State v. Baldwin

304 N.W.2d 742, 101 Wis. 2d 441, 1981 Wisc. LEXIS 2731
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedApril 29, 1981
Docket79-813-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by95 cases

This text of 304 N.W.2d 742 (State v. Baldwin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Baldwin, 304 N.W.2d 742, 101 Wis. 2d 441, 1981 Wisc. LEXIS 2731 (Wis. 1981).

Opinion

WILLIAM G. CALLOW, J.

This is a review of a decision of the court of appeals which affirmed a judgment of the circuit court for Milwaukee county, FREDERICK P. Kessler presiding, convicting the defendant, O. Z. Baldwin, of two counts of second-degree sexual assault contrary to sec. 940.225(2) (a), Stats. 1975. 1 *443 Baldwin was sentenced to two concurrent six-year terms at the Wisconsin State Prison at Waupun.

I.

At trial the victim testified that on the evening of July 16, 1977, somewhere between eight and nine o’clock, Baldwin knocked at the door of her second story apartment in Milwaukee. Baldwin and the victim knew each other, and Baldwin was admitted. Inside the apartment Baldwin suggested that he and the victim have sexual intercourse, and he began to touch her on the breasts. The victim struggled to resist Baldwin, and Baldwin threatened that, if she did not submit, she would be hurt. As the assault continued, Baldwin struck, choked, and threatened the victim and twice dragged her from locations in the apartment into a bedroom where he attempted to force her to perform oral sex with him, had sexual intercourse with her, and performed cunnilingus on her. The assault terminated when the victim’s brother appeared at the bedroom door. Baldwin fled the apartment but was apprehended by the police.

During the trial the victim was asked at one point to describe the manner in which Baldwin dragged her into the bedroom. The prosecuting attorney requested the victim to demonstrate it, and over the defendant’s objection the victim was permitted to grasp the prosecuting attorney in the same manner as she was grasped by Baldwin. One of the issues on this review is whether this demonstration was improper.

Following the taking of evidence the jury was instructed that the defendant had been charged with one count of nonconsensual sexual intercourse “by use and *444 threat of force and violence” and one count of non-consensual sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, “by use and threat of force or violence.” 2 The trial court defined second-degree sexual assault as “sexual intercourse with another person without the consent of that person by use or threat of force or violence.” In order to convict the defendant, the jury was instructed that it had to be satisfied, beyond a reasonable doubt, that three elements were present: sexual intercourse with the victim by the defendant; lack of consent by the victim; and “[t]hird, that the defendant had sexual intercourse with [the victim] by use of [sic] threat of force or violence.” Focusing upon the third element, the trial court instructed the j ury:

“The third element requires that the defendant had sexual intercourse with [the victim] by use or threat of force or violence. If you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt from the evidence presented in this case that the defendant had sexual intercourse with [the victim], that [the victim] did not consent to sexual intercourse, and that the defendant had sexual intercourse by use or threat of force or violence, then you should find the defendant guilty of second degree sexual assault. If you are not so satisfied, then you must find the defendant not guilty.”

The defendant argues that it was error to instruct the jury in the disjunctive on the element of use or threat of force or violence.

At the time of sentencing the trial court considered, among other things, the fact that the defendant consistently denied his guilt and showed no remorse. The defendant claims it was improper for the trial court to consider his refusal to admit guilt and lack of remorse in imposing sentence.

The court of appeals, in an unpublished opinion, 94 Wis.2d 695, 289 N.W.2d 372 (Ct. App. 1979), affirmed *445 the conviction, holding that the courtroom demonstration was a valid evidentiary tool; that the disjunctive jury instruction did not deprive the defendant of his right to a unanimous jury; and that the trial court’s consideration of the defendant’s lack of remorse was not an abuse of discretion. We granted review and we affirm.

II.

The defendant’s most substantial arguments, and those most vigorously pursued both below and before this court, relate to the disjunctive jury charge. The essence of the defendant’s position is that the disjunctive instruction prejudiced him in several ways: first, because the defendant was charged in the conjunctive, rather than the disjunctive, the disjunctive jury instruction relieved the state of the burden of proving all of the essential facts beyond a reasonable doubt; second, the disjunctive instruction did not sufficiently define the crime to permit the jury to function intelligently; and third, the disjunctive charge deprived the defendant of his right to a unanimous verdict because it was possible for some of the jurors to have been convinced that the defendant threatened but did not use force, and others, that he used but did not threaten force.

As a preliminary matter, the state argues that by failing to object to the disjunctive jury instruction at trial the defendant has waived his right to raise the issue on appeal. It is true as a general rule that failure to object to a jury instruction in timely fashion constitutes a waiver of the objection. Kutchera v. State, 69 Wis.2d 534, 551, 230 N.W.2d 750 (1975); State v. Cydzik, 60 Wis.2d 683, 694, 211 N.W.2d 241 (1973); State v. Schenk, 53 Wis.2d 327, 333, 193 N.W.2d 26 (1972). “This rule, however, is not inflexible and admits *446 of exceptions in cases of ‘compelling' circumstances.’ ” Brown v. State, 59 Wis.2d 200, 214, 207 N.W.2d 602 (1973). The defendant’s challenge to the disjunctive jury instruction raises state and federal constitutional questions 3 relative to the state’s burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the defendant’s right to a unanimous verdict. These matters go directly to the integrity of the fact finding process, and the defendant’s failure to object at trial should not preclude him from raising them on appeal.

(A)

The defendant argues that the disjunctive jury instruction relieved the state of proving all the elements of the crime and failed to apprise the jury of the facts it must find in order to convict. This argument is based upon the assumption that, because the complaint and information charged the defendant conjunctively, that is, “by use and threat of force and violence,” those elements must all be proved beyond a reasonable doubt before the defendant could be convicted. The assumption is incorrect, however, because it places the charging documents above the statutes in defining the stan *447 dards for criminal liability.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Phillip A. Jordan
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2025
State v. Kevin A. Taylor
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2020
State v. Walls
2018 WI App 62 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2018)
State v. Anthony R. Pico
2018 WI 66 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2018)
United States v. Shane Sahm
884 F.3d 331 (Seventh Circuit, 2018)
United States v. Jonathon Lamb
847 F.3d 928 (Eighth Circuit, 2017)
United States v. Ryan Pouliot
836 F.3d 831 (Seventh Circuit, 2016)
State v. Courtney C. Beamon
2013 WI 47 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Lamont L. Travis
2013 WI 38 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Geske
2012 WI App 15 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. Kamana'o
82 P.3d 401 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 2003)
United States v. Defabian C. Shannon
110 F.3d 382 (Seventh Circuit, 1997)
State v. Aimee M.
533 N.W.2d 812 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Speese
528 N.W.2d 63 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1995)
State v. Carrizales
528 N.W.2d 29 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1995)
State v. Kircher
525 N.W.2d 788 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1994)
State v. Chapman
632 A.2d 674 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1993)
State v. Tucker
629 A.2d 1067 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1993)
State v. Speer
501 N.W.2d 429 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1993)
Erbstoeszer Ex Rel. Leyes v. American Casualty Co.
486 N.W.2d 549 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
304 N.W.2d 742, 101 Wis. 2d 441, 1981 Wisc. LEXIS 2731, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-baldwin-wis-1981.