People v. Bruce

208 Cal. App. 3d 1099, 256 Cal. Rptr. 647
California Court of Appeal·Decided March 20, 1989·No. A041253·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

208 Cal.App.3d 1099 (1989)
256 Cal. Rptr. 647

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
ROBERT DEAN BRUCE, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. A041253.

Court of Appeals of California, First District, Division Four.

March 20, 1989.

*1101 COUNSEL

Harvey R. Zall, State Public Defender, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, Peter R. Silten, Chief Assistant State Public Defender, and Susan M. Kwan, Deputy State Public Defender, for Defendant and Appellant.

John K. Van de Kamp, Attorney General, Steve White, Chief Assistant Attorney General, John H. Sugiyama, Assistant Attorney General, Aileen Bunney and Brenda P. Reyes, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

CHANNELL, J.

A jury convicted appellant Robert Dean Bruce of forcible rape. (Pen. Code, § 261, subd. (2).) Sentenced to 13 years in state prison, he appeals, contending that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of a prior rape conviction to prove whether his present victim consented to intercourse. We agree and reverse the judgment.

I. FACTS

On the night of March 23-24, 1987, L.A. went with a friend to the Berkeley marina to meet a third friend. About 10 p.m., L.A. left her companion and walked up University Avenue to search for their friend. A man, later identified as appellant Robert Dean Bruce, drove up beside her and began talking to her. He offered her a ride, but after some conversation she decided to proceed on foot. Bruce told her that she had "better get in the car" and that he had a gun. Fearful, L.A. did as he instructed. Bruce drove back to the marina and parked his car behind some bushes in a parking lot. He told L.A. "I'm going to make love to you." When she screamed, begged *1102 him to let her go, and tried to get out of the car, Bruce said, "Don't make me use my gun on you." At his instruction, L.A. removed her clothes and climbed into the back seat of the car, where Bruce orally copulated and raped her.

L.A. noticed that Bruce sweated heavily during intercourse. He first identified himself as Robert, but later said that his name was Dave or David. When he asked her for money, she gave him some. L.A. escaped from Bruce and hid in some bushes until friends found her about 1 a.m. She was taken to a hospital and examined as a possible victim of sexual assault. After initially refusing to do so, L.A. identified Bruce as her assailant from a photographic lineup.

Bruce was arrested and charged with kidnapping, forcible rape, and robbery. (Pen. Code, §§ 207, 211, 261, subd. (2).) The information also alleged that he kidnapped L.A. for the purpose of rape and that he had been convicted of a prior serious felony. (Id., §§ 667, 667.6, subd. (a), 667.8, subd. (a).) He signed a written statement for police that he had met the victim on the night of the alleged crime, but that he had done nothing more than give her a ride in his car, adding that he went home immediately after dropping her off at the marina parking lot.

At trial, L.A. testified and identified Bruce as the perpetrator. Over his objection, Veronica M. testified that one night in 1981 while she was walking Bruce had approached her in his car. He told her that his name was David and asked if she wanted a ride. When she refused, he held up an object that appeared to be a gun and Veronica got into the car. He drove her to a parking lot at the Berkeley marina where he orally copulated and raped her. She noticed that he sweated heavily during intercourse. Bruce had pleaded guilty to a charge of forcible rape stemming from this incident and served a prison term for it.

Bruce did not testify at trial. The jury convicted him of forcible rape, but was unable to reach a verdict on the other charges or the allegation that the kidnapping was committed for purposes of rape. The other charges and the special allegation were dismissed. Outside the presence of the jury, Bruce admitted the truth of the prior conviction enhancement allegation. He was sentenced to thirteen years in state prison — the upper term of eight years for the rape and five years for the prior conviction. (See Pen. Code, § 667.)

*1103 II. DISCUSSION

(1a) On appeal, Bruce contends that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of the 1981 rape. He contends that the evidence was irrelevant and prejudicial, and that reversal of his conviction is compelled because of its erroneous admission. (See Evid. Code, § 1101.)[1] Before trial, he moved to suppress evidence of the 1981 rape of Veronica. Bruce conceded that the 1981 crime was similar to the charged rape. At this stage of the case, identity was an issue and the motion was properly denied.

In mid-trial, as the prosecution prepared to call Veronica to testify about the 1981 rape, the defense stipulated that Bruce had engaged in sexual intercourse with L.A. Outside the presence of the jury, he asked the trial court to reconsider its earlier ruling, urging that evidence of the 1981 rape was no longer relevant because identity was no longer an issue. Nevertheless, the trial court permitted Veronica to testify, while admonishing the jury that her testimony was admitted only on the issue of consent. After she testified, Bruce moved for a mistrial. He stated that his only defense was not reasonable, good faith belief in consent, but L.A.'s actual consent. He argued that the 1981 rape of Veronica was irrelevant to this defense. The trial court denied the motion for mistrial.

In her closing statement, the prosecutor argued that Veronica's evidence tended to establish that L.A. did not consent to intercourse and was relevant as to whether Bruce had a reasonable, good faith belief that she consented. Bruce argued that the evidence was irrelevant and urged the jury to disregard it. He argued that only L.A.'s state of mind was at issue and that she was not a credible witness. The jury was instructed that the victim's lack of consent was an element of forcible rape and that the defendant's reasonable, good faith belief in her consent was a defense to that crime. It was also reminded not to consider Veronica's testimony for any purpose other than to determine whether Bruce had a reasonable, good faith belief that L.A. consented to intercourse. "In other words," the judge instructed, this evidence "is ... admissible only on the issue of consent." When Veronica's testimony was reread to the jury during deliberations, the court again admonished the jury that the testimony was admissible only on the issue of consent.

Before sentencing, Bruce moved for a new trial on the basis of the admission of Veronica's testimony and the court's failure to limit the consent instructions as he had requested. He argued that he did not put on any *1104 evidence about his state of mind — on whether he had a reasonable, good faith belief that L.A. had consented. Bruce noted that the judge's instructions had, in effect, treated consent and reasonable, good faith belief in consent as interchangeable. He complained that the court lightened the prosecutor's burden of proving lack of consent, rejected his requested instructions on whether the People had proven lack of consent, and compounded the problem by instructing the jury that it could consider the challenged evidence to determine whether he had a reasonable, good faith belief in consent. He noted that during argument he avoided referring to his state of mind, focusing instead on the victim's consent. The trial court denied the motion for new trial.

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People v. Bruce, 208 Cal. App. 3d 1099, 256 Cal. Rptr. 647 (Cal. Ct. App. 1989).

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