State v. Lee, A17-0543

• Decision Date: 19 June 2019
• Docket Number: A17-0543
• Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent/Cross-Appellant, v. Blair Bruce LEE, Appellant/Cross-Respondent.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

929 N.W.2d 432

STATE of Minnesota, Respondent/Cross-Appellant,

v.Blair Bruce LEE, Appellant/Cross-Respondent.

A17-0543

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Filed: June 19, 2019

OPINION

ANDERSON, Justice.

The issue presented here is whether a defendant has the right to inspect a crime scene that is in the control of a third party. Appellant/cross-respondent Blair Bruce Lee was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and domestic assault by strangulation. Lee argues that the denial of his motions to inspect the crime scene violated Minn. R. Crim. P. 9.01 and his constitutional rights to due process and effective assistance of counsel. The court of appeals held that Lee had a right under Minn. R. Crim. P. 9.01, subds. 1–1a, to inspect the crime scene, but that Lee was not entitled to a new trial because the denial of his motions to inspect was harmless. We hold that Minn. R. Crim. P. 9.01, subds. 1–1a, does not authorize an inspection of a crime scene in the control of a third party. We further hold that even if Lee had a constitutional right to inspect a crime scene in the control of a third party, any error in denying that right was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. We therefore affirm.

FACTS

Lee lived with his wife, S.M.L., and their children in a single-family house. As a result of a violent confrontation between Lee and S.M.L., Lee was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, Minn. Stat. § 609.342, subd. 1(e)(i) (2018), and domestic assault by strangulation, Minn. Stat. § 609.2247, subd. 2 (2018).

Before trial, Lee moved to amend the pretrial conditions of release and domestic abuse no-contact order (DANCO) to allow his counsel and investigator to enter his former residence to inspect and photograph the crime scene.¹ Lee and S.M.L. leased the house as co-tenants, but the DANCO prevented Lee from residing at or accessing his former home or granting access to a third party. Lee argued that, without access to the residence, defense counsel "would not have the ability to fully cross-examine" S.M.L. "about the events taking place within that residence." Defense counsel stated that "I may not know what I'm interested in. I may only know it when I see it." Defense counsel also stated that prohibiting him "from investigating and exploring and understanding the layout and the complexion of where this alleged event took place" was "a deprivation and denial of [Lee’s] due process rights." The district court denied the motion.

Lee sought a writ of prohibition from the court of appeals. In an order by a special term panel, the court of appeals held that the order denying Lee’s motion was contrary to State v. Michael Gary Lee (Michael Gary Lee ), 461 N.W.2d 245 (Minn. App. 1990), under which Lee had a right to inspect the home. State v. Blair Bruce Lee , No. A16-1597, Order at 3 (Minn. App. filed Nov. 1, 2016). The court of appeals, however, denied the petition for a writ of prohibition. Id. at 4. It noted that although the first and second prongs required for a writ of prohibition were satisfied, Lee had not satisfied the third prong—that the district court’s decision "must result in injury for which there was no adequate remedy." Id. at 4 (quoting State v. Turner , 550 N.W.2d 622, 625 (Minn. 1996) ). Because Lee could challenge the district court’s discovery ruling "in an appeal from final judgment of conviction," the court of appeals held that he had not "demonstrated that the ordinary remedy of an appeal from judgment does not provide an adequate remedy." Id.

Following the denial of the writ of prohibition, Lee renewed his motion in the district court for access to the crime scene. Lee argued that he needed to inspect the crime scene in order to "undercut the credibility" of S.M.L. by showing "where objects are and walls are" and showing "spaces" and "dimensions" inside the home. Lee further argued that the court of appeals determined that the district court’s original denial of the motion was contrary to law. The district court denied Lee’s renewed motion.

At the jury trial, S.M.L. testified that Lee’s assault began in the bedroom where he repeatedly poured water on her and then moved to the living room where he pinned her to the ground. He bit her breasts over her shirt and pulled her pants down. Lee forcibly pushed multiple fingers into S.M.L.’s anus as she struggled to free herself. He also sought to penetrate her vagina with his fingers but was unable to do so because she was struggling. S.M.L. began to scream, and Lee covered her mouth with his other hand. S.M.L. tried to call out for the landlord, whose house was next door, but Lee pushed a towel onto her face. She testified that he said "die, die" while he held the towel, and she began to have trouble breathing.

