State v. Brown

631 S.E.2d 49, 178 N.C. App. 189, 2006 N.C. App. LEXIS 1311
Court of Appeals of North Carolina·Decided June 20, 2006·No. COA05-943·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

HUNTER, Judge.

Stanley Arnold Brown (“defendant”) appeals from judgments entered 13 January 2005 consistent with jury verdicts finding him guilty of two counts of statutory sexual offense of a person thirteen years old. For the reasons stated herein, we find no error.

*191 The evidence tends to show that defendant resided with the family of Sarah 1 for several years and was involved for some time in a relationship with Sarah’s grandmother, her primary caretaker. During the summer and fall of 2003, defendant began to touch Sarah’s breasts and vagina. Sarah was twelve years old at that time. In December of 2003, Sarah testified that while watching a movie in defendant’s room, defendant pulled down her pants and placed his penis in her vagina. Sarah stated that a second incident occurred later while she was playing a video game in defendant’s room. Defendant entered the room, threw her on the bed, pulled down her pants, and stuck his penis in her vagina. Sarah stated that her family moved away from defendant after her thirteenth birthday, 16 April 2004. Sarah testified that no further incidents occurred after her family moved away from defendant.

Testimony was also offered by Odie Rollings (“Rollings”), a federal inmate housed at the Pitt County Jail, in corroboration of Sarah’s testimony. Rollings testified defendant told Rollings he had sex with Sarah twice. Rollings stated that defendant told him the first time he touched Sarah was in December 2003, and the second time was while defendant was in his room playing video games.

Defendant testified at trial that he had not touched Sarah inappropriately and had not raped her.

Defendant was convicted of two counts of statutory sex offense of a person thirteen years old, and was sentenced to consecutive sentences of 240 to 297 months. Upon motion to the trial court by the State, the judgment in 04CRS002310 was*set aside. Defendant appeals from his judgment and conviction in 04CRS003406.

I.

Defendant first contends the trial court erred in overruling defendant’s motion in limine to exclude photographs of nude women and in admitting the photographs into evidence. We disagree.

Defendant relied on the amended Rule 103(a) of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence in effect at the time of trial, which directed, “[o]nce the court makes a definitive ruling on the record admitting or excluding evidence, either at or before trial, a party need not renew an objection or offer of proof to preserve a claim of error for appeal.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 8C-1, Rule 103(a)(2) (2005). This Court *192 has recently held Rule 103 to be inconsistent with Rule 10(b)(1) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. State v. Tutt, 171 N.C. App. 518, 521, 615 S.E.2d 688, 690 (2005) (footnote omitted) (stating that “Rule 103(a)(2) of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence is in direct conflict with Rule 10(b)(1) of the Rules of Appellate Procedure as interpreted by our case law on point[,]” in accord with previous Supreme Court opinions, State v. Stocks, 319 N.C. 437, 439, 355 S.E.2d 492, 493 (1987), State v. Bennett, 308 N.C. 530, 535, 302 S.E.2d 786, 790 (1983), and State v. Elam, 302 N.C. 157, 160, 273 S.E.2d 661, 664 (1981), striking down statutes providing review of errors even though no objection, exception or motion was made in the trial division). We note that we are bound by the prior decisions of this Court. See In the Matter of Appeal from Civil Penalty, 324 N.C. 373, 384, 379 S.E.2d 30, 37 (1989).

Rule 10(b)(1) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure states, in part, that “[i]n order to preserve a question for appellate review, a party must have presented to the trial court a timely request, objection or motion[.]” N.C.R. App. P. 10(b)(1). “[A] motion in limine is not sufficient to preserve for appeal the question of admissibility of evidence if the defendant does not object to that evidence at the time it is offered at trial.” State v. Grooms, 353 N.C. 50, 65, 540 S.E.2d 713, 723 (2000). Defendant offered no objection to the admission of the photographs at issue at trial, and failed to preserve the issue for review.

However, as defendant relied on a procedural statute presumed constitutional at the time of trial, it would be a manifest injustice to not review defendant’s appeal on the merits. We therefore review this assignment of error in our discretion pursuant to Rule 2 of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. N.C.R. App. P. 2.; see Tutt, 171 N.C. App. at 524, 615 S.E.2d at 693 (invoking Rule 2 to review evidence in the Court’s discretion to prevent manifest injustice).

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 8C-1, Rule 404(b) (2005) states in part that:

Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake, entrapment or accident.

Id. In State v. Williams, 318 N.C. 624, 350 S.E.2d 353 (1986), evidence was offered by the defendant’s wife, the victim’s step-mother, that the *193 defendant had taken her and the victim to an X-rated drive-in movie with explicit sexual scenes, and had encouraged the victim to look at them. Id. at 626-27, 350 S.E.2d at 355. The defendant in Williams contended that such evidence was impermissible character evidence and should not have been admitted. Id. at 631, 350 S.E.2d at 357. Williams found that the evidence of the “daughter’s presence at the film at defendant’s insistence, and his comments to her show[ed] his preparation and plan to engage in sexual intercourse with her and assisted] in that preparation and plan by making her aware of such sexual conduct and arousing her.” Id. at 632, 350 S.E.2d at 358.

In State v. Rael, 321 N.C. 528, 364 S.E.2d 125 (1988), the defendant also contended that the admission of evidence which included pornographic magazines and movies was error, as the items “tended to prove only the character of the defendant in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith.” Id. at 534, 364 S.E.2d at 129. In Rael, the victim testified that on the day of the incident, the defendant had shown him pornographic magazines and movies. Id. at 533, 364 S.E.2d at 128. Rael

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State v. Brown, 631 S.E.2d 49, 178 N.C. App. 189, 2006 N.C. App. LEXIS 1311 (N.C. Ct. App. 2006).

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