State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Raeleen Kay Johnson, Appellant.
A21-1360
STATE OF MINNESOTA IN COURT OF APPEALS
Filed August 29, 2022
Frisch, Judge
Waseca County District Court File No. 81-CR-20-567
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded
Keith Ellison, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and
Rachel V. Cornelius, Waseca County Attorney, Waseca, Minnesota (for respondent)
Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Jenna Yauch-Erickson, Assistant Public Defender, St. Paul, Minnesota (for appellant)
Considered and decided by Frisch, Presiding Judge; Worke, Judge; and Johnson, Judge.
In a prosecution for the false reporting of a crime under
OPINION
FRISCH, Judge
On direct appeal from two convictions of deprivation of parental custodial rights and one conviction for the false reporting of a crime, appellant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support her convictions for deprivation of parental custodial rights by concealment and false reporting of a crime and that the district court abused its discretion by making certain evidentiary rulings. Because venue is proper in the county where appellant made the false report, the state introduced sufficient evidence to establish the false-reporting conviction, and the district court acted within its discretion in its evidentiary rulings, we affirm in part. But because the state introduced insufficient evidence to sustain the deprivation-of-parental-custodial-rights-by-concealment conviction, we reverse in part and remand to the district court to enter judgment of conviction and impose a sentence on the other conviction of deprivation of parental custodial rights.
FACTS
Appellant Raeleen Kay Johnson and B.R. (father) are the parents of R.R.R. (the child), born in April 2012. Father has sole legal and physical custody of the child; Johnson has court-ordered parenting time with the child on Wednesdays and every other weekend. The parenting-time agreement provides in relevant part that Johnson pick the child up from daycare on
During the last week of August 2020, Johnson had scheduled parenting time with the child from Wednesday afternoon (August 26) to Thursday morning (August 27), and again from Friday afternoon (August 28) to Monday morning (August 31).
On Wednesday, August 26, Johnson‘s mother drove Johnson to the daycare to pick up the child. When Johnson picked up the child, he was allegedly “stuffed up in his nose . . . coughing,” and sick with a cold. Later, when Johnson and her mother returned to Johnson‘s residence in the City of Waseca, they discovered several small bruises on the child‘s chest. The child allegedly indicated that father caused the bruises by poking him. Father testified at trial that he did not hit, poke, or otherwise injure the child.
On Thursday morning, Johnson called the daycare and reported that the child had cold symptoms. The daycare advised Johnson to keep the child home because the child‘s reported symptoms were similar to COVID-19 symptoms. Johnson kept the child at her home rather than returning him to father, as specified in the custody agreement.
That same morning, father learned that Johnson had not dropped the child off at daycare. Father asked Johnson where the child was; Johnson replied that she was keeping the child at her home because he was sick. Father stated that he would pick the child up from Johnson‘s residence that afternoon, but Johnson indicated that she did not want father coming to her home. Father contacted Waseca police, who told him that law enforcement would not intervene. Johnson testified at trial that she did not return the sick child to father as specified in the parenting-time agreement “[b]ecause [she] believed [father] was hurting [her] son.”
On Friday morning, Johnson again called the daycare to report that the child had cold symptoms, and she again was told to keep the child home. According to Johnson, the child also informed her that “he couldn‘t see very well and had a bad headache.” Father contacted the Waseca police a second time, and he again was told that law enforcement would not intervene. However, the Waseca police informed father to call again on Monday if Johnson had not returned the child. Father later testified that he “was worried” about the child and “wasn‘t sure what was going on.” Yet, he “let it go” because Johnson‘s parenting time with the child started that afternoon.
On Saturday and Sunday, the child allegedly continued to complain to Johnson that he was experiencing headaches and poor vision. Johnson testified that the child “could not see to put small things together and he ran into [the] refrigerator door.” Father testified that he continued to worry about the child because the child normally calls father during Johnson‘s parenting time, but the child did not call him that weekend.
On Monday, Johnson did not bring the child to daycare or return the child to father. Instead, Johnson again called the daycare to report that the child still had cold symptoms. The daycare again instructed Johnson to keep the child home. Johnson stated to father that morning: “I am keeping [the child] for Make-up time being I had no Phone Contact with him for the last month.” Johnson then contacted
have him returned. Please respond to the police as soon as possible.” Father also made a formal report to the Waseca police department.
On Tuesday morning, Johnson again did not bring the child to daycare. At approximately 9:40 a.m., father spoke with a Waseca police officer to report again that Johnson was keeping the child in violation of his custody rights. The officer indicated that he “would look into the matter.”
