State v. Payne

• Decision Date: 22 March 2011
• Docket Number: No. DA 10–0178.,DA 10–0178.
• Citation: 2011 MT 35,359 Mont. 270,248 P.3d 842
• Parties: STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee,v.Tyrone PAYNE, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

359 Mont. 270

248 P.3d 842

2011 MT 35

STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.Tyrone PAYNE, Defendant and Appellant.

No. DA 10–0178.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs Jan. 12, 2011.Decided March 1, 2011.Rehearing Denied March 22, 2011.

For Appellant: Joslyn Hunt, Chief Appellate Defender, Garrett R. Norcott, Assistant Appellate Defender, Helena, Montana.For Appellee: Steve Bullock, Montana Attorney General, Jonathan M. Krauss, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana, Fred R. Van Valkenburg, Missoula County Attorney, Jason Marks, Deputy County Attorney, Missoula, Montana.Justice PATRICIA O. COTTER delivered the Opinion of the Court.

[359 Mont. 271] ¶ 1 After moving from Connecticut to Montana, Tyrone Payne failed to register with the Montana sexual offender registry as required by law. He was arrested and charged with felony failure to register. Following a jury trial, he was convicted. Payne challenges the sufficiency of the State's evidence, the admission of hearsay evidence, and the appropriateness of certain prosecutor remarks during closing argument. We affirm.

ISSUES

¶ 2 A restatement of the issues on appeal is:

¶ 3 Did the District Court err in denying Payne's motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence?

¶ 4 Did the District Court abuse its discretion when it allowed hearsay evidence over Payne's objection?

¶ 5 Did the prosecutor invade the province of the jury by making remarks that constituted comments on the evidence?

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 6 Prior to moving to Missoula, Montana, Tyrone Payne lived in Connecticut where he had been registered with that state's sexual offender registry since January 1999. Upon relocating to Missoula at some time prior to December 2008, Payne did not register with the Montana sexual offender registry nor did he notify the Connecticut registry of his relocation.

¶ 7 On March 16, 2009, Payne was stopped in Missoula on a traffic violation. Officer Franke was one of the two officers participating in the stop. It is unclear from the record exactly what discussions took place during this encounter because Payne's and Franke's testimonies are in direct conflict. What can be discerned is that during the traffic stop, the officers learned that Payne was a registered sex offender in Connecticut. Franke claims to have asked Payne if he was registered in Montana and that Payne told him that Connecticut authorities advised he did not have to register in Montana. Payne claims no such discussion occurred. However, during this traffic stop, Franke contacted Detective Merifield of the Missoula Police Department and asked her to investigate whether Payne was required to register in Montana and whether he had done so. Payne was not arrested that night for failure to comply with Montana's sexual offender registration laws.

¶ 8 Payne claims that on March 21, Franke found him in a bar and ordered him outside for questioning about his failure to register in Montana. Payne states he told Franke that his failure to register had not been a problem during their encounter on March 16 and if he is supposed to register, just tell him. According to Payne, Franke told him to “figure it out.” Franke testified that he does not specifically recall this encounter. He recalls, however, that within a few days of his March 16 message to Merifield, Merifield got in touch with him and told him that Payne was required to register in Montana. On March 24, Franke found Payne and arrested him for felony failure to register. The Information was filed on April 8, 2009. On April 21, Payne entered a not guilty plea.

¶ 9 On September 9, 2009, Payne filed a stipulation that provided, among other things, that the jury would be told that he (Payne) had a duty to register in Connecticut and a duty to register in Montana but would not be told any of the details of the underlying offense. The stipulation also informed the jury that at the time of his arrest in Montana there was no arrest warrant for Payne out of Connecticut.

¶ 10 Also on September 9, 2009, Payne filed a motion in limine requesting that the District Court preclude from evidence a document provided by the State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety. This document consisted of two pages—the first page was the Sex Offender Advisement of Registration Requirements signed by Payne on May 30, 2008, and the second page was a notice that Payne was not in compliance with Connecticut law because he had failed to confirm his address as of September 23, 2008. Payne asserted that the evidence should be precluded based on hearsay, violation of the confrontation clause, and surprise. The State objected to the motion.

¶ 11 The following day, just prior to the commencement of Payne's trial and outside the presence of the jury, Payne's motion in limine was discussed and the District Court reserved ruling on it. During the trial but before the court ruled on the motion, the State withdrew its objection and the court subsequently granted Payne's motion.

