State v. Deen

211 P.2d 460, 69 Ariz. 188, 1949 Ariz. LEXIS 104
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 21, 1949
DocketNo. 996.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 211 P.2d 460 (State v. Deen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona 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. Deen, 211 P.2d 460, 69 Ariz. 188, 1949 Ariz. LEXIS 104 (Ark. 1949).

Opinion

STANFORD, Justice.

Appellant was informed against by the county attorney of Maricopa county for statutory rape of his daughter. For the protection of the daughter’s name we will term her as the prosecutrix. We will also term the appellant, the defendant, and the State of Arizona, the state.

The prosecutrix was at the time of the alleged offense fifteen years of age. The information stated the offense was committed on July 15, 1948.

The mother, of the prosecutrix died when she was a small child and for many years she had resided with her father. The prosecutrix testified at the trial that the first act of sexual intercourse took place on Febuary 16, 1948, and between that date and July 15, of that year, she and her father had sexual intercourse from one to three times a week. She made no complaint until July 23 when she complained to Joe James, a member of the Phoenix police department, and his wife Audrey James.

Prosecutrix testified that her failure to make an earlier complaint was because her father had threatened to do her injury in event she should tell anyone.

The state presented two witnesses, the prosecutrix and the county medical examiner, Dr. O. C. West testified that he examined the prosecutrix on the afternoon of July 23rd; that in making a vaginal examination he discovered that the vaginal canal was relaxed. He testified that there were no contusions or bruises and that the hymen of the prosecutrix had been ruptured a considerable time previously.

The prosecutrix testified she had never had sexual intercourse with any other person than her father. The defendant not only denied the accusation, but offered proof that motive for making the false charge was that the daughter had rebelled *190 at his discipline and especially in connection with playing hooky and going to places socially which were disapproved of by the father.

A verdict of guilty was returned by 'the jury. From said verdict, and from the order of the court denying a motion for new trial, and the sentence and judgment, the defendant has brought his appeal to this court.

Defendant cites as assignments of error committed by the trial court the following:

“I. The trial court erred in sustaining the State’s objection to the following offer of proof for the reason that the appellant was thereby precluded from explaining the physical condition testified to by the witness Dr. O. C. West, and precluded from refuting the testimony of the prosecutrix that she had never had sexual intercourse with anyone except appellant, consistently with the innocence of the appellant, viz:

“ ‘Mr. Weaver: I make an offer of proof. - I offer to prove by the witness on the stand now, that is, Mrs. Josephine Walker that she has seen young men and one particular young man many times go into the home of Hassen Deen during his absence. And that she has upon a number of occasions seen him leave there hurriedly when someone would be coming, and once when Hassen Deen was returning home, sticking the top of his shirt into his trousers, with his shoes unlaced. I offer to make the same proof by her husband William Walker. I offer to prove by Bonnie Price that Rema told Bonnie Price that Rema’s Policeman friend, Joe James, was sure a hot kisser. I offer to prove by Tony Silvio that they had the girl in their home and she made advances to the young men in his home. He had to send her back to the Convent. He would not be responsible for her.

“ ‘Mr. Renaud: In that respect might I add in the record it is true, Mr. Weaver, that the accusations of Silvio were subsequent to the filing of this charge.

“‘Mr. Weaver: Yes, I made that — in regard to Mr. Silvio and the Price girl which occurred subsequent to this charge ■ — as a separate offer of proof. And then I offer to prove by a Mrs. Schack, Alice Schack and Alma Allen and Charley Allen that they have seen the young men immediately next door to them make signals to the girl and she Would come over there, and in a room right next to their home and would sit on the couch with her arms around each other, hugging and kissing. And that on those occasions usually they would get in a car and drive out somewhere. I believe that is all.

“ ‘Mr. Renaud: I obj ect to the matters which have been indicated as matters which would be brought by the counsel for the defendant as all being incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, having no probative value either as to the chastity, the character or as to the credulity of the story of the prosecutrix, to wit, Rema Deen.

*191 “ ‘The Court: The objection will be sustained.

“II. That the trial court erred to the prejudice of the appellant in sustaining the State’s objection to the offer of proof set forth in Assignment of Error No. I for the reason that the appellant was thereby precluded from showing a possible motive on the part of the prosecutrix for bringing a false charge against him.

“III. The trial court erred to the prejudice of the appellant in denying the following offer of proof for the reason that the evidence offered had a tendency to show motive on the part of prosecutrix for bringing a false charge against her father in order to-be rid of parental discipline:

“ ‘I offer to prove by Tony Silvio that they had the girl in their home and she made advances to the young men in their home. He had to send her back to the Convent. He would not be responsible for her.’

“IV. Having permitted the State to prove a physical condition on the part of prosecutrix consistent with past sexual experience, and to prove by the testimony of the prosecutrix that she had not had sexual intercourse with any person except her father, and having sustained the objection to the appellant’s offer of proof tending to show unchaste relations with other persons, the trial court committed prejudicial error in permitting the Deputy County Attorney in his final argument to the jury to base an argument upon the testimony that prosecutrix had had no sex relations with any person other than appellant, viz:

“ ‘(The cause was argued to the jury by respective counsel, and during the State’s final argument to the jury the following objection was made by Mr. Weaver:)

“‘Mr. Weaver: Just a minute. That testimony was ruled out by this Court. Counsel has no right to make capital of that type of testimony.

“ ‘Mr. Renaud: The question I asked was, have you had sexual relations with any other person and she said “No.” That is .what I was referring to.

“ ‘The Court: Go ahead. The jury will remember what the evidence was.’ ”

After the testimony of the doctor had been given the county attorney recalled the prosecutrix to the witness stand and asked her the following question: “Q Rema, have you ever had sexual relations with any other person other than your father? A No, I haven’t.”

44 Am.Jur., Rape, Sec. 91, on the subject of “In Prosecutions for Statutory Rape” reads:

“Since consent is not an issue in a prosecution for statutory rape, it is a general rule that evidence of prior intercourse of the prosecutrix with men other than the. accused, or that her reputation for chastity is bad, is immaterial and inadmissible when offered as an excuse or justification.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
211 P.2d 460, 69 Ariz. 188, 1949 Ariz. LEXIS 104, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-deen-ariz-1949.