Turner v. State
Decision Date | 15 January 2004 |
Docket Number | No. CR 03-628.,CR 03-628. |
Citation | 355 Ark. 541,141 S.W.3d 352 |
Parties | Richard Leroy TURNER v. STATE of Arkansas. |
Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Appeal from the Circuit Court, Washington County, William A. Storey, J Erwin L. Davis, Fayetteville, for appellant.
Mike Beebe, Att'y Gen., by: Lauren Elizabeth Heil, Ass't Att'y Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
Appellant Richard Leroy Turner appeals the judgment of the Washington County Circuit Court convicting him of rape and sentencing him to ten years' imprisonment. For reversal, Turner argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to present evidence of the victim's prior sexual conduct. Because this appeal involves a challenge under the rape-shield statute, our jurisdiction is pursuant to Ark.Code Ann. § 16-42-101 (Repl.1999) and Ark. Sup.Ct. R. 1-2(a)(8). We find no error and affirm.
The record reflects that on July 13, 2002, thirteen-year-old M.H. reported to the Fayetteville Police Department that she had been raped by Turner, who had just turned twenty years old on June 23, 2002. The police collected evidence from the victim's home, including a futon and a blue blanket that appeared to have semen stains on them. The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory later confirmed that samples taken from the stains matched Turner's DNA. The police also arranged for the victim to have a physical examination, conducted by Charla Jameson, a forensic nurse examiner for the Children's Safety Center in Springdale. Based on her examination, Jameson concluded that there was evidence of blunt-force-trauma penetration.
On July 19, 2002, Detective Shawn Caley conducted an interview with Turner, during which he admitted that he had engaged in sexual intercourse with M.H. on two occasions. According to Turner, the first time they had sex was on his birthday, June 23, and the second time was about two weeks before the interview, approximately July 5. Both acts of intercourse occurred at Turner's home. He also described an instance that occurred at M.H.'s home, where the two of them were naked from the waist down and he rubbed his penis on her vagina. Near the conclusion of the interview, Turner admitted that he knew it was wrong to have sex with M.H. because of her age.
During the proceedings below, Turner filed a pretrial motion asking the court to allow him to present evidence of the victim's false statement to police. The motion reflected that the victim had initially told police that she was a virgin prior to being raped by Turner, and that she had bled a lot when Turner first had sex with her. She later told police that she had lied about Turner being her first sexual partner, and she explained that she previously had sex with a boyfriend from Little Rock before she met Turner. Turner asserted that this testimony was relevant to attack the victim's credibility and to dispute the State's physical evidence gained from the victim's rape examination.
On January 22, 2003, a hearing was held on the motion, pursuant to our rape-shield statute. Counsel for Turner explained that the evidence of the victim's inconsistent statements was relevant to her credibility, especially since the defense maintained that no sexual intercourse occurred. Counsel explained further that the evidence of the victim's prior sexual conduct with her boyfriend was relevant to thwart the anticipated testimony of the forensic nurse examiner. Specifically, counsel argued that the evidence of lacerations to the victim's hymen and blunt-force trauma to the victim's vulva would be used by the State to show that Turner was the cause of these injuries. Counsel argued that because the examination took place more than several weeks after the last alleged act of intercourse, it was necessary to admit evidence that the victim's boyfriend had been in town visiting the victim the weekend before the examination. Counsel argued that such evidence would show that the trauma and lacerations were caused by the victim's boyfriend, not Turner. However, when asked by the trial court whether he had any specific evidence showing that the victim had sex with her boyfriend prior to the examination, counsel stated that he had no such evidence, but that he wanted to be able to ask the victim about it.
Following argument from both sides, the trial court denied Turner's motion in its entirety. Turner was subsequently convicted of raping M.H. and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. This appeal followed.
For his first point, Turner contends that the trial court erred in refusing to allow him to impeach the victim with her inconsistent statements to police about her virginity. He argues that the evidence was crucial to attack the victim's credibility, and that his purpose for introducing the evidence was not to expose the victim's past sexual conduct, but to prove that she lied to police. He thus asserts that the rape-shield law is not applicable. We disagree.
Under our rape-shield law, section 16-42-101, evidence of a victim's prior sexual conduct is not admissible by the defendant "to attack the credibility of the victim, to prove consent or any other defense, or for any other purpose." Section 16-42-101(b). See also Overton v. State, 353 Ark. 697, 120 S.W.3d 76 (2003); Butler v. State, 349 Ark. 252, 82 S.W.3d 152 (2002). The exception is where the trial court, at an in camera hearing, makes a written determination that such evidence is relevant to a fact in issue and that its probative value outweighs its inflammatory or prejudicial nature. Martin v. State, 354 Ark. 289, 119 S.W.3d 504 (2003); Graydon v. State, 329 Ark. 596, 953 S.W.2d 45 (1997). The statute's purpose is to shield victims of rape or sexual abuse from the humiliation of...
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