¶ 12 Officer Franke and Detective Merifield testified on behalf of the State. Neither Payne nor any other witness testified for the defense. During Merifield's testimony, the prosecutor asked her if she learned during her investigation whether Payne was in compliance with Connecticut registration law. Payne's counsel immediately objected, indicating that his objection “goes to the motion in limine.” An unrecorded sidebar occurred after which the District Court overruled Payne's objection and allowed Merifield to continue. She testified that Payne was not in compliance with Connecticut's registration laws.

¶ 13 The jury rendered a unanimous verdict of guilt. Payne filed a timely appeal.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 14 We review de novo a district court's denial of a motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence. State v. Ommundson, 2008 MT 340, ¶ 10, 346 Mont. 263, 194 P.3d 672.

¶ 15 We review rulings on the admissibility of evidence to determine if the district court abused its broad discretion. Clark v. Bell, 2009 MT 390, ¶ 16, 353 Mont. 331, 220 P.3d 650.

DISCUSSION

¶ 16 Did the District Court err in denying Payne's motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence?

¶ 17 At the close of the State's case, Payne moved to dismiss the case for insufficient evidence. Having stipulated that he had a duty to register and acknowledging that he had not registered within the time required by statute, Payne argued exclusively that the State failed to prove that he acted “knowingly” when he failed to register in Montana. The District Court denied Payne's motion.

¶ 18 On appeal, Payne again claims that the State failed to prove an essential element of the crime, i.e., that he “knowingly” failed to register. He argues that jurors were not presented with any evidence of his knowledge of the registration requirement. He also asserts that evidence presented to the jury showed that Officer Franke did not arrest him during their first or second encounters for failing to register because Franke himself was unsure of whether Payne was required to register.

¶ 19 The State claims it presented evidence that Franke did instruct Payne to register. Furthermore it argues that even if Franke had not, “[i]gnorance of the law is no defense in Montana.” In other words, the State is not required to prove that Payne had been instructed to register; it need prove only that he knowingly failed to do so. Lastly, the State submits that Payne “knew” the following critical facts: he had previously been a registered sexual offender in Connecticut; he moved from Connecticut to Montana; he did not register in Montana.

¶ 20 Section 46–23–507, MCA, in relevant part, provides:

A sexual or violent offender who knowingly fails to register ... under this part may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than 5 years or may be fined not more than $10,000, or both.

Under this, and other companion statutes, Payne was obligated to register as an offender in Montana within three days of entering Missoula County. See § 46–23–504(1)(c) and (d), MCA. It is undisputed that he failed to do so.

¶ 21 The criminal state of mind attributed to § 46–23–507, MCA, is “knowingly.” Section 45–2–101(35), MCA, provides three definitions of “knowingly.” In this case, the relevant definition was given to the jury in the form of a jury instruction by the District Court: “A person acts knowingly with respect to a specific circumstance defined by an offense when the person is aware of that circumstance.” The court gave additional jury instructions on purpose and knowledge as well. Payne did not challenge the court's jury instructions, and does not attempt to challenge them here.

¶ 22 We are persuaded by the State's argument that Payne is presumed to know the law of Montana. For at least a century, it has been the law in Montana that “ignorance of the law is no defense.” State ex rel. Rowe v. District Court, 44 Mont. 318, 324, 119 P. 1103, 1106 (1911), superseded by statute on other grounds in State ex rel. Shea v. Judicial Standards Comm., 198 Mont. 15, 643 P.2d 210 (1982) (“If a person accused of a crime could shield himself behind the defense that he was ignorant of the law which he violated, immunity from punishment would in most cases result. No system of criminal justice could be sustained with such an element in it to obstruct the course of its administration.”). We reiterated this rule in State v. Trujillo, 2008 MT 101, ¶ 15, 342 Mont. 319, 180 P.3d 1153, when we held that Trujillo unlawfully trespassed onto another's land despite his assertions that he had not passed through any gates or barriers intended to bar access. Similarly, in State v. G'Stohl, 2010 MT 7, ¶ 14, 355 Mont. 43, 223 P.3d 926, we noted that “people are presumed to know the law” and will not be relieved of criminal liability for their failure to comply with it.

¶ 23 Under this analysis, it was Payne's responsibility to determine if he was required to register with the...