Speer v. State

708 S.W.2d 94, 18 Ark. App. 1, 1986 Ark. App. LEXIS 2178
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedApril 30, 1986
DocketCA CR 85-79
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 708 S.W.2d 94 (Speer v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Speer v. State, 708 S.W.2d 94, 18 Ark. App. 1, 1986 Ark. App. LEXIS 2178 (Ark. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Donald L. Corbin, Judge.

Appellant, Terry Glenn Speer, was charged with attempted rape and convicted by a Washington County jury of first degree sexual abuse. He was fined $5,000 and sentenced to a term of three years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. We find no merit to appellant’s contention on appeal that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on first degree sexual abuse and affirm.

The record reflects that the trial court instructed the jury on sexual abuse in the first degree over appellant’s objection. In overruling appellant’s objection to this instruction, the trial court stated that it was required to instruct the jury on every offense which could reasonably be found from the testimony and evidence, despite appellant’s objection. Furthermore, the court found that the instruction was clearly warranted inasmuch as there was evidence of sexual contact by forcible compulsion. Appellant argues here, as he did at trial and after trial in his motion in arrest of judgment, that sexual abuse in the first degree is not a lesser included offense of attempt to commit rape.

In support of appellant’s argument that first degree sexual abuse is not a lesser included offense of attempted rape, appellant first contends that the prosecuting attorney committed reversible error by failing to file a bill of particulars stating what act the state would rely upon at trial to prove the crime. At a pretrial hearing on appellant’s motion for disclosure and bill of particulars, the prosecuting attorney stated that he had provided appellant’s attorney with all police reports and statements he had in his file and that no written response had been filed due to time limitations. This statement was not disputed. The trial court asked the parties whether the information tracked the statute and named the elements and the prosecuting attorney responded affirmatively. The prosecutor stated that the state alleged that appellant attempted to rape a girl in Springdale on April 6 or 7 and that her name had been provided in a taped statement she gave to the police. The trial court then determined that the information was adequate.

The information alleged that appellant “. . . did unlawfully and purposely engage in conduct that constituted a substantial step in a course of conduct intended to culminate in the commission of Rape in violation of Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-701 and § 41-1803.” Appellant contends that the information was defective as it did not provide the specific sub-section of § 41-1803 which appellant was alleged to have violated and the information also failed to provide any acts which allegedly constituted a substantial step. Following the jury’s return of a guilty verdict, appellant filed a motion in arrest of judgment. He alleged that he was found guilty of first degree sexual abuse, an offense that was not charged in the information. In addition, appellant contended in his motion in arrest of judgment that first degree sexual abuse was not included in the charge made in the information. This motion was overruled by the trial court.

As stated by the supreme court in Limber v. State, 264 Ark. 479, 486, 572 S.W.2d 402, 406 (1978):

The purpose of a Bill of Particulars is to acquaint the defense with sufficient information so that a defense can be prepared. Ark. Stat. Ann. § 43-804 (Repl. 1977); Edens v. State, 235 Ark. 996, 363 S.W.2d 923 (1963). The court has some discretion in the matter. Silas v. State, 232 Ark. 248, 337 S.W.2d 644 (1960). Even so, the State in effect gave the appellants complete discovery as contemplated by Rules of Crim. Proc., Rules 17.1 and 17.2 (1976). Therefore, we cannot say that the court was in error nor the appellants were in any way prejudiced by the technical failure to file a formal answer to the motion for a Bill of Particulars.

Ark. Stat. Ann. § 43-1006 (Repl. 1977), provides for the contents of indictments and states:

The language of the indictment must be certain as to the title of the prosecution, the name of the court in which the indictment is presented, and the name of the parties. It shall not be necessary to include [a] statement of the act or acts constituting the offense, unless the offense cannot be charged without doing so. Nor shall it be necessary to allege that the act or acts constituting the offense were done wilfully, unlawfully, feloniously, maliciously, deliberately or with premeditation, but the name of the offense charged in the indictment shall carry with it all such allegations. The State, upon request of the defendant, shall file a bill of particulars, setting out the act or acts upon which it relies for conviction.

Ark. Stat. Ann. § 43-1012 (Repl. 1977), provides as follows:

No indictment is insufficient, nor can the trial judgment or other proceeding thereon, be affected by any defect which does not tend to the prejudice of the substantial rights of the defendant on the merit.

In the case at bar, appellant relies upon the following language found in Bliss and Bliss v. State, 282 Ark. 315, 319, 668 S.W.2d 936, 938 (1984);

The request for a bill of particulars was specifically made. It was not complied with as required by Ark. Stat. Ann. § 43-1006. Therefore, it was prejudicial error to fail to furnish the appellants with a bill of particulars.

(emphasis ours). In Bliss, the appellants were charged by separate informations with the rape of the minor child by sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity. The trial court heard appellants’ motion for a bill of particulars in a pretrial hearing wherein appellants sought to determine which part of the Arkansas rape statute was involved as to each of the appellants. The trial court there apparently denied this motion and during trial appellants moved for a directed verdict and made a motion to dismiss. These motions were also denied and the jury was instructed on both sexual intercourse and deviate sexual activity. The instructions and verdict forms did not indicate which offense each appellant was found guilty of. On appeal the appellants contended they were prejudiced by the failure of the state to furnish a bill of particulars and the supreme court agreed.

We believe the facts in the case at bar and those in Bliss are distinguishable but we do not believe that Bliss stands for the proposition that a reversal is mandated upon the state’s technical failure to file a formal answer to the motion for a bill of particulars. The supreme court, in a long line of cases, has upheld the denial of requests for bills of particulars and Bliss does not purport to overturn prior law in this regard. See Silas v. State, 232 Ark. 248, 337 S.W.2d 644 (1960), cert. denied, 365 U.S. 821 (1961); Haller v. State, 217 Ark. 646, 232 S.W.2d 829 (1950); Bryant v. State, 208 Ark. 192, 185 S.W.2d 280 (1945); Brockelhurst v. State, 195 Ark. 67, 111 S.W.2d 527 (1937).

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Bluebook (online)
708 S.W.2d 94, 18 Ark. App. 1, 1986 Ark. App. LEXIS 2178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/speer-v-state-arkctapp-1986.