Sometime between 10:15 and 10:40 a.m., Johnson‘s mother drove Johnson and the child to the child‘s former physician in Mankato. According to Johnson, the child still had “the headache,” “cold symptoms,” and trouble with his vision. At the doctor‘s office, Johnson reported those symptoms to the nurse, who instructed Johnson to take the child immediately to the emergency department in Mankato. The drive from the City of Waseca to Mankato is approximately 30 minutes, and the trio stayed at the doctor‘s office for approximately 35 minutes. Given this time frame, Johnson and the child left for the Mankato emergency department between approximately 11:20 and 11:45 a.m.
Sometime after Johnson left for Mankato, Waseca police officers visited the homes of Johnson and her mother. Police received no answer at either location. A Waseca police officer then called Johnson‘s father, who informed the officer that he did not know the location of Johnson or the child but “the last he saw [Johnson] and [the child] was Sunday and . . . both were fine.” Johnson‘s father also gave the officer Johnson‘s cellphone number. At approximately 11:00 a.m., a Waseca police officer called Johnson and left a
voicemail, instructing her to return the officer‘s call. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement “pinged” Johnson‘s phone and located her in the Mankato area.1
Around noon, Johnson, her mother, and the child reached the Mankato emergency department. Johnson later testified that the emergency-department staff instructed guests and visitors to turn their phones off, and she complied with this instruction. At approximately 1:00 p.m., Johnson and the child met with an emergency-department doctor. According to Johnson, the child reported to the doctor that he “had a hard time seeing,” “his vision was blurry,” “he was kind of dizzy,” and “he had a headache.” Johnson also informed the doctor that she believed that father physically abused the child and father‘s abuse caused the child‘s vision problems. Johnson alleged that father caused bruises by hitting or poking the child, and father used cruel language toward the child. Johnson also alleged that the child had bowel and bladder accidents at father‘s house but not at her home. The emergency-department doctor met with the child twice in private, and the child provided similar descriptions of abuse as Johnson. Neither Johnson nor the child reported the child‘s alleged cold symptoms to the doctor.
The emergency-department doctor observed no indication that the child was
the doctor filed a child-protection report because he is a mandated reporter, and he did not “really know what was going on from a child abuse standpoint.”
At 1:00 p.m., while Johnson and the child were meeting with the emergency-department doctor, the same Waseca police officer called Johnson a second time and left another voicemail, instructing Johnson to return his call no later than 3:00 p.m. that day.
After meeting with the emergency-department doctor, Johnson and the child met with an emergency-department social worker to discuss the child-abuse allegations. Johnson again alleged that father physically abused the child and the child again corroborated Johnson‘s allegations, demonstrating to the social worker that father poked and hit him.
At approximately 3:40 p.m., the child was discharged from the emergency department into Johnson‘s care. Johnson testified that shortly after discharge she checked her phone for the first time since arriving at the emergency department and discovered the Waseca police officer‘s voicemail. At around 4:10 p.m., Johnson returned the officer‘s call. Johnson informed the officer that she had taken the child to Mankato to see a pediatrician and they then went to the emergency department. Johnson also alleged that father abused the child. The officer instructed Johnson to travel directly to the Waseca police department with the child. Johnson agreed to bring the child to the Waseca police department after stopping for food for the child.
Johnson‘s mother began driving back to the City of Waseca. They stopped and purchased food for the child, who ate in the car as Johnson‘s mother drove. Shortly thereafter, the child “gagg[ed]” and regurgitated some food, claiming that “his head hurt[].”
Johnson testified that the emergency-department discharge sheet instructed her to call the hospital if the child‘s symptoms worsened. Johnson believed that the child‘s “gagging” met these criteria, and she called the emergency department. Speaking to a triage nurse, Johnson relayed the child‘s symptoms, and the nurse instructed Johnson to return to the emergency department. Johnson‘s mother then drove back to the Mankato emergency department. Johnson did not inform the Waseca police department or any other law-enforcement authority that she was no longer returning to the City of Waseca. At 5:30 p.m., the Waseca police officer called Johnson because she had not arrived at the Waseca police department. Johnson did not answer the officer‘s call. The officer left a voicemail, which Johnson did not return.
At some point that evening, Johnson and the child arrived at the Mankato emergency department for a second time. They were seen by a different emergency-department doctor. Johnson again alleged that the child had vision problems, a headache, and was the victim of abuse by father. The doctor‘s report disagreed with Johnson‘s allegations, stating that the child is “clearly able to navigate his environment,” had no vision problems, “was acting
At some point on Tuesday, father posted a message on a social-media platform alleging that Johnson had abducted the child. Later that day, Johnson‘s mother wrote on the same social-media platform that the child was at the Mankato emergency department, “tagged” Johnson‘s social-media account, and uploaded a photo of the child at the emergency department.
