State of Maine v. Arthur J. Jones

2019 ME 33

• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
• Decided: March 5, 2019
• Status: Published

Opinion

MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions Decision: 2019 ME 33 Docket: Ken-17-518 Argued: September 11, 2018 Decided: March 5, 2019

Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and ALEXANDER, MEAD, GORMAN, JABAR, HJELM, and HUMPHREY, JJ.

STATE OF MAINE

v.

ARTHUR J. JONES

SAUFLEY, C.J.

[¶1] Arthur J. Jones appeals from a judgment of conviction entered by the

Superior Court (Kennebec County, Mullen, J.) as a result of a jury verdict finding

him guilty of unlawful sexual contact (Class C), 17-A M.R.S. § 255-A (1)(B)

(2018), and assault (Class D), 17-A M.R.S. § 207(1)(A) (2018). Over Jones’s

objections at trial, the court, pursuant to 16 M.R.S. § 357 (2018), admitted a

portion of a report of a sexual assault forensic examination (SAFE) performed

on the adult female victim upon her arrival at Maine General Hospital. Jones

argues that (1) the court erred or abused its discretion in admitting part of the

SAFE report because the admitted portion did not satisfy the requirements of

Maine Rule of Evidence 803(4) and (2) even if the report were admissible

pursuant to a hearsay exception, the report was cumulative or unduly 2

prejudicial and should have been excluded pursuant to M.R. Evid. 403. We take

this opportunity to address the interplay between the Maine Rules of Evidence

and 16 M.R.S. § 357—a statutory exception to the general exclusion of hearsay

evidence, allowing the admission of certain hospital records. We affirm the

judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

[¶2] Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, the

jury rationally could have found the following facts. See State v. Fay, 2015 ME

160, ¶ 2, 130 A.3d 364.1 On the evening of December 21, 2016, Jones and the

victim, who were social acquaintances, were at Jones’s house when the victim

got up and walked toward the bathroom, and Jones stood in her way and threw

her on a bed. The victim escaped, but Jones dragged her up the stairs by the

neck. Jones then took her pants off, touched his mouth to her genitals, further

assaulted her with his finger, and “penetrated [her] with his penis.” The victim

fled Jones’s home, without clothes except for a shirt, and called 9-1-1. A police

officer took the victim to Maine General Hospital, and a nurse performed a SAFE

1 To the extent that Jones also disputes the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction,

there was sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Jones was guilty of the crimes of assault (Class D), 17-A M.R.S. § 207(1)(A) (2018), and unlawful sexual contact (Class C), 17-A M.R.S. § 255-A(1)(B) (2018). See State v. Ouellette, 2012 ME 11, ¶ 17, 37 A.3d 921. 3

procedure, gathering information from the victim and examining her

physically.

[¶3] Jones was charged by complaint in December 2016, and an

indictment was issued in March 2017, charging Jones with gross sexual assault

(Class A), 17-A M.R.S. § 253(1)(A) (2018), aggravated assault (Class B),

17-A M.R.S. § 208(1)(C) (2018), and unlawful sexual contact (Class C),

17-A M.R.S. § 255-A(1)(B). Jones pleaded not guilty to all charges, and a jury

trial was held over the course of two days.

[¶4] At trial, the victim recounted the assault in detail. The nurse who

conducted the SAFE procedure also testified. She explained that while

conducting the SAFE procedure, she inquired of the victim about the sexual

assault “to understand what it was that I needed to be looking for . . . moving

forward into a physical exam . . . .” She documented the victim’s responses in

the SAFE report.2 And, relying on the SAFE report to refresh her recollection,

the nurse described the victim’s statements on the night of the incident that the

nurse used to treat the patient.3

2 The SAFE report contained the victim’s descriptions of her injuries as the nurse depicted them

on standard exemplars, as well as the nurse’s notes of the victim’s various statements. 3 As noted below, although Rule 803(4) would allow the medical professional’s testimony regarding hearsay statements related to treatment, section 357 allows those statements to be offered through hospital or medical records. 4

[¶5] In addition to the victim and the nurse, the officer who responded

to the victim’s 9-1-1 call and a detective from the Maine State Police testified.

They identified photographs, entered in evidence, showing extensive and

significant bruising of the victim’s body. The State also played a portion of a

video recording of the detective’s interview with Jones, in which Jones

acknowledged that he had placed the victim in a “chokehold” and that he had

touched the victim’s genitals with his mouth.

