State v. Sheahan

• Decision Date: 04 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. 29121.,29121.
• Citation: 139 Idaho 267,77 P.3d 956
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Billy G. SHEAHAN, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

77 P.3d 956

139 Idaho 267

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Billy G. SHEAHAN, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 29121.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, April 2003 Term.

August 4, 2003.

Molly J. Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant. Mark James Ackley argued.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued.

SCHROEDER, Justice.

This case is before the Court on a petition to review the Court of Appeals decision vacating the conviction of Billy Sheahan for first degree murder for the shooting death of Darrell Fernquist, a bail bondsman. The State requests that this Court affirm the original conviction.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Court of Appeals accurately set forth the background of the case:

Sheahan was arrested for misdemeanor offenses in Shoshone and Kootenai Counties. Fernquist, as co-owner of Access Bail Bonds, posted bail for Sheahan in the aggregate amount of $2800 for Sheahan's release. Sheahan thereafter failed to appear at a pretrial conference for the offenses. The district court issued two bench warrants for Sheahan's apprehension. Under the terms of Idaho's bail statutes, Fernquist was required to have Sheahan appear before the district court within ninety days after Sheahan's missed appearance or risk permanent forfeiture of the posted bail amount.

Fernquist contacted a recovery agent to try to apprehend Sheahan. Fernquist also stopped at Sheahan's residence in Pinehurst, Idaho several times searching for Sheahan and left business cards with Sheahan's neighbor. Prior to his attempts to apprehend Sheahan, Fernquist had never attempted to apprehend a bail jumper.

Approximately ten days before the bond's permanent forfeiture, Fernquist made an early morning trip to Sheahan's residence. On this visit, Sheahan shot and killed Fernquist inside the residence. After the shooting, Sheahan eventually went to a friend's house, called 911 and told the dispatcher that he had shot someone who was breaking into his house.

The details of Fernquist's death were disputed at trial. The state's theory of the case was that Sheahan knew that someone would be looking for him because he had failed to appear in court. As Sheahan saw Fernquist coming to apprehend him, Sheahan decided to kill Fernquist. A piece of pipe which was broken off from other pipe located in Sheahan's garage was found near Fernquist's body. However, it had no fingerprints. Thus, the state suggested that Sheahan placed the pipe near Fernquist to bolster his justifiable homicide claim. Additionally, the state presented evidence that in an incident about five weeks before the shooting, Sheahan had pointed a gun where an officer stood at the threshold of his residence.

Sheahan's theory of the case was that the shooting was justifiable. He stressed that Fernquist was not wearing official clothing that would identify him as an authority figure coming to apprehend Sheahan. Nor did neighbors hear Fernquist announce his presence at the residence. Also, the window in the front door had been broken from the outside. Fernquist had small slivers of glass on his body while Sheahan had none. Thus, Sheahan argued that Fernquist broke into his residence with a weapon, startled him and that he shot a single gunshot to stop what he believed to be an intruder.

A jury found Sheahan guilty of first degree murder. Sheahan appealed and the case was assigned to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals vacated the conviction, finding that the jury instruction for "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" misstated the law and that the district court erroneously admitted irrelevant evidence of a prior incident where Sheahan pointed a gun toward a door where a police officer stood. The Court of Appeals also affirmed the district court's denial of Sheahan's motion for change of venue and provided as guidance that evidence of Sheahan's non-use of weapons when taking persons into custody was improperly admitted. The State now appeals, requesting this Court to affirm the original conviction. Sheahan appeals the district court's denial of his motion for a change of venue and also argues ten other issues, which were raised but not addressed by the Court of Appeals.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

When considering a case on review from the Court of Appeals, this Court does not merely review the correctness of the decision of the Court of Appeals. Leavitt v. Swain, 133 Idaho 624, 627, 991 P.2d 349, 352 (1999). This Court acts as though it is hearing the matter on direct appeal from the decision of the trial court. However, this Court does give serious consideration to the decision of the Court of Appeals. Id.; Sato v. Schossberger, 117 Idaho 771, 774-75, 792 P.2d 336, 339-40 (1990). When this Court grants a petition to review a Court of Appeals decision, it will ordinarily hear all the issues presented to the Court of Appeals. Sato,117 Idaho at 774,792 P.2d at 339.