At approximately 10:30 p.m., Waseca police pinged Johnson‘s phone for a second time, discovering that the phone was in the Mankato emergency department. An officer called the emergency department, spoke with the emergency-department doctor, learned that the child was at the hospital, and placed a hold on the child. Shortly thereafter, Mankato police officers arrived at the emergency department and arrested Johnson.
On September 3, 2020, respondent State of Minnesota charged Johnson with one count of felony deprivation of parental custodial rights by concealment, pursuant to
The state made two motions in limine relevant to this appeal. In January 2021, the state moved to introduce Spreigl evidence of Johnson‘s 2019 gross-misdemeanor conviction for depriving a parent of custodial rights.3 In that case, Johnson falsified text messages to indicate wrongly that father abused the child, and she was convicted under
On April 21, 2021, the district court held a motion hearing on the admissibility of the Spreigl evidence. Shortly thereafter, the district court issued an order granting the state‘s Spreigl motion, ruling that the state‘s articulated purposes for introducing Johnson‘s prior conviction were proper, relevant, and material, and the probative value of the prior conviction was not outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice.
Also on April 21, the state submitted a supplemental motion in limine seeking to prohibit Johnson from introducing evidence related to her allegations that father abused the child outside of the charging period of August 27 to September 1, 2020. The state argued that admission of this evidence would create a danger of unfair prejudice, confuse the issues, and mislead the jury. See
bruises and marks and a bloody diaper on [the child], they observed him cry and stutter and say he was frightened when it was time for [the child] to be returned to his father.” Johnson specifically stated that she would introduce testimony from her brother that the child told him in spring 2020 that the child “didn‘t want to go with [father] and that [father] hurt him,” and from the police chief of a different county who allegedly “observed bruises bigger than normal on [the child‘s] arm around 2015 to 2016.” The state argued that this evidence was stale, irrelevant, and inadmissible hearsay. The district court stated:
[W]e‘re not going to go down the rabbit hole of Ms. Johnson‘s allegations of child abuse against [father] that have not been substantiated. That‘s not what this trial is about. To go down that rabbit hole would be highly prejudicial, it would confuse the jury . . . as to what is the issue[] for this trial.
The district court granted the state‘s motion, ruling that Johnson would not be allowed to introduce evidence of alleged child abuse occurring outside of the charging period.
In May 2021, the district court held a three-day jury trial. The jury returned guilty verdicts for all three counts. In July 2021, the district court held a sentencing hearing. The district court convicted Johnson of each of the three counts but found that the two convictions for deprivation of parental custodial rights arose from a single behavioral incident. Therefore, the district court sentenced Johnson to one count of felony deprivation of parental custodial rights by concealment and the count of falsely reporting a crime. The district court sentenced Johnson to a stay of execution of one year and one day and placed Johnson on four years’ probation.
Johnson appeals.
ISSUES
- I. Did sufficient evidence support Johnson‘s convictions?
- II. Did the district court abuse its discretion in its evidentiary rulings?
ANALYSIS
Johnson argues that the evidence is not sufficient to sustain two of her convictions and the district court abused its discretion by making certain evidentiary rulings, necessitating a new trial. We address each issue in turn and conclude that insufficient evidence supports Johnson‘s conviction for deprivation of parental custodial rights by concealment, venue is proper in the county where Johnson falsely reported a crime, and the district court acted within its discretion in its evidentiary rulings.
I. Insufficient evidence supports Johnson‘s conviction of deprivation of parental custodial rights by concealment, but sufficient evidence supports her conviction of falsely reporting a crime.
Johnson argues that the evidence is not sufficient to prove that she “concealed” the child from father within the meaning of
In considering a claim of insufficient evidence, our review “is limited to a painstaking analysis of the record to determine
when evaluating an insufficiency-of-the-evidence claim.” State v. Vasko, 889 N.W.2d 551, 556 (Minn. 2017). “We review issues of statutory interpretation de novo.” Id.
When reviewing the evidence presented at trial, we must assume that “the jury believed the state‘s witnesses and disbelieved any evidence to the contrary.” State v. Moore, 438 N.W.2d 101, 108 (Minn. 1989). We will not disturb the verdict if the jury, acting with due regard for the presumption of innocence and for the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, could reasonably conclude that the defendant was guilty of the charged offense. Bernhardt v. State, 684 N.W.2d 465, 476-77 (Minn. 2004). The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt every fact necessary to support the charged crime. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364 (1970).
