State v. PoseyState v. Posey
¶ 1 This case asks us to determine whether a juvenile‘s acquittal in adult court on an assault charge automatically restores juvenile court jurisdiction over remaining charges under the statute then in effect, former
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶ 2 Posey and H.A.H. met in high school in September 2002 and became romantically and sexually involved with each other. After H.A.H. tried to end the relationship, Posey allegedly had forcible intercourse with H.A.H. on two occasions and threatened her with a gun. The State charged Posey with first degree assault-domestic violence1 and three counts of second degree rape-domestic violence.2 Posey was 16 years old at the time of the alleged crimes, but because first degree assault is considered a “serious violent offense” under former
¶ 3 In his appeal to Division Three of the Court of Appeals, Posey challenged the automatic decline on numerous grounds, including violations of his constitutional rights to equal protection and due process. Further, Posey argued the adult court lacked jurisdiction to sentence him because he was acquitted of the first degree assault charge (the crime prompting the automatic decline of jurisdiction by the juvenile court). Also, Posey argued that a 2005 amendment to
¶ 4 Specifically, Posey sought to introduce an e-mail copied by police from H.A.H.‘s computer as evidence that the victim would have consented to violence and rape. The e-mail was written around the time H.A.H. met Posey, but it was neither addressed to nor sent to Posey. According to the record and offer of proof, H.A.H.‘s e-mail stated that she would “enjoy” being raped and that she wanted a boyfriend that would “choke her” and “beat her.” The trial court excluded the
¶ 5 The Court of Appeals held the trial court had proper jurisdiction over Posey, that the 2005 amendment to
ISSUES
A. Whether the adult court retained jurisdiction over Posey‘s remaining charges under former
B. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it refused to admit evidence of the victim‘s e-mail under the rape shield statute.
ANALYSIS
Jurisdiction
¶ 6 Statutory interpretation is a question of law; therefore, we review the interpretation of former
¶ 7 The relevant portion of the statute provides:
[T]he juvenile courts in this state shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all proceedings . . . unless [t]he juvenile is sixteen or seventeen years old and the alleged offense is . . . [a] serious violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030.
Former
¶ 8 The relevant portion of former
“Serious violent offense” is a subcategory of violent offense and means . . . [a]ssault in the first degree.
Former
¶ 9 Posey argues that the automatic decline provision in former
¶ 10 In contrast, the State argues the charge dictates jurisdiction because the statute uses the words “alleged offense.” We have already determined that former
¶ 11 In Mora, we explicitly recognized these statutory principles. There, a juvenile had originally been charged with one count of possession of a stolen firearm. The information was amended to add a count of second degree assault while armed with a firearm, a crime that automatically brought the juvenile under the jurisdiction of adult criminal court. The information was then amended a second time, which “reduced” the charges to possession of a stolen firearm and assault in the third degree; neither of the offenses charged
¶ 12 Although Mora involved a situation where the information was amended before trial, the statutory framework and principles we recognized are equally applicable here. The legislature has established a statutory scheme intended to impose more severe punishment on juveniles who have committed certain criminal offenses.
¶ 13 Additionally, we have recognized the difference between Washington‘s juvenile justice and adult criminal systems. The purpose of the juvenile justice system is to establish a system of having primary responsibility for, and responding to the needs of offenders, as well as to hold juveniles responsible for their offenses. State v. Rice, 98 Wash.2d 384, 392, 655 P.2d 1145 (1982). The critical distinction between the two systems lies in the Juvenile Justice Act of 1977‘s (
¶ 14 As if to underscore this critical distinction between the juvenile justice and criminal adult systems, the legislative history leading the way to the 2005 amendment to
¶ 15 As a final point, the enumerated offenses referenced in former
¶ 16 The legislature, subsequent to our decision in Mora, has revised the statutory scheme and removed any doubt on Mora‘s statutory interpretation by affirming what we determined to underscore the statutory division between the juvenile and adult criminal systems.
¶ 17
The juvenile court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the disposition of any remaining charges in any case in which the juvenile is found not guilty in the adult criminal court of the charge or charges for
which he or she was transferred, or is convicted in the adult criminal court of a lesser included offense that is not also an offense listed in (e)(v) of this subsection.
