Roberto V. Arguelles appeals his conviction of two first degree felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. We affirm.
On the afternoon of August 1, 1992, a ten-year-old girl and her eight-year-old brother were playing outside at their elementary school when a man approached them claiming to be a school security guard. The man explained that he was investigating a report of a broken window and asked the children to accompany him to the back of the school. There the man said, “Well, I don’t see any broken windows, so I’ll have to frisk you to make sure that you didn’t steal anything.” The man proceeded to “frisk” the children both outside and inside their clothes and touched their “private parts.” Then the man said, “You are okay, I guess. You are okay.” The children ran home and reported the crime to their parents, who then called the police.
Arguelles was arrested approximately one week later, after the children separately identified him in a police photo array as the man who had accosted them behind the elementary school. Because the incident involved two victims and because Arguelles had previously been convicted of aggravated sexual • assault and attempted capital homicide, both first degree felonies, he was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in violation of section 76-5-404.1 of the Utah Code. 1 After a two-day jury trial, Arguelles was convicted as charged and sentenced to two consecutive minimum mandatory prison terms of nine years to life.
Arguelles appeals, contending that he is entitled to a new trial because (i) his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective in advising Arguelles not to testify in his own behalf; (ii) the trial court erred in refusing to excuse a biased juror for cause; (iii) the trial court erred in sustaining the State’s hearsay objection to testimony about out-of-court statements offered in support of Arguelles’ defense; and (iv) the trial court’s definition of the “beyond-a-reasonable-doubt” standard in its instructions to the jury was inadequate. All of these arguments raise questions of law which we review for correctness.
State v. Pena,
Arguelles first contends that he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel.
2
He claims that he waived his right to testify in reliance on his counsel’s advice which, in turn, was premised on the mistaken belief that if Arguelles were to testify, the prosecution would be entitled to impeach him with evidence of his prior conviction for aggravat
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ed sexual assault.
3
In determining whether Arguelles’ counsel was constitutionally ineffective, we apply the two-prong test established in
Strickland v. Washington,
“To prevail [on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel], a defendant must show, first, that his counsel rendered a deficient performance in some demonstrable manner, which performance fell below an objective standard of reasonable professional judgment and, second, that counsel’s performance prejudiced the defendant.”
Parsons,
To show prejudice under the second prong of the
Strickland
test, “a defendant must proffer sufficient evidence to support ‘a reasonable probability that, but for his counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.’ ”
Parsons,
Arguelles argues that he relied on his counsel’s advice in deciding not to testify and that his failure to testify was prejudicial because he “was the lone witness who could definitively explain what he was doing before, during, and after the time in question” and cites
Rock v. Arkansas,
Alternatively, Arguelles argues that prejudice should be presumed because his counsel’s advice effectively denied him his right to testify in violation of constitutional and statutory strictures.
See Rock,
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Strickland
recognized that prejudice may be presumed when there has been actual or constructive denial of counsel, when the government has interfered with counsel’s assistance, or when counsel has acted with a conflict of interest.
See Strickland,
Arguelles next claims that the district court violated rule 18(e) of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure in denying his for-cause challenge of an allegedly biased juror. 4 During voir dire, Arguelles’ counsel discovered that one of the prospective jurors knew the children involved in this case and their mother. After questioning the juror as to the nature of this relationship, Arguelles’ counsel challenged the juror for cause. The district court denied the for-cause challenge, and Arguelles’ counsel exercised a peremptory challenge to remove the prospective juror. Arguelles now asserts that the district court erred in refusing to excuse the allegedly biased juror for cause. Because Arguelles has not demonstrated that he was prejudiced by the denial of his for-cause challenge, we need not determine whether the challenge should have been granted.
This court recently held, “To prevalí on a claim of error based on the failure to remove a juror for cause, a defendant must demonstrate prejudice,
viz.,
show that a member of the jury was partial or incompetent.”
State v. Menzies,
As we noted in
Menzies,
the doctrine of stare decisis imposes a substantial burden of persuasion on those asking us to overturn one of our prior decisions.
