In Re the Care & Treatment of Miller

210 P.3d 625, 289 Kan. 218, 2009 Kan. LEXIS 211
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedJuly 10, 2009
Docket97,273
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 210 P.3d 625 (In Re the Care & Treatment of Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re the Care & Treatment of Miller, 210 P.3d 625, 289 Kan. 218, 2009 Kan. LEXIS 211 (kan 2009).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

[220]*220Beier, J.:

This is an appeal from respondent Richard A. Miller’s indefinite civil commitment as a sexually violent predator under K.S.A. 59-29a01 et seq. (the Act). He argues that the district judge erred in denying his motion to stipulate to a prior sex crime case; erred in admitting evidence of other prior crimes or civil wrongs, including those that had no sexual component or had never been proved; and erred in entering judgment after a jury verdict that he qualified as a sexually violent predator under the Act when he had never been diagnosed with a sex-related abnormality or disorder. Miller also advances a cumulative error argument.

We affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

Evidence in Miller’s commitment proceeding included testimony from tire victim of an aggravated sodomy Miller committed in 1980 as well as from an investigator in that case; testimony from the victim of a burglary Miller committed in 1992; a charging document from the 1992 case, which included an attempted rape that was later dismissed; testimony from State psychologist Ryan David Donahue about Miller’s numerous other prior crimes and civil wrongs, some with no sexual component and some never proved; and testimony from Miller’s psychiatrist, William Logan.

Miller had pleaded guilty to aggravated sodomy, along with two other crimes after his 1980 abduction of then 15-year-old K.M. In his commitment proceeding, Miller moved to stipulate to the aggravated sodomy conviction, arguing that the State’s plan to question the victim and former sheriff s office detective who investigated the crime would create undue prejudice. The district judge denied Miller’s motion; K.M. testified about the crimes committed against her; and the detective testified about his investigation.

Miller’s burglary conviction and attempted rape charge arose out of a 1992 incident in which Miller, free on parole, broke into the basement of a duplex while B.E. was bathing on the main floor. Miller filed a motion in limine to exclude B.E.’s testimony and any reference to the dismissed attempted rape charge in his commitment proceeding. Again, the district judge denied his motion. B.E. thus testified that, at tire time of the burglary, she heard glass break, [221]*221walked to the top of her basement stairs, and fled when she saw Miller. The district judge also admitted, over Miller s objection, the State’s initial 1992 complaint charging Miller with attempted rape.

Miller also sought unsuccessfully to limit Donahue’s testimony. Donahue testified that in 1976 the State charged Miller for lewd and lascivious conduct and indecent liberties with a child under age 16. These charges were later dismissed when another person confessed to the crimes. Donahue also discussed the 1980 case; the 1992 case; and Miller’s inappropriate behavior while incarcerated, including purposeful masturbation within view of a female employee, his stalking of female employees, and his persistent and aggressive behavior toward a prison therapist. Donahue also catalogued Miller’s nonsexual criminal history, including car theft, second-degree murder, burglary of a drugstore, and numerous additional charges or convictions, at least one of which had been dismissed. Donahue’s recitation included

“vagrancy, contributing to a child’s misconduct, deprivation, theft, simple assault, public consumption of liquor, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, simple assault, probation violations, burglary, criminal damage to property, resisting arrest, assault on a law enforcement officer, a liquor violation and disorderly conduct . . . that charge was actually dismissed — criminal attempt to commit burglary, theft, theft of lost or mislaid property, [and] multiple DUI charges.”

Donahue also testified that he had administered two screening tests to Miller, which ranked him at “high risk” to commit a future sex offense. Donahue diagnosed Miller with alcohol dependence, cannabis abuse, amphetamine abuse, opioid abuse, and antisocial personality disorder with narcissistic personality traits. Donahue explained that Miller probably had never been diagnosed with a sexual disorder because there is no recognized general diagnosis applicable to persons who commit sexual offenses against adults. Donahue acknowledged that many career criminals have diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder and that not all such persons commit sex offenses. Finally, Donahue opined that Miller qualifies as a sexually violent predator under the Act.

Miller’s psychiatrist, Logan, testified that individuals who are not diagnosed with a sexual disorder lack a drive or compulsion to [222]*222commit sexual offenses and that persons with diagnoses such as Miller s do not qualify as sexually violent predators. In fact, he said that he was surprised the State pursued Miller s commitment because Miller had never been diagnosed with a sexual disorder. Logan diagnosed Miller with dependence on alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, and opiates; and antisocial personality disorder. Logan opined that Miller did not meet the statutory requirements for a sexually violent predator. In his view, although Miller’s substance abuse problems and his antisocial personality disorder would qualify as “mental abnormalities” under the Act, they did not mean Miller would have difficulty controlling his future behavior.

Miller appealed his commitment to our Court of Appeals, which affirmed. We granted his petition for review.

Motion to Stipulate

On appeal, Miller does not argue that the testimony from K.M. or the detective on the 1980 crimes was not relevant to the issue facing the jury. Rather, he challenges the district judge’s decision allowing the State to use this particular method — live testimony from a victim and law enforcement — to prove its case. Miller characterizes this method as unduly prejudicial and cumulative of Donahue’s relatively dispassionate evidence of his criminal histoiy, including the 1980 case. On appeal, we review both a district court’s assessment of undue prejudice and its decision on whether evidence should be excluded as cumulative for abuse of discretion. See State v. Vasquez, 287 Kan. 40, 50, 194 P.3d 563 (2008) (prejudice); State v. Green, 274 Kan. 145, 147, 48 P.3d 1276 (2002) (cumulative nature). Discretion is abused when no reasonable person would decide an issue in the same way. See State v. Reed, 282 Kan. 272, 280, 144 P.3d 677 (2006).

Our Court of Appeals rejected Miller’s argument that the district judge was compelled to accept Miller’s stipulation to the 1980 offenses, relying on two decisions from the Texas Court of Appeals. See In re Care & Treatment of Miller, 39 Kan. App. 2d 905, 186 P.3d 201 (2008) (citing In re Adams, 122 S.W.3d 451, 453 [Tex. App. 2003] [court may admit sex offender’s prison disciplinary records, copies of previous conviction records despite offender’s stip[223]*223ulation]); In re Commitment of Petersimes,

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Bluebook (online)
210 P.3d 625, 289 Kan. 218, 2009 Kan. LEXIS 211, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-care-treatment-of-miller-kan-2009.