¶ 18 Under this section, any juvenile properly charged in adult court of an enumerated offense is “returned” to juvenile court for imposition of sentence as a juvenile should the juvenile be convicted of a nonenumerated offense. This statutory revision is consistent with what we determined in Mora.
¶ 19 Here, Posey was acquitted of the enumerated charge that triggered the automatic decline provision. While the alleged charge of first degree assault properly placed Posey in the jurisdiction of adult court under the statute, once Posey was acquitted of the enumerated charge, the matter should have been remanded to juvenile court for a decline hearing or sentencing because, as stated previously, the legislative intent underlying the automatic decline provision is to impose more severe punishment on juveniles who have committed certain criminal offenses. Posey was acquitted of the only charge that properly placed him in the jurisdiction of the adult court. Therefore, we reverse the Court of Appeals’ holding below that the adult court had proper sentencing jurisdiction over Posey after he was acquitted of first degree assault.
Evidentiary Issue
¶ 20 Posey argues the trial court erred when it precluded the introduction of e-mail evidence based on Washington‘s rape shield statute. The relevant portion of the statute provides:
(2) Evidence of the victim‘s past sexual behavior including but not limited to the victim‘s . . . general reputation for promiscuity, nonchastity, or sexual mores contrary to community standards is inadmissible on the issue of credibility and is inadmissible to prove the victim‘s consent except as provided in subsection (3). . . .
(3) In any prosecution for the crime of rape . . . evidence of the victim‘s past sexual behavior . . . is admissible on the issue of consent only pursuant to the following procedure:
. . . .
(d) At the conclusion of the hearing, if the court finds that the evidence proposed . . . is relevant to the issue of the victim‘s consent . . . the court shall make an order stating what evidence may be introduced by the defendant. . . .
¶ 21 We review a trial court‘s decision to exclude evidence for an abuse of discretion; also, the exercise of discretion in balancing the danger of prejudice against the probative value of the evidence is a matter within the trial court‘s discretion and should be overturned only if no reasonable person could take the view adopted by the trial court. State v. Hudlow, 99 Wash.2d 1, 17, 659 P.2d 514 (1983). A trial judge, not an appellate court, is in the best position to evaluate the dynamics of a jury trial and therefore the prejudicial effect of a piece of evidence. State v. Taylor, 60 Wash.2d 32, 40, 371 P.2d 617 (1962).
¶ 22 Posey sought to introduce an e-mail copied by police from H.A.H.‘s computer as evidence that the victim would have consented to violence and rape and to rebut the State‘s theory that Posey was violent and abusive. The trial court barred the admission of the evidence. Posey now argues the trial court erred and relies on State v. Carver, 37 Wash.App. 122, 124, 678 P.2d 842 (1984), to assert that the e-mail evidence should have been admitted.
¶ 23 In Carver, the defendant had been charged with one count of indecent liberties and one count of second degree statutory rape. The defendant in Carver attempted to introduce evidence that the victims had suffered prior sexual abuse by others to rebut the inference that the victims would have been unable to describe the abusive acts because of their age unless the abuse was experienced at the hand of the defendant. The Court of Appeals in that case reversed the trial court‘s decision to exclude the evidence and held it was admissible because (1) it was not evidence of a victim‘s prior misconduct but evidence of prior abuse; (2) consent was not at issue since the victims’ ages made
¶ 24 However, the Court of Appeals here found Carver distinguishable because the e-mail evidence described only potential prior sexual misconduct of H.A.H., not prior sexual abuse of a victim as in Carver. Also, it found the factual issue here was consent and noted that consent was not at issue in Carver. Moreover, the Court of Appeals, in finding the trial court did not abuse its discretion, held the e-mail was of little probative value and included the following excerpt from the trial court in its opinion:
“[P]eople might talk about something, but it is very different talking about it then actually doing it. Anybody who‘s had an e-mail correspondence with anybody knows it‘s easy to say things during that correspondence that you wouldn‘t necessarily say to their face.”
