Dickie v. State

282 P.3d 382, 2012 WL 3055067, 2012 Alas. App. LEXIS 116
CourtCourt of Appeals of Alaska
DecidedJuly 27, 2012
DocketNo. A-10670
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 282 P.3d 382 (Dickie v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dickie v. State, 282 P.3d 382, 2012 WL 3055067, 2012 Alas. App. LEXIS 116 (Ala. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

BOLGER, Judge.

Bruce Dickie appeals his conviction for first-degree stalking of a family in Anchorage. Dickie contends that the State's evidence was legally insufficient to prove that his repeated contacts with the family were "nonconsensual" within the meaning of AS 11.41.270(b)(8)-i.e., that these contacts were "initiated or continued without [the family's] [383]*383consent, ... or ... in disregard of [the family's] expressed desire that the contact[s] be avoided or discontinued." In particular, Dickie argues that the State's evidence in this case was insufficient to prove that he knew that his contacts with the family were contrary to their wishes. We conclude that the State's evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, was sufficient to establish this element of the offense.

Dickie also argues that the statutory definition of "nonconsensual" is unconstitutionally broad unless we require the State to prove that the unwanted contacts were accompanied by some degree of coercion or force. For the reasons explained in this opinion, we reject this contention.

In a separate claim, Dickie argues that the superior court committed plain error by failing to instruct the jury on the definition of "victim" under the stalking statute. Dickie contends that, without this statutory definition, the jury might have convicted him of stalking even though they believed Dickie's proposed defense-i.e., even though the jurors concluded that Dickie was not targeting the family who lived at the residence, but was instead making good-faith but misguided efforts to contact someone else who he mistakenly believed lived in that residence.

We conclude that, given the instructions that the jury did receive, and given the final arguments of the parties, there was no risk that the jurors misunderstood Dickie's proposed defense. Accordingly, the superior court's failure to give the jurors a more technical definition of "victim" was not plain error.

Background

The Petersen family resided in a duplex in Anchorage. In May 2009, the Petersens' eighteen-year-old daughter saw Dickie walking around their house at approximately 9:30 pm., holding a bag of beer. A short time later, Dickie knocked on the door and asked for someone named Sherry Anson. The daughter informed Dickie that Sherry Anson did not live at that residence. Dickie then left.

About two weeks later, the Petersens found a pizza on their front porch. Another week later, someone left two Starbucks coffee drinks and a bag of deli food from Fred Meyer on the porch. At the end of May, the family left town for Memorial Day weekend and returned to find a can of Pringles potato chips on their porch.

On June 1, the Petersens observed Dickie return to the house and leave another bag of Fred Meyer deli food on the porch. Mr. Petersen was able to stop Dickie in the driveway and ask why he was leaving the food. Dickie stated that he thought his friend, Sherry Anson, lived at the house. Dickie said his name was Bruce, but gave a false last name.

Mr. Petersen informed Dickie that he was searing his family and that he believed Dickie was stalking them. Mr. Petersen said he would call the police if Dickie returned to their home. Mr. Petersen wrote down Dick-ie's license plate number as he drove away.

On June 8, Ms. Petersen was watching a movie when she saw Dickie enter their yard from the woods behind their duplex. Dickie was swaying and appeared to be drunk. Mr. Petersen herded his family upstairs into a bedroom, while Ms. Petersen called 911 on her cell phone. Dickie was crouched down in the yard and holding "a big, silver gun." He eventually got up and walked out of the yard through a wooded area.

Anchorage police responded to the 911 dispatch and went to Dickie's home, a short distance from the Petersens' duplex. Dickie was slurring his speech and had an odor of alcohol about him. Anchorage Police Officer Jonathan Gould performed a field sobriety test that led him to believe Dickie was intoxicated.

Police found two guns and several magazines of ammunition in Dickie's pants. One of the guns was a Para-Ordnance that had a round of ammunition in the chamber and rounds of ammunition in the magazine. The second gun, a nine-millimeter Beretta, contained rounds in the magazine. Police also found "a very large" loaded Smith and Wesson revolver on Dickie's couch. Police located three other guns-a loaded .44 Ruger [384]*384handgun, a 30.06 rifle, and a Blissfield shotgun-in Dickie's bedroom.

Dickie was indicted on one count of third-degree misconduct involving weapons,1 one count of first-degree stalking,2 and one count of first-degree criminal trespass.3 After the State presented its case at trial, Dickie moved for a judgment of acquittal on the stalking charge. Dickie argued that the State failed to prove that he engaged in a course of conduct that placed the Petersens in fear of death or physical injury. Superior Court Judge Philip R. Volland denied Dick-ie's motion. The jury found Dickie guilty of all three charges, and he now appeals.

Discussion

Dickie raises two arguments on appeal. First, Dickie argues that the court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal because the State failed to show that Dickie made repeated, nonconsensual contacts with the Petersens as necessary to satisfy the stalking statute. Dickie also argues that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the definition of the term "victim."

The trial court did not err in denying Dickie's motion for judgment of acquittal.

A person commits the crime of stalking when the person "knowingly engages in a course of conduct that recklessly places another person in fear of death or physical injury, or in fear of the death or physical injury of a family member."4 The statute defines the phrase "course of conduct" as "repeated acts of nonconsensual contact involving the victim or a family member."5 "[NlJoneonsensual contact" is defined as "any contact with another person that is initiated or continued without that person's consent, that is beyond the scope of the consent provided by that person, or that is in disregard of that person's expressed desire that the contact be avoided or discontinued."6 Such contacts include "appearing within the sight of that person"; "entering onto or remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by that person"; and "placing an object on, or delivering an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied by that person."7

Dickie argues on appeal that his conduct does not fall within the definition of stalking because his conduct does not meet the definition of "noneonsensual contact." Dickie argues that we should require an element of coercion or force as part of the phrase "without that person's consent" to address potential constitutional problems with the stalking statute. Because these claims raise questions of statutory interpretation, our goal is to determine the intent of the legislature and to implement that intent.8

In Petersen v. State, we noted that the phrase "without that person's consent" appears to cover all contacts that are not expressly authorized beforehand.9

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Related

State v. Jouppi
397 P.3d 1026 (Court of Appeals of Alaska, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
282 P.3d 382, 2012 WL 3055067, 2012 Alas. App. LEXIS 116, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dickie-v-state-alaskactapp-2012.