In reviewing the evidence presented, we “carefully examine the record to determine whether the facts and the legitimate inferences drawn from them would permit the factfinder to reasonably conclude that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Waiters, 929 N.W.2d 895, 900 (Minn. 2019) (quotation omitted). If the state used circumstantial evidence to prove an element of the offense, we apply a heightened standard of review to the evidence underlying that element. State v. Porte, 832 N.W.2d 303, 309 (Minn. App. 2013). Circumstantial evidence is “evidence from which the factfinder can infer whether the facts in dispute existed or did not exist.” State v. Harris, 895 N.W.2d 592, 599 (Minn. 2017) (quotation omitted). “[I]ntent is a subjective state of mind usually established only by reasonable inference from surrounding circumstances.” State v. Slaughter, 691 N.W.2d 70, 77 (Minn. 2005) (quotation omitted).
In doing so, we review the sufficiency of circumstantial evidence by conducting a two-step analysis. State v. German, 929 N.W.2d 466, 472 (Minn. App. 2019). First, we identify the circumstances proved by the state. State v. Silvernail, 831 N.W.2d 594, 598 (Minn. 2013). We “assume that the jury resolved any factual disputes in a manner that is consistent” with the verdict. State v. Moore, 846 N.W.2d 83, 88 (Minn. 2014). Second, we determine whether the circumstances proved are consistent with guilt and inconsistent with any rational hypothesis other than guilt. Loving v. State, 891 N.W.2d 638, 643 (Minn. 2017). We do not defer to the fact-finder‘s choice between reasonable inferences. Silvernail, 831 N.W.2d at 599. We must reverse the conviction if a reasonable inference other than guilt exists. Loving, 891 N.W.2d at 643. But we will uphold the verdict if the circumstantial evidence forms “a complete chain” that leads “directly to the guilt of the defendant as to exclude beyond a reasonable doubt any reasonable inference other than guilt.” State v. Peterson, 910 N.W.2d 1, 7 (Minn. 2018) (quotation omitted).
A. The trial evidence is insufficient to establish that Johnson deprived father of his custodial rights by concealment.
Johnson argues that her conviction for depriving father of his custodial rights by concealment must be reversed because the state failed to prove that she
1. The statutory act of concealment requires that Johnson intended to hide the child from father.
The district court convicted Johnson of depriving a parent of custodial rights by concealing the child from father under
manifests an intent substantially to deprive that parent of parental rights” is guilty of a felony. (Emphasis added.) Paragraph 1 of the subdivision prohibits a person from depriving another of parental rights by “conceal[ing]” a child, while paragraph 3 of the subdivision criminalizes behavior by a person who “takes, obtains, retains, or fails to return a minor child from or to the parent in violation of a court order.”
In Fitman, we defined the term “to conceal” as used in
Accordingly, to sustain her conviction of depriving another of parental rights by concealment, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Johnson intended to hide the child from father.
2. The circumstances proved demonstrate a reasonable hypothesis other than that Johnson intended to conceal the child from father.
The state agrees that it relied entirely on circumstantial evidence to prove that Johnson intended to conceal the child from father. In evaluating whether the circumstantial evidence is sufficient to sustain the conviction, we first determine the circumstances proved and then assess, based on those circumstances, whether there exists a reasonable hypothesis other than guilt. Silvernail, 831 N.W.2d 598-99.
The state proved the following circumstances. Johnson wrongfully retained the child on Thursday, August 27; Friday, August 28; Monday, August 31; and Tuesday, September 1, in violation of father‘s custodial rights. Between Thursday, August 27 and Tuesday, September 1, father had no contact with the child, even though the child usually calls father at least once during mother‘s weekend visitation periods. Father attempted to regain custody of the child by emailing Johnson multiple times and repeatedly contacting the Waseca police. Father was “worried about [the child]” and “did not know where [Johnson or the child] were at.” Father “had no idea when [Johnson] was going to try to return [the child], if ever,” and he was specifically concerned that Johnson may have left the state and taken the child to Texas.
Law enforcement also repeatedly attempted to contact Johnson, to no avail. Waseca police officers telephoned Johnson
than 3:00 p.m. that day. Johnson did not contact Waseca police until after 4:00 p.m., and in that call she agreed to the officer‘s request that she immediately return with the child to the Waseca police department. Johnson did not go to the Waseca police department or return to Waseca. Instead, Johnson brought the child back to the Mankato emergency department. At 5:30 p.m., when the officer called Johnson again, she did not answer and never returned the call. And while the child was at the Mankato emergency department, in response to an allegation posted by father on a social-media platform that Johnson abducted the child, Johnson‘s mother published the child‘s whereabouts on the same social-media platform, uploaded a picture of the child at the emergency department, and “tagged” Johnson.