Menzies,
In support of his contention that
Menzies
should be overruled, Arguelles cites several United States Supreme Court cases not considered in
Menzies
which he claims undermine
Menzies
’ rationale. In
Menzies,
we relied on
Ross v. Oklahoma,
Arguelles asserts that the United States Supreme Court has abandoned this approach in recent cases and now applies an automatic reversal rule similar to that established in
Crawford.
Arguelles does not argue that the Supreme Court has effectively overruled
Menzies
but only that it has abandoned the approach taken in
Ross,
which we relied on in
Menzies
as persuasive authority. Of course, because the rule announced in
Menzies
is one of state law, not federal law, we are not bound to overrule
Menzies,
even if
Ross
is no longer binding on federal courts. Arguelles recognizes this fact and argues only that
Menzies
should be reconsidered. Arguelles cites the following cases in support of his argument:
J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B.,
In all of those cases, the Court reversed the jury’s verdict without requiring a showing that the jury was partial or incompetent on the ground that the prevailing party had exercised a peremptory challenge in violation of the equal protection rights of the challenged jurors.
See J.E.B.,
511 U.S. at -,
Contrary to Arguelles’ contention, these cases do not indicate that the Supreme Court has abandoned Ross. In J.E.B., McCollum, Edmonson, and Powers, the Court was ultimately concerned with the harm done to the excluded jurors, not with whether the defendant was unfairly convicted. Therefore, the Court did not require a showing that the jury was partial or incompetent. 5 In other words, the Court did not automatically reverse the verdicts in these eases without regard to whether the error caused any harm but, rather, concluded that the error did cause harm — to the excluded jurors. In contrast, the Court in Ross was not concerned with the equal protection rights of third parties but was faced with an alleged violation of the defendant's rights to due process and an impartial jury. Accordingly, the Court focused on the harm to the defendant, as we did in Menzies and as we do here. Contrary to Arguelles’ assertion, J.E.B., McCollum, Edmonson, and Powers are not inconsistent with either Ross or Menzies — all of these cases require prejudice to the party whose constitutional rights have allegedly been violated.
Arguelles also claims that
Ross
was overruled by
Arizona v. Fulminante,
In light of the foregoing discussion, we find nothing in the cases cited by Arguelles that would warrant our concluding that Menzies “was originally erroneous or is no longer sound” and we therefore abide by its ruling. Because Arguelles does not attempt to show that any member of the jury that convicted him was partial or incompetent, his claim that the district court erred in denying his for-cause challenge must fail.
Arguelles next argues that the trial court misapplied rules 801(c) and 802 of the Utah Rules of Evidence in sustaining the State’s hearsay objection to testimony about out-of-court statements offered in support of Arguelles’ defense. 6 As part of his case in chief, Arguelles’ counsel presented the testimony of Detective Kevin Nudd, who had investigated Arguelles’ alleged crime. Detective Nudd explained that he interviewed Arguelles, his girlfriend, and his brother *445 shortly after he was arrested. However, when Arguelles’ counsel asked Detective Nudd to recount the substance of these interviews, the State objected on hearsay grounds, and the trial court sustained the objection. Arguelles now contends that the trial court erred in excluding that testimony.
We need not determine whether the trial court erred because we conclude that Arg-uelles has failed to adequately preserve the issue on appeal. This court has previously noted that “we will not set aside a verdict because of the erroneous exclusion of evidence unless a proffer of evidence appears of record, and we believe that the excluded evidence would probably have had a substantial influence in bringing about a different, verdict.”
State v. Rammel
Finally, Arguelles argues that the trial court’s definition of the “beyond-a-reasonable-doubt” standard in its instructions to the jury was inadequate in that it allowed the jury to convict on “a degree of proof below that required by the Due Process Clause.”
Cage v. Louisiana,
All presumptions of law, independent of evidence, are in favor of innocence, and a defendant is presumed innocent until he is proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And in ease of a reasonable doubt as to whether his guilt is satisfactorily shown, he is entitled to an acquittal.
