State v. Stephen F.
Decision Date | 09 January 2007 |
Docket Number | No. 24,007.,24,007. |
Citation | 2007 NMCA 025,152 P.3d 842 |
Parties | STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. STEPHEN F., a child, Child-Appellant. |
Court | Court of Appeals of New Mexico |
Gary K. King, Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, Jacqueline R. Medina, Assistant Attorney General, Albuquerque, NM, for Appellee.
John Bigelow, Chief Public Defender, Vicki W. Zelle, Assistant Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant.
{1} In this case we consider the tension between an accused's confrontation rights and our rape shield statute, which precludes admission of evidence of a witness's past sexual conduct under certain circumstances. Stephen F. (Child) appeals his convictions for two counts of criminal sexual penetration and argues that the trial court erred in excluding evidence of the State's main witness's past sexual activities, which according to Child, showed the witness's motive to fabricate. We conclude that Child made the requisite showing under State v. Johnson, "establish[ing] a constitutional right to present evidence otherwise excluded by our [rape shield] statute." 1997-NMSC-036, ¶ 28, 123 N.M. 640, 944 P.2d 869. Therefore, we hold that the trial court abused its discretion in excluding testimony that tended to prove the complaining witness's motive to lie, and we reverse Child's convictions and remand for a new trial. Child makes an additional argument that we briefly address to provide guidance on remand.
{2} This is our second opportunity to address Child's appeal. Following his convictions, Child appealed, making the same arguments we consider in the present appeal. He also argued that his post-trial dispositional hearing occurred beyond the time limit provided in the Children's Court Rules. Relying on this procedural argument, this Court reversed Child's convictions and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss the charges. State v. Stephen F., 2005-NMCA-048, ¶¶ 25-27, 137 N.M. 409, 112 P.3d 270, rev'd in part on other grounds, 2006-NMSC-030, 140 N.M. 24, 139 P.3d 184. On certiorari, our Supreme Court agreed with this Court that the time limit in the Children's Court Rule indeed applied, but reversed this Court with respect to the remedy of dismissal. Stephen F., 2006-NMSC-030, ¶ 19, 140 N.M. 24, 139 P.3d 184. The Supreme Court then remanded the appeal to this Court to resolve the remaining substantive issues. Id.
{3} In order to put the facts in context, we first set out the New Mexico rape shield statute. NMSA 1978, § 30-9-16 (1993), provides in part:
A. As a matter of substantive right, in prosecutions pursuant to the provisions of Sections 30-9-11 through 30-9-15 NMSA 1978, evidence of the victim's past sexual conduct, opinion evidence of the victim's past sexual conduct or of reputation for past sexual conduct, shall not be admitted unless, and only to the extent that the court finds that, the evidence is material to the case and that its inflammatory or prejudicial nature does not outweigh its probative value.
. . . .
C. If the evidence referred to in Subsection A . . . of this section is proposed to be offered, the defendant shall file a written motion prior to trial. The court shall hear the pretrial motion prior to trial at an in camera hearing to determine whether the evidence is admissible pursuant to the provisions of Subsection A or B of this section. If new information, which the defendant proposes to offer pursuant to the provisions of Subsection A or B of this section, is discovered prior to or during the trial, the judge shall order an in camera hearing to determine whether the proposed evidence is admissible. If the proposed evidence is deemed admissible, the court shall issue a written order stating what evidence may be introduced by the defendant and stating the specific questions to be permitted.
The corresponding evidence rule, Rule 11-413 NMRA, is consistent with the statute.
{4} The parties do not dispute that on the night in question, Child and the State's main complaining witness and alleged victim (B.G.) engaged in sexual intercourse. B.G. was sixteen at the time, and Child was fifteen. According to B.G.'s trial testimony, Child, B.G., and B.G.'s brother had been watching movies in B.G.'s bedroom. B.G. testified that Child, a friend of her brother and family for nine years, usually slept on the couch in the living room when he stayed over. B.G. then testified that after Child had headed for bed in the living room, he came back into her room and forced her to engage in sexual conduct, including oral, vaginal, and anal intercourse. The morning after the incident, B.G. told her mother that Child had raped her. B.G.'s accusations led to the State's prosecution of Child for, among other charges, three counts of criminal sexual penetration in violation of NMSA 1978, § 30-9-11 (2003). Child was convicted of two counts of criminal sexual penetration.
{5} Child's theory of the case was that the intercourse was consensual. Specifically, Child's defense was that B.G. lied because she feared punishment from her parents for engaging in premarital sex. Child based his defense on B.G.'s statement that prior to the incident with Child, she had sexual relations with her then boyfriend, and that her parents, upon learning of their daughter's sexual conduct, had punished her. Because of the punishment that B.G. had experienced as a result of her prior consensual sexual experience, Child argued B.G. was motivated to lie to avoid punishment.
{6} Pursuant to the rape shield statute and corresponding rule of evidence, Child requested a hearing to determine the admissibility of evidence regarding B.G.'s prior sexual conduct, and the punishment she suffered because of it, to support Child's theory that B.G. had motive to fabricate the rape. Child stated that he was "not offering evidence of [B.G.'s] prior sexual encounter to show propensity," but that he intended "to show that she has a powerful motive to fabricate." In her statement to defense counsel, B.G. said her mother "was really upset[] [about my having engaged in sex with my boyfriend;] she said that it was going to take her a long time to trust me again, . . . about three or four months[,] . . . and I wasn't allowed to go out on dates with guys." In the same statement, B.G. explained that her mother's disapproval of B.G.'s sexual behavior was based on religious values. Child's theory was that B.G. was motivated to fabricate the claim of rape because she feared the punishment and disapproval of her parents, devout Christians who "don't believe in sex before marriage."
{7} Relying on the rape shield statute and corresponding rule of evidence, the State opposed Child's motion and argued that Child was using the motive to fabricate as a pretext for offering the evidence to show propensity. The State argued that "the way a family with strong Christian values chooses to handle a family problem" was irrelevant to the issues in the case.
{8} At the pretrial in camera hearing on the motion in limine, the trial court agreed with the State's position and explained to defense counsel, In denying Child's motion seeking admission of B.G.'s statement, the trial court said,
{9} The primary issue in this case is resolved by Johnson. In that case, our Supreme Court explained that rape shield laws were enacted in reaction to the historic use of evidence of an alleged victim's prior sexual conduct "on the reasoning that someone who had consented previously would have been more likely to have consented on the particular occasion at issue." 1997-NMSC-036, ¶ 11, 123 N.M. 640, 944 P.2d 869. In general, rape shield laws restrict the use of evidence of an alleged victim's prior sexual conduct to establish consent because such evidence "is only marginally, if at all, probative of consent." Id. ¶ 12 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In shielding alleged victims from exposing their sexual history, rape shield laws protect alleged victims from harassment and encourage them to report and testify. Id.
{10} Rape shield laws are not absolute bars to the admission of an alleged victim's sexual history. The purpose of rape shield laws is "not to remove relevant evidence from the jury's consideration." Id. ¶ 21 (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Our Supreme Court in Johnson explained that "evidence of [the alleged victim's] prior sexual conduct must be admitted if a defendant shows that evidence implicates his or her constitutional right of confrontation." Id. ¶ 22 (emphasis added). For example, a defendant's right to show the alleged victim's bias can trump the protection afforded by a rape shield law. Cf. Olden v. Kentucky, 488 U.S. 227, 231, 109 S.Ct. 480, 102 L.Ed.2d 513 (1988) (per curiam) ( ); Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 319, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974) (...
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