We next consider whether the circumstances proved are consistent with Johnson‘s guilt and preclude any rational hypothesis inconsistent with guilt. Loving, 891 N.W.2d at 643. In so doing, we do not defer to the jury‘s choice between reasonable inferences. Silvernail, 831 N.W.2d at 599. We must reverse the conviction if a reasonable inference other than guilt exists. Loving, 891 N.W.2d at 643.
Based on these circumstances proved, there exists a reasonable hypothesis other than that Johnson intended to conceal the child from father. On Thursday and Friday, Johnson informed father that the child was sick and would be staying at her home. The circumstances proved do not show that Johnson concealed the location of the child from father from Thursday through Sunday. On Monday, the record indicates that Johnson retained the child at her home but is silent as to their activities during the day. The state claims that the circumstances proved on Tuesday are only consistent with a rational
hypothesis of guilt because Johnson did not answer repeated telephone calls from the police and father was unaware of the child‘s whereabouts. But concealment is not the only rational hypothesis consistent with the circumstances proved. On Tuesday, Johnson brought the child to multiple medical providers in Mankato. The fact that Johnson brought the child to a pediatrician, then to the emergency department, and then returned to the emergency department, supports a rational hypothesis inconsistent with concealment—namely, that Johnson intended to retain the child in order to obtain medical treatment for the child, but did not intend to hide the child from father. Moreover, the publication of the child‘s location and photo at the Mankato emergency department on a social-media platform in response to father‘s abduction allegation is also consistent with a rational hypothesis other than concealment. And we observe that nothing prevented father from traveling to the Mankato emergency department to locate the child upon learning of the child‘s whereabouts at a public place.4
B. Venue for the false-reporting conviction is proper.
Johnson next argues that the state failed to introduce sufficient evidence of venue for her conviction of falsely reporting a crime pursuant to
A defendant has a constitutional right to be prosecuted in “the county or district wherein the crime shall have been committed.”
582 (Minn. App. 1994), rev. denied (Minn. June 15, 1994). We have previously held that the Minnesota Legislature “codified” this right to venue “as an essential element of every criminal offense.” State v. Pierce, 792 N.W.2d 83, 85 (Minn. App. 2010) (citing
Venue is proper “where any element of the offense was committed.”
1. Venue is proper in both the county where the false report was made and the county where the report was received.
Johnson argues that venue was only proper in the county where she made the false report—Blue Earth County. She cites to other criminal statutes that specifically provide for venue in both the county where the offending communication was sent and the county where the offending communication
was received, section 609.505 provides only for venue in the county where Johnson made the false report. We disagree.
Minnesota statutes
The purpose of statutory interpretation is to “ascertain and effectuate the intention of the legislature.”
If the statute is ambiguous, “we may apply canons of construction to resolve the ambiguity.” Id. (quotation omitted).
We conclude that section 609.505, subdivision 1, unambiguously provides for venue in both the county where Johnson made the false report and the county where the officer received the false report.
The statute criminalizes the act of falsely “inform[ing]” a law-enforcement officer that a crime has been committed.
Because
Circumstantial evidence establishes that the Waseca police officer to whom the false report was made was located in Waseca County at the time that Johnson made the false report.
Johnson argues that even if Waseca County was a proper venue for the false-reporting charge, the state introduced insufficient evidence to establish that the officer to whom Johnson made the false report was actually located in Waseca County at the time that she made the false report. We disagree.
As a threshold matter, we agree with Johnson that the state introduced no direct evidence that the Waseca police officer was located in Waseca County at the time of her false report. Thus, we assess the sufficiency of the evidence using the circumstantial-evidence test.
We again begin with the circumstances proved. On Tuesday, September 1, Johnson spoke to a Waseca police officer by phone and made a false report. During the call, the officer asked her four times to bring the child to him at the Waseca police department. When Johnson affirmed that she would go to the Waseca police department, the officer stated, “Okay, we‘ll see you shortly.” (Emphasis added.) The officer testified at trial that he specifically asked Johnson to come “to us” at the Waseca police department so that the officer could personally assess the child:
THE STATE: What did you ultimately ask [Johnson] to do?
OFFICER: Come straight to the Waseca Police Department, not to go anywhere else, but come straight to us so that I could see [the child]. THE STATE: Why did you want to see [the child]?
OFFICER: Because I wanted to make sure that there were no bruises and that he was safe.
