In re D.C.

439 P.3d 72
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 21, 2019
DocketCourt of Appeals No. 16CA0236
StatusPublished

This text of 439 P.3d 72 (In re D.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re D.C., 439 P.3d 72 (Colo. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

Opinion by JUDGE DUNN

¶1 D.C. and E.L. were committed to the Division of Youth Corrections (DYC). During their DYC science class, D.C. exposed one of his testicles to E.L. E.L. reported the incident, and the prosecution filed a delinquency petition, alleging that D.C. committed an act that, if committed by an adult, would constitute public indecency. After a bench trial, the juvenile court adjudicated D.C. delinquent.

¶2 D.C. appeals, contending that insufficient evidence supported the adjudication. We disagree and therefore affirm.

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶3 D.C. argues the prosecution failed to establish that the DYC classroom, where D.C. exposed his testicle, was a "public place" under the public indecency statute, § 18-7-301(1), C.R.S. 2018. We are persuaded the evidence was sufficient to support the adjudication. We, however, come to this conclusion not because the classroom was a public place (an issue we don't reach) but because D.C. exposed himself where members of the public were reasonably likely to see it.

A. Standard of Review

¶4 We review challenges to the sufficiency of evidence de novo. People in Interest of G.B. , 2018 COA 77, ¶ 13, 433 P.3d 138. In doing so, we must determine whether the evidence, when viewed as a whole and in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is substantial and sufficient to support a conclusion by a rational fact finder that the juvenile committed the act beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. We give the prosecution the benefit of every reasonable inference that might fairly be drawn from the evidence. People v. Perez , 2016 CO 12, ¶ 32, 367 P.3d 695.

¶5 We likewise interpret the public indecency statute de novo. See People v. Halbert , 2013 COA 95, ¶ 11, 411 P.3d 47. We give the statutory words their plain and ordinary meanings, and, if the statute is unambiguous, we apply it as written. Id.

B. Public Indecency

¶6 As relevant here, a person commits public indecency by knowingly exposing his genitals to the view of another under circumstances that are likely to cause affront or alarm "in a public place or [in a place] where the conduct may reasonably be expected to be viewed by members of the public." § 18-7-301(1)(e). The statute therefore identifies two different ways to commit the crime of public indecency - exposing oneself "in a public place" or exposing oneself in a place where members of the public "may reasonably be expected" to view the exposure. See id. ; see also Willhite v. Rodriguez-Cera , 2012 CO 29, ¶ 18, 274 P.3d 1233 ("[T]he use of the disjunctive 'or' reflects a choice of equally acceptable alternatives."); cf. Friend v. People , 2018 CO 90, ¶¶ 18-19, 429 P.3d 1191 (Where a criminal statute sets forth different ways to commit a crime, separated by the disjunctive "or," it "prescribes a single crime" that "can be committed in alternate ways.").

¶7 Responding to D.C.'s motion for judgment of acquittal at trial, the prosecution *74argued that it had presented sufficient evidence establishing that the DYC classroom was a "public place" or that the exposure occurred in a place "where the conduct might reasonably ha[ve] been expected to be viewed by members of the public."1 The juvenile court recognized that DYC residents, teachers, and staff are "members of the public," but ultimately denied the motion because it concluded that the DYC classroom was a "public place."

¶8 The parties disagree on whether the DYC classroom is a "public place" under the public indecency statute. But we need not wade into this disagreement because sufficient evidence showed that D.C. exposed his genitals in a place "where the conduct may reasonably be expected to be viewed by members of the public." § 18-7-301(1) ; see People v. Steerman , 735 P.2d 876, 879 (Colo. 1987) (reinstating a jury verdict vacated by the district court because sufficient evidence supported a statutory alternative for committing the charged crime); People v. Prendergast , 87 P.3d 175, 186 (Colo. App. 2003) (rejecting the defendant's sufficiency of the evidence challenge when the jury instruction phrased an element of the crime in the disjunctive and sufficient evidence supported the alternative manner to commit the crime); cf. People v. Dunaway , 88 P.3d 619, 629 n.9 (Colo. 2004) (when elements of a crime are listed in the "disjunctive," "proof of one" is sufficient); People v. Viduya , 703 P.2d 1281, 1292 (Colo. 1985) ("[When t]he statute describes two ways in which this offense can be committed[,] ... [i]t is then proper to instruct the jury in the disjunctive, requiring conviction if any of the statutory alternatives is established by the evidence.").

¶9 In that regard, E.L. testified that nine or ten other students and a teacher were in the DYC classroom when D.C. exposed himself. He also said that DYC staff were outside the classroom. Another student confirmed that the teacher and other students were present at the time of the incident.

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Related

People v. Viduya
703 P.2d 1281 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1985)
In Re May
584 S.E.2d 271 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2003)
People v. Giacinti
358 N.E.2d 934 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1976)
People v. Williams
603 N.W.2d 300 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1999)
Willhite v. RODRIGUEZ-CERA
2012 CO 29 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2012)
People v. Prendergast
87 P.3d 175 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2003)
People v. Hoskay
87 P.3d 194 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2003)
People v. Perez
2016 CO 12 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2016)
People in Interest of G.B
2018 COA 77 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2018)
Friend v. People
2018 CO 90 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2018)
People v. Dunaway
88 P.3d 619 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2004)
People v. Steerman
735 P.2d 876 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1987)
People v. Perez
2016 CO 12 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2016)
People v. Halbert
411 P.3d 47 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2013)
State v. Narcisse
833 So. 2d 1186 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
State v. Black
545 S.W.2d 617 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1977)

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Bluebook (online)
439 P.3d 72, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-dc-coloctapp-2019.