State of Maine v. Jacob R. Labbe Sr.

2024 ME 15
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedJanuary 31, 2024
DocketAnd-22-317
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 2024 ME 15 (State of Maine v. Jacob R. Labbe Sr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Maine v. Jacob R. Labbe Sr., 2024 ME 15 (Me. 2024).

Opinion

MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions Decision: 2024 ME 15 Docket: And-22-317 Argued: May 9, 2023 Re-argued: December 5, 2023 Decided: January 31, 2024

Panel: MEAD, JABAR, HORTON, CONNORS, and DOUGLAS, JJ.

STATE OF MAINE

v.

JACOB R. LABBE SR.

DOUGLAS, J.

[¶1] Jacob R. Labbe Sr. appeals from a judgment of conviction entered by

the trial court (Androscoggin County, Stewart, J.) of one count of domestic

violence stalking (Class C), 17-A M.R.S. § 210-C(1)(B)(3) (2018), 1 and two

counts of violation of a protective order (Class D), 19-A M.R.S. § 4011(1)

(2018).2 See 15 M.R.S. § 2115 (2023). He contends that (1) the stalking statute,

1 Title 17-A M.R.S. § 210-C(1) (2018) has since been amended several times, though not in a way that is relevant to this case. See, e.g., P.L. 2019 ch. 647, § B-28 (effective Jan. 1, 2023) (codified at 17-A M.R.S. § 210-C(1)(B)(3) (2023).

2 Sections 4001 to 4014 of Title 19-A (2018) have since been repealed and replaced by sections

4101 to 4116 of the same Title. See P.L. 2021, ch. 647, §§ A-2, A-3 (effective Jan. 1, 2023) (codified at 19-A M.R.S. §§ 4101-4116 (2023)). 2

17-A M.R.S. § 210-A (2018),3 is unconstitutionally vague; (2) the evidence was

insufficient for a jury to convict him of domestic violence stalking; (3) the court

abused its discretion by denying his request to dismiss the charges as

de minimis; and (4) the court erred with respect to several evidentiary rulings.

[¶2] After oral argument was held in this case on May 9, 2023, the U.S.

Supreme Court issued its decision in Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66

(2023), vacating a conviction under Colorado’s stalking statute (which, like

Maine’s, employs an objective, reasonable person standard concerning the

effect of an actor’s communication on a victim) and holding that the First

Amendment of the United States Constitution required in that case proof of a

subjective mens rea on the part of the defendant—at a minimum,

recklessness—with respect to the effect that his communications—there,

Facebook Messages—had upon the victim. In light of the Counterman decision,

we ordered supplemental briefing and scheduled the case for re-argument. We

asked the parties to address the following questions:

(1) What effect, if any, does the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Counterman have on Labbe’s case and especially on the State’s burden of proof, if any, with respect to the defendant’s subjective

3 Title 17-A M.R.S. § 210-A (2018) has since been amended, though not in any way that is relevant

to this case. See, e.g., P.L. 2021, ch. 647, § B-24 (effective Jan. 1, 2023) (codified at 17-A M.R.S. § 210-A(1)(C) (2023)). 3

awareness that his conduct could cause one of the effects enumerated in 17-A M.R.S. § 210-A?

(2) In light of principles of issue preservation and retroactivity as set forth in Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 314 (1987) and similar cases, can and should the Law Court address in this appeal the issues raised by Counterman?

[¶3] The parties submitted supplemental briefs addressing

these questions, and five amici curiae submitted briefs on our invitation. 4

Re-argument was held on December 5, 2023. For the reasons set out below, we

affirm the conviction.

I. BACKGROUND

[¶4] “Viewing the evidence admitted at trial in the light most favorable

to the State, the jury could rationally have found the following facts beyond a

reasonable doubt.” See State v. Athayde, 2022 ME 41, ¶ 2, 277 A.3d 387.

[¶5] As of the date of trial in July 2022, Labbe and the victim had been

together for nine years, had been married for five years, and had one child

together. After having been “away”5 for several years, Labbe returned to the

4 We received amici curiae briefs from the American Civil Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union of Maine; the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence and the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault; the Maine Prosecutors Association; the Office of the Maine Attorney General; and Lawrence C. Winger, Esq.

5 The jury was not told the reason that Labbe had been “away,” which was that he was serving a three-year prison sentence after being convicted in July 2017 of five counts of Class C violation of conditions of release for having contact with this same victim. The bail conditions were in place as a 4

Lewiston area in early November 2019. Labbe had previously been subject

to—and violated numerous times—a court order prohibiting contact with the

victim. During his years-long absence, there was no such court order in effect,

and he and the victim communicated amicably about their child.

[¶6] When Labbe returned to the area, the victim agreed to allow Labbe

to have a weekend visit with the child at Labbe’s mother’s house, beginning on

Friday, November 15. Several times over the weekend, the victim tried

contacting the child and Labbe but did not get a response.6 When Labbe did not

allow the victim’s mother to pick up the child that Sunday evening, the victim

called the police for assistance. When the child was returned to the victim late

that evening, the child was “very lethargic, withdrawn, not like communicating,

laying on the couch, acting like he was extremely sick.” The victim later learned

that Labbe had taken the child’s ADHD medication rather than administering it

to the child as prescribed and had failed to return the rest of the medication,

and as a result the child went a couple of days without it. Upset by what had

result of a felony charge of domestic violence assault, also involving the same victim. While in custody on that charge, he had multiple violations of bail based on jail calls to the victim in which he “cajole[d], bull[ied], and manipulate[d] her.”

After dropping the child off with Labbe, the victim texted or called no fewer than eight times to 6

check on the child, but Labbe did not respond. 5

transpired, the victim informed Labbe that she would not allow him to see the

child.

[¶7] In the aftermath of the weekend, Labbe began texting and calling

the victim, at first about retrieving some of his possessions and having

additional contact with their child but also about other matters. 7 Some of

Labbe’s calls and messages came from his sister’s phone or his mother’s phone.

On November 18, the victim texted Labbe and told him to stop contacting her.

The victim also blocked Labbe on Facebook.

[¶8] The victim returned Labbe’s possessions to his sister’s house on

November 19. The victim also applied for and received a temporary protection

from abuse order the same day. It took a week, however, for law enforcement

to find and serve Labbe with the order. In the interim, the victim continued to

receive calls and text messages “all the time” from Labbe; “[she] got private

calls, no name calls, calls from his new number . . . calls from his sister’s

7 The texts and calls continued, and the subjects of the texts and calls extended beyond just the child or his belongings. Some texts were Labbe’s attempts to reconcile with the victim. For example, he texted the victim that “I’m not healing from trauma either. What are we going todo in regard to ourbusiness and [the child]” and “[Labbe’s sister] needs her phone . . . Let me know directly what u need [Labbe’s email address].” “Anyways I have to order a phone. Dont play im having 10 people try to control my life right now.

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