State v. Grantham

• Decision Date: 30 October 2008
• Docket Number: No. 32657.,32657.
• Citation: 198 P.3d 128,146 Idaho 490
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Eddy Max GRANTHAM, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Idaho Court of Appeals

198 P.3d 128

146 Idaho 490

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Eddy Max GRANTHAM, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 32657.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

October 30, 2008.

Bugbee Law Office, Spokane, Washington, for appellant. Christopher A. Bugbee argued.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Daniel Bower, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Daniel Bower argued.

GUTIERREZ, Chief Judge.

Eddy Max Grantham appeals from his judgment of conviction for trafficking in a controlled substance, methamphetamine. He argues that several errors occurred below, including the denial of his motion to suppress evidence and the denial of his motion for a mistrial. He also contends that prosecutorial misconduct occurred during the trial and that the court erred by giving an erroneous jury instruction. He asserts that these errors, individually and cumulatively, necessitate reversal. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On January 13, 2005, Grantham was a passenger in an Isuzu pickup truck traveling north on Highway 95 in Northern Idaho. The driver, Shelby R. Wilkes, swerved three feet over the fog line and back again, arousing the suspicion of Bonner County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Strangio that she may have been driving under the influence (DUI). Deputy Strangio stopped the pickup and contacted Wilkes through the open passenger-side window. Wilkes admitted to not possessing a driver's license, but handed Deputy Strangio proof of registration. She was unable to locate insurance information for the vehicle, and did not know the name of the owner of the pickup. Wilkes informed Deputy Strangio that she had a valid identification card through Montana, which he verified through dispatch. While confirming Wilkes' identity, Deputy Strangio asked her to step out of the vehicle and accompany him back to his patrol car. Grantham remained in the pickup. Deputy Strangio asked Wilkes where she was coming from, where she was traveling to, and the purpose of her trip. Wilkes appeared nervous while answering these questions, keeping her eyes averted and kicking at the ground. She informed Deputy Strangio that she had been to Spokane to drop her children off with her ex-boyfriend and she was returning home to Libby, Montana. She stated that she and Grantham were old friends, and she was giving him a ride to Libby as well. Deputy Strangio felt that Wilkes was stalling, and observed that she couldn't stand still; she was continually pacing and turning her back to the officer. Deputy Strangio further observed that the truck was "ratty" and that both Wilkes and Grantham appeared unkempt, disheveled, gaunt, filthy, and had pock marks or lesions on their faces.

Deputy Strangio also spoke with Grantham, asking him about his destination and the purpose of the trip. Grantham informed Deputy Strangio that he was a student in Spokane and was returning to Libby. He stated that he has known Wilkes since she was five years old. Although Wilkes could not name the registered owner of the Isuzu, Grantham correctly identified the owner as John. Even though Deputy Strangio felt Grantham's answers were vague, he allowed Grantham to remain in the truck and began to issue a citation to Wilkes for failure to purchase a driver's license. He again asked Wilkes about the purpose of her trip, and this time she responded that she was visiting her children in Spokane and was on her way home to Libby. His suspicions aroused, Deputy Strangio asked dispatch to contact Lincoln County, Montana, for information on Wilkes and Grantham. Dispatch reported back that the two were suspected of drug activity.

Based on the inconsistency in Wilkes' story, the appearances of Wilkes and Grantham, and their behavior while answering questions, Deputy Strangio requested a drug-detection dog be dispatched to his location. Sergeant James Cotter arrived a few minutes later with his drug dog, Sadie. Deputy Strangio completed the citation and handed it to Wilkes along with the registration for the truck. He then asked her if she had any marijuana in the car. She made eye-contact with him and denied having marijuana. Deputy Strangio asked about methamphetamine. Wilkes turned away, avoided eye contact and did not answer. When Deputy Strangio asked about cocaine, heroin, firearms, or large sums of money, Wilkes again responded in the negative. When Deputy Strangio requested permission to search the vehicle for drugs and firearms, Wilkes refused. During this process, Sergeant Cotter and Sadie performed an exterior search of the pickup truck. Sadie alerted on both the driver's side door and the passenger side door. Grantham was asked to exit the vehicle. Once inside the truck, Sadie alerted on a grey duffel bag behind the passenger seat and a blue backpack between the driver's and passenger's seats.

