Taylor v. State, CR
| Decision Date | 24 September 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. CR,CR |
| Citation | 974 S.W.2d 454,334 Ark. 339 |
| Parties | William Dillard TAYLOR, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 97-01240. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Craig Lambert, Little Rock, for Appellant.
Winston Bryant, Atty. Gen., Sandy Moll, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for Appellee.
Appellant William Dillard Taylor was convicted of raping his daughter. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Mr. Taylor argues that the Trial Court erred in denying his motion for change of venue due to pretrial publicity. We hold that the Trial Court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion. In his second point on appeal, Mr. Taylor contends that the Trial Court erroneously refused to excuse a juror for cause based on the juror's confusion as to the standard of proof required for a conviction in a criminal case. We hold that the Trial Court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to excuse the juror because the juror indicated that he could apply the law. Mr. Taylor also argues that the Trial Court erred in admitting the testimony of Mr. Taylor's other children and stepchildren, who testified that Mr. Taylor sexually abused them. We hold that the testimony was properly admitted pursuant to the pedophile exception to Ark. R. Evid. 404(b). In his final point on appeal, Mr. Taylor argues that the Trial Court erred in denying his motion for mistrial due to the prosecuting attorney's reference to the testimony of the children and the stepchildren in his opening statement. We hold that the Trial Court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant the motion because the evidence was admissible and because the Trial Court's admonishment to the jury cured any prejudice.
In his first point on appeal, Mr. Taylor argues that the Trial Court erred in denying his motion for change of venue due to pretrial publicity. We disagree.
Mr. Taylor filed a pretrial motion seeking a change of venue and attached several newspaper articles regarding the case as exhibits to his motion. In the motion, Mr. Taylor argued that because of the pretrial publicity, he could not receive a fair trial in Crawford County or Sebastian County. The day before the trial, the Trial Court held a hearing on the venue motion. Mr. Taylor first introduced the testimony of Marvin Honecutt, an attorney in Van Buren, who testified that he had seen extensive television and newspaper coverage regarding Mr. Taylor and that most of the coverage was in regard to police questioning of Mr. Taylor about the disappearance of Morgan Nick and the apparent murder of Melissa Witt. He further stated that he believed that the jurors in Crawford County would try to give anyone a fair trial, but that in spite of their best efforts, he would be concerned that the thought that Mr. Taylor is the person who killed Melissa Witt or abducted Morgan Nick would be in the back of their mind. On cross-examination, Mr. Honecutt testified that he had not gone throughout the county visiting people about this matter and that he did not know the pulse of the community.
Stephen Parker, a regional reporter for the Southwest Times Record in Van Buren who reports on Crawford and Franklin Counties, testified that the newspaper is the daily major newspaper in Sebastian County, but he was not sure of its status in Crawford County. He further testified that he had not visited extensively with the residents of Crawford County concerning their feelings about Mr. Taylor and that he lived in Fort Smith rather than Crawford County.
Mr. Parker testified as to three articles that he wrote for the newspaper in 1996. He also testified as to a fourth article written by another reporter in 1996. The articles state that Mr. Taylor had been "on the run" from law enforcement authorities and was captured in Oklahoma by a game warden. The articles also state the police planned to question Mr. Taylor about the slaying of Melissa Wick and the disappearance of Morgan Nick, and that Mr. Taylor faced three felony rape warrants involving children between the ages of six and fourteen.
Kenneth Fry, a reporter for the Press-Argus-Courier in Van Buren, testified that the newspaper is a bi-weekly newspaper that is available by subscription or at a newsstand. He stated that he did not know whether the Press-Argus-Courier would reach most subscribers in Crawford County, but that the newspaper had about 7,000 subscribers. He testified regarding articles about Mr. Taylor's case that appeared in the Press-Argus. On cross-examination, Mr. Fry testified that he had not visited with people out in the community in Crawford County concerning Mr. Taylor or his connection with these cases.
