State v. Hardman
| Decision Date | 02 April 2012 |
| Docket Number | DA 11-0044 |
| Parties | STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. JEFFREY L. HARDMAN, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Twenty-Second Judicial District,
In and For the County of Stillwater, Cause No. DC 09-34
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For Appellant:
Joslyn Hunt, Chief Appellate Defender; Koan Mercer, Assistant Appellate Defender; Helena, Montana
For Appellee:
Steve Bullock, Montana Attorney General; Micheal S. Wellenstein, Assistant Attorney General; Helena, Montana
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¶1 Jeffrey L. Hardman was found guilty by a jury in the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court of deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence. The court sentenced Hardman to 110 years in prison with no parole eligibility for thirty years. Hardman appeals his conviction and seeks a new trial. On appeal, we consider the following dispositive issue:
¶2 Whether the District Court made numerous erroneous evidentiary rulings amounting to cumulative error and requiring reversal.
¶3 At approximately 4:40 p.m. on October 15, 2009, near Molt, Montana, Hardman shot and killed his neighbor, Michael Blattie, on Blattie's front porch. The two had been at odds over a $35 loan that Hardman had made to Blattie. Hardman lent Blattie the money to repair Blattie's tractor, so that Hardman could then use the tractor to cut weeds around their adjoining properties. Several weeks passed and Blattie did not repair the tractor. Hardman phoned Blattie regarding the money and the tractor, but did not receive a response.
¶4 On the day of Blattie's death, Hardman left a threatening message on Blattie's cell phone. Later in the afternoon, Hardman had a heated telephone conversation with Blattie. Hardman then placed a handgun in the back side waist of his pants and went to Blattie's home. Hardman testified that as he stepped onto Blattie's porch, Blattie "came flying out of his house, slamming the screen door up against the wall and yelling." According to Hardman, a struggle ensued between the two men, with Blattie hittingHardman in the face. Hardman pulled out the gun, allegedly hoping that Blattie would back away upon seeing the weapon. Blattie then reached for the gun and, in the resulting struggle, fanned the hammer. The gun went off, shooting Blattie in the abdomen. Hardman testified that he did not intend to shoot Blattie. There were no other witnesses to the incident. Blattie was found dead on his porch a short time later, having bled to death. After leaving the scene, Hardman buried the gun in a nearby field.
¶5 At trial, the State alleged that Hardman intentionally killed Blattie because he was angry with him regarding the unpaid debt. Hardman maintained the shooting was accidental or, at worst, negligent. He claimed he armed himself only because he feared Blattie would attack him when confronted about the debt and he was too physically infirm to fight back.
¶6 Hardman initially lied to investigators about his involvement, and attempted suicide by overdosing on medication. Hardman finally met with a local pastor, Robert Griggs, and confessed to his role in the shooting. He later contacted the authorities and was charged both with deliberate homicide and with evidence tampering for burying the murder weapon, which was never recovered.
¶7 Hardman did not raise a justifiable use of force defense but claimed the shooting was accidental. He requested and received a jury instruction on negligent homicide. There were multiple objections and evidentiary rulings throughout the trial. The jury found Hardman guilty of one count of deliberate homicide and one count of tampering with the evidence. He timely appealed.
¶8 We review evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion. State v. Derbyshire, 2009 MT 27, ¶ 19, 349 Mont. 114, 201 P.3d 811. "A court abuses its discretion if it acts arbitrarily without the employment of conscientious judgment or exceeds the bounds of reason, resulting in substantial injustice." Derbyshire, ¶ 19. We will not overturn a district court's evidentiary determinations absent a showing of abuse of discretion. State v. Bingman, 2002 MT 350, ¶ 31, 313 Mont. 376, 61 P.3d 153. However, to the extent an evidentiary ruling is based on interpretation of an evidentiary rule or statute, the review is de novo. Derbyshire, ¶ 19.
