State v. Hansen
| Decision Date | 06 November 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 50539.,50539. |
| Citation | 312 NW 2d 96 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. William T. HANSEN, Sr., Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
William Mauzy, Minneapolis, for appellant.
Warren Spannaus, Atty. Gen., Thomas Fabel, Deputy Atty. Gen., and Elizabeth Cutter, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, Robert Walter, County Atty., Glenwood, for respondent.
Heard, considered, and decided by the court en banc.
The critically important question raised on this appeal by a convicted criminal defendant is whether the trial court erred in admitting, as substantive evidence of defendant's guilt, the out-of-court statements of two declarants who refused to testify at defendant's trial. Consideration of this issue requires an analysis of the scope and application of Minn.R.Evid. 804(b)(3), dealing with admissibility of statements against interest, and Minn.R.Evid. 804(b)(5), dealing with statements by an unavailable declarant which are trustworthy but which do not fit within any of the standard exceptions. Also at issue is whether admission of the statements violated defendant's constitutional right to confront witnesses against him. We conclude that the judgment of conviction must be reversed because introduction of the declarations violated both the hearsay rule and the confrontation clause of the sixth amendment, as incorporated in the fourteenth amendment, of the United States Constitution.
On the evening of March 14, 1978, Allen Krook, a private security guard, and Mark Hedner, a Pope County Deputy Sheriff, were on duty at a powerline construction site located in rural Pope County, near the town of Villard. Both were seated in a Ford Bronco, with Krook in the driver's seat and Hedner in the passenger's seat. At approximately 11:58 p.m., a vehicle drove onto the construction yard and stopped about 40 to 50 yards from the Bronco. The unidentified vehicle appeared to be a four-wheel drive vehicle, light in color, with clearance lights on the cab. After the guards heard two gunshots, Krook opened the Bronco door and the dome light went on. Immediately, an armor-piercing bullet was fired through the guards' vehicle, shattering the front windshield and causing fragments of glass and metal to strike Krook's face and chest. At least two more shots were fired before the vehicle left the site.
Two weeks later, in response to an announcement by the United Power Association/Cooperative Power Association of a $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of any participant in the shooting incident, Ardys Fischer, the estranged wife of one of the participants, Harold Fischer, came forward and agreed to give a statement to agents of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. After being advised of her rights relative to the reward, she proceeded to give a statement in the presence of her attorney and in his office. She stated that she returned home on March 14 at approximately 11 p.m. and found her husband, Harold Fischer; her daughter and son-in-law Tamara and Darrell Bartos; Darrell's brother, Tony Bartos; Matt Woida; defendant; and two of defendant's sons talking in the kitchen. She believed that defendant had arrived at her home in a green coupe, either a Chevy Nova or Plymouth Duster. The men gathered in the kitchen were doing "a lot of talking" about leaving for the construction site. She stated that she heard the men say that they were going to the yard site to "mess up a crane" and shoot at the guards' vehicle. She indicated that the group was split between dissenters and promoters and that "Woida and the Hansens" were the ones who encouraged the shooting.
On April 6, 1978, MBCA agents interviewed Harold Fischer, Ardys' husband, after giving him a Miranda warning but assuring him that if he gave a statement the state would not charge his wife or daughter and that he would be charged with a misdemeanor offense instead of attempted murder.
During the interview, Mr. Fischer stated that he was at home on March 14 when defendant, defendant's two sons, and Matt Woida arrived. After deciding to go to a construction site, the group transferred high-powered rifles and armor-piercing ammunition from the car in which defendant arrived, a green coupe, to Darrell Bartos' pickup. He said that they then left in the pickup, which was driven by Darrell, with all the passengers riding in the back of the truck except Anthony Bartos and Matt Woida. He claimed that he "just rode along" but that the other men shot at the powerline equipment and then at the vehicle in which the guards were sitting. Although he said he could not remember who actually fired the shots, he observed that the shots were fired from the back of the pickup, where defendant and his two sons were riding. After shooting at the vehicle, the group returned to the Fischer residence and immediately dispersed.