[¶6] Jones testified on his own behalf and presented testimony from

several witnesses. The essence of Jones’s defense was that he and the victim

were romantically involved and that they had consensual oral sex on the

evening in question. At trial, in contrast to his earlier statement, Jones denied

putting the victim in a chokehold, and he denied biting her. He testified that he

did not remember sexually assaulting her with his fingers, and never “put [his]

penis in . . . or near her vagina.”

[¶7] In rebuttal, the State moved to admit the SAFE report, which was

consistent with the victim’s and nurse’s testimony. Jones objected. The court

reviewed the entire report and admitted only a portion of it, determining that

the partial report was admissible pursuant to the statutory hearsay exception

for hospital records that relate to treatment and medical history. See 16 M.R.S. 5

§ 357. The court excluded a portion of the report documenting a “Summary of

Patient’s Description of Assault (in patient’s own words . . . ),” however, because

it determined that this portion of the report was tantamount to a witness’s

statement made to a police officer, not a statement made for medical diagnosis

or treatment.

[¶8] The jury found Jones not guilty of gross sexual assault but guilty of

unlawful sexual contact. On the aggravated assault charge, the jury found Jones

guilty of the lesser included offense of assault (Class D), 17-A M.R.S.

§ 207(1)(A). See 17-A M.R.S. § 13-A (2018); M.R.U. Crim. P. 7(e). Following a

sentencing hearing, the court sentenced Jones to four years’ imprisonment for

unlawful sexual contact and to nine months’ imprisonment, to be served

concurrently with the four-year sentence, for the assault, with no part of the

sentences suspended. Jones timely appealed the resulting conviction. See

15 M.R.S. § 2115 (2018); M.R. App. P. 2B(b)(1).

II. DISCUSSION

[¶9] Jones argues that the court erred in admitting a portion of the SAFE

report because, in his view, the report was not excepted from the hearsay 6

exclusion set out in Rule 803(4).4 He also argues that even if the report were

otherwise admissible, it should have been excluded as unfairly prejudicial.5

[¶10] Although Jones bases his argument on the application of Maine

Rule of Evidence 803(4), an exception to the rule against the admission of

hearsay, see M.R. Evid. 802, the presiding judge unmistakably admitted the

report pursuant to 16 M.R.S. § 357.6 Jones’s argument challenging the

admissibility of the SAFE report is based entirely on M.R. Evid. 803(4), and he

does not mention section 357 in his brief to us. Instead, Jones insists that the

court was required to exclude the report because the report did not satisfy the

4 Maine Rule of Evidence 803(4) provides as follows:

The following are not excluded by the rule against hearsay, regardless of whether the declarant is available as a witness:

. . . .

(4) Statement made for medical diagnosis or treatment. A statement that:

(A) Is made for—and is reasonably pertinent to—medical diagnosis or treatment; and

(B) Describes medical history; past or present symptoms or sensations; their inception; or their general cause.

M.R. Evid. 803(4).

5 We are not persuaded by Jones’s argument—raised for the first time in his reply brief—that

admission of the report here violated his right to confront his accuser. Cf. State v. Gorman, 2004 ME 90, ¶ 55, 854 A.2d 1164 (explaining that a defendant’s right to confront witnesses is satisfied when a hearsay declarant testifies and can be cross-examined). 6 The State also addressed only the Maine Rules of Evidence on appeal. 7

requirements of M.R. Evid. 803(4). In most instances, we would conclude that

“[t]he failure to mention an issue in the brief or at argument is construed as

either an abandonment,” Holland v. Sebunya, 2000 ME 160, ¶ 9 n.6, 759 A.2d

205, or a waiver, State v. Haskell, 2001 ME 154, ¶ 2 n.3, 784 A.2d 4, of that

argument. Nevertheless, because of the potential confusion regarding the

interplay between 16 M.R.S. § 357 and the Maine Rules of Evidence, we address

Jones’s argument that the report should have been excluded as hearsay

pursuant to Rules 802 and 803(4).

[¶11] We begin the analysis with the language of section 357, which

provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

Records kept by hospitals . . . and other medical facilities similarly conducted or operated or which, being incorporate, offer treatment free of charge, shall be admissible, as evidence in the courts of this State so far as such records relate to the treatment and medical history of such cases and the court shall admit copies of such records, if certified by the persons in custody thereof to be true and complete, but nothing therein contained shall be admissible as evidence which has reference to the question of liability.

16 M.R.S. § 357 (emphasis added).

[¶12] By its terms, section 357 provides a method of authenticating the

hospital records and provides an exception to Rule 802 of the Maine Rules of

Evidence, which, as a general matter, bars the admission of hearsay evidence.

