State v. Daby

359 N.W.2d 730, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3947
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedDecember 31, 1984
DocketC2-84-252
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 359 N.W.2d 730 (State v. Daby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Daby, 359 N.W.2d 730, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3947 (Mich. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

OPINION

CRIPPEN, Judge.

Appellant appeals from a jury verdict finding him guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree and kidnapping. He contends that' there was insufficient evidence to convict him, that he was arrested without probable cause, that the police violated his right to effective assistance of counsel by conducting a photographic lineup without notifying his attorney, and that certain evidence was unlawfully admitted. We affirm.

FACTS

At approximately 10:45 p.m., on July 21, 1982, complainant, who lives in Cambridge, Minnesota, left a friend’s home, and started to walk home. Shortly after 11:00 p.m., a small pick-up truck pulled up beside her several times; the driver talked to her, making several obscene suggestions, and then pulled her into the truck. Complainant kicked and struggled, but could not escape. The driver proceeded to a field access road, backed off the pavement about 25 feet and sexually assaulted her. He then returned her to the motel room where she was living.

Complainant noted the license plate number of the truck as it was driven off, recording LOD 851. She called her friend; he and her boyfriend came quickly to her home. Both testified as to her disheveled physical appearance, which they stated was in contrast to her normal well-groomed, neat appearance, and both told of her distraught emotional state. They drove to the Isanti Sheriffs Office, where complainant gave a description of her attacker, as well as his truck. The descriptions matched those of appellant and his truck.

A license check showed that LOD 851 was registered to a van, but LDD 851 was registered to appellant’s truck. The investigator drove complainant to Minneapolis, near appellant’s place of work, where she identified the truck. Appellant was later arrested as he approached and began to unlock the truck. Two days after the arrest, appellant’s photograph was used in a photographic display shown to complainant; she identified appellant as her attacker.

Earlier on July 21, appellant, a resident of Anoka, drove to Duluth to attend his aunt’s funeral. Appellant arrived at the home of a friend in Duluth, Henry Voelk, at approximately 10:00 a.m.; they went drinking several times that day, and appellant attended his aunt’s funeral. Appellant left Voelk’s home at approximately 5:45 p.m., and they made tentative plans to meet at a bar early in the evening. Voelk’s next contact with appellant was a telephone call on July 26, when appellant stated he got home late because he had picked up a girl; that Voelk should say that appellant went to .a bar with Voelk if appellant’s wife asked, and that the girl had looked at his license plate when she got out of the truck. Voelk provided the police with a detailed statement of these events, and the statement was introduced when he testified at trial.

ISSUES

1. Was there insufficient evidence to prove that defendant committed the crime of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree?

2. Was appellant arrested without probable cause?

3. Did the police violate appellant’s right to effective assistance of counsel by conducting a photographic lineup without notifying his attorney?

4. Did the trial court err when it admitted the statement of Henry Voelk and photographs of tire tracks?

ANALYSIS

1. Appellant was convicted under Minn. Stat. § 609.344(c) (1982), which provides in relevant part:

*733 A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree ⅜ * * if he engages in sexual penetration with another person and ⅜ * * (t)he actor uses force or coercion to accomplish the penetration ⅜ * *.

He challenges the conviction for insufficiency of evidence on two grounds: first, he argues that the state did not prove that he used “force or coercion;” and, second, he argues that in these circumstances corroboration was required but not provided. He argues that he was convicted on fabricated testimony of complainant.

The standard for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is well-settled in Minnesota:

In reviewing a claim of sufficiency of the evidence we must determine whether, under the facts in the record and any legitimate inferences that can be drawn from them, a jury could reasonably conclude that the defendant was guilty of the offense charged * * *. The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution and it is necessary to assume that the jury believed the state’s witnesses and disbelieved any contrary evidence.

State v. Ulvinen, 313 N.W.2d 425, 428 (Minn.1981).

As to evidence on force or coercion, appellant does not claim that complainant consented to intercourse. Instead, he argues that because complainant had no bruises or physical evidence of intercourse, there was insufficient evidence to prove the element of force or coercion. He argues that appellant did not put complainant in fear of her life and, in fact, was “extraordinarily cooperative” because he acceded to her wishes and withdrew before he ejaculated.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has found sufficient evidence of force where a defendant intentionally created an atmosphere of fear which caused complainant to finally submit to his sexual advances. State v. Carter, 289 N.W.2d 454 (Minn.1979). Here, also, there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find appellant used force or coercion on complainant. The complainant testified that she initially rebuffed appellant’s advances, that he forcibly pulled her into the truck, and that she resisted, but finally gave in to avoid additional physical harm. She testified appellant stated: “I don’t want to have to force you. It will take all the fun out it.” Her prompt complaints and disheveled appearance also support the finding of force or coercion.

Appellant also argues that there was insufficient evidence because corroboration of complainant’s testimony was not shown. Minn.Stat. § 609.347, subd. 1 (1982), specifically provides:

In a prosecution under sections 609.342 to 609.346, the testimony of a complainant need not be corroborated.

The supreme court has indicated that despite this provision, there may be individual cases in which the absence of corroboration might mandate a holding on review that the evidence was legally insufficient. State v. Ani, 257 N.W.2d 699, 700 (Minn.1977). It is not necessary for this court to reach the issue because complainant’s testimony was uncontradicted and was corroborated.

The corroboration included complainant’s prompt and consistent accounts of the assault, see State v. Wrightington, 323 N.W.2d 793 (Minn.1982), her post-rape appearance and emotional state, see State v. Kruse, 302 N.W.2d 29

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Bluebook (online)
359 N.W.2d 730, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3947, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-daby-minnctapp-1984.