Mr. Taylor also introduced a wanted poster which appeared in Crawford County stores. The poster includes a picture of Mr. Taylor with the caption, "Have you seen this man?" The poster also includes a letter from an anonymous writer which states that Mr. Taylor sexually abused the author of the letter and her sisters.
The Trial Court denied the motion for change of venue on the ground that the witnesses did not exhibit any familiarity with the citizens throughout the county, and that the burden is on the defendant to show that it is the opinion of the citizenry that the defendant could not have a fair trial in the county.
The standard of review for denial of a motion for change of venue is whether there was an abuse of discretion by the trial court. Noel v. State, 331 Ark. 79, 960 S.W.2d 439 (1998). Mr. Taylor failed to submit affidavits to support his motion for change of venue as required by Ark.Code Ann. § 16-88-104(a) (1987) (). Three witnesses did testify at the hearing on the matter. A criminal cause may be removed to another county when the minds of the inhabitants of the original county "are so prejudiced against the defendant that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had in that county." Ark.Code Ann. § 16-88-201; Noel v. State, 331 Ark. 79, 960 S.W.2d 439 (1998). However, a motion for change of venue is not properly supported when the movants, affiants or witnesses are unable to show in their testimony that they have a general knowledge as to the state of mind of the inhabitants of the whole county or that they are cognizant of prejudice existing throughout the county. Berry v. State, 290 Ark. 223, 235, 718 S.W.2d 447 (1986). Those witnesses who state the appellant cannot receive a fair trial must be able to show that they either have a general knowledge as to the state of mind of the inhabitants of the whole county, or they are cognizant of prejudice existing throughout the whole county. Bell v. State, 324 Ark. 258, 263, 920 S.W.2d 821 (1996). See also Noel v. State, 331 Ark. 79, 84, 960 S.W.2d 439 (1998) (). It is clear that the testimony at the hearing failed to satisfy this test. None of the witnesses testified that they had a general knowledge as to the state of mind of the inhabitants of the whole county or that they were aware of prejudice existing throughout the county.
In addition, there can be no error in the denial of a change of venue if an examination of the jury selection shows that an impartial jury was selected and that each juror stated he or she could give the defendant a fair trial and follow the instructions of the court. Rankin v. State, 329 Ark. 379, 948 S.W.2d 397 (1997). The defendant is not entitled to jurors who were totally ignorant of the facts surrounding the case, as long as they can set aside any impression they have found and render a verdict solely on the evidence at trial. Id. In this case, none of the veniremen who were selected as jurors could remember anything about Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylor concedes that the voir dire does not show that the jury was comprised of jurors who were "consciously biased" against him. In fact, of the twenty-four jurors who were voir dired, eighteen knew nothing about the case. Of the remaining six potential jurors, four had varying degrees of knowledge about the case and were excused. The other two potential jurors were not asked about their knowledge, and they were excused for other reasons.
In light of the testimony of the witnesses and the responses of the jurors, we hold that the Trial Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Mr. Taylor's motion.
Mr. Taylor also argues that the Trial Court erred in refusing to excuse a juror for cause based on the juror's apparent confusion as to the requirement that the State prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases. When the juror, in response to defense counsel's question, indicated that he thought that a balancing procedure should be used to determine guilt rather than requiring guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, defense counsel challenged the juror for cause.
The Trial Court asked the juror whether he would ignore an instruction that he must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt before he could find Mr. Taylor guilty. The juror responded "no" and indicated that he did not understand the defense counsel's question. The Trial Court then explained the difference between the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard of proof in civil cases and the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard of proof required in criminal cases two times. After both explanations, the juror responded that the standards were the same to him. The Trial Court then asked the juror if he understood that he was under a higher duty in a criminal case than he was in a civil case, and the juror responded "yes." The Trial Court explained the difference the standard of proof in a criminal case and the standard in a civil case for a third...
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