State v. Packard
| Decision Date | 13 November 2019 |
| Docket Number | #28789 |
| Citation | 935 N.W.2d 804 |
| Parties | STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Jonathan Jerome PACKARD, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | South Dakota Supreme Court |
BEAU J. BLOUIN, CHRISTOPHER MILES of Minnehaha County Public Defender’s Office, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Attorneys for defendant and appellant.
JASON R. RAVNSBORG, Attorney General, GRANT FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General, Pierre, South Dakota, Attorneys for plaintiff and appellee.
[¶1.] Jonathan Packard appeals his convictions for second-degree rape and simple assault. He alleges that the circuit court should have granted a mistrial after one of the prospective jurors—a law enforcement officer—arrived in full uniform, and in response to a question, indicated that he knew Packard. He further alleges that the circuit court erred when it admitted a narrative report prepared by an emergency room nurse summarizing the victim’s oral statements made during a sexual assault examination. We affirm.
[¶2.] On the evening of September 30, 2015, S.S., her mother, and her neighbor (Charles) were sitting around a fire pit in her mother’s driveway consuming alcoholic beverages. Around midnight, after S.S.’s mother had gone inside her home for the night, two men were walking by the driveway. Charles and S.S. were still sitting by the fire, and the two men stopped to talk to them. Neither S.S. nor Charles knew either man. S.S. described one man as shorter and more talkative, while the other was tall and did not speak. The shorter man asked Charles for a cigarette and struck up a conversation. Charles eventually asked the two men to leave, and they complied.
[¶3.] Charles and S.S. continued to sit around the fire until between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. when Charles went inside his home. After Charles left, S.S. poured water on the fire, disposed of the wood, and took the fire pit inside her mother’s garage. While S.S. was still inside the garage, but at some unknown point, she awoke finding herself face down on her stomach on the garage floor. She could not recall how she ended up there. However, she believed she had gotten hit on the head because the last thing she remembered was looking at the lock on the garage, and she had not yet closed the garage door. When she woke up, the garage door was closed, and she could feel that she was lying in kitty litter remnants and oil residue. She could also feel that her pants and underwear were being pulled down, and a man was lying on top of her. S.S. explained that she felt the full weight of his body and smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from him.
[¶4.] S.S. did not fight against the man as he laid on top of her because she was worried that the situation would become worse. After he penetrated S.S.’s vagina with his penis, he flipped her onto her back and continued to penetrate her. S.S. believed he had ejaculated. After he stood up, S.S. also stood up, pulled up her pants, and opened the garage door. With the garage door open, S.S. recognized that her attacker was one of the men—the taller, quieter one—that had stopped by the fire when she and Charles were still in the driveway. She told him to leave, but according to S.S., he seemed confused about her request. When she reiterated that he must leave, the man left the garage.
[¶5.] S.S. then closed and locked the garage door and ran into her mother’s home where she cleaned the kitty litter and grease off her face and hair. S.S. did not shower; rather, she fell asleep on the living room floor. Later the next day, S.S. told her parents about the rape. She did not want to call law enforcement because she was embarrassed and ashamed. She was worried that people would judge her because she is Native American and would try to "make it [her] fault."
[¶6.] S.S. noted that she had a big knot on the left side of her head and was really sore. She went to the emergency room around 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. and was initially examined by an emergency room nurse. The nurse, Erin Stansbury, obtained S.S.’s general health history and determined whether any injuries currently needed treatment. Thereafter, Stansbury completed a Sexual Assault Nurse Evaluation (SANE) note, which is the form used by the hospital for a sexual assault interview. Stansbury explained that her interview for the SANE note generally includes "specific questions about different types of possible injuries, were they hit, kicked anywhere, whether or not there was vaginal penetration, [or] anal penetration[.]" Stansbury testified that she also asks victims to describe "exactly what happened in their words." Both the nurse and the treating doctor use the information in the SANE note to determine what evidentiary samples to collect from the victim.
[¶7.] During her interview of S.S., Stansbury recorded, among other things, a description of S.S.’s assailant and S.S.’s account of the assault. After completing the interview, Stansbury and Dr. Beth Ellen Lapka obtained buccal, vaginal, and cervical swabs from S.S. The swabs were later tested by the South Dakota State Health Laboratory. This testing confirmed the presence of semen on the vaginal and cervical swabs. DNA testing confirmed that the semen originated from Jonathan Packard.
