Marrone v. State

653 P.2d 672, 1982 Alas. App. LEXIS 405
CourtCourt of Appeals of Alaska
DecidedNovember 5, 1982
Docket5368
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 653 P.2d 672 (Marrone 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
Marrone v. State, 653 P.2d 672, 1982 Alas. App. LEXIS 405 (Ala. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinions

OPINION

SINGLETON, Judge.

In 1959, Frank Marrone was convicted of second degree murder. His conviction was affirmed on appeal. Marrone v. State, 359 P.2d 969 (Alaska 1961) (Marrone I). Thereafter, Marrone filed two applications for post-conviction relief. Judgments denying relief were affirmed respectively in Marrone v. State, 458 P.2d 736 (Alaska) (Marrone II), cert, denied, 397 U.S. 967, 90 S.Ct. 1005, 25 L.Ed.2d 260 (1969), and Marrone v. State, 581 P.2d 674 (Alaska 1978) (Marrone III). Marrone brought this third application for relief arguing: (1) that the trial court improperly instructed the jury, (2) that the trial court erred in failing to record and transcribe the reading of the jury instructions, 28 U.S.C. § 753(b) (1976), and, (3) that Marrone is currently treated as within state parole jurisdiction when he should be subject to federal parole supervision. The trial court denied relief and Marrone appeals. We find no error and affirm.

[674]*674The facts are set out at some length in Marrone I. Briefly, Marrone was charged with the murder of Don Iannetti. Iannet-ti’s body was found in a bar which Iannetti owned. The state found no eyewitnesses to the shooting. Circumstantial evidence introduced by the state tended to show that Marrone had a motive and an opportunity to kill Iannetti. Marrone did not testify. His evidence tended to establish an alibi. There was evidence that Iannetti frequently used the murder weapon, which he owned, in target practice at the bar. In addition, Marrone offered evidence that Iannetti was intoxicated at the time of his death and habitually became violent when he was intoxicated. Marrone justified this offer of evidence by arguing that while his defense was alibi, the jury might reject this defense and conclude that Marrone was present when Iannetti died and, if so, might conclude that the gun went off during a struggle or was fired on sudden impulse. The trial court rejected this evidence on grounds of relevancy and the ruling was affirmed on appeal. The supreme court specifically held that alibi was the only defense with support in the evidence and that Marrone did not rely on self-defense or justification at trial, i.e., had not presented sufficient evidence to entitle him to put Iannetti’s character for violence in issue. Marrone I, 359 P.2d at 984.

Marrone’s case was tried in the federal district court which had been established by Congress to try criminal cases arising while Alaska made the transition from territory to state and established its own courts. Marrone initially appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals but by that time the state supreme court had been established so the Ninth Circuit dismissed Marrone’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction. He refiled in the state appellate court where his appeal was heard.

We will deal with Marrone’s contentions in order.

JURY INSTRUCTION

Marrone argues that the following instruction which was given without objection violated his constitutional rights:

In every crime, such as charged in this case, there must exist a union or joint operation of act and intent. The burden is always upon the prosecution to prove both act and intent beyond a reasonable doubt.
The law presumes that a person intends the ordinary, natural and probable consequences of his voluntary acts. This is a disputable presumption and may be overcome by evidence to the contrary. If you should find that the defendant killed Don Iannetti, then in determining the question of intent it is important that you consider the means by which the killing was accomplished. If you should find that he used a deadly weapon without excuse or provocation and in such a manner as to imperil life, such facts would support an inference of felonious intent, an inference which, however, must be weighed against any contradictory evidence. If and when the evidence shows that one person assailed another violently with a dangerous weapon in a manner likely to cause the death of the person assailed and which in fact did kill the person thus attacked, such evidence gives rise to a presumption that the assailant intended death or other great bodily harm.
The presumption, however, may be overcome by contrary evidence; and any such evidence is sufficient to overcome it which creates in the minds of the jurors a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s intent was as so presumed. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the presumption must prevail. [Emphasis added.]

Marrone relies upon Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510, 99 S.Ct. 2450, 61 L.Ed.2d 39 (1979) and Menard v. State, 578 P.2d 966, 968-69 (Alaska 1978).

Having reviewed the record and the briefs, we have concluded that Marrone’s failure to object to this instruction during [675]*675his trial forfeits his right to challenge it in a post-conviction proceeding.

We view this result as consistent with Alaska Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(j). We do not believe that an appellant should be able to raise issues on an appeal from the denial of his application for post-conviction relief that he would have been barred from raising on a direct appeal from his original conviction. Cf. Hensel v. State, 604 P.2d 222, 235 n. 55 (Alaska 1979) (illogical to require state to bear a greater burden in resisting a motion for new trial in collateral proceedings under Rule 35 than it would bear in direct proceedings under Rule 33).1 We base our conclusion that Marrone has not justified relief from forfeiture on the following grounds: First, the challenged instruction (the Marrone instruction), is distinguishable from the instruction given in Menard, (the Menard instruction), and the instruction given in Sandstrom, (the Sandstrom instruction). Therefore, use of the Marrone instruction in 1959 was not plain error. Second, Sandstrom and Menard were sufficiently foreshadowed in Morrissette v. United States, 342 U.S. 246, 274-76, 72 S.Ct. 240, 255-56, 96 L.Ed. 288, 306-08 (1952) and Bloch v. United States, 221 F.2d 786 (9th Cir.1955). Therefore, the Sandstrom and Menard holdings cannot be termed a significant change in the law, Alaska Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(c)(7), excusing a timely failure to object. Cf. Thompson v. State, 496 P.2d 651, 655-56 (Alaska 1972) (recent case articulating principle favorable to defendant does not excuse prior failure to raise issue in post-conviction proceedings where the principle is found in cases decided prior to earlier post-conviction proceedings). Finally, Marrone has not shown either good cause for failing to object or substantial prejudice. He therefore has no claim under federal law.

United States v. Frady,-U.S. -, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982); Engle v. Isaac, - U.S. -, 102 S.Ct. 1558, 71 L.Ed.2d 783 (1982).

When Marrone was tried in 1959 the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governed his trial.

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Bluebook (online)
653 P.2d 672, 1982 Alas. App. LEXIS 405, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marrone-v-state-alaskactapp-1982.