State v. Quinlan
| Decision Date | 26 January 2021 |
| Docket Number | DA 19-0071 |
| Citation | 2021 MT 15,479 P.3d 982,403 Mont. 91 |
| Parties | STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Justin QUINLAN, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
For Appellant: Chad Wright, Appellate Defender, Moses Okeyo, Assistant Appellate Defender, Helena, Montana
For Appellee: Austin Knudsen, Montana Attorney General, C. Mark Fowler, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana, C. Kristine White, Rosebud County Attorney, David Ole Olson, Special Assistant County Attorney, Forsyth, Montana
¶1 Justin Quinlan appeals his conviction after jury trial in the Sixteenth Judicial District, Rosebud County, of Incest, in violation of § 45-5-507(1), (5), MCA. We restate the issues as follows:
¶2 We affirm.
¶3 Justin and Heather Quinlan met as teenagers and were engaged in a relationship for over twenty years.1 The Quinlans lived in the unincorporated town of Rosebud, Montana, in Rosebud County, and had three children: A.Q., S.Q., and Q.Q. Although he provided for his family, Justin Quinlan (Quinlan) was not usually attentive to his children. When not working, Quinlan typically repaired derby cars. Quinlan and Heather fought extensively in the children's presence, primarily about Quinlan's serial infidelity, about which the children were aware. In 2014, A.Q. and S.Q. witnessed Quinlan engaging in relations with another woman. Heather was seven months pregnant with Q.Q. at the time.
¶4 Following a referral from S.Q.’s school, Patti Fitterer and Sway Gutierez, a behavioral intervention specialist and licensed social worker, respectively, with the Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center, counseled S.Q. on social and organizational skills, from April 2015 to May 2016. S.Q. confided to them her frustration over Quinlan's infidelity and her desire to spend more time with him.
¶5 In the early days of August 2016, Heather went to Spokane, Washington to care for her ailing father. Anticipating being gone for multiple weeks, Heather left S.Q., then 11 years old, in the care of Misty Zweifel, the mother of one of S.Q.’s friends, during the weekends. S.Q. returned home on weekdays to stay with Quinlan and A.Q., her older brother. On Sunday, August 14, Quinlan took S.Q. fishing and she proudly caught a catfish. On August 15, Quinlan and S.Q. travelled to Miles City to purchase supplies, and stayed with Quinlan's mother, Theresa Williams, that night. While Quinlan was at work the next day, S.Q. went to the home of her friend, A.A., to play for the afternoon. Just before suppertime, S.Q. made her first statement regarding Quinlan, telling A.A., while shaking and tearing up, that her father was practicing "sex ed" on her. A.A. relayed this information to her mother, Shanda Anderson, who spoke with S.Q. about her statement. S.Q. provided few details, but Anderson testified that S.Q. was crying and shaking, and Anderson contacted Heather in Spokane. Heather was initially skeptical of S.Q.’s assertions and, after speaking to Anderson and S.Q. on the phone, directed her mother-in-law, Williams, to pick up S.Q. from the Anderson home. Heather notified Quinlan of S.Q.’s statement.
¶6 Williams immediately took S.Q. to the emergency room at the Rosebud Health Center. On the way, S.Q. said only, "I'm sorry grandma." Lorraine Ackerman, a nurse practitioner, interviewed S.Q. and performed a physical exam. S.Q. told Ackerman that Quinlan tried to have sex with her a few days ago and provided details of several sexual encounters with Quinlan. Ackerman examined S.Q., finding no trauma, and she reported the incident to the Department of Public Health and Human Services (Department).
¶7 Jennifer Winkley, a Child Protection Supervisor for the Department, received Ackerman's report and assigned the case to Sheana Rose, a Child Protection Specialist. Winkley conveyed the allegations to Rosebud County Sheriff Allen Fulton, who, with the consent of both Heather and Quinlan, conducted a forensic interview of S.Q. Officer Bridger Wren of the Sheriff's Department and Rose observed the interview in an adjacent room. Providing a rough narrative, S.Q. described three or four incidents that happened "around last week." Specifically, she told Winkley that Quinlan put his "bad spot" in her "bad spot" and that "it happened mostly in the butt," and described Quinlan making her get down on her hands and knees. S.Q. said she did not want her dad to go to jail. After the interview, the Department put a protection plan in place that prohibited Quinlan from having contact with S.Q.