[¶8.] Law enforcement interviewed Packard. He denied knowing S.S. and denied having sex with her. He persisted in his denial despite being informed of the DNA evidence. Packard was arrested and charged by indictment with one count of second-degree rape and four counts of simple assault. The State also filed a part II information, alleging Packard to be a habitual offender. Packard pled not guilty, and a jury trial was held on September 25–27, 2017.
[¶9.] During voir dire, the circuit court asked prospective jurors whether anyone knew Packard. Prospective juror Schulz—a police officer appearing in full uniform—replied, "I do." The court asked Officer Schulz to state his occupation, and he explained that he was a police officer with the City of Sioux Falls. The court also asked Officer Schulz how long he had been an officer, and he replied that he had been an officer for fifteen years. Finally, the court asked Officer Schulz whether, based on his "past experience as a police officer," he believed "this probably isn't the right case, kind of case for [him] to be sitting on[.]" Officer Schulz responded, "I think I would agree with that." The court dismissed Officer Schulz without objection from either party. Thereafter, Packard requested a mistrial, arguing that Officer Schulz’s statements tainted the jury pool. The court denied the motion.
[¶10.] During the trial testimony from Stansbury, the emergency room nurse, the State sought to admit the SANE note she had prepared during her interview of S.S. Packard objected, and a discussion was held off the record. Thereafter, Packard objected on the record, asserting that the exhibit lacked foundation. The court overruled the objection and admitted the SANE note. During her testimony, Stansbury explained the process she used to complete the SANE note and the SANE kit. She also testified regarding the consent form signed by S.S. prior to the examination. On this consent form, S.S. indicated that she understood she was not participating in a routine medical checkup, but rather, a sexual assault evidentiary examination.
[¶11.] During a trial recess, Packard asked the court to revisit his previous objection to the admission of the SANE note raised earlier during the sidebar discussion between counsel and the court. Defense counsel related that during the sidebar, his objection was "to portions of that document that contained -- specifically, the portions that contained the description of Mr. Packard." Counsel renewed this objection and argued that such information was hearsay and did not meet any exception. The court overruled this objection but requested a copy of the report, explaining that the court would review it "[s]o if there’s anything we need to redact, we can still do it." The SANE note was ultimately admitted in its entirety, with the exception of one redaction not at issue in this appeal.
[¶12.] At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found Packard guilty of second-degree rape and simple assault. Packard appeals, asserting the circuit court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial and in admitting the sexual assault examination note.
[¶13.] We review a denial of a motion for a mistrial for an abuse of discretion. State v. Buchhold , 2007 S.D. 15, ¶ 17, 727 N.W.2d 816, 821. We likewise review the decision to admit evidence pursuant to the hearsay exception in SDCL 19-19-803(4) for an abuse of discretion. State v. Roach , 2012 S.D. 91, ¶ 26, 825 N.W.2d 258, 266.
Voir Dire—Officer Schulz’s comment
[¶14.] Packard argues that the circuit court erred in denying his request for a mistrial after Officer Schulz’s comment purportedly tainted the jury pool. Packard points out that Officer Schulz arrived for jury duty in his full uniform. He then faults the circuit court for not addressing the officer’s familiarity with Packard outside the presence of the other prospective jurors. Packard deems insignificant the fact that Officer Schulz did not specify how he knew Packard. Rather, to Packard, "the implication was clear," and "[t]he default assumption by prospective jurors must have been that Officer Schulz was familiar with Packard due to his prior encounters with the criminal justice system." Packard further claims that Officer Schulz’s comment prejudiced him "because he is a Native American male with tattoos on his face[.]"
[¶15.] The United States Constitution and the South Dakota Constitution guarantee the right to an impartial jury. U.S. Const. amend. VI ; S.D. Const. art. VI, § 7. This means in part that "the minds of the jurors [should] be without bias or prejudice[.]" State v. Dillon , 2010 S.D. 72, ¶ 32, 788 N.W.2d 360,...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Snodgrass
...admissible as statements made for medical diagnosis or treatment under SDCL 19-19-803(4). See State v. Packard , 2019 S.D. 61, ¶ 23, 935 N.W.2d 804, 811. However, because the hearsay statements were properly admitted under SDCL 19-19-806.1, it is unnecessary to consider the admissibility of......
- State v. Taylor
- State v. Richmond
-
State v. Hankins
...as statements made to a medical professional for purposes of diagnosis or treatment.1 See State v. Packard , 2019 S.D. 61, ¶ 26, 935 N.W.2d 804, 811 (noting that in child abuse cases, "statements identifying the abuser may be reasonably pertinent to treatment"). We conclude the circuit cour......