A subsequent hand-search of the backpack and the duffel bag revealed drugs, paraphernalia, and identifying clothing and paperwork. A camera case located next to the duffel bag was also searched and found to contain drugs and more paraphernalia, including five syringes, a lighter, spoons and cotton swabs. Wilkes and Grantham were arrested for trafficking in a controlled substance, methamphetamine, Idaho Code Section 37-2732B. Prior to trial, Grantham moved to suppress the evidence discovered in the car, alleging that Deputy Strangio unreasonably delayed the length of the stop. Grantham asserted that Deputy Strangio lacked a reasonably articulable suspicion to extend the traffic stop from a DUI investigation into a search for drugs. The district court denied the motion, and Grantham proceeded to a jury trial.

Law enforcement officers in Libby obtained a warrant to search Grantham's home after they were informed of his arrest in Idaho. Prior to trial, Grantham's attorney and the state prosecutor stipulated that although they might discuss the search of Grantham's home in Libby, they would not mention the methamphetamine discovered there. Detective Height from the Lincoln County, Montana Sheriff's Office testified at trial that there was a search of Grantham's home in Libby. Detective Height identified baggies that were discovered in Grantham's home, which were admitted into evidence. At the close of Detective Height's brief testimony, the jury was permitted to submit written questions for the witness. After reviewing the single question submitted, the district court gave it to counsel to allow for any written objections. The question was whether controlled substances were found during the search. The prosecutor indicated that he had no objection, while defense counsel's notation was ambiguous. Defense counsel wrote "objection (no)." Defense counsel intended to object to the question, indicating first that he had an objection, and then in parenthesis noting that the question should not be asked. The court, however, did not read the notation that way. The district court asked the question, to which defense counsel immediately objected, although Detective Height answered affirmatively in spite of the objection.

Grantham moved for a mistrial, citing the prosecution's abandonment of the stipulation not to discuss the drugs in Montana, and because counsel's ambiguous notation could be construed as ineffective assistance of counsel. The court refused to declare a mistrial, and instead instructed the jury that the court should not have allowed the question; the answer was stricken from the record, and the jury was instructed to disregard it.

Grantham was the only witness to testify for the defense. During his direct examination, he testified that he used methamphetamine recreationally, but he only smoked or snorted it. He denied ever injecting it, despite the prior testimony of Wilkes that she saw him inject it the morning of their arrest. Grantham also testified that he was a volunteer E.M.T. in Libby for seven or eight years. Jurors were again allowed to submit written questions for the witness. One of the questions was whether Grantham knew how to give himself an injection. Over counsel's objection, the court allowed the question. Grantham denied ever knowing how to give an injection. On subsequent cross examination, the prosecutor inquired about Grantham's training as an E.M.T. Grantham denied receiving any training on how to give an injection. The prosecutor asked Grantham if he would have any marks on his inner arm from injections, to which Grantham responded that he would not. The prosecutor then asked Grantham to display his inner arms. Defense counsel informed the court that there would be no objection. The prosecutor, Deputy Strangio, and defense counsel all approached Grantham as he showed his inner arms. Defense counsel then requested that Grantham be allowed to show the jurors his inner arms, and he was allowed to walk along the jury box with his arms exposed. The prosecutor then questioned Grantham on small marks and bruises on his arms, although Grantham denied the marks were from injections.

Prior to closing arguments, the court heard objections from counsel regarding jury instructions. In particular, Grantham's attorney objected to Instruction 22, which stated that "There are no issues for the jury involving the legality of any search of any person, object, or place, and no issue of the legality of any arrest of any person." The court denied the objection, and proceeded to instruct the jury. Grantham was found guilty of possession of methamphetamine in excess of 28 grams. He was convicted of trafficking in a controlled substance, methamphetamine. This appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

Grantham asserts several errors below, including the denial of his motion to suppress evidence, the denial of his motion for mistrial, prosecutorial misconduct, and the inclusion of Jury Instruction 22. He also alleges that even if none of those errors merit reversal of his judgment of conviction individually, the errors combined deprived him of a fair trial. We will address each issue in turn.

A. Denial of...