State v. Hare
| Decision Date | 05 March 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. CX-96-1672,CX-96-1672 |
| Citation | 575 N.W.2d 828 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Eli (NMN) HARE, Jr., petitioner, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. Minnesota's defense of dwelling defense anticipates an unauthorized intrusion into the defendant's dwelling. Necessarily, when the defendant and the victim reside in the same dwelling, the defendant cannot raise the defense of dwelling defense.
2. We caution trial courts that when a homicide defendant, asserting self-defense, claims that the resulting death was unintentional, CRIMJIG 7.05 is inappropriate and that CRIMJIG 7.06 is likely to better fit the facts of the case.
John M. Stuart, Minnesota State Public Defender by Ann McCaughan, Assistant
State Public Defender, Minneapolis, for Appellant.
Hubert H. Humphrey, III, Minnesota Attorney General, Michael O. Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney by Donna J. Wolfson, Assistant County Attorney, Minneapolis, for Respondent.
Heard, considered, and decided by the court en banc.
The defendant, Eli Hare, Jr., was charged with one count of intentional murder in the second degree in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.19(1) (1996) and one count of felony murder in the second degree in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.19(2) (1996) for the stabbing death of Roosevelt Cooper on December 22, 1995. At trial, Hare claimed that he did not intend to kill Cooper when he stabbed him and that his actions were taken in self-defense and in defense of his dwelling. Accordingly, Hare requested that the trial court give the general self-defense instruction in CRIMJIG 7.06 or, in the alternative, that the court modify CRIMJIG 7.05 to fit the circumstances of an accidental death. The court refused Hare's request and gave CRIMJIG 7.05 unmodified. The court also gave a defense of dwelling instruction which indicated that, in order for the defense to apply, Hare had to be in fear of death or great bodily harm at the time of his actions.
The jury rejected Hare's claims of self-defense and defense of dwelling and convicted him of second-degree felony murder. Hare appealed his conviction to the court of appeals, claiming that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction, the trial court erred by giving misleading jury instructions, and the trial court abused its discretion in failing to impose a downward sentencing departure. The court of appeals affirmed in an unpublished decision. Hare appeals to this court, claiming that he is entitled to a new trial based on this court's recent decision in State v. Pendleton, 567 N.W.2d 265 (Minn.1997). In Pendleton, we held that fear of death or great bodily harm was not an element of the "defense of dwelling" defense. In addition, Hare, in his brief to this court, appears to reassert his argument that the trial court gave erroneous and misleading jury instructions with respect to his claim of self-defense. 1 We affirm.
In February of 1995, Dorris Morris and her 10-year-old son moved into a small apartment 2 in Minneapolis with her boyfriend, Roosevelt Cooper, whom Morris had been dating for 4 or 5 years. Cooper had been living at this location for 4 years. It was not uncommon for Morris and Cooper to have arguments, which occasionally turned physical.
In September of 1995, Morris's 52-year-old uncle, Eli Hare, needed a place to stay after completing a treatment program and was permitted to move in with Morris and Cooper. Hare paid rent, and, in return, was given a room which he described as a small, uninsulated storage space. The only access to this space was through the bathroom.
On December 22, 1995, a dispute arose between Hare and Cooper which ultimately resulted in Cooper's death. At trial, Hare gave the following version of the events leading to Cooper's death. Hare was at home on the evening of December 22, sharing a half-pint of gin with a brother of his who had stopped by to discuss an upcoming trip to Arkansas. Hare's brother left and, within a short time, Hare's nephew, Henry Richardson, and Richardson's girlfriend, Tammy Jiles, stopped by for a visit. Cooper was also present. Morris arrived home at about 8:00 p.m. and found Hare, Cooper, Richardson, and Jiles all drinking beer.
Shortly after Morris's arrival, Hare and Richardson were sitting in the living room talking with Cooper, who was sitting at the kitchen table with Morris, when an argument began between Morris and Cooper. The argument escalated, and Cooper, who was 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 139 pounds, charged at Morris. Morris, who is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed approximately 175 pounds, picked Cooper up and threw him down on a coffee table in the living room. Morris and Cooper then started "tussling" with each other. At that point, Hare, who is about 6 feet tall and weighed approximately 230 pounds, intervened and began punching Cooper. Hare testified that he was trying to protect Morris. Morris, however, tried to push Hare away, insisting that she could handle her own affairs. Richardson and Jiles intervened and forced Hare into a chair. As a result, things seemed to calm down for a moment though, according to Hare, he and Cooper continued to shout at each other.
