Fukunaga v. State
2014 Ark. App. 4
Ark. Ct. App.2014Background
- Fukunaga was convicted by Pulaski County jury of raping his stepgranddaughter, A.S., and sentenced to ten years.
- A.S. began being sexually abused by Fukunaga when she was about 11–12 years old; abuse continued for roughly six years.
- A.S.’s father, Fukunaga’s stepson, confronted him after learning of the abuse and learned of a mole on Fukunaga’s body.
- Fukunaga raised three trial-issues: exclusion of other-grandfather accusations, admissibility of investigator Massiet’s testimony, and bolstering A.S.’s credibility via a childhood friend’s testimony.
- The State and defense argued under Wicks v. State that narrow exceptions to the contemporaneous-objection rule apply; the court rejected these arguments.
- The court held that procedural rules on rape-shield evidence were not complied with and certain evidentiary challenges failed; the conviction was affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rape-shield evidence procedure | Fukunaga | Fukunaga | No error; exceptions not satisfied |
| Admission of investigator Massiet’s testimony | Fukunaga | Fukunaga | No reversible error; testimony admissible as lay opinion |
| Allowance of friend’s testimony to bolster credibility | Fukunaga | Fukunaga | No reversible error; not within Wicks exceptions |
Key Cases Cited
- Wicks v. State, 270 Ark. 781 (Ark. 1980) (rarely applicable exceptions to contemporaneous-objection rule)
- Buckley v. State, 349 Ark. 53 (Ark. 2002) (Ark. R. Evid. 103(d) and substantial-rights handling)
- White v. State, 2012 Ark. 221 (Ark. 2012) (third exception limited to core trial-structure errors)
- Gaines v. State, 2010 Ark. App. 439 (Ark. App. 2010) (due-process-related evidentiary issues not waived on appeal)
- Stewart v. State, 2012 Ark. 349 (Ark. 2012) (sexual-abuse evidence procedure and relevancy safeguards)
- Estrada v. State, 2011 Ark. 3 (Ark. 2011) (jury credibility and lay-witness testimony standards)