Posey, 130 Wash.App. at 277, 122 P.3d 914 (alteration in original)(quoting RP at 56).
¶ 25 We agree with this analysis and conclusion. Accordingly, under the applicable standard of review, we affirm the Court of Appeals and find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it precluded admission of the e-mail evidence. The e-mail was not addressed to Posey nor was it sent to Posey, and it described only potential prior sexual misconduct or potential sexual mores, rendering the admission of the e-mail violative of the rape shield statute.
CONCLUSION
¶ 26 We reverse the Court of Appeals’ holding that Petitioner was correctly sentenced as an adult, and we affirm that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it excluded the e-mail evidence. We affirm the conviction and remand this matter to juvenile court for further proceedings.6
WE CONCUR: Chief Justice GERRY L. ALEXANDER, BARBARA A. MADSEN, BOBBE J. BRIDGE, SUSAN OWENS, MARY E. FAIRHURST and JAMES M. JOHNSON, JJ.
CHAMBERS, J. (concurrence).
¶ 27 I concur with the majority‘s resolution of the jurisdictional issue. I also, reluctantly, concur with the majority‘s resolution of the evidentiary challenge. I write separately to stress that this decision turns on the standard of review.
¶ 28 Daniel Alfred Posey, Jr., and H.A.H. were high school classmates who were romantically and sexually involved. H.A.H. claimed that when she attempted to end the relationship, Posey threatened and raped her. Posey claimed that H.A.H. consented to violent intercourse. H.A.H. testified that she did not consent and that Posey used physical force to overcome her resistance. In support of his claim that H.A.H. consented, Posey sought to introduce an e-mail sent by H.A.H. to another friend wherein H.A.H. allegedly wrote that “she would `enjoy’ being raped and that she wanted a boyfriend that would `choke her’ and `beat her.‘” Majority at 561.
¶ 29 Under our rape shield law, evidence of the complaining witness‘s sexual history may not generally be introduced in rape prosecutions.
¶ 31 That said, applying the abuse of discretion standard as I must, I cannot say the trial court erred in finding that the prejudicial effect of this evidence outweighed its probative value. See
SANDERS, J. (concurring in part, dissenting in part).
¶ 32 I agree with the majority‘s conclusion that the adult court did not have proper sentencing jurisdiction over Daniel Posey after he was acquitted of first degree assault. I dissent, however, because in my view the trial court abused its discretion by excluding H.A.H‘s e-mail, and such error requires reversal of Posey‘s convictions.1
¶ 33 In the e-mail Posey sought to admit at trial, H.A.H. wrote she would “enjoy” being raped and that “the perfect boyfriend” would “choke her,” which would make her “love him more,” and “beat her.” Verbatim Report of Proceedings (RP) (Pretrial) (Jan. 12, 2004) at 52. The trial court excluded the e-mail pursuant to the State‘s rape shield statute,
Evidence of the victim‘s past sexual behavior including but not limited to the victim‘s marital history, divorce history, or general reputation for promiscuity, nonchastity, or sexual mores contrary to community standards is inadmissible on the issue of credibility and is inadmissible to prove the victim‘s consent except as provided in subsection (3) of this section.
¶ 34 The purpose of the statute is “to encourage rape victims to prosecute, and to eliminate prejudicial evidence of prior sexual conduct of a victim which often has little, if any, relevance on the issues for which it is usually offered, namely, credibility or consent.” State v. Carver, 37 Wash.App. 122, 124, 678 P.2d 842 (1984). As such, the statute generally makes evidence of a victim‘s past sexual behavior inadmissible on the issue of victim credibility. See State v. Hudlow, 99 Wash.2d 1, 659 P.2d 514 (1983). The statute, however, “was not intended to establish a blanket exclusion of evidence which is relevant to other issues which may arise in prosecutions for rape.” Carver, 37 Wash. App. at 124, 678 P.2d 842 (citing State v. Simmons, 59 Wash.2d 381, 368 P.2d 378 (1962)). Past sexual behavior may be admitted if (1) it is relevant to the issue of the victim‘s consent, (2) its probative value is not substantially outweighed by a substantial danger of undue prejudice, and (3) its exclusion would result in denial of substantial justice to the defendant.