THE STATE: You wanted to assess it for yourself?
OFFICER: Yes, I did.
We take judicial notice of the fact that the City of Waseca and the Waseca police department are located in Waseca County.
Next, we determine whether there exists any reasonable hypothesis inconsistent with guilt. The circumstances proved establish only one reasonable explanation as to the Waseca police officer‘s whereabouts at the time that Johnson falsely reported a crime: He was in Waseca County. The officer‘s call transcript and trial testimony unequivocally show that he was an on-duty Waseca police officer at the time of the call, and he was nearby the Waseca police department, if not at the police department, at the time of the call. The officer repeatedly instructed Johnson to come “straight to the Waseca Police Department” and “not to go anywhere else” but to “come straight to us” so that he could see the child for himself. (Emphasis added.) There is no reasonable interpretation of the officer‘s statements other than to conclude that he was at or near the Waseca police department in Waseca County at the time he received Johnson‘s false report. Johnson‘s theory that the on-duty Waseca police officer was in some county other than Waseca County is without support and is not a reasonable hypothesis from the circumstances proved.
The circumstances proved here are thus distinguishable from the circumstances proved in State v. Pierce, discussed above. In Pierce, after holding that
Unlike the circumstances in Pierce, the circumstances proved here do not suggest that the police officer could have been “anywhere in Minnesota” when he received Johnson‘s false report. Id. The only reasonable hypothesis based on proof that an on-duty Waseca police officer repeatedly requested that Johnson “come straight to us” at the Waseca police department is that the officer was in Waseca County when he received the false report.
Because venue was proper in Waseca County and there is sufficient circumstantial evidence in the record to establish that Johnson‘s false report was received by a Waseca police officer in Waseca County, we affirm the false-reporting conviction.
Johnson argues that the district court abused its discretion by precluding her from introducing evidence to suggest that father abused the child outside of the August 27 to September 1, 2020 charging period and by allowing the state to introduce Spreigl evidence of her prior 2019 conviction.7 We disagree.
“We afford the district court broad discretion when ruling on evidentiary matters, and we will not reverse the district court absent an abuse of that discretion.” Doe 136 v. Liebsch, 872 N.W.2d 875, 879 (Minn. 2015); see State v. Riddley, 776 N.W.2d 419, 424 (Minn. 2009). A district court abuses its discretion if it misapplies the law, makes findings unsupported by the record, or resolves discretionary questions in a manner that is contrary to logic and the facts on record. Bender v. Bernhard, 971 N.W.2d 257, 262 (Minn. 2022). “When the admissibility of evidence is challenged on appeal, we defer to the district court‘s exercise of discretion in the conduct of the trial, and we will not lightly overturn a district court‘s evidentiary ruling.” State v. MacLennan, 702 N.W.2d 219, 235 (Minn. 2005).
A. The district court acted within its discretion by excluding evidence of purported child abuse occurring outside of the charging period.
Johnson argues that the district court denied her constitutional right to present a defense when it excluded purported evidence that father abused the child during the time outside of the charging period. Johnson specifically argues that the district court‘s evidentiary ruling foreclosed her ability to introduce evidence that would have established her affirmative defense that she had a “reasonable belief” that father abused the child, and therefore her action “was necessary to protect the child.”
“[D]ue process requires that every defendant be afforded a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense.” State v. Fraga, 898 N.W.2d 263, 271 (Minn. 2017) (quotation omitted); see also Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 19 (1967) (“[T]he right to present a defense . . . is a fundamental element of due process of law.“). “The defendant has the right to present the defendant‘s version of the facts.” State v. Munt, 831 N.W.2d 569, 583 (Minn. 2013) (quotation omitted). But the defendant must still “comply with procedural and evidentiary rules designed to ensure both fairness and reliability.” Id. (quotation omitted). “Thus, even when a defendant alleges that [her] inability to present a defense violates [her] constitutional rights, evidentiary questions are reviewed for abuse of discretion.” State v. Henderson, 620 N.W.2d 688, 698 (Minn. 2001).
Even when relevant, evidence “may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury.”
Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it excluded evidence that was speculative, confusing, hearsay, and unsupported by a specific offer of proof. At the May 5, 2021 motion hearing, Johnson asserted that she intended to introduce evidence to support her “long standing belief that [father] abused [the child].” Johnson claimed that she would introduce testimony by “other witnesses” who would indicate that “over the past several years they observed bruises and marks and a bloody diaper on [the child], they observed him cry and stutter and say he was frightened when it was time for [the child] to be returned to his father.” Of these “other witnesses,” Johnson identified only her brother, to whom the child allegedly stated in spring 2020 that he “didn‘t want to go with [father] and that [father] would hurt him,” and the police chief of a different county who allegedly “observed bruises bigger than normal on [the child‘s] arm around 2015 to 2016.”
