State of Idaho v. Shami Yakovac

CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 3, 2006
StatusPublished

This text of State of Idaho v. Shami Yakovac (State of Idaho v. Shami Yakovac) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Idaho v. Shami Yakovac, (Idaho Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO

STATE OF IDAHO, ) ) Docket No. 31505 Plaintiff-Respondent, ) ) v. ) ) SHAMI YAKOVAC, ) ) Defendant-Appellant. ) ) ) SHAMI LYNN YAKOVAC, ) ) Docket No. 32033 Petitioner-Appellant, ) ) v. ) 2006 Opinion No. 77 ) STATE OF IDAHO, ) Filed: November 3, 2006 ) Respondent. ) Stephen W. Kenyon, Clerk )

Appeal from the District Court of the Sixth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Bannock County. Hon. N. Randy Smith, District Judge.

Judgment of conviction for possession of a controlled substance, affirmed; order summarily dismissing application for post-conviction relief, affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

Stephen A. Meikle, Idaho Falls, for appellant.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Kenneth K. Jorgensen, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued. ______________________________________________ PERRY, Chief Judge Shami Yakovac appeals from her judgment of conviction for possession of a controlled substance and from an order summarily dismissing her application for post-conviction relief. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm Yakovac’s judgment of conviction and affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the order summarily dismissing her application for post-conviction relief.

1 I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE On February 20, 2004, police officers responded to a report of a physical confrontation and, after the officers arrived, Yakovac waved them down from a pickup she was driving. Yakovac had a cut above her forehead, which had bled substantially. The officers soon learned that Yakovac had two outstanding warrants for her arrest. The officers took Yakovac into custody, and an officer transported Yakovac to the hospital for treatment. A urinalysis conducted on Yakovac at the hospital, per the request of her probation officer, indicated the use of methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. Meanwhile, another officer searched the pickup Yakovac had been driving and, in the pocket of Yakovac’s jacket lying on the front seat, found a cigarette package containing a small spatula and a glass pipe with a burnt, white residue. The forensic laboratory subsequently determined that the residue in the pipe was methamphetamine, and Yakovac was charged with possession of methamphetamine. I.C. § 37-2732(c)(1). Prior to trial, Yakovac’s counsel filed a motion to suppress the results of her urinalysis that indicated she had used cocaine and marijuana, but did not object to the admission of the positive methamphetamine result. At trial, the district court denied the motion, ruling that all of her urinalysis results were admissible. Yakovac’s counsel thereafter stipulated to the admission of the positive result for methamphetamine. A jury found Yakovac guilty. Yakovac filed an appeal from her judgment of conviction challenging admission of the urinalysis result and prejudicial comments by the district court. Yakovac also filed an application for post-conviction relief asserting ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court summarily dismissed the application for post-conviction relief. Yakovac filed an appeal from the summary dismissal of her application for post-conviction relief. Yakovac’s actions have been consolidated for appeal. II. ANALYSIS A. Direct Appeal 1. Admission of urinalysis Yakovac argues that the urinalysis results indicating that she had methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana in her body on the date of her arrest were irrelevant and prejudicial in her prosecution for possession of a controlled substance under I.C. § 37-2732(c)(1). Relying on

2 I.R.E. 402, 403, and 404, Yakovac’s trial counsel filed a motion to suppress the urinalysis results, but only to the extent that they indicated use of cocaine and marijuana. At trial, the district court ruled that all of the urinalysis results were admissible. Yakovac’s counsel thereafter stipulated to the positive result for methamphetamine, and the state’s witness did not testify as to the results for cocaine and marijuana. On appeal, Yakovac first appears to argue that her trial counsel was “forced” to stipulate to the positive methamphetamine result because of the district court’s erroneous ruling that all of the results were admissible. However, Yakovac never objected to the relevance of the positive result for methamphetamine in the district court, even in the initial motion to supress, and we therefore need not address whether a party can be “forced” into stipulating to a positive urinalysis result. Additionally, because the positive urinalysis results for cocaine and marijuana were never admitted into evidence before the jury, we need not decide whether the district court erroneously ruled that positive results for those substances were admissible. Yakovac argues that the positive urinalysis result for methamphetamine should not have been admitted into evidence even though her trial counsel stipulated to it. Because her trial counsel stipulated to it, there is no adverse evidentiary ruling on the admission of the positive urinalysis result for methamphetamine for us to review on appeal. Therefore, we decline to address the admissibility of the urinalysis result as part of Yakovac’s direct appeal. 2. District court’s comments Yakovac argues that certain comments by the district court to the jury constituted prejudicial error in violation of the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. Yakovac argues that the district court prejudicially over emphasized the urinalysis by stating to the jury that it “may write down that the parties stipulated that methamphetamine was found in the urine test that was taken at the hospital. The parties have stipulated that methamphetamine was found in the defendant’s urine test that was taken at the hospital.” Yakovac also asserts that a comment by the district court at trial regarding the reason for an upcoming court recess constitutes error. The district court stated: Ladies and gentlemen, I have at three o’clock a drug court to conduct. First of all, I take -- I have a little session for a couple hours to discuss each one of the drug court participants, how they’re doing and whether they’re doing any good or not, whether we’re going in the right direction. And then I have drug court and we’ll be here until 8 or 9 tonight trying to take care of that matter. So I

3 always try to end here so that we can do that and then we can start early tomorrow morning.

Yakovac’s trial counsel did not object to either of these comments at trial. A judge’s remark will be deemed prejudicial if it constitutes a comment on the weight of the evidence or indicates an opinion of the court as to the defendant’s guilt or innocence. State v. Johnson, 138 Idaho 103, 106, 57 P.3d 814, 817 (Ct. App. 2002). When the defendant fails to object to judicial comment at trial, this Court will only reverse a conviction if the prejudicial comment constituted a fundamental error. See State v. Lovelass, 133 Idaho 160, 165, 983 P.2d 233, 238 (Ct. App. 1999). Because Yakovac did not object to the district court’s comments at trial, she must show that the district court’s comments constituted fundamental error. Neither the statement on the stipulation to the urinalysis result nor the reason for the upcoming recess for drug court were comments on the weight of the evidence or Yakovac’s guilt or innocence. Therefore, the comments did not constitute fundamental error by the district court, and we will not address them further. B. Application for Post-Conviction Relief Yakovac argues that the district court improperly dismissed her application for post- conviction relief. Yakovac asserts she was entitled to relief because of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. An application for post-conviction relief initiates a proceeding which is civil in nature. State v.

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State of Idaho v. Shami Yakovac, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-idaho-v-shami-yakovac-idahoctapp-2006.