The statute’s effect is similar to the hearsay exception provided in Rule 803(4) 8

in that the statute creates an exception to the exclusion of the records as

hearsay despite the fact that they contain statements made out of court, offered

for the truth of the matter asserted related to treatment and medical history.

Accordingly, Rule 803(4) need not be analyzed when the record meets the

qualifications of section 357.7

[¶13] Section 357 does not, however, override the application of other

Maine Rules of Evidence not pertaining to hearsay. Accordingly, a SAFE report

may be admitted over a hearsay objection if it also meets all other evidentiary

rules and complies with the requirements of section 357 itself.

[¶14] Thus, for the proper admission of a hospital record pursuant to

section 357, the party offering the record must (A) establish that the report is

relevant to the matter before the court, see M.R. Evid. 401; (B) satisfy the

requirements of section 357, see 16 M.R.S. § 357; and, (C) establish that the

Maine Rules of Evidence do not otherwise require the exclusion of the medical

record, see, e.g., M.R. Evid. 403, 502, 503.

[¶15] Following that process, once the court has determined that the

record is relevant, in whole or in part, the proponent of the record must address

7 When the hospital records are in the form of copies of photographic or microphotographic

format, section 357 also provides methods for their admission. 16 M.R.S. § 357 (2018). 9

the criteria of section 357: the document must be a record that (1) is kept by a

hospital or medical facility as defined in section 357, (2) relates to the

treatment and medical history of an individual,8 and (3) has been certified by

the person in custody of the document. See 16 M.R.S. § 357.9

A. Rule 401

[¶16] Here, the court impliedly made the determination that the contents

of the applicable portion of the report were relevant when presented in

rebuttal. See M.R. Evid. 401. Relevant evidence is any evidence having any

tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the

determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be

without the evidence. Id. The contents of the SAFE report were relevant to the

material issue in the case: whether a sexual assault had, in fact, occurred. The

court did not err in determining that the report was relevant.

B. Section 357

[¶17] The State offered the SAFE report as certified by the custodian of

records for Maine General Medical Center. The State also called the nurse who

8 Hospital records related to treatment and medical history, which carry with them the indicia of

reliability, must not be confused with the opinion-based reports of experts called upon to opine on medical conditions and causation. 9 Moreover, the proffered record may not be related to a determination of liability. 16 M.R.S.

§ 357. 10

conducted the SAFE procedure to testify. She testified that Maine General

Hospital, where she conducted the SAFE procedure on the victim, keeps the

completed SAFE documents and that the information she gathered during the

SAFE procedure and documented in the SAFE report was “absolutely” pertinent

to her treatment of the patient. The admitted, redacted portions of the report

did not identify Jones as the assailant or otherwise refer to Jones. Instead, and

within the purview of section 357, the report detailed only that information

pertaining to the victim’s treatment and medical history. The court did not err

in determining that the State had satisfied the requirements set forth in section

357.

C. Rule 403

[¶18] Jones next raises a Rule 403 challenge to the admission of the

report. Rule 403 affords a court the discretion to exclude relevant and

otherwise admissible evidence if its probative value is substantially

outweighed by a danger of “unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading

the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative

evidence.” M.R. Evid. 403. Therefore, even though relevant and otherwise

admissible, evidence may be excluded as a result of the application of Rule 403.

Cf. State v. Caron, 2011 ME 9, ¶ 15, 10 A.3d 739. Whether to do so is left to the 11

sound discretion of the court. See State v. Kimball, 2016 ME 75, ¶ 16, 139 A.3d

914 (holding that “pursuant to M.R. Evid. 403, the trial court has broad

discretion to weigh the relevance of evidence against the danger of unfair

prejudice to the defendant” (quotation marks omitted)); State v. Crocker, 435

A.2d 58, 73-74 (Me. 1981) (affording the court broad discretion pursuant to

Rule 403 to admit medical testimony in evidence).

[¶19] The court admitted the portion of the SAFE report that it deemed

relevant to rebut Jones’s testimony, specifically admitting the record that

contemporaneously documented the nurse’s observations of the victim’s

physical condition, including a statement from the victim that described

mechanically how her neck was bruised. The court, also, carefully excluded the

portion of the SAFE report where the nurse had transcribed—apparently

verbatim—the victim’s extensive account of the incident, in which the victim

described what was said, how she felt, Jones’s intoxication, and several other

details of the incident.

[¶20] Jones argues that, even if relevant, the admitted portion of the

report was unduly prejudicial as compared to its probative value because it was

(1) cumulative and (2) inflammatory or likely to mislead the jury, and therefore 12

should have been excluded from evidence pursuant to Rule 403. We discuss

Jones’s arguments each in turn.

