Perritt v. State

2005 WY 121, 120 P.3d 181, 2005 Wyo. LEXIS 147, 2005 WL 2323782
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 23, 2005
Docket04-88
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 2005 WY 121 (Perritt v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Perritt v. State, 2005 WY 121, 120 P.3d 181, 2005 Wyo. LEXIS 147, 2005 WL 2323782 (Wyo. 2005).

Opinions

HILL, Chief Justice.

[T1] Appellant, Laura Lee Perritt (Per-ritt), seeks review of her conviction for obtaining property by false pretenses. She contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain her conviction, that the district court erred by including an award of restitution to the State as a part of her sentence, that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct throughout her trial, that irrelevant evidence was admitted concerning her husband's bad behavior that prejudiced her right to a fair trial, and that the cumulative effect of trial errors mandate reversal of her conviction. We will reverse the judgment and sentence of the district court on the basis that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain the conviction and remand to the district court with directions that the information be dismissed with prejudice.

[12] Perritt raises these issues:

I. Was there insufficient evidence that [Perritt] obtained "property" from the State of Wyoming through false pretenses?
II Did the trial court err in ordering [Perritt] to pay restitution to the State of Wyoming?
III. Did the prosecutor commit misconduct in opening statement and closing argument?
IV. Did the trial court err in admitting irrelevant, prejudicial information concerning [Perritt's] husband?
V. Does cumulative error warrant reversal of [Perritt's] conviction?

The State's recitation of the issues essentially conforms to that of Perritt.

FACTS

[13] On August 6, 2000, Perritt submitted an Application for Day Care Certification to the Department of Family Services (DFS). The application form included a requirement that Perritt answer this question: "Have you or anyone in your home/staff been charged with a felony or the subject of a substantiated child abuse/neglect investigation?" Per-ritt answered the question "No." The record is clear, and Perritt makes no contention to the contrary, that she knew that her husband, Kris Perritt (Kris or Husband), had been convicted of sexual assault in the second degree on June 11, 1996. However, she characterizes her answer as truthful, or at least not false, on the basis that she did not consider Kris to be "in her home" or "on her staff" because, although married to him, they were separated and he did not live in their home on a regular basis. She also contended that he was to have nothing to do with the day care business, and was to have no unsupervised contact with the children1 served by her business. There was some evidence presented that Perritt admitted to DFS investigators that she did not disclose to DFS that her husband resided with her because she assumed that certification of her business would not be forthcoming if DFS knew of the marriage and the extent to which the Per-ritts still "lived" together. Perritt denied that she made such a statement.2

[184]*184[14] On August 18, 2000, in response to her application, Perritt received Certificate No. 6975 authorizing her to operate a family day care home. On August 21, 2000, Perritt submitted a Provider Registration Form (DFS 203). Completion of that form allowed Perritt to receive payments for child care services from DFS on behaif of eligible clients. One provision of that form was this:

2. The provider must furnish the name and Social Security Number of all adult household members and any substitute provider(s) who have access to the children placed in care. Each adult listed below must provide a signed and dated Authorization Release of Child or Disabled Adult Central Registry and Wyoming Criminal History Record Information (SS-26). A favorable Child Abuse-Neglect Record Check and a Criminal History Prescreening Report must be received for these individuals as well as the provider. [Emphasis added.]

Perritt listed only herself on this form for the same reasons that she did not include her husband on her initial application.

[T5] At the bottom of that form, Perritt was required to sign this "Certification:"

I certify I have read and agree to the conditions listed above. I certify all answers and statements made by me on this form are true and correct. I understand providing false information can result in loss of registration status as a child care provider. I understand the loss in registration status will result in my business no longer being eligible to receive DFS subsidized child care payments and could result in prosecution allowable under the law.

By signing that form, Perritt also acknowledged that she understood that DFS would not pay her if she committed fraud against DFS.

[T6] On April 17, 2001, Perritt submitted an Application for Day Care Certification so as to expand her business from a "Family Day Care Home (2-6 Children)," to a "Group Day Care Home (7-11 Children)." In that form, she also answered the question posed in her initial application in the negative, Le., that no one in her home/staff had been charged with a felony or had been the subject of a substantiated child abuse/neglect investigation. On April 17, 2001, Perritt received Certificate No. 6975, authorizing her to operate a group day care home.

[T7] DFS rules governing "Child Care Provider Eligibility and Payment Requirements" were an important part of the evidence against Perritt. Indeed, those rules were given to the jury in the form of Instruction No. 13:

Section 14. Child Care Provider Eligibility and Payment Requirements.
(a) The selected child care provider must:
(i) Be someone other than a mother, father, stepparent, member of the assistance unit, or foster parent who keeps or cares for a minor at the request of the parent(s)/caretaker(s) or an agency that is legally responsible for the child and receives payment for that care.
(H) Be at least (eighteen) 18 years old or be emancipated in accordance with W.S. 14-1-101.
(iii) Be licensed by the State of Wyoming unless the provider is legally exempt from, licensing under W.S. 14-4-102.
(iv) Provide care within the State of Wyoming.
(v) Complete the provider registration process.
(vi) Meet all state, local and federal laws related to operating a child care business.
(vii) Meet the minimum health and safety standards including:
(A) An operable smoke alarm or detector must be installed on all floor levels and an operable telephone must be available where the child care takes place. Exception: A telephone is not required when the care is provided in the child's own home. However, there needs to be a phone nearby that can be used in case of an emergency and the case file must be documented when this exception applies.
[185]*185(B) The provider must keep immunization records of the children.
(viii) Receive a favorable Child Abuse-Neglect Record Check and a Criminal History Presereening Report or good cause has been shown.

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Bluebook (online)
2005 WY 121, 120 P.3d 181, 2005 Wyo. LEXIS 147, 2005 WL 2323782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perritt-v-state-wyo-2005.