After taking the recorded statement from Harold Fischer, the agents had it transcribed and took it to him for his signature. He refused to sign, stating that it was true and that he was not going to change it, so it was unnecessary for him to sign it.
Agents also interviewed Darrell and Tamara Bartos and obtained from them statements consistent with the statements given by the Fischers. In addition, Darrell gave to police the tires which he admitted removing from his pickup after the shooting.
Based on the evidence obtained, the state arrested defendant, Harold Fischer, Matt Woida, and defendant's sons, William E. Hansen and William T. Hansen. This case involves only the trial of defendant, who was charged with three counts of aggravated criminal damage to property.
At the commencement of trial, the court granted the state's petition for an order compelling testimony and granting Harold Fischer immunity from prosecution. When Mr. Fischer was called as a witness, he refused to testify, invoking his fifth amendment privilege. He was found in contempt and committed to the custody of the sheriff. The court later issued an order compelling Ardys Fischer to testify and granting her immunity from prosecution pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 609.09 (1980). Mrs. Fischer, however, indicated that she would not comply with the court order and also refused to testify. She was found in contempt, but summary punishment was not imposed. Mrs. Fischer refused to answer the court's question as to whether her refusal to testify was due to any threats made to her by defendant. She did submit an affidavit to the court, stating that her refusal to testify was not due to threats made to her by defendant. However, she would not submit to an oral examination in camera concerning her reasons for refusal to testify.
Tamara Bartos, Darrell Bartos, and Anthony Bartos were all granted immunity and were called as witnesses. They also refused to testify, invoking the fifth amendment, and were held in contempt.
The state then moved for admission of the statements given by Ardys and Harold Fischer. Defendant objected to the statements on the grounds that they were hearsay and violated defendant's sixth amendment right to confrontation.
The state asserted that the Harold Fischer statement was a statement against penal interest, falling within the exception to the hearsay rule provided by Minn.R.Evid. 804(b)(3). It also contended that the Ardys Fischer statement was admissible under Minn.R.Evid. 804(b)(5), the residual hearsay exception for statements characterized by unusual trustworthiness. In addition, the state argued that defendant had waived his right to confrontation because of threats made by defendant to witnesses.
The court then held an in-chambers hearing as to whether threats had been made against Harold or Ardys Fischer. One of the MBCA agents testified that Harold Fischer, in his statement, said, "You don't dare say anything, you get smoked you know, hell, they'd kill you." Mr. Fischer also was quoted as saying, "This party from Wadena, I'm just scared, I mean you know, no matter what, you know, you say or do, you're going to get smoked, that's all." The agent then asked whether "that party" was defendant. Fischer replied, "Yeah that's the party I mean." Also, the agents had talked with Mr. Fischer while he was being incarcerated for contempt. At that time, he told them, "Well, there's one thing about it, they can't get to me in here."
After considering the arguments and the evidence, the trial court concluded that Harold Fischer's statement was admissible under 804(b)(3), and Ardys Fischer's statement was admissible under 804(b)(5). The court further determined that defendant, by his conduct, had waived his sixth amendment right to confrontation. It was noted that both Fischers would be available for cross-examination by defendant at trial. Before the statements were read into evidence, the trial court deleted several sections on the basis of evidentiary objections.
The state presented evidence which corroborated the statements of the Fischers. There was testimony by a crime lab analyst that the truck tire imprints at the scene were consistent with having been made by tires on the Darrell Bartos' pickup truck. There was evidence that Darrell Bartos' pickup truck matched the description of the truck given by the guards. In addition, in accord with the statement that defendant had come to Fischers' in a green coupe, state motor vehicle records were presented indicating that a green 1974 Plymouth Duster was registered to defendant's son. Further, to refute defendant's contention that he did not know any of the other alleged participants, telephone records were produced showing calls made from defendant's residence to Matt Woida.
Defendant was found guilty by the jury on three counts: (1) aggravated criminal damage to property, causing a reasonably foreseeable risk of bodily harm in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.595, subd. 1(1) (1980); (2) aggravated criminal damage to property, reducing the value of the property by more than $300 in...
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