State v. James

Decision Date15 October 1991
Docket NumberNos. 890309,890474,s. 890309
Citation819 P.2d 781
PartiesSTATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Steven Ray JAMES, Defendant and Appellant.
CourtUtah Supreme Court

R. Paul Van Dam and Charlene Barlow, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff and appellee.

Nathan D. Hult and Robert W. Gutke, Logan, for defendant and appellant.

HALL, Chief Justice:

Defendant Steven Ray James appeals his conviction of first degree murder for the killing of his son and his sentence to life imprisonment. On Tuesday, August 26, 1986, at approximately 12:54 p.m., defendant reported that his infant son Steven Roy James was missing from a parked car near the west entrance of the Osco Drug parking lot in Logan, Utah. On October 11, 1986, duck hunters found the remains of an infant later identified as Steven Roy James submerged in an area known as the Bear River Marina in Cache County.

Defendant was arrested on October 23, 1986, and charged with first degree murder 1 for the death of Steven Roy James. The aggravating circumstance which raised the charge to first degree murder was defendant's previous conviction of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to a person, specifically, his 1973 California conviction for the crime of false imprisonment, which is there categorized as a felony.

Defendant was granted a change of venue due to the extensive publicity surrounding the case, and on May 1 through May 12, 1989, he was tried before a jury in the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake County. He was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life imprisonment. Defendant appeals his conviction on the following grounds: (1) that he was denied due process, the right to counsel, and the right to a fair and impartial jury by the manner and method of voir dire of the prospective jurors in his case; (2) that the court should have sustained defendant's objection to evidence of the 1973 California conviction of false imprisonment as the aggravating circumstance enhancing his offense to that of first degree murder; (3) that the court should have granted defendant's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or motion to record conviction for the next lower category of offense due to lack of substantial evidence showing an intentional or knowing killing; (4) that the denial of access to his attorneys while in the Salt Lake County jail violated his right to counsel and his right of access to the courts; (5) that the court erred by refusing to give certain jury instructions regarding circumstantial evidence; and (6) that the trial court erred in refusing to grant defendant a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence.

I. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

Defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for recording conviction of the next lower category of offense. These motions were based upon the alleged lack of evidence showing an intentional and knowing killing and were essentially challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence against him. They will therefore be reviewed as claims of insufficient evidence. In reviewing a defendant's claim that he was convicted on insufficient evidence, this court must be mindful of the proper standard of review, which gives great deference to jury verdicts. We have previously stated:

The proper standard of review for appeals concerning the sufficiency of evidence is well established. In making the determination as to whether there is sufficient evidence to uphold a conviction, an appellate court does not sit as a second fact finder. It is not the function of a reviewing court to determine guilt or innocence or judge the credibility of witnesses. The mere existence of conflicting evidence, therefore, does not warrant reversal. Rather, the function of a reviewing court is limited to insuring that there is sufficient competent evidence as to each element of the charge to enable a jury to find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant committed the crime. 2

Therefore, when reviewing a claim of insufficiency of the evidence, this court views the evidence and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the jury verdict. It is only when the evidence as viewed in this light is sufficiently inconclusive or inherently improbable that a jury must have entertained a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt that it is proper to overturn the conviction. 3

The following evidence was presented in support of defendant's conviction at trial. The child's mother, Victoria DeLeon, testified that on the morning of the child's disappearance, James awoke early with her and watched for her ride to work so that she could spend additional time with the baby. She testified that he had never before helped her with the baby in the morning. When her ride arrived, she left the child in defendant's care and went to work. At approximately 2 p.m., she was approached at work by a police officer and told that her baby was missing. The officer took her to the police station, where she approached defendant and asked him where the baby was. Defendant answered, "I am sorry. I didn't do it on purpose." Defendant told her that he had left the baby in the car when he went into Osco Drug and that when he returned in ten minutes, the baby was gone.

Victoria DeLeon testified that she had been concerned about defendant's care of the baby. She testified that there were several instances when the baby was injured while in defendant's custody. The baby was not hurt when he was in the custody of other babysitters. She testified of instances when defendant gave the baby a cold bath, when defendant took the baby into the cold garage without a wrap, when she found a red mark on the child's upper lip which defendant said was caused by the baby's bottle, when the child fell from the front seat to the floor of the car while defendant was driving because the infant was not in his safety carrier, when the child received a bruise on his head while he was being carried by defendant, when she found red marks on the child's neck which defendant told her were caused by the baby's shirt, when she found finger marks on the baby's rib cage, when defendant told her that he dropped the baby while opening a can, and when defendant put the heating pad under the child on hot instead of warm.

Victoria DeLeon further testified that defendant often became angry with her when she questioned him about his care of the child and that he told her after these instances that she worried too much about the child. She and defendant also had arguments about the course of the police investigation. He became angry with her when she went to the police station for questioning one afternoon. He also became angry when she provided the baby's birth certificate with the baby's footprints on it, a Father's Day card with the baby's handprints, and photographs of the baby to the police to help find the child. Defendant told her not to give these things to the police. She testified that defendant was jealous of the baby. Defendant's unemployment and the attendant money problems caused dissension between her and defendant. The expenses associated with the baby compounded these money problems. She also testified that defendant had used drugs prior to the baby's birth and had gone to Salt Lake City for drugs once before the baby's birth, but that she did not know if defendant used drugs after the child was born.

Officer Mike Vaughan of the Logan City Police testified concerning his investigation of the child's disappearance and of the later investigation of defendant as the leading suspect in the case. Officer Vaughan was the first to respond to the scene of the child's disappearance, arriving at 12:57 p.m. At Officer Vaughan's questioning, defendant said that he had locked the doors of the car but that the windows were down for ventilation. At that point, defendant reached through the open window of the passenger door and unlocked that door. Inside was the dog, a baby car seat on the front seat of the car facing the driver's side, and a baby bottle. After the door was unlocked, the officer opened it. The dog, who had been running around in the car, immediately jumped out. Officer Vaughan asked defendant if anything else was missing; defendant responded that nothing was. Defendant and Vaughan then went to the James residence, which was locked, to look for the baby. They looked around the place but did not find the baby or anything unusual. Defendant did not state that anything was missing or out of place at the home.

On the evening of August 26, police questioned defendant concerning the events of the day in an effort to develop leads concerning the child's disappearance. He gave the police a description of the baby and described his activities of the day with the baby. On the morning of the child's disappearance, defendant arose at 5:20 a.m. with DeLeon before she left for work. Defendant stated that he got up early to look for her ride so that she could spend more time with the baby. Defendant went back to bed with the baby after DeLeon left for work and awoke about 8 or 8:30 a.m. At about 9 a.m., defendant put the baby on the couch and fixed some water damage in the shower. When he ran out of DAP putty, he decided to go to a store in Logan. At this time, about 10:30 a.m., the baby was asleep, so defendant left him and their dog at home while he went to the store. Defendant returned about fifteen minutes later and found the baby still asleep. Defendant showered and relaxed by listening to the stereo until about noon. He decided at this time to run other errands.

Defendant fed and changed the baby and started the family Cadillac at 12:40-12:45 p.m. He then picked up the baby and the dog and placed the baby in his carrier in the passenger side of the car. He drove to the parking lot of Osco Drug but could not find a parking space in the shade, so he pulled...

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