The district court‘s exclusion of this evidence under rule 403 was not an abuse of discretion. Johnson‘s offer of proof regarding the alleged evidence that she intended to introduce lacked specificity and detail. She did not, for example, identify any witness who saw “a bloody diaper” on the child or any specific time frame during which the alleged bruises, marks, or bloody diaper occurred. And the district court reasonably ruled that the child‘s alleged statements occurring far outside of the charging period, including to Johnson‘s brother, constituted inadmissible hearsay. Johnson argues on appeal that such statements were excited utterances, subject to the hearsay exception under
To that end, we disagree with Johnson‘s characterization that she was denied her constitutional right to present an affirmative defense. Notwithstanding the district court‘s evidentiary ruling, the record shows that the district court permitted Johnson to introduce significant evidence to support her contention that she “reasonably believed” that her action “was necessary to protect the child.”
B. The district court acted within its discretion by allowing the state to introduce Spreigl evidence of Johnson‘s prior offense.
Johnson argues that the district court abused its discretion by allowing the state to admit Spreigl evidence of her prior offense for depriving father of custodial rights by concealment, of which she was convicted in 2019. Specifically, Johnson argues that the state and the district court failed to identify a proper purpose for the Spreigl evidence, the evidence was irrelevant and immaterial, and the danger of unfair prejudice outweighed any probative value of the evidence. We disagree.
Spreigl prior-bad-acts evidence “is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith.”
Accordingly, the state must meet certain requirements to admit evidence of prior bad acts in a criminal prosecution. The state must give notice of intent to offer the evidence, the evidence must be “relevant to an identified material issue other than conduct conforming with a character trait,” the prior bad act must be proved by clear and convincing evidence, and the probative value of the prior bad act must not be outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice to the defendant.
We review the district court‘s admission of Spreigl evidence for an abuse of discretion. Ture v. State, 681 N.W.2d 9, 15 (Minn. 2004). Johnson bears the burden of showing the district court‘s error and resulting prejudice of the admission of Spreigl evidence. Ness, 707 N.W.2d at 685.
The district court identified proper purposes for the Spreigl evidence.
Our review of the record indicates that the state identified multiple proper purposes for introducing the Spreigl evidence and that the district court acted within its discretion by admitting the evidence for those purposes.
The Spreigl evidence was probative of Johnson‘s intent. At trial, the state was required to prove multiple aspects of Johnson‘s intent beyond a reasonable doubt, including that Johnson intended to conceal the child from father, that Johnson intended to keep the child and deprive father of his parental rights, and that Johnson intentionally made a false report to law enforcement. As noted above, “intent is a
Johnson argues that intent was not a proper purpose because Johnson did not contest her intent to retain the child in violation of the parental-rights agreement. We disagree. The record does not show that Johnson conceded the element of intent at any point prior to or during the trial, forcing the state in its case-in-chief to establish her intent beyond a reasonable doubt. We note that Johnson did not argue in response to the state‘s Spreigl motion that she avowed not to contest at trial that she intended to retain the child. And, despite Johnson‘s arguments to the contrary on appeal, our review of the trial transcript indicates that Johnson did contest the element of intent. In her closing argument, Johnson‘s counsel specifically argued to the jury:
The state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that [Johnson] intentionally and actively hid [the child] from his dad . . . . You‘ll be instructed that the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she did not act with that intention, and they‘ve just failed to do that in this case.
(Emphasis added.) Thus, the Spreigl evidence was proper to prove Johnson‘s intent, a contested issue at trial.
The Spreigl evidence was also proper to rebut Johnson‘s affirmative defense. At trial, Johnson argued that she did not return the child to father because of her claimed reasonable belief that father abused the child. See
The district court in its Spreigl order expressly determined that Johnson‘s prior conviction could be used to prove, among other things, intent and to rebut her potential defenses, and that the Spreigl evidence was relevant and material to the state‘s case. Because we agree that these are proper purposes for use of Spreigl evidence, the district court did not abuse its discretion in identifying “the precise disputed fact to which the Spreigl evidence would be relevant.” Ness, 707 N.W.2d at 686 (quotation omitted).
The district court acted within its discretion by ruling that the probative value of the Spreigl evidence outweighed the danger of unfair prejudice.