Constitutional issues and the propriety of jury instructions are questions of law over which this Court exercises free review. State v. Statton, 136 Idaho 135, 136, 30 P.3d 290, 291 (2001); Clark v. Klein, 137 Idaho 154, 156, 45 P.3d 810, 812 (2002). If a reasonable doubt instruction is found to have lessened the state's burden of proof, the error is never harmless error. Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 281, 113 S.Ct. 2078, 2082, 124 L.Ed.2d 182, 190 (1993) ("[T]he essential connection to a `beyond a reasonable doubt' factual finding cannot be made where the instructional error consists of a misdescription of the burden of proof, which vitiates all the jury's findings").

III. THE JURY INSTRUCTION DEFINING "PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT" ADEQUATELY STATES THE LAW

The jury instruction used by the district court to define "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" states:

"Proof beyond a reasonable doubt" is proof that leaves you with an abiding conviction of the truth of the charge against the defendant. An abiding conviction is one that would make an ordinary person willing to act in the most important affairs of his or her own life. There are very few things in this world that we know with absolute certainty, and in criminal cases the law does not require proof which overcomes every possible doubt. If, based upon your consideration of the evidence, you have an abiding conviction that the defendant is guilty of the crime charged, you must find the defendant guilty. If on the other hand, you think there is a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt, you must give the defendant the benefit of the doubt and find the defendant not guilty.

When reviewing jury instructions, this Court must determine whether "the instructions, as a whole, fairly and adequately present the issues and state the law." Silver Creek Computers, Inc. v. Petra, Inc., 136 Idaho 879, 882, 42 P.3d 672, 675 (2002). When reviewing a "reasonable doubt" instruction, "[t]he Constitution does not dictate that any particular form of words be used in advising the jury of the State's burden of proof, so long as `taken as a whole, the instructions correctly conve[y] the concept of reasonable doubt.'" State v. Gleason, 130 Idaho 586, 589, 944 P.2d 721, 724 (Ct.App.1997) (quoting Holland v. United States, 348 U.S. 121, 140, 75 S.Ct. 127, 137-38, 99 L.Ed. 150, 166 (1954)). An erroneous instruction does not constitute reversible error unless the instructions, when taken as a whole, misled the jury or prejudiced a party. Silver Creek Computers, 136 Idaho at 882, 42 P.3d at 675; State v. Nath, 137 Idaho 712, 716, 52 P.3d 857, 861 (2002). If a reasonable doubt instruction is found to have lessened the state's burden of proof, the error is never harmless error. Sullivan, 508 U.S. at 281, 113 S.Ct. at 2082-83, 124 L.Ed.2d at 190.

Idaho cases have described "reasonable doubt" as not being a fanciful or imaginary doubt. See State v. Taylor, 76 Idaho 358, 361-62, 283 P.2d 582, 584-85 (1955)

(approving an instruction stating that a reasonable doubt is not "a flimsy, fanciful, fictitious doubt which you could raise about anything and everything"); State v. Levy, 9 Idaho 483, 496, 75 P. 227, 231 (1904) (a reasonable doubt is not "a mere imaginary, captious or possible doubt"); People v. Dewey, 2 Idaho 79, 82, 6 P. 103, 106 (1885) (approving an instruction stating that a reasonable doubt is not "a mere possible doubt, nor is it a captious or imaginary doubt"). Also, the Idaho Criminal Jury Instructions define "reasonable doubt" as not "mere possible doubt, because everything relating to human affairs, and depending on moral evidence, is open to some possible or imaginary doubt." I.C.J.I. 103.¹ However, reasonable doubt instructions need not exactly quote Instruction 103 to survive a challenge on appeal. State v. Harris, 136 Idaho 484, 485, 36 P.3d 836, 837 (Ct.App.2001). Idaho cases have also permitted jury instructions that provide the State need not overcome every "possible doubt," with no reference to terms such as imaginary or fanciful. See State v. Merwin, 131 Idaho 642, 962 P.2d 1026 (1998); State v. Hoffman, 123 Idaho 638, 643, 851 P.2d 934, 939 (1993).²

In Merwin the Court addressed the issue of whether a "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" jury instruction that said the prosecution is not required to overcome "every possible doubt" misstated the law. The Court stated:

We first address Merwin's contention that the district court misstated the law when it instructed the jury that the prosecution was not required to overcome every possible doubt. We find Merwin's arguments to be unpersuasive. Idaho Criminal Jury Instruction 103, itself, states that reasonable doubt "is not mere possible doubt." Although worded differently, the instruction given by the district court stated the same legal proposition. That is, the prosecution need overcome only those doubts that are reasonable, not just possible. We therefore find no error.

131 Idaho at 647,962 P.2d at 1031. The jury instruction in Merwin...