Lee abruptly got off of S.M.L. and stood up. When S.M.L. stood up, Lee began hitting her in the chest and ribs and continued to punch her until her cell phone fell out of her pocket. Lee grabbed the cell phone and ran out of the house. S.M.L. eventually went back to bed after Lee left in his truck. She woke to Lee shining a light into her face and holding a cup of water in his hand. S.M.L. asked him where her phone was, and he said it was not on him, so she went outside to look for it. Lee followed her outside and told her he could kill her there, and no one would know. S.M.L. began to run and waited outside as Lee went back inside. She stayed outside until she heard her 2-year-old awake and Lee leave the house. Lee eventually returned and fell asleep on the couch.

The prosecutor asked S.M.L. to draw a picture of the layout of the home and went through the diagram with S.M.L., asking her to explain the drawing in detail to the jury. The prosecutor then asked S.M.L. to explain where everyone was in relation to the diagram on the day of the assault. At several points, using the diagram, the prosecutor asked S.M.L. to demonstrate where she was and where Lee was. On cross-examination, defense counsel asked S.M.L. about the layout of her house and pieces of furniture and other items inside it. Much of defense counsel’s cross-examination emphasized that S.M.L. had not let the defense view the inside of her home, so the defense could not corroborate her story or compare her injuries to what Lee said happened.

S.M.L. testified that on the morning after the assault, which was a Saturday, she took her children to the library. She used a library phone to call her mother, who came to pick them up. That evening, S.M.L. and the children went to an emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence. On Monday, S.M.L. contacted the police, who referred her to the emergency room for a sexual assault exam.

The sexual assault nurse who examined S.M.L. testified that S.M.L. told her what had happened. S.M.L. had a swollen lip and "two little open areas" where she bit her lip; neck pain; an abrasion on her right mid-back; bruises on her chest, neck, arms, and legs; a pattern injury on her shoulder; and a broken finger. During a genital exam, the nurse found a one-centimeter, curved red line at the area behind where the labia come together. She testified that this injury was consistent with "a finger being pressed hard up against that area, because that tissue is really pretty fragile," though she acknowledged she could not definitively say that was the cause. The nurse also found a hematoma in S.M.L.’s anal canal. She testified that the hematoma was consistent with the assault that S.M.L. had described, although it also could be the result of a chronic bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease, or a history of constipation. The nurse took swabs and kept the clothing S.M.L. was wearing at the time of the assault.

Forensic scientists for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension testified that they examined the sexual assault kit, including several swabs, a DNA sample, and S.M.L.’s t-shirt and underwear. Testing on the t-shirt revealed amylase, which indicates possible presence of saliva, and a DNA profile to which both Lee and S.M.L. could be contributors that excluded 99.97% of the population.

The jury also heard that Lee had an assault conviction from 2015; during that assault, he head-butted S.M.L. and broke her nose. S.M.L. also testified that Lee made her listen to the recording of the report she made to the police for the 2015 assault and that he would laugh and say, "There’s more where that came from." On another occasion, Lee hit S.M.L. with a child gate, breaking her hand. Lee also threatened to hurt S.M.L. and told her that if he ever got in trouble, he would publicly accuse her of sexually or physically abusing their children.

Lee testified that S.M.L. was the aggressor. He said that he did not come home until the early hours of the morning, and he sat on the couch and turned on the television and PlayStation. In response to an inquiry from S.M.L. as to where he had been, Lee told her it was none of her business. She turned off the television and stood in front of him. Lee had difficulty getting off the couch because he suffers from a herniated disk. He tried to get up, but S.M.L. pushed him back down. He rolled off the couch and started toward the kitchen. S.M.L. jumped in front of him. She blocked his path and began to chest-bump him. As Lee backed into a corner, S.M.L. followed him, taunting that if he hit her, "people will believe me over you."

When Lee got around her, he testified, he walked back toward the living room. S.M.L. kicked him in the lower back, and he fell to the ground. She jumped on top of him and hit the hutch with her knees as she did so. S.M.L. clawed at Lee’s face, and Lee attempted to grab her arms. He pushed her in the chest, and her back hit the hutch. S.M.L. put Lee in a headlock and scratched at him every time he turned his head. He was making noise, so she grabbed his testicles and told him to shut up.

According to Lee, at this point their 2-year-old woke up, and S.M.L. stood up and went to the bedroom to soothe the child. Lee "army...