¶8 Later that afternoon, Fulton and Wren contacted Quinlan, who agreed to an interview. Quinlan did not admit to the allegations, but stated that if they had happened, he did not remember them, and thus he must have been sleeping. Quinlan consented to a search of his home, and Wren collected a bedsheet, blanket, and two pairs of Quinlan's underwear as evidence.2 Rose interviewed S.Q.’s family members and, learning that many of them did not believe her accusations, determined the best course of action was to place S.Q. into voluntary foster care to protect her from future psychological harm. After Rose received reluctant consent from Heather, the Department placed S.Q. with Robin and Kyle Wolff in Miles City. Q.Q. was placed with them a few days later. While there, S.Q. craved attention and repeatedly expressed frustration about her parents’ relationship. The Department required the Wolffs to complete reports about S.Q.’s behavior, including her truthfulness.
¶9 S.Q. was subsequently examined by Abbey Burger, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, in Billings, and underwent a second forensic interview with Jace Beckett of the Rosebud County Sheriff's Office. Both times she described three discrete incidents with Quinlan, with varying detail, sometimes stating, "I don't remember" or "I'm trying to keep my mind off of it." Burger's examination produced no physical findings of sexual assault.
¶10 In June of 2017, S.Q.’s foster mother, Robin, delivered to the Department a letter written by S.Q. recanting her allegations against Quinlan. During a session with her then-counselor, Pam Colombik, S.Q. explained she wrote the letter because she was upset with her foster parents and wanted to go home. The Department has no record of the letter, and its location is unknown. The following month, in July 2017, Colombik assisted S.Q. in constructing a trauma narrative recounting the events, and S.Q. shared the narrative with Heather. In August of 2017, the Rosebud County Attorney filed an Information alleging Quinlan committed Incest, "[o]n or about August 2 through 16, 2016."
¶11 The State moved the District Court in limine to prohibit Quinlan from introducing "evidence, questions or statements related to ... alleged lies told by [S.Q.] without obtaining prior permission" from the court. The State expressed concern that Quinlan would inappropriately use character evidence to portray S.Q. as a "bad kid." Quinlan countered by arguing he should be allowed to confront S.Q. during cross-examination to challenge her credibility and veracity. The District Court reserved ruling on the admissibility of the evidence until trial, and required Quinlan to first obtain leave from the court to mention "alleged prior bad conduct or alleged lies" by S.Q., outside the presence of the jury.
¶12 In her trial testimony, S.Q. regularly provided simple one-word answers or remained unresponsive for multiple minutes to questions surrounding the allegations and her parents, especially their tumultuous relationship. The District Court eventually permitted the prosecution to ask leading questions to elicit testimony from her. S.Q. spoke about four instances of abuse. The first occurred while S.Q. was sitting on Quinlan's lap watching television. Quinlan took off S.Q.’s clothes and touched her. The second occurred the following day in Quinlan's bedroom. The third again occurred in Quinlan's bedroom, when Quinlan took off S.Q.’s clothing and had her lay down. The fourth occurred in Quinlan's bedroom, when Quinlan had S.Q. get on her hands and knees and lay down in various positions. Except for the first instance, S.Q. testified that Quinlan touched her butt and "bad spot" with Quinlan's "male part." S.Q. was inconsistent on whether A.Q. was home during the incidents, but ultimately settled on the opinion that A.Q. was home during every incident.
¶13 At a break in S.Q.’s testimony, the District Court addressed the reserved evidentiary issues outside the presence of the jury. The State expressed concern that the defense was improperly attempting to introduce extrinsic evidence of specific instances of conduct, i.e., lying, to impeach her credibility. The defense argued it was entitled to introduce evidence of S.Q.’s untruthfulness, and the court inquired, "so tell me exactly which lies do you want to delve into." Defense counsel explained:
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