¶ 35 H.A.H.‘s e-mail was wrongly excluded for two reasons. First, it is not “past sexual behavior” as contemplated by the statute. See State v. Demos, 94 Wash.2d 733, 736, 619 P.2d 968 (1980) (“For the statute to be applicable the evidence must relate to the victim‘s past sexual behavior.” (emphasis added)). Sexual behavior commonly refers to a victim‘s prior sexual conduct. See Carver, 37 Wash.App. at 124, 678 P.2d 842 (one purpose of the rape shield statute is to “eliminate prejudicial evidence of prior sexual conduct of a victim“); Hudlow, 99 Wash.2d 1, 659 P.2d 514 (evidence of victims’ prior sexual behavior properly excluded); State v. Camara, 113 Wash.2d 631, 781 P.2d 483 (1989) (trial court properly refused to permit cross-examination of victim‘s past participation in certain sexual acts).
¶ 36 H.A.H.‘s e-mail illustrated a preference for sexual violence and discussed only potential sexual conduct — it made no reference to any past sexual behavior or conduct. Because the e-mail “does not fit within the concepts and purposes of the rape shield statute,” its exclusion was in error. Carver, 37 Wash.App. at 124, 678 P.2d 842.
¶ 37 Second, in addition to failing to meet the definition of “past sexual behavior” under the statute, H.A.H‘s e-mail is relevant to issues other than consent or her sexual predilections. Specifically, it is relevant to rebut the State‘s theory that H.A.H. remained in an abusive relationship with Posey out of fear of future violence. In Carver, the Court of Appeals opined, “[m]erely because the evidence pertains to a sexual experience does not mean we must strain to fit it into the special confines of the rape shield statute. Rather, we must apply general evidentiary principles of relevance, probative value and prejudice.” Id. at 124, 678 P.2d 842 (emphasis added).
¶ 38 Here, the trial court concluded H.A.H.‘s e-mail had “some probative value” but was “also very prejudicial.” RP at 60. It observed,
[P]eople might talk about something, but it is very different talking about it than actually doing it. Anybody who‘s had an email correspondence with anybody knows it‘s easy to say things during that correspondence that you wouldn‘t necessarily say to their face.
RP at 56. The court‘s statement implies it would be unfair to introduce H.A.H.‘s email because, due to the informal nature of e-mail communication, the e-mail may not accurately reflect her true feelings and/or beliefs. However, by analogy to an identical standard under ER 403, “[e]vidence is not inadmissible under ER 403 simply because it is detrimental or harmful to the interests of the party opposing its admission; it is prejudicial only if it has the capacity to skew the truth-finding process.” Wilson v. Olivetti N. Am., Inc., 85 Wash.App. 804, 814, 934 P.2d 1231 (1997) (citing Hudlow, 99 Wash.2d at 12-13, 659 P.2d 514). “`[U]nfair prejudice’ as it is used in rule 403 usually refers to prejudice [resulting] from evidence that is more likely to cause an emotional response than a rational decision by the jury.” Lockwood v. AC & S, 109 Wash.2d 235, 257, 744 P.2d 605 (1987). H.A.H.‘s e-mail, while harmful to the State‘s position, is not highly prejudicial evidence as contemplated by
¶ 39 H.A.H.‘s e-mail is relevant to rebut the State‘s theory that H.A.H continued to remain in the relationship with Posey and send him “love letters” after the alleged rapes out of fear of future violence. See State v. Harris, 97 Wash.App. 865, 872, 989 P.2d 553 (1999) (“Evidence tending to establish a party‘s theory, or to qualify or disprove the testimony of an adversary, is always relevant and admissible.“). As such, its exclusion substantially impairs Posey‘s defense and deprives him of his right of confrontation guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Olden v. Kentucky, 488 U.S. 227, 109 S.Ct. 480, 102 L.Ed.2d 513 (1988).
¶ 40 Because the trial court‘s improper exclusion of H.A.H.‘s email demands reversal of Posey‘s convictions, I dissent.