State v. Blanscet

215 P.3d 924, 230 Or. App. 363, 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 1131
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedAugust 19, 2009
Docket04CR0913; A134747
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 215 P.3d 924 (State v. Blanscet) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Blanscet, 215 P.3d 924, 230 Or. App. 363, 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 1131 (Or. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

*365 LANDAU, P. J.

Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction for two counts of first-degree rape, ORS 163.375; four counts of first-degree sodomy, ORS 163.405; and one count each of second-degree assault, ORS 163.175, and first-degree kidnapping, ORS 163.235. He advances four assignments of error, the first three of which pertain to the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentences on several of the convictions on the basis of its own factfinding, contrary to the holding in State v. Ice, 343 Or 248, 170 P3d 1049 (2007). Those arguments are foreclosed by the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Oregon v. Ice, 555 US_, 129 S Ct 711, 172 L Ed 2d 517 (2009), and we reject them without discussion. Defendant’s remaining assignment relates to what he contends was the trial court’s erroneous admission of evidence of defendant’s prior acts of violence against the victim. We affirm.

Unless noted otherwise, the relevant facts are undisputed. Defendant and the victim met in the fall of 1999. About a month after they met, he assaulted her, and she had to be hospitalized. Defendant and the victim married in 2000. She became pregnant, and defendant assaulted her again, resulting in a miscarriage. The victim became pregnant again and delivered a child, but defendant had to be removed from the hospital because of his poor conduct. Defendant and the victim separated after that incident.

In 2002, defendant broke into the home where the victim was staying. She attempted to call 9-1-1, but defendant prevented her from completing the call. He was convicted of burglary, menacing, and interfering with a 9-1-1 call for that incident and sentenced to probation on condition that he have no contact with the victim. Defendant nevertheless contacted her and again acted violently toward her. She reported his conduct to the police, his probation was revoked, and he served 19 months in prison. While in prison, defendant wrote letters to the victim. At first, the tone of his letters was threatening, but later it was apologetic. He pledged that he had reformed and expressed his desire to be part of their child’s life.

*366 Defendant was released from prison in April 2004. A condition of his post-prison supervision was that he have no contact with the victim. Over the course of the next few months, he violated that condition several times. In October 2004, defendant pounded on the victim’s door late at night, and she called the police. For the violation of the no-contact condition of his post-prison supervision, defendant served 45 days in jail.

Defendant was released on December 8, 2004. Late the next night, he went to the victim’s apartment and pushed his way inside. Over the course of the next several days, defendant brutally assaulted the victim. Throughout the ordeal, defendant repeatedly referred to the fact that she had previously “snitched” on him. At one point, the victim attempted to call 9-1-1, but defendant thwarted the attempt, stating that she would get him thrown back in jail. On the basis of those events, defendant was charged with multiple counts of rape and sodomy, as well as assault, kidnapping, and unlawful use of mace.

Before trial on those charges, the state sought to admit evidence of defendant’s history of committing violence against the victim. The state also sought to admit evidence of the resulting no-contact orders, defendant’s violations of those orders, and the sanctions imposed for those violations. According to the state, the evidence was relevant to show that defendant had a motive to commit the crimes against the victim in this case, namely, revenge for her past reports to the police that resulted in periods of incarceration. The state also contended that the evidence of ongoing violence was relevant to prove that the victim did not consent to the sexual activity or the kidnapping.

The trial court admitted the evidence over defendant’s objection. After a jury trial, defendant was convicted of all charges except the one for unlawful use of mace.

On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court erred in admitting the evidence of his prior violence against the victim. According to defendant, that evidence merely demonstrates his propensity to commit violent acts — a purpose that is prohibited under OEC 404(3). Defendant asserts *367 that, “[w]hen evidence of a defendant’s motive is offered through evidence of prior bad acts under OEC 404(3), State v. Johns[, 301 Or 535, 725 P2d 312 (1986),] requires a trial court to apply five criteria in an assessment of relevance.” Defendant contends that the prior bad acts evidence in this case fails the Johns test because his prior violence is “too dissimilar” from the charged conduct in this case. Because the evidence of the prior violence was “extensive and distracting,” defendant argues, the court’s error in admitting the evidence was not harmless.

The state does not dispute that the challenged evidence fails to satisfy the five-part Johns test. That is irrelevant, the state contends, because the evidence is not subject to that test. The Johns test, the state counters, applies only to evidence offered to prove a defendant’s criminal intent. The evidence in this case, the state asserts, was offered to prove defendant’s motive, which is different from the issue of intent and is a permissible purpose for admitting prior bad acts evidence under OEC 404(3). Further, the state notes, the evidence was offered to prove the victim’s lack of consent to defendant’s sexual conduct and the kidnapping, which is an element of those offenses. Accordingly, the state concludes, the evidence was offered for purposes other than to demonstrate defendant’s criminal propensity, and the trial court’s admission of the evidence was not erroneous.

We review a trial court’s admission of evidence of a defendant’s prior bad acts (also referred to as uncharged misconduct) for errors of law. See State v. Titus, 328 Or 475, 481, 982 P2d 1133 (1999). In general, OEC 404(3) prohibits the state from introducing such evidence to suggest that the defendant committed the offenses in the instant case due to a criminal propensity. Evidence of prior bad acts may be admitted, however, if it is introduced for a relevant noncharacter purpose: *368 OEC 404(3) (emphasis added). “[T]he essential inquiry under OEC 404(3) is not whether the [evidence] can be made to fit into one of the listed categories, but whether and how it is logically relevant to a noncharacter issue in the case.” State v. Johnson, 340 Or 319, 338, 131 P3d 173, cert den, 549 US 1079 (2006). In making such an inquiry, a court applies a three-part test:

*367

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
215 P.3d 924, 230 Or. App. 363, 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 1131, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-blanscet-orctapp-2009.