State v. Drennon

883 P.2d 704, 126 Idaho 346, 1994 Ida. App. LEXIS 85
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 8, 1994
Docket18999
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 883 P.2d 704 (State v. Drennon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho 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. Drennon, 883 P.2d 704, 126 Idaho 346, 1994 Ida. App. LEXIS 85 (Idaho Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

WALTERS, Chief Judge.

A jury found Richard Drennon guilty of committing a lewd and lascivious act with his young daughter. He appeals from his judgment of conviction and sentence, raising a number of issues. First, he asserts that prosecutorial misconduct and evidentiary errors occurred during his trial. Next, Drennon contends the district court erred in instructing the jury; by imposing an excessive sentence following his conviction; and abused its discretion when determining his I.C.R. 35 motion to reduce his sentence. Finally, Drennon challenges the conclusions reached in a hearing regarding his performance in the retained jurisdiction program. We affirm.

Drennon was charged with one count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of sixteen, I.C. § 18-1508. The child was Drennon’s natural daughter, who was approximately nine or ten-years old when the conduct occurred between March, 1988, and January, 1989. A jury found him guilty, and the district court imposed a unified sentence consisting of a minimum period of confinement of eighteen years to be followed by an indeterminate life term. Drennon filed an I.C.R. 35 motion requesting leniency in sentencing. The district court granted the motion in part and reduced the minimum confinement term of the sentence to four years, but left the indeterminate life term in place.

ISSUES

On appeal, Drennon asserts that several errors occurred during and after trial which denied him due process of law. He argues that (1) the prosecutor engaged in reversible misconduct when, during the opening statement to the jury, the prosecutor referred to Drennon’s conduct as “incest” and stated that Drennon acted “shamelessly;” (2) the district court erroneously allowed a police officer to state his opinion that Drennon was not telling the truth when the officer interviewed him; (3) the district court erred when it allowed the State to present evidence of uncharged sexual misconduct with Drennon’s daughter, in violation of I.R.E. 404(b); (4) the testimony of the victim described an act of intercourse by Drennon, which act was not within the allegations of lewd conduct filed against him; (5) the district judge erred by refusing to instruct the jury on lesser included offenses; (6) the district court imposed an excessive sentence initially, and erred when it only partially granted Drennon’s motion for a reduced sentence; (7) cumulative errors resulted in an unfair trial; and (8) Drennon did not receive a meaningful post-trial hearing regarding whether he should be placed on probation or whether the district court should relinquish retained jurisdiction and order Drennon to be incarcerated. We address each issue in turn.

1. Prosecutorial Misconduct

Drennon asserts that his due process rights were violated when the prosecutor made the following opening statement to the jury:

May it please the Court, defense counsel. The defendant here as you’ve heard is charged with committing lewd and lascivious conduct with his daughter ..., a child under 16 years of age. More specifically as you also heard he is charged with having genital to genital contact. Now, when we have what’s called “lewd and lascivious conduct,” legal terms, we talk about that between a father and a daughter, and outside the courtroom that’s called “incest.” And ladies and gentlemen, that’s what this ease is about. It’s a case about incest and how the defendant here shamelessly took advantage of his daughter, took advantage of his wife, took advantage of his family. And he did this to gratify his sexual desires. He did it right under their noses and he denied it and that’s why we’re here today.

*349 Drennon argues that incest is an enumerated crime in Idaho with which he was not charged. Therefore, he contends the prosecutor misled the jury by using that term. He also asserts that the prosecutor’s statement that Drennon “shamelessly took advantage” of his daughter carried an immoral connotation and exceeded the scope of proper opening argument.

The transcript indicates that Drennon did not object when the prosecutor made these statements. “In the absence of a timely objection to an alleged error at trial, an appellate court generally will not consider the alleged error on appeal.” State v. Reynolds, 120 Idaho 445, 448, 816 P.2d 1002, 1005 (Ct.App.1991). Under certain circumstances, however, failure to object to statements in an opening argument might not constitute a waiver of the objection. Id. See, e.g., State v. Sharp, 101 Idaho 498, 503, 616 P.2d 1034, 1039 (1980) (inflammatory statements). Also, where an alleged error is claimed to have deprived the defendant of his constitutional right to a fair trial, review is warranted under the “fundamental error” doctrine. Reynolds, 120 Idaho at 448, 816 P.2d at 1005; State v. Knowlton, 123 Idaho 916, 918-19, 854 P.2d 259, 261-62 (1993). Under that doctrine, our analysis of the issue requires two steps. We first inquire whether the prosecutorial conduct complained of was improper; and then, if it was, we consider whether the misconduct prejudiced the defendant’s right to a fair trial, or whether the error was harmless. Id.

Our review is guided by the principle that the prosecutor’s role is to present the government’s case earnestly and vigorously, using every legitimate means to bring about a conviction. Reynolds, 120 Idaho at 449, 816 P.2d at 1006. The prosecutor must also see, however, that justice is done and that every criminal defendant receives a fair trial. Id. In that regard, restrictions exist beyond which the prosecutor’s argument may not go without running afoul of its function. For instance, the argument should not be used to inflame the passions or prejudice of the jury or to inject issues broader than the guilt or innocence of the accused under the controlling law. Id. at 449-50 n. 2, 816 P.2d at 1006-07 n. 2. We recognize, however, that counsel are afforded considerable latitude in their arguments. Id. at 449, 816 P.2d at 1006. The propriety of an argument will depend largely on the facts of each case. Id. at 449-50, 816 P.2d at 1006-07.

The use of the words “incest” and “shamelessly” likely was intended to win the jury’s sympathies and cast a moral pall on Drennon’s conduct. We do not conclude, however, that use of the terms prompted consideration of an uncharged crime, deprived Drennon of a fair trial, or constituted reversible error, considering the context of the remarks and the facts developed at Drennon’s trial. The jury had learned before hand, and heard again from the prosecutor in her statement, that Drennon was charged with lewd and lascivious conduct, including genital-genital contact. Drennon’s assertion that the word “incest” was erroneous because it is defined to mean intercourse in I.C. § 18-6602 rather than mere sexual contact is without merit. In context, the prosecutor’s use of the word was intended to generically describe a father’s act of having sexual contact with his child. Further, Drennon’s counsel discussed the victim’s expected testimony — which counsel interpreted as intercourse — in his own opening remarks to the jury. The prosecutor’s use of the term “shamelessly” was allowable commentary.

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Bluebook (online)
883 P.2d 704, 126 Idaho 346, 1994 Ida. App. LEXIS 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-drennon-idahoctapp-1994.