¶9 On appeal, Hardman contends the District Court made a series of erroneous evidentiary rulings, the sum of which necessitates a new trial. He argues further that under the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution, the District Court's one-sided evidentiary rulings prevented him from effectively rebutting the State's case and presenting a defense, violating his right to a fair trial. We conclude the majority of the court's contested rulings were not error and therefore their aggregate does not warrant reversal. Since our holding on the first issue controls, we need not reach the constitutional argument. In his opening brief, Hardman lists six points of error by the District Court. We address each in turn.
¶10 At 4:34 on the afternoon of the shooting, Hardman called Blattie but he did not answer. Blattie called Hardman back moments later, and the two had a heated conversation. Hardman sought to introduce the statements Blattie made during the conversation. The court excluded the contents of the conversation on hearsay and relevancy grounds. The court later clarified its ruling, citing City of Red Lodge v. Nelson, 1999 MT 246, 296 Mont. 190, 989 P.2d 300, for the proposition that "if it's an accident, evidence of the victim's prior conduct is irrelevant." The court stated that Hardman was attempting to introduce the telephone conversation as justification for carrying a weapon with him when he went to Blattie's home. However, Hardman's accidental shooting defense made Hardman's reason for carrying a weapon irrelevant.
¶11 Hardman contends the substance of the conversation and the statements made by Blattie prompted him to arm himself when approaching Blattie about the debt. He further argued in chambers he intended to testify that he brought the gun with him, not because he planned to harm Blattie, but because he feared that Blattie would physically attack him when confronted about the debt. Hardman contends the conversation was admissible under the "transaction rule" and that the evidence was not hearsay because it was not being asserted for its truth but rather to demonstrate the effect the words had on him. The State argues these exceptions to the hearsay rule are inapplicable and regardless, the statements are irrelevant.
¶12 The record reflects that the District Court excluded the evidence on the ground it was irrelevant and did not qualify for admission under the transaction rule. Hardman argues that evidence as to why he armed himself is relevant to the mental state element of a deliberate homicide charge. He contends evidence that he was scared, and armed himself only as a deterrent, tends to make it less probable that Hardman's conscious object was to kill Blattie, or that he was aware of a high probability that his conduct of drawing the gun would cause Blattie's death. Absent evidence of the words exchanged during the phone conversation, he argues it seems more probable he armed himself with the intention of shooting Blattie.
¶13 "Relevant evidence means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence." M. R. Evid. 401. "All relevant evidence is admissible . . . Evidence which is not relevant is not admissible." M. R. Evid. 402. A district court has broad discretion to determine whether or not evidence is relevant. State v. Matz, 2006 MT 348, ¶ 34, 335 Mont. 201, 150 P.3d 367. Hardman testified the hammer of the gun was fanned inadvertently during the struggle and he did not intend to shoot Blattie. The District Court concluded that Blattie's statements during the phone call were irrelevant to a defense of accident.
¶14 In City of Red Lodge, we considered the appeal of a conviction for partner assault. The defendant attempted to introduce evidence of the victim's prior convictions for assault to show her intent to assault him and to show he had to use reasonable forceagainst her in his defense. City of Red Lodge, ¶ 7. He initially argued self-defense, but at trial "emphatically" contended he accidentally struck the victim. City of Red Lodge, ¶¶ 14, 18. The Court noted there was a tenuous basis for the defendant's claim he relied on the defense of self-defense at trial. City of Red Lodge, ¶ 18. The Court affirmed the conviction, holding that even if the defendant asserted self-defense, he had not established he knew of the victim's prior convictions at the time he struck her and therefore evidence of the convictions was irrelevant. City of Red Lodge, ¶¶ 19-20. Justice Trieweiler, specially concurring, added:
[the defendant's] contention that he did not intend to strike her is inconsistent with a defense that he struck her in self-defense. Therefore, in spite of what he did or didn't know about her prior conduct at the time of the event which formed the basis for the charges against him, [the victim's] prior conduct was irrelevant. For this reason alone, I would affirm the judgment of the District Court.
City of Red Lodge, ¶ 22 (J. Trieweiler, concurring). The District Court relied on this language in concluding evidence of Blattie's statements immediately prior to the shooting was irrelevant. The District Court allowed Hardman to present evidence that provided context for Hardman's mental...
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