People v. Cruz

Superior Court of Guam·Decided April 6, 2018·No. CF0047-18·Unknown

Opinion

FH-ED SUPERIOR COURT OF GUAH 1 2018 APR -6 PM 4: l I 2 CLERKOFw-· 3 4 y·----- B'f' IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GUAM 5 PEOPLE OF GUAM, ) CRIMINAL CASE NO. CF0047-18 6 ) v. ) 7 ) DECISION AND ORDER RE: 8 JEROME JOE CRUZ, ) DEFENDANT'S PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS ) 9 DEFENDANT. ) 10 _______________________________) 11 INTRODUCTION

12 This matter is assigned to the Honorable Maria T. Cenzon. On the eve of trial, Defendant 13 Jerome Joe Cruz ("Defendant") moved 1) to Dismiss the Indictment~ 2) to Continue Trial, 3) for 14 Bail Redetermination, and 4) to Exclude GRE 413 Evidence. During all of the hearings, 15 Defendant was present and represented by Assistant Alternate Public Defender John Morrison. 16 The People of Guam ("the People") were repr~~.ented by Assistant Attorney General Terry 17 VanEaton. OnMarch 16, 2018, during a continued pre-trial conference, the Court ruled from the 18 bench DENYING Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Indictment, to continue trial, request for bail 19 redetermination, and to exclude GRE 413 evidence (plea agreement and judgment of CF0304- 20 09). On March 19, 2018, the Court DENIED the People's request to admit the 2009 Declaration 21 of Probable Cause for CF0304-09 (the "2009 Declaration"). This Decision and Order further 22 memorializes the Court's rulings. 1 23 II 24 II 25 26 1 The Court also issues this written J)ecision and Order in compliance with 8 GCA § 40.50(a). (Requiring unless the 27 conditions of release are amended and the person is thereupon released, the judge shall set forth in writing the reasons for requiring the conditions imposed) (emphasis added). 28 People v. Jerome Joe Cruz; CF0047-18 D&O Re: Defendant's Pre-Trial Motions Page 1 of 10 1 BACKGROUND Defendant was charged by indictment with TWO COUNTS of Second Degree Criminal 2 3 Sexual Conduct (as a First Degree Felony) in violation of 9 G.C:A. §§ 25.20(a)(l) and (b).

4 Indictment (Jan. 22, 2018). On February 8, 2018, Defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial.

5 On February 13, 2018, the Defendant appeared before this Court for the first time where the

6 Court set the matter for trial on February 20, 2018. On that same date, Defendant filed a motion 7. to extend the Motion Cut Off-Date and to vacate the jury trial. On February 14, 2018, the

8 Government filed a Notice of Intent to Admit 413 Evidence. On February 19, 2018, the Court

9 did not rule on Defendant's Motion, but instead vacated the trial date to allow sufficient time for

10 the Government to comply with the 413 Notice Requirement. 2 11 On March 9, 2018, Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss the Indictment. On March 14, 12 2018, the parties appeared before this Court for a pre-trial conference where the Court ruled from 13 the bench DENYING Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment. 14 On March 15, 2018, Defendant filed a Motion in Limine to Exclude GRE 413 evidence 15 and for Bail Redetermination under 8 G.C.A. § 40.50. The Court held a pre-trial conference on 16 March 16, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. where the Defendant also orally moved for continuance. After 17 returning in the afternoon the same day, the Court orally DENIED Defendant's Motion 1) for a 18 ContiJ;mance, 2) for a Bail Redetermination, and 3) to Exclude the Plea Agreement and Judgment 19 of CF0304-09. The Court, however, reserved its ruling on the People's Request to Admit the 20 2009 Declaration. 21 On March 19,2018, the Court DENIED People's Request to Admit the 2009 Declaration. 22 Jury trial was held on March 19 to March 21, 2018. On March 22, 2018, the jury returned a 23 verdict of NOT GUILTY on all charges. 24 II 25 II 26 27 2 GRE 413 requires that the Government provides a notice to admit 413 evidence 15 days prior to the date of trial. 28 People v. Jerome Joe Cruz; CF0047-18 D&O Re: Defendant's Pre-Trial Motions Page 2 of 10 DISCUSSION 1 A. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment 2 Defendant relies on 8 GCA § 50.423 and requests this Court to dismiss the indictment 3 4 because it "rest solely on the presentation of legally incompetent evidence." Mot. to Dismiss

5 Indictment, at p. 1 (Mar. 9, 2018). First, Defendant argues "the indictment was based almost

6 entirely on hearsay and every statement needed to establish any of the elements of the crime are

7 inadmissible hearsay." !d. at p. 6. Secondly, the prosecutor admitted details of Defendant's prior

8 sex offense and allowed a police officer to vouch for a witness without a limiting instruction. !d.

9 atp. 9.

10 Defendant also contends "cases contrary to his position that are referenced in the

11 compiler of law's notes ... are not binding to this Court," since it was reached before the statute 12 was passed or from a court that no longer exists. !d. at p. 1. Instead, Defendant relies on 13 California case law interpreting competent evidence as "evidence that is otherwise admissible 14 under the laws of the evidence." !d. Specifically, Defendant contests the note in Section 50.42 15 providing "A Grand Jury indictment will not be overturned because it was based on hearsay 16 testimony. It was the intent of the amendment to this section(§ 50.42) that less than 'admissible' 17 evidence is required before the grand jury. Compiler's Note cited in case." (emphasis added). The 18 Court disagrees with Defendant's contention and finds People v. Quidachay is controlling, as 19 specifically addressed in In Re Camacho. 4 20 With the exception of 8 G.C.A. § 50.14(b), no provision exist in the Guam Code for a court 21 to review a grand jury's finding "there is reasonable cause to believe that an indictable offense 22 23 3 The statute reads as, "The grand jury shall receive only competent evidence but the fact that evidence which is 24 incompetent was received by the grand jury does not render the indictment void where sufficient competent evidence to support the indictment was receivedby the grand jury." 25 4 Holding "[p]recedent [from the Appellate Division of the District Court of Guam] that was extant when [the Guam: 26 Supreme Court] became operational continues unless and until [the Guam Supreme Court] address the issues discussed there. [The Guam Supreme Court] will not divert from such precedents unless reason supports such 27 deviation." 2006 Guam 5 (quoting People v. Quenga, 1997 Guam 6) (emphasis added). 28 People v. Jerome Joe Cruz; CF0047-18 D&O Re: Defendant's Pre-Trial Motions Page 3 of 10 has been committed and that the defendant committed it." 8 G.C.A. § 50.54(b). Even§ 50.14(b) 1 is strictly curtailed to challenges "based on objections to the array or on the lack of legal 2 3 qualification of an individual juror, if not previously determined upon challenge." The provision

4 which Defendant seeks to challenge the competency of the evidence received by the grand jury

5 operates with the caveat that "the fact that evidence which is incompetent was received by the

6 grand jury does not render the indictment void where sufficient competent evidence to support

7 the indictment was received by the grand jury.'' 8 G.C.A. § 50.42. The Supreme Court of the

8 United States has found that allowance for trial courts to review findings of a grand jury "would

9 run counter to the whole history of the grand jury institution, in which laymen conduct their

10 inquiries unfettered by technical rules." Costello v. U.S., 350 U.S. 359, 364 (1956). In that vein,

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