboard sign that Gonzales had made and hung in the window; the sign said, “Keep out[,] no trespassing [,] Jenny Goetz only.” Goetz collected her belongings, and Werner advised her not to return to Gonzales' house.
Approximately 2 hours later, Woodson again was dispatched to Gonzales' house after Gonzales reported that Goetz had returned. Goetz was not at the house when Woodson arrived, but Gonzales showed Woodson photographs he had taken with his cell phone of Goetz leaving the residence. Gonzales informed Woodson that when he asked Goetz to leave, she got out of her car and chased him. Goetz would not leave until Gonzales told her he was calling 911. Woodson advised Gonzales that if Goetz returned again, Gonzales should get to a safe place and call the sheriff's department.
At about 11 p.m. that evening, Woodson was dispatched once again to Gonzales' house, this time on a report of a disturbance that a female was breaking into the house. Officer Travis Sowers of the Kingman Police Department also was dispatched to Gonzales' home, and he was the first to arrive. As Sowers walked up to the house, he noticed broken glass and a chair partially in front of the door, and he could hear a man and woman yelling and cursing inside the house. When Sowers went inside, he saw Gonzales, cowering against the wall with his hands over his face and head. Goetz was standing over Gonzales and Sowers later testified that he saw Goetz hit Gonzales twice in the back of the head with a board. Sowers yanked the board from Goetz' hands, got between Goetz and Gonzales, and shoved Goetz toward the kitchen. As Sowers tried to restrain Goetz and move her into the kitchen, Goetz continued to try to get to Gonzales.
Woodson arrived at Gonzales' house as Sowers went inside. Woodson heard screaming, and as she walked up to the house, she noticed that the window in the door was broken. When Woodson went inside, she saw Gonzales hiding behind a board and Sowers and Goetz struggling in the next room. Woodson tried to help Sowers handcuff Goetz, but Goetz was resisting the officers. Woodson and Sowers were on the ground with Goetz, trying to get her right arm from under her so that they could handcuff her. Ultimately, Sowers deployed his taser on Goetz and the officers handcuffed her.
Werner, who arrived after Sowers and Woodson handcuffed Goetz, spoke with Gonzales, who said that when he repeatedly refused to let Goetz in the house, she broke the window, stood on a lawn chair, and crawled through the broken window. Gonzales told Werner that Goetz had hit him with a board he had wedged under the door handle to keep anyone from opening the door from the outside. Gonzales also told Trooper James Reams of the Kansas Highway Patrol that Goetz had been angry with him.
Two days later, Werner interviewed Goetz, who stated that she went to Gonzales' house that night to talk to him about an inflammatory text message Gonzales had sent Goetz about her daughter. According to Goetz, they began arguing and Gonzales shoved Goetz, putting her head through the window in the door. Goetz said that Gonzales then took her inside, where they fought over prescription medication Gonzales had stolen from Goetz. Goetz told Werner that she did not remember hitting Gonzales with a board.
On August 23, 2011, the State charged Goetz with one count each of aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, felony obstruction of official duty, criminal damage to property, and criminal trespass. At the first appearance, Goetz completed and signed a financial affidavit, and the district court appointed an attorney to represent Goetz due to her indigent status. On December 6, 2011, the district court sent the parties a “Notice of Scheduling of Jury Trial.” The notice gave the date and time of the jury trial on April 30, 2012, and stated that the trial would be “before the Honorable Larry T. Soloman.”
A pretrial conference was held on March 2, 2012. At that hearing Goetz informed the district court that she had retained private counsel. The district court allowed Goetz' court-appointed counsel to withdraw and ordered Goetz to reimburse BIDS for the court-appointed-attorney fees.
On April 27, 2012, three days before the scheduled jury trial, Goetz filed a pleading entitled “Motion for Change of Judge,” in which she asked the district judge to recuse himself so that another judge could be assigned to hear the case. The district court heard argument on the motion on April 30, 2012. Goetz argued that recusal was warranted because (1) the district judge had granted Gonzales' request for a protection from abuse (PFA) order but had denied Goetz' request for a PFA because she was 3 minutes late to court, and (2) the district judge had represented Gonzales in the mid–1980s. The district court found neither of Goetz' arguments persuasive and, in particular, the judge stated that he did not remember representing Goetz in the mid–1980s. The district court also found that the motion was untimely; accordingly, the court denied Goetz' motion.
The trial began that same morning, as scheduled. Woodson, Werner, Sowers, and Reams testified for the State. The State also called Michael Henning, a longtime friend of Gonzales, who testified that Gonzales called him at approximately 11 p.m. on the night in question and told him that Goetz was at his house and wanted to come inside. During the phone call, Henning heard yelling and commotion through the phone. Gonzales also testified, relating the events of his three encounters with Goetz on the day in question. The State also introduced photographs of the scene, played for the jury the recordings taken by the dashboard cameras and sound recorders in Sowers' and Reams' patrol vehicles, and played for the jury a recording of Gonzales' 911 call on the night in question. Goetz presented only one witness in her defense; she recalled Woodson and asked if Woodson had a personal relationship with Gonzales. Woodson said she had dealt with Gonzales previously as part of her job.
The jury found Goetz not guilty of aggravated burglary, guilty of the lesser-included offense of battery, guilty of obstructing official duty, guilty of criminal damage to property, and guilty of criminal trespass. On July 6, 2012, the district court imposed a sentence of 6 months' imprisonment for obstruction of official duty, 6 months in county jail for battery, 6 months in county jail for criminal damage to property, and 6 months in county jail for criminal trespass. The district court placed Goetz on 12 months' probation on the felony conviction, to begin after she served 6 months in county jail for criminal trespass. The district court also ordered Goetz to pay the BIDS attorney fees in an unspecified amount, and the journal entry of judgment listed the BIDS fee as “TBD.” Goetz timely appealed the district court's judgment.
Goetz first argues that there was insufficient evidence to support her conviction of felony obstruction of official duty. Whether obstruction of justice is a felony or misdemeanor depends on whether the official duty the officer is attempting to carry out is related to a felony or a misdemeanor. State v. Lundquist, 30 Kan.App.2d 1148, 1154, 55 P.3d 928 (2002), rev. denied 275 Kan. 967 (2003). Goetz contends that there was no evidence that Woodson was arresting her for a felony when she resisted the officers. The State responds that there was sufficient evidence to support the felony conviction.
When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in a criminal case, an appellate court reviews such claims by State v. Frye, 294 Kan. 364, 374–75, 277 P.3d 1091 (2012). In determining whether there is sufficient evidence, the appellate court generally will not reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses. State v. Hall, 292 Kan. 841, 859, 257 P.3d 272 (2011).
K.S.A.2011 Supp. 21–5904, the statute in effect at the time, defined interference with law enforcement as:
“[ (a) ](2) knowingly obstructing, resisting or opposing...
To continue reading
Request your trial