Cooper proceeded to call 911, but Morris hung up the phone. The 911 operator called back, and Cooper said he wanted the police to come and get people out of his house. The operator could hear screaming in the background and dispatched the police.
Cooper then got a broom from the kitchen, hit Hare in the head with it, and threatened to kill him. Morris, Richardson, and Jiles separated them. Cooper next got a knife and told Hare to get out of his house. As this was happening, Richardson and Jiles were holding Hare down. Hare screamed at them to stop Cooper before Cooper killed him. Morris grabbed Cooper and pushed him through the kitchen onto the back porch. Richardson and Jiles continued to restrain Hare in the living room and Morris, from the back porch, pleaded with Hare to leave. Hare said he would leave after he got his coat out of his room. Hare got up from the couch and proceeded to his room.
While looking for his coat, which he was having trouble finding because the light in the room was broken, Hare heard noise and breaking glass coming from the back porch. Hare, wanting to see what was going on, left his room, peered through a window, and saw Cooper and Morris struggling on the porch. Morris saw Hare and again told him to leave. Hare returned to his room to find his coat. After hearing more glass breaking and loud noise, Hare again went to see what was going on. He saw Cooper pushing his way into the kitchen as Morris struggled to hold him back. Once inside, Cooper, who still had the knife in his hand, shouted at Hare that it was not over yet and that he was going to kill Hare. At the time, Morris was holding Cooper and Cooper's hands were at his sides.
Hare, fearing for his life, picked up a knife that was in the bathroom and rushed at Cooper. According to Hare, he intended to stab Cooper in the arm to make him drop his knife. Hare's plan was thwarted when Jiles warned Morris that Hare had a knife. This caused Morris, who was still holding Cooper, to move, and, instead of stabbing Cooper in the arm, Hare stabbed Cooper in the neck, killing him.
Morris also testified at trial. According to her testimony, after Hare and Cooper were separated the first time, Cooper picked up a broom, started swinging it, and asked everyone to leave. She testified, however, that no one was around Cooper when he was swinging the broom and that she quickly took the broom from him. Then Cooper got a knife from the kitchen and started swinging it as he entered the living room. Morris testified that at this point, she, Richardson, and Jiles were holding Hare down in the living room. She kept telling Hare that Cooper was not going to kill him and that Cooper just wanted him to leave. Morris also testified that, as Cooper was headed toward Hare with the knife, Cooper said that "he knowed [sic] it wouldn't be over as long as [Hare] was there." It was at this point that Morris pulled Cooper to the back porch where they continued to "tussle." Morris continued to tell Hare to leave, but he did not say anything in response.
Cooper still had the knife in his hand when, at some point, he and Morris re-entered the kitchen. Morris was holding Cooper's hands at his side, still trying to control him, when she heard Jiles warn her that Hare had a knife. Morris turned around at the same time Hare reached out with the knife and stabbed Cooper in the neck. At the time of the stabbing, it appeared to Morris that Hare was running toward Cooper and that Cooper was making movements toward Hare.
Jiles also testified and, while her testimony was generally consistent with that of Morris and Hare, there were discrepancies. Jiles testified that when Hare intervened in the dispute between Morris and Cooper, he kicked Cooper in the groin. She also testified that she saw Hare pull Morris's head out of the way when he stabbed Cooper in the neck. Finally, she testified that after the stabbing, Hare kicked Cooper as he laid on the floor.
The police officers, who had been dispatched after the 911 call, arrived shortly after the stabbing. One of the officers asked who had the knife and who stabbed Cooper. Hare raised his hand in the air and stated, "I did it." Hare was handcuffed and eventually placed in a squad car. While sitting in the squad car, Hare told one of the officers that he was protecting himself from Cooper who also had a knife. Cooper had a blood alcohol content of .14 at the time of his death. Hare's blood alcohol, measured some two hours after the stabbing, was .22.
We first address Hare's claim that the trial court erred by giving the jury an improper instruction with respect to his defense of dwelling defense. The trial court gave the following version of the standard jury instruction for self-defense...
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