State Of Washington, V Joshua Anthony Warren

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJuly 9, 2013
Docket41939-4
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington, V Joshua Anthony Warren (State Of Washington, V Joshua Anthony Warren) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Of Washington, V Joshua Anthony Warren, (Wash. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

F11,ED - C01JR i 01: APPEALS Chi V1 10 r1 II IS

7013 JUL -9 All q. 09

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHIN DIVISION II B'

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 41939 4 II - -

Respondent,

V.

JOSHUA ANTHONY WARREN, UNPUBLISHED OPINION

t.

PENOYAR, J. —Joshua Anthony Warren appeals his felony conviction for second degree child rape. Warren argues that (1)the prosecutor committed misconduct by analogizing the

beyond a reasonable doubt standard to a jigsaw puzzle, 2)the trial court wrongfully excluded (

evidence of SL' s under the rape shield statute and thus violated his constitutional rights

to present a defense and confront his accuser, 3) trial court wrongfully excluded the victim's ( the

incriminating voicemails as hearsay, and ( 4) the trial court imposed' community custody

conditions without statutory authority and imposed conditions that are unconstitutionally vague.

The prosecutor did not commit misconduct while explaining the beyond a reasonable

doubt standard because he did not equate the State's burden of proof to making an everyday

choice or quantify the level of certainty necessary to satisfy the beyond 'a reasonable doubt

standard. Additionally, the trial court did not err by excluding evidence of SL's virginity under

the rape shield statute because Warren failed to show that this evidence was relevant. Warren

does not adequately explain his argument regarding the victim's voicemails, and we will not consider it. Finally, the trial court erred by imposing sentencing conditions that restricted

Warren's internet access, required him to complete an anger management program, required him

1 RCW 9A. 4. 020 4 41939 4 II - -

to undergo a mental health evaluation, and restricted him from patronizing establishments that

promote the commercialization of sex because these restrictions were not crime related. The trial

court acted without statutory authority by limiting Warren's access to mind - altering, mood-

altering, and controlled substances to only those obtained from some licensed providers. We

affirm Warren's conviction and remand for resentencing.

FACTS

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On August 21, 2009, SL was 13 years old and living with Stephanie Lower, her mother,

in an apartment in Tillicum. In the past, Warren the 19- old friend of SL's brotherhad — year - —

also lived with SL and Lower in the apartment. On the night of August 21, 2009, SL attended a

family party that Warren also attended. Late in the evening, SL returned to her apartment. SL

had seen Warren drinking, so she phoned to see if he was okay. During the conversation, she

asked Warren to come over to the apartment. When Warren arrived, he picked SL up off the

couch and moved her to another couch covered by a blanket where he vaginally penetrated her

with his fingers and penis. SL told Warren that it hurt but he continued, so SL pushed Warren

off of her and went into the bathroom. Warren left the apartment. SL told Lower what

happened, and Lower called the police.

The police arrived, interviewed SL and Lower, and gathered the blanket from the couch for testing. Lower and SL were transported to the hospital where a sexual assault kit was

completed. A forensic analyst later examined the swabs from the sexual assault kit and the

blanket and determined that the blanket tested positive for Warren's semen and skin cells, but the

sexual assault kit tested negative for semen. Warren agreed to speak with police, and, during the

2 41939 4 II - -

interview, he denied raping SL. After further investigation, the State charged Warren with

second degree child rape under RCW 9A. 4. 076. 4

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Warren's claims arise from (1)the pretrial proceeding where the trial court barred

evidence of SL's virginity under the rape shield statute, 2) trial where the judge sustained an ( the

objection to hearsay evidence regarding the victim's alleged voicemails, 3) ( closing arguments

where the prosecutor used a jigsaw puzzle analogy to explain the beyond a reasonable doubt

standard, and (4)the sentencing hearing where the judge placed sentencing conditions on

Warren's community custody.

During pretrial proceedings, the prosecutor asked the court to enforce the rape shield

statute, RCW 9A. 4.during any direct or cross -examination of witnesses with knowledge of 020, 4

SL's prior sexual history. The defense counsel posited that, because she was a virgin, SL would

have bled if Warren had raped her and, thus, the lack of blood evidence from the blanket or from

the sexual assault kit contradicted the rape charge. The court determined that evidence of SL's

virginity was barred by RCW 9A. 4.because it referenced the victim's prior sexual history, 020 4

but the court allowed the defense to point out the lack of blood evidence.

During trial, the defense attempted to elicit testimony from SL that she called Warren's

brother to tell him that she had lied about Warren raping her, but SL testified that she did not call

Warren's brother after the incident. The defense counsel asked SL if she had left Warren's

brother a voicemail, and again she reaffirmed that she did not call him. The defense counsel then

asked SL if she had left Warren's brother a voicemail saying that she lied, which the prosecutor

objected to as hearsay and because the question was asked and answered. The court sustained

the objection. 3 41939 4 II - -

During closing arguments, the prosecutor explained the beyond a reasonable doubt

standard to the jury using a jigsaw puzzle analogy. The prosecutor analogized the trial to a

puzzle of Seattle, explained that throughout the trial the witnesses provided different pieces of

the puzzle, and said:

Is there still a doubt?Yes. Is there still a doubt that this is a picture of the city of Seattle? I suppose there is. A big piece of the puzzle is missing, but you can look at the evidence you do have. You have the Space Needle. You have Mount Rainier. You have a fraction of the Key Arena and the Seattle Center. And the question I'l pose to you is this: You may not have every piece of the l puzzle, but based on the pieces that you have, can you find beyond a reasonable doubt that this is picture a of the city of Seattle? Would you be reasonable in reaching that conclusion?

2 Report of Proceedings (RP)at 393. The court instructed the jury that:

The lawyers' remarks, statements, and arguments are intended to help you understand the evidence and apply the law. It is important, however, for you to remember that the lawyers' statements are not evidence... . You . must disregard any remark, statement, or argument that is not supported by the evidence or the law in my instructions.

Clerk's Papers (CP)at 65. The defendant did not object to the use of this analogy at trial and did

not request a curative instruction from the court.

The jury found Warren guilty of one felony count of second degree rape of a child. On

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Related

State v. Hentz
647 P.2d 39 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1982)
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State v. Autrey
150 P.3d 580 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2006)
State v. Letourneau
100 Wash. App. 424 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2000)
State v. Julian
102 Wash. App. 296 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2000)
State v. Jones
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State v. O'Cain
144 Wash. App. 772 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)
State v. Anderson
153 Wash. App. 417 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2009)
State v. Corbett
158 Wash. App. 576 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2010)
State v. Johnson
158 Wash. App. 677 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2010)
State v. Curtiss
161 Wash. App. 673 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2011)
State v. Fuller
282 P.3d 126 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2012)

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