State v. Finlayson

2000 UT 10, 994 P.2d 1243, 386 Utah Adv. Rep. 57, 2000 Utah LEXIS 11, 2000 WL 21023
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 14, 2000
Docket980279
StatusPublished
Cited by53 cases

This text of 2000 UT 10 (State v. Finlayson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah 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. Finlayson, 2000 UT 10, 994 P.2d 1243, 386 Utah Adv. Rep. 57, 2000 Utah LEXIS 11, 2000 WL 21023 (Utah 2000).

Opinions

STEWART, Justice:

¶ 1 Jeffrey Russell Finlayson was convicted of forcible sodomy, a first degree felony, [1245]*1245in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-403(2) (1995); rape, a first degree felony, in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-402 (1995); and aggravated kidnaping, a first degree felony, in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-302 (1995). Defendant appealed all three convictions, and we transferred this case to the Utah Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions for forcible sodomy and rape, and reversed the conviction for aggravated kidnaping. State v. Finlayson, 956 P.2d 283 (Utah Ct.App.1998). We then granted the State’s petition for a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals’ reversal of the kidnaping charge. We affirm, but on a different ground than the one relied on by the Court of Appeals.

I. FACTS

¶ 2 Defendant met the victim, a Japanese exchange student who spoke little English, on the campus of the Salt Lake Community College, where they both attended classes. Defendant, who is fluent in Japanese, asked the victim if she would help him with his Japanese studies. She agreed, and the two made plans to go to the library together on October 5,1994.

¶ 3 On that date, defendant picked the victim up at her apartment, and they went to dinner. After dinner, defendant claimed he forgot to bring a book from his apartment, and they drove there to pick it up. When they arrived, defendant asked the victim to come inside to see his Japanese souvenirs, which he acquired while in Japan. Once inside, defendant told the victim that the library was about to close and suggested they study at his apartment. She agreed, and they worked on defendant’s Japanese writing skills for approximately one hour.

¶ 4 After they finished studying, defendant asked her if he could kiss her. She said “No,” and defendant then pulled her from the chair in which she was sitting, carried her into his bedroom with his arms wrapped around her body, and sexually assaulted her. During the assault, the victim pounded on the floor with one foot in an unsuccessful attempt to attract a neighbor’s attention. Defendant told the victim that if she did not stop, she would not be able to go home. She also made several unsuccessful attempts to escape; after one such attempt, defendant handcuffed her. He removed the handcuffs after she promised to be quiet.

¶ 5 After the assault, the victim tried to leave defendant’s apartment, but was made to wait ten minutes while defendant dressed. While leaving the apartment, defendant tried to put a paper bag over the victim’s head so she would not see his address. When she refused to wear the bag, defendant placed a jacket over her head. The drive to the victim’s apartment lasted one hour, despite the fact that she lived less than thirty minutes away. When the victim stated that she wanted to die, defendant refused to take her home until she promised not to harm herself. Despite defendant’s efforts, the victim obtained his address through a letter taken secretly from his apartment.

¶ 6 On certiorari, we review a decision of the Court of Appeals for correctness. See State v. Hodson, 907 P.2d 1155, 1157 (Utah 1995). “In doing so, this Court adopts the same standard of review used by the court of appeals: questions of law are reviewed for correctness, and the trial court’s factual findings are reversed only if clearly erroneous.” State v. Harmon, 910 P.2d 1196, 1199 (Utah 1996) (citations omitted).

II. APPEALABILITY

¶ 7 Defendant argued for the first time in the Court of Appeals that the crime of aggravated kidnaping, on the facts of this case, is a lesser included offense of the crimes of rape and forcible sodomy and, therefore, the conviction for aggravated kidnaping merged into the other convictions. That point was not raised in the trial court, but the Court of Appeals addressed the issue, relying on State v. Brooks, 908 P.2d 856 (Utah 1995), and Rule 22(e) of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure, for the proposition that an appellate court may consider the legality of a sentence on appeal even though the issue was not raised in the trial court.

¶ 8 As the State correctly argues, the Court of Appeals’ decision to review the merger claim under Rule 22(e) was in error. [1246]*1246The issue in the present case is the legality of defendant’s conviction, not his sentence. As Brooks states, an appellate court may not “review the legality of a sentence [under rule 22(e) ] when the substance of the appeal is, as it is here, a challenge, not to the sentence itself, but to the underlying conviction.” Id. at 860; see also State v. Babbel, 813 P.2d 86 (Utah 1991) (“Babbel II ”).

¶ 9 Defendant concedes that the Court of Appeals’ rebanee on Rule 22(e) was in error, but argues that we should affirm the reversal of the aggravated kidnaping conviction on the ground of ineffective assistance of counsel.1

¶ 10 The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the assistance of counsel to defendants in all criminal prosecutions. This right has been interpreted as “the right to effective assistance of counsel.” McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771 n. 14, 90 S.Ct. 1441, 25 L.Ed.2d 763 (1970). The test for determining when a defendant has been denied this right is set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Strickland establishes a two-part test:

First, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the “counsel” guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel’s errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable.

Id. at 687. The application of this test to the instant case is discussed below.

III. AGGRAVATED KIDNAPING

¶ 11 The Court of Appeals ruled that aggravated kidnaping was a lesser included offense of rape and forcible sodomy. We disagree. The law barring convictions for both an offense and a lesser included offense was explored in State v. Baker, 671 P.2d 152

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2000 UT 10, 994 P.2d 1243, 386 Utah Adv. Rep. 57, 2000 Utah LEXIS 11, 2000 WL 21023, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-finlayson-utah-2000.