State v. Crossland

820 S.W.2d 72, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1726, 1991 WL 237902
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 13, 1991
DocketNo. 17165
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 820 S.W.2d 72 (State v. Crossland) 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 v. Crossland, 820 S.W.2d 72, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1726, 1991 WL 237902 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

MONTGOMERY, Judge.

Following jury trial Tommy L. Cross-land 1 was convicted of the Class D felony of sexual abuse in the first degree in violation of § 566.100, RSMo 1986. He was sentenced to a term of two years imprisonment.

Crossland presents four points of error, and none challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. We relate briefly the facts which bear on those points.

Crossland and Peggy S. married August 26,1985. At that time Peggy had a daughter, A.S., who was born August 21, 1983. In December 1987, Crossland, Peggy, and A.S. (four years old at the time) were visiting friends. While there, Betty Ennis, then age 12, observed that A.S. had taken her clothes off along with the clothes of her doll. In response to questioning from Betty, A.S. stated she was playing a game that she and her daddy (Crossland) played. She then described certain acts of sexual abuse. In December 1988 or January 1989, Cross-land and Peggy separated. Peggy made a “hotline report” to the Division of Family Services in early January of 1989, regarding abuse of A.S. The report was referred to Greene County Juvenile Office, and on February 23, 1989, a videotaped interview of A.S. was conducted by the juvenile officer. In the videotaped statement A.S. described certain acts of sexual abuse, including oral sex.

On June 29, 1989, a felony information was filed charging Crossland with first degree sexual abuse between the dates of August 23, 1988, and December 25, 1988. A motion to amend the felony information was filed August 7, 1990. The amended felony information charged Crossland with first degree sexual abuse between August 23,1987, and December 25,1988, and added one state witness, Betty Ennis. After taking the motion under advisement, the trial court sustained it on August 20, 1990, which was the first day of trial.

At trial A.S. (then seven years old) testified of certain acts of sexual abuse but denied Crossland ever touched her mouth [74]*74with anything. In response to questions by the prosecutor, she stated she remembered making a videotaped statement and her statements there were true.

A question not briefed by either party is whether jurisdiction of the appeal is here or in our supreme court. Mo. Const. Art. Y, § 3 (1982 Amend.), reads:

The supreme court shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction in all cases involving the validity of a treaty or statute of the United States, or of a statute or provision of the constitution of this state, the construction of the revenue laws of this state, the title to any state office and in all cases where the punishment imposed is death. The court of appeals shall have general appellate jurisdiction in all cases except those within the exclusive jurisdiction of the supreme court.

Crossland has raised constitutional questions in his first and third points on the validity of § 491.060, RSMo 1986, and § 492.304 RSMo 1986. Both statutes have previously been attacked on the same constitutional grounds as here. In each instance our supreme court upheld the constitutionality of the statutes. Those decisions will be discussed herein. We have concluded that this case requires only the application of settled constitutional principles which were established in the cases upon which we rely. For that reason we determine we have appellate jurisdiction of this case. See Champlin Petroleum Co. v. Brashears, 592 S.W.2d 545, 547-48 (Mo.App.1979); City of St. Louis v. Gavin, 222 S.W.2d 531, 535 (Mo.App.1949).

Crossland’s first point claims the trial court erred in admitting into evidence an edited videotape of the interview between A.S. and the juvenile officer. He contends the videotape denied his right to confront witnesses as provided by the sixth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution and Art. I, § 18(a), of the Missouri Constitution. He states the videotaped statement was also an improper attempt by the state to rehabilitate their witness.

Crossland relies essentially on State v. Seever, 733 S.W.2d 438 (Mo. banc 1987), to support both positions. His reliance is misplaced. The state, in Seever, as here, relied on § 492.304, RSMo 1986, for admission of a videotaped statement of a child victim under the age of twelve. This statute allows a visual and aural recording of a verbal or non-verbal statement of a child under the age of twelve years who is a victim of a chapter 566 offense to be admitted in evidence if eight strict conditions of admissibility are met. Crossland does not challenge any of the eight conditions here. Subsection 2 provides:

If the electronic recording of the statement of a child is admitted into evidence under this section, either party may call the child to testify and the opposing party may cross-examine the child.

In Seever, the state first introduced the entire videotaped statement and then called the victim to the stand. The victim gave testimony sufficient to support the entire charge. The defendant raised the same constitutional questions as Crossland does here. Our supreme court reversed the case without reaching the constitutional issue. Seever was reversed because the procedure followed by the state resulted in improper enhancement and rehabilitation of the witness. The court said: “The party who can present the same testimony in multiple forms may obtain an undue advantage.” 733 S.W.2d at 441.

In the present case, a vastly different procedure was followed by the state. A.S. personally testified to facts constituting sexual abuse. She denied any acts of oral sex occurred. The state then introduced a strictly edited videotaped statement of A.S. where she stated oral sex did occur, contrary to her trial testimony. No portion of the videotape was shown to the jury except the portion concerning oral sex. The edited videotaped statement was not a duplication of her trial testimony in any way. For this reason Seever is not in point.

The videotaped evidence, as presented, is admissible under § 491.074, RSMo 1986, which reads:

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, a prior inconsistent [75]*75statement of any witness testifying in the trial of an offense under chapter 565, 566 or 568, RSMo, shall be received as substantive evidence, and the party offering the prior inconsistent statement may argue the truth of such statement.

In State v. Bowman, 741 S.W.2d 10 (Mo. banc 1987), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 829, 109 S.Ct. 83, 102 L.Ed.2d 60 (1989), our supreme court held that § 491.074 permitted the trial court to receive prior inconsistent statements as substantive evidence. At trial, the state witness failed to testify he saw defendant stab the victim. In his earlier videotaped statement to the police, the state witness stated the contrary. The videotaped statement was properly admitted as substantive evidence of the stabbing.

Here, the videotaped statement of A.S. was admitted to reveal an act of oral sex which she had previously denied on the stand. It was for the jury to weigh the videotaped statement against her trial testimony.

Crossland’s constitutional challenge has no merit because of State v. Schaal,

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Related

State v. Mills
872 S.W.2d 875 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1994)
State v. Gardner
849 S.W.2d 602 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
820 S.W.2d 72, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1726, 1991 WL 237902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-crossland-moctapp-1991.