1. Cumulative Nature of the Report

[¶21] We review a court’s decision to admit rebuttal evidence for an

abuse of discretion, “taking into account the fact that [the trial judge] alone

ha[d] the opportunity to assess the evidence with the benefit of having heard

the testimony sought to be rebutted.” Payson v. Bombardier, Ltd., 435 A.2d 411,

413 (Me. 1981). Proper rebuttal evidence is evidence that “repels or

counteracts the effect of evidence which has preceded it.” Field & Murray,

Maine Evidence § 611.8 at 335 (6th ed. 2007) (citing Emery v. Fisher, 128 Me.

124, 125, 145 A. 747, 747 (1929)); see also Jusseaume v. Ducatt, 2011 ME 43,

¶ 15 n.6, 15 A.3d 714 (outlining proper rebuttal evidence as evidence that

“contravenes, antagonizes, confutes, or controls the inference sought to be

drawn by new facts introduced by the adverse party at the next previous stage”

(quotation marks omitted)).

[¶22] Here, during the State’s case-in-chief, the nurse testified to the

victim’s injuries and to the nurse’s notes of the patient’s condition. Jones chose

to testify, and he contradicted the nurse’s testimony. The State then moved to

admit the SAFE report to corroborate the nurse’s and the victim’s testimony 13

and to rebut Jones’s testimony.10 See Emery, 128 Me. at 125, 145 A. at 747. The

State’s introduction of the report was proper rebuttal evidence, and it was not

unduly cumulative. The court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the

report when the State sought to counteract Jones’s testimony. See State v.

Rancourt, 435 A.2d 1095, 1103 (Me. 1981) (holding that the evidence was not

unduly prejudicial where it was “at most cumulative”).

2. Inflammatory or Misleading Nature of the Report

[¶23] Jones’s remaining argument challenges the admitted portion of the

record as unduly prejudicial because the language—particularly the heading

portion identifying the document as a “Sexual Assault” report—was inherently

inflammatory and the report was likely to mislead the jury. That argument was

not preserved for appellate review. At trial, Jones objected to the admission of

the SAFE report because it was unauthenticated, was created for the purpose

of law enforcement, and was cumulative of testimony. Jones did not challenge,

as he does now, the admission of the report on the basis that the report was

“unduly prejudicial because the language in it was inherently inflammatory . . .

10 During the State’s case-in-chief, the State stated that it planned on introducing the report in

evidence. The court responded that if the State moved for admission, it would defer ruling until it could review the statutory exception to hearsay, 16 M.R.S. § 357. The State did not move to admit the report until rebuttal. 14

[and] likely to mislead the jury.”11 See M.R. Evid. 403. “It is a well settled

universal rule of appellate procedure that a case will not be reviewed by an

appellate court on a theory different from that on which it was tried in the court

below.” Teel v. Colson, 396 A.2d 529, 534 (Me. 1979); see also KeyBank Nat'l

Ass’n v. Estate of Quint, 2017 ME 237, ¶ 22, 176 A.3d 717.

[¶24] Thus, to the extent that we review this unpreserved issue, we do

so only for obvious error. State v. Burdick, 2001 ME 143, ¶ 29, 782 A.2d 319;

M.R.U. Crim. P. 52(b). The jury was fully aware that Jones was charged with a

sexual assault. Jones himself admitted to certain sexual activities with the

victim. The heading on the document, the report’s description of the victim’s

injuries, and the illustrations of generic body parts that were touched or

assaulted were in no way so inflammatory as to create an unfair prejudice. The

court did not err in concluding that the probative value of the report was not

outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice such that the court was required

to exclude it despite the lack of any objection. See State v. Pratt, 2015 ME 167,

¶¶ 23, 26, 130 A.3d 381; M.R. Evid. 403. The court did not commit error, let

11 Both Jones and the State provide citations to the transcript that do not support the position that

Jones objected to the admission of the report based on the danger of unfair prejudice. 15

alone obvious error, nor did it abuse its discretion in admitting the portion of

the SAFE report challenged by Jones.

The entry is:

Judgment affirmed.

Stephen C. Smith, Esq. (orally), and T. Evan Fisher, Esq., Lipman & Katz, PA, Augusta, for appellant Arthur J. Jones

Maeghan Maloney, District Attorney, Frayla Tarpinian, Asst. Dist. Atty., and Christy Stilphen, Stud. Atty. (orally), Prosecutorial District IV, Augusta, for appellee State of Maine

Kennebec County Unified Criminal Docket docket number CR-2016-3156 FOR CLERK REFERENCE ONLY