State of Missouri v. Daniel A. Ivey

427 S.W.3d 854, 2014 WL 1303373, 2014 Mo. App. LEXIS 368
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 1, 2014
DocketWD75850
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 427 S.W.3d 854 (State of Missouri v. Daniel A. Ivey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri 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 Missouri v. Daniel A. Ivey, 427 S.W.3d 854, 2014 WL 1303373, 2014 Mo. App. LEXIS 368 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

CYNTHIA L. MARTIN, Judge.

Daniel A. Ivey (“Ivey”) appeals his conviction for two counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree, section 566.062 1 following a jury trial. Ivey contends that the trial court erred in allowing the admission at trial of out-of-court statements by his child victim without requiring her to testify. Ivey did not object to the admission of the statements at trial, and thus failed to preserve grounds for appeal based on the admission of the statements. Ivey nonetheless claims plain error because the testimony violated his Sixth Amendment confrontation clause rights under Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004) and did not qualify for the “forfeiture by wrongdoing” exception, and because the victim did not qualify as “unavailable” under section 491.075. 2 Because we find no manifest injustice or miscarriage of justice, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Factual and Procedural Background

S.L.I. was born in December 2001. She lived with her mother (“Mother”), and her father, Ivey. On April 1, 2011, S.L.I. arrived at school with urine soaked pants. Her special education teacher, Mary Ellison (“Special Education Teacher”), took her to the nurse’s office to change clothes. The Special Education Teacher noticed a bruise on the inside of S.L.I.’s thigh. The incident was hotlined, and S.L.I. was taken into custody by the Division of Family Services and placed in with a foster parent (“Foster Mother”). Subsequent investigation led the State to charge Ivey on April 13, 2011 with two counts of statutory sodomy, first degree, pursuant to section 566.062.

On December 1, 2011, the State filed a first amended motion to admit statement of child victim into evidence pursuant to section 491.075 (“Section 491.075 Motion”). The State sought to introduce hearsay statements made by S.L.I. to: (i) Foster Mother; (ii) Detective Trenny Wilson (“Detective Wilson”), who conducted videotaped forensic interviews of S.L.I.; (iii) Brandi Rose (“Children’s Division Worker”); (iv) Tess Bethman (“Children’s Division Case Manger”); (v) Lisa Fisher (“Children’s Advocacy Center Counselor”); and (vi) Mother. In the Section 491.075 Motion, the State expressly stated that it “plan[ned] to call S.L.I. to testify in this case.”

On December 6, 2011, the State filed a motion in limine to allow hearsay statements of victim due to defendant’s forfeiture of his confrontation clause rights by his own wrongdoing (“Forfeiture by Wrongdoing Motion”). The State sought to introduce hearsay statements made by the victim to (i) Jansen Duke (“Initial Children’s Division Investigator”); (ii) Officer Ed Sexton (“Officer Sexton”); (iii) the Children’s Division Worker; (iv) the Children’s Division Case Manager; (v) the Foster Mother; (vi) Detective Wilson; and *856 (vii) the Children’s Advocacy Center Counselor. The State took the position that Ivey’s conduct over several years of S.L.I.’s life “ordered and instilled in S.L.I. to never tell anyone outside the home what happened or went on in the home, which isolated S.L.I.” The State sought a ruling that Ivey had forfeited his Sixth Amendment confrontation clause rights as to “allow the State to introduce the hearsay statements of the victim, S.L.I., should 5.L.I. not be able to testify at court.”

Both of the State’s motions were taken up at an evidentiary hearing on December 6, 2011. The State presented the testimony of the Initial Children’s Division Investigator; the Children’s Division Worker; the Children’s Division Case Manager; the Foster Mother; Detective Wilson; the Children’s Advocacy Center Counselor; Annie Erickson (“Marillac Therapist”), who treated S.L.I. over a several month period while she was an inpatient; and Bobette Sawka (“Spofford Home Therapist”), who worked with S.L.I. as a therapist for several months. The specific testimony provided from these witnesses is discussed in greater detail as necessary later in this Opinion. In summary, however, the testimony established that S.L.I. reported sexual abuse by Ivey, that she was afraid of Ivey, and that Ivey and Mother had repeatedly told S.L.I. not to share any family secrets and not to trust or respect people in positions of authority, such as police officers. S.L.I.’s emotional reaction to witnesses when efforts were made to discuss her family and how Ivey had treated her was extreme, even bordering on violent. S.L.I. expressed to several of the witnesses that she could not talk about her family, and that Ivey “was in her head.”

The court took the State’s motions under advisement and afforded Ivey’s attorney time to file a written response. In the response, Ivey’s attorney objected to both motions, and also objected to any effort by the State to claim that S.L.I. was “unavailable” as a witness under section 491.075.1(2)(c), though the State had not sought this relief in the Section 491.075 Motion. 3 However, the evidence submitted during the hearing on the State’s motions left the clear impression that the State was asking the court to declare that S.L.I. was “unavailable” to testify at trial because she would be traumatized if required to do so.

On January 9, 2012, the trial court entered an order (“Pre-trial Order”) in response to the State’s motions. The Pretrial Order held that the hearsay statements of S.L.I. made to the Children’s Advocacy Center Counselor, Detective Wilson, the Foster Mother, the Children’s Division Worker, and the Children’s Division Case Manager would be allowed into evidence at trial without the necessity of S.L.I. testifying in Court. The Pre-trial Order did not specify the legal basis for the trial court’s ruling that S.L.I. need not testify in court, other than to note that “such testimony would cause significant psychological and emotional trauma to S.L.I.”

The Pre-trial Order observed that both the Section 491.075 Motion and the Forfeiture by Wrongdoing Motion had been taken up for hearing, and purported to sustain the “Motion(s).” However, the Pretrial Order was titled “Judgment Sustain *857 ing the [Section 491.075 Motion].” Consistent with this designation, the Pre-trial Order permitted the witnesses identified in the Section 491.075 Motion (with the exception of Mother) to testify about hearsay statements made by S.L.I. and made no mention of the additional witnesses whose hearsay testimony was sought by the Forfeiture by Wrongdoing Motion (the Initial Children’s Division Investigator and Officer Sexton). 4 As a result of this confusion, though Ivey and the State agree that the Pre-trial Order granted the Section 491.075 Motion, they do not agree that the Pre-trial Order granted the Forfeiture by Wrongdoing Motion. 5 Stated differently, the parties do not agree that the trial court made a preliminary pre-trial ruling that Ivey had forfeited his Sixth Amendment confrontation clause rights.

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Bluebook (online)
427 S.W.3d 854, 2014 WL 1303373, 2014 Mo. App. LEXIS 368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-missouri-v-daniel-a-ivey-moctapp-2014.