I have heretofore told you that the burden is upon the State to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not require proof to an absolute certainty. Now by reasonable doubt is meant a doubt that is based on reason and one which is reasonable in view of all the evidence. It must be a reasonable doubt and not a doubt which is merely fanciful or imaginary or based on a wholly speculative possibility. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is that degree of proof which satisfies the mind, convinces the understanding of those who are bound to act conscientiously upon it and obviates all reasonable doubt. A reasonable doubt is a doubt which reasonable men and women would entertain, and it must arise from the evidence or the lack of the evidence in this case.
Arguelles contends that under this instruction, the “beyond-a-reasonable-doubt” standard is indistinguishable from either the “clear-and-convincing-evidence” standard or the “preponderance-of-the-evidenee” standard and that the definition of “reasonable doubt” contained in the instruction is circular. However, we do not reach the merits of Arguelles’ argument because he did not preserve the issue for appeal.
As a general rule, “[n]o party may assign as error any portion of the charge or omission therefrom unless he objects thereto before the jury is instructed, stating distinctly the matter to which he objects and the ground of his objection.” Utah R.Crim. P. 19(c). Arguelles concedes that he did not object to the “reasonable-doubt” instruction before the trial court. However, “[notwithstanding a party’s failure to object, error may be assigned to instructions in order to avoid a manifest injustice.”
Id.
In determining whether an alleged instructional error resulted in manifest injustice, we apply “the same standard we use when determining the presence of plain error under Utah Rule of Evidence 103(d).”
State v. Verde,
Assuming, without deciding, that the trial court’s reasonable-doubt instruction was erroneous, we do not think the error was obvious. Although this court has not previously addressed the propriety of an instruction like that given by the trial court in this case, the Utah Court of Appeals has approved an iden
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tical instruction on numerous occasions.
See, e.g., State v. Brooks,
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Arg-uelles’ conviction.
Notes
. The version of section 76-5-404.1 applicable to this case provides in relevant part:
(1) A person commits sexual abuse of a child if, under circumstances not amounting to rape of a child, object rape of a child, sodomy upon a child, or an attempt to commit any of these offenses, the actor touches the anus, buttocks, or genitalia of any child, the breast of a female child younger than 14 years of age, or otherwise takes indecent liberties with a child, or causes a child to take indecent liberties with the actor or another with intent to cause substantial emotional or bodily pain to any person or with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person regardless of the sex of any participant.
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(3) A person commits aggravated sexual abuse of a child when in conjunction with, the offense described in Subsection (1) any of the following circumstances have been charged and admitted or found true in the action for the offense:
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(e) The accused, prior to sentencing for this offense, was previously convicted of any felony, or of a misdemeanor involving a sexual offense.
(f) The accused committed the same or similar sexual act upon two or more victims at the same time or during the same course of conduct.
Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-404.1 (1995).
. We analyze Arguelles’ claim of ineffective assistance of counsel only under the United States Constitution because he has not raised a similar argument under the Utah Constitution.
See State v. Hovater,
. Because Arguelles does not contend that the
government
interfered with his right to testify but that he waived that right in reliance on his
counsel’s
erroneous advice, the claim is properly framed as one of ineffective assistance of counsel and not strictly as a violation of his right to testify.
See United States v. Teague,
. Rule 18(e) provides in relevant part:
The challenge for cause is an objection to a particular juror and may be taken on one or more of the following grounds:
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(4) the existence of any social, legal, business, fiduciary or other relationship between the prospective juror and any party, witness or person alleged to have been victimized or injured by the defendant, which relationship when viewed objectively, would suggest to reasonable minds that the prospective juror would be unable or unwilling to return a verdict which would be free ... of favoritism. ...;
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(14) that a state of mind exists on the part of the juror with reference to the cause, or to either party, which will prevent him from acting impartially and without prejudice to the substantial rights of the party challenging. ...
Utah R.Crim. P. 18(e)(4), (14).
. However, the Court did hold that the losing party must have suffered some cognizable injury to have standing to assert the equal protection rights of improperly excluded jurors.
E.g., Powers,
. Rule 801(c) defines “hearsay” as “a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted." Utah R. Evid. 801(c). Rule 802 provides, "Hearsay is not admissible except as provided by law or by these rules.” Utah R. Evid. 802.