Johnson argues that the district court also abused its discretion by ruling that the probative value of the Spreigl evidence outweighed its potential for unfair prejudice. In the context of the admission of Spreigl evidence, “prejudice does not mean the damage to the opponent‘s case that results from the legitimate probative force of the evidence; rather, it refers to the unfair advantage that results from the capacity of the evidence to persuade by illegitimate means.” State v. Welle, 870 N.W.2d 360, 366 (Minn. 2015) (quotation omitted). Johnson argues that the probative value of the evidence relating to her 2019 conviction was outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice because the evidence showed a general propensity or disposition to commit the same crime. We disagree.
The evidence of the 2019 conviction was relevant and probative to show Johnson‘s intent in 2020 and that her belief in 2020 that father was abusing the child was not reasonable. The state did not dwell on this
In addition, like in Welle, the district court instructed the jury on how to evaluate the 2019 conviction at the time it was entered into evidence and during final jury instructions. The district court instructed, “Members of the jury, you are about to hear evidence of occurrences from 2019 . . . . This evidence is being offered for the limited purpose of assisting you in determining whether the defendant committed those acts with which the defendant is charged in the complaint.” The district court then cautioned the jury, “This evidence is not to be used to prove the character of the defendant, or that defendant acted in conformity with such character.” “We presume that juries follow instructions given by the court and thereby recognize the effectiveness of curative instructions.” State v. Gatson, 801 N.W.2d 134, 151 (Minn. 2011) (quotation omitted); see also Welle, 870 N.W.2d at 366 (citing State v. James, 520 N.W.2d 399, 405 (Minn. 1994)). We therefore presume that the district court‘s limiting instructions reduced the potential for unfair prejudice attributed to this evidence, and we do not discern that the district court abused its discretion by concluding that the probative value of the Spreigl evidence outweighed the potential for unfair prejudice.
Finally, even if the district court abused its discretion by admitting the Spreigl evidence, we will affirm the conviction unless Johnson can establish that she was prejudiced by the erroneous admission of the evidence. See Welle, 870 N.W.2d at 366. “Our role is to examine the entire trial record and determine whether there is a reasonable possibility that the wrongfully admitted evidence significantly affected the verdict.” State v. Bolte, 530 N.W.2d 191, 198 (Minn. 1995) (quotation omitted).
Here, the state‘s case for Johnson‘s guilt was overwhelming. Johnson concedes on appeal that she intended to deprive father of his custodial rights by retaining the child in contravention of the parenting-time order. Although Johnson alleges that her reasonable belief that father was abusing the child amounted to a proper purpose for doing so, the evidence at trial established otherwise. No evidence at trial supported Johnson‘s theory that father was abusing the child when she deprived him of his parental rights. Johnson instead theorized at trial that because the child allegedly had vision problems and small bruises, father must have abused the child. But multiple doctors and a social worker testified that they observed no evidence of child abuse, no vision problems, and no injuries to the child at all. The doctors instead noted that the child “act[ed] like a normal eight-year old” and “didn‘t offer anything [about being abused] unprompted.” The evidence also established that Johnson‘s explanations for her wrongful retention of the child were inconsistent and continually shifting. Johnson testified that the child experienced cold symptoms and she repeatedly informed the daycare of these symptoms to keep the child home with her, but she did
Accordingly, the district court acted within its discretion by concluding that the Spreigl evidence had material and relevant proper purposes and the probative value of the Spreigl evidence did not outweigh its potential for unfair prejudice. Alternatively, even if the district court wrongly admitted the Spreigl evidence, any error in the admission or use of the Spreigl evidence was harmless as it had no reasonable effect on the verdict.
DECISION
The record contains insufficient evidence to support Johnson‘s conviction of depriving father of his custodial rights by concealment because the circumstances proved are consistent with a reasonable hypothesis other than that Johnson intended to hide the child from father. This conviction is therefore reversed, and the case is remanded to the district court to enter judgment of conviction and impose a sentence for Johnson‘s other deprivation-of-parental-custodial-rights conviction, related to the violation of the parenting-time order.
We hold that venue for falsely reporting a crime is proper in both the county where the false report was made and the county where the law-enforcement officer received the false report. The record contains sufficient evidence to support Johnson‘s conviction for false reporting of a crime because the circumstances proved show that the Waseca police officer was located in Waseca County when Johnson made the false report, and these circumstances are not consistent with any other reasonable hypothesis. Therefore, we affirm Johnson‘s false-reporting conviction.
Finally, the district court did not abuse its discretion in its evidentiary rulings by excluding allegations of child abuse arising outside of the charging period or by admitting Spreigl evidence of Johnson‘s 2019 conviction for deprivation of parental rights by concealment, and therefore, no new trial is warranted.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.