State v. Gladden

66 P.3d 1095, 116 Wash. App. 561
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided March 6, 2003·No. No. 20804-4-III·Published·Cited by 21 cases

Opinion

Kurtz, J.

Johnie Gladden appeals his felony conviction of communication with a minor for immoral purposes under RCW 9.68A.090, which requires proof of a prior conviction for a felony sex offense. Mr. Gladden contends the court abused its discretion by admitting evidence of his prior conviction for a felony sex offense when he was willing to stipulate to that element to avoid having this evidence introduced to the jury. Mr. Gladden also asserts that the court erred by rejecting his proposed jury instruction as to the definition of “immoral purposes.” Lastly, Mr. Gladden contends his trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to (1) make proper objections, (2) question one witness about statements allegedly made by Mr. Gladden, and (3) call two exculpatory witnesses. We affirm Mr. Gladden’s conviction.

FACTS

Johnie Gladden was charged with one count of felony communication with a minor for immoral purposes under RCW 9.68A.090. To obtain a felony conviction under this statute, the person charged must have a prior conviction for a felony sex offense. RCW 9.68A.090.

At trial, Mr. Gladden brought a motion in limine and offered to stipulate to delete the statutory element of the offense requiring proof of a prior conviction so that the jury would not hear any evidence related to that element of the crime. Concluding that the jury was entitled to make a determination on each element of the crime charged, the trial court denied this motion and allowed a certified copy of the judgment and sentence of the prior conviction to be introduced.

[564] The State called the victim, C.S., as a witness. Ms. S. testified as to her experiences with Mr. Gladden that served as the basis for the charge against him. She also testified that she later confided in a family friend who called her stepfather. Ms. S.’s mother and stepfather later met with Mr. Gladden at his home to ask him about Ms. S.’s accusations. Both the mother and the stepfather testified that, when confronted, Mr. Gladden admitted what he had done and demonstrated how he had touched Ms. S.

Mr. Gladden’s attorney called only two witnesses, Mr. Gladden’s stepdaughter, D.T., and Mr. Gladden’s wife, Susan Gladden. Defense counsel intended to ask Ms. Gladden what her husband said during the meeting with Ms. S.’s mother and stepfather. However, the State moved to exclude such testimony by Ms. Gladden as hearsay. The court granted the State’s motion but indicated that defense counsel could question Ms. Gladden as to whether she was present at the meeting and what she observed about the demeanors of the various participants.

Defense counsel offered a jury instruction that read: “[IJmmoral purposes is defined as illegal and immoral purposes of a sexual nature or illegal sexual misconduct.” Report of Proceedings (RP) at 236. Instead, the court accepted the State’s proposed instruction and instructed the jury that “immoral purposes” is defined as “immoral purposes of sexual misconduct.” RP at 243.

Mr. Gladden was found guilty and sentenced to 10.5 months incarceration. He appeals.

ANALYSIS

Failure to Accept Stipulation. Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is generally not admissible to prove the character of the defendant in order to show action in conformity therewith. ER 404(b); State v. Powell, 126 Wn.2d 244, 258, 893 P.2d 615 (1995). We apply the abuse of discretion standard when reviewing a trial court’s decision to admit evidence after the court has balanced the proba[565] tive value against the danger of unfair prejudice. State v. Rice, 48 Wn. App. 7, 11, 737 P.2d 726 (1987). An abuse of discretion exists when the trial court’s exercise of its discretion is manifestly unreasonable or based upon untenable grounds or reasons. State v. Stenson, 132 Wn.2d 668, 701, 940 P.2d 1239 (1997).

However, to prove the felony charge of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, the State had to establish that Mr. Gladden had previously been convicted of a felony sex offense. RCW 9.68A.090. Mr. Gladden offered to stipulate to delete that statutory element of the offense requiring proof of a prior conviction to prevent the jury from hearing any evidence related to that element of the crime. Relying on Old Chief v. United States, 519 U.S. 172, 117 S. Ct. 644, 136 L. Ed. 2d 574 (1997), Mr. Gladden contends the trial court erred by disallowing the offered stipulation and allowing the prior conviction into evidence. The trial court did not err because Old Chief is distinguishable.

Old Chief involved a prosecution for several crimes, including unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The prosecutor rejected the defendant’s offer to stipulate to a previous felony conviction, and this refusal was upheld on appeal. Id. at 174. In reversing, the Old Chief Court acknowledged that the standard rule that “a defendant’s [Fed. Rule of Evid.] Rule 403 objection offering to concede a point generally cannot prevail over the Government’s choice to offer evidence showing guilt and all the circumstances surrounding the offense.” Id. at 183. However, the Old Chief Court concluded that the trial court abused its discretion when the trial judge “spurns such an offer and admits the full record of a prior judgment, when the name or nature of the prior offense raises the risk of a verdict tainted by improper considerations, and when the purpose of the evidence is solely to prove the element of prior conviction.” Id. at 174.

Similarly, State v. Johnson, 90 Wn. App. 54, 950 P.2d 981 (1998) involved a prosecution for two assaults and for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (RCW [566]*5669.41.040(1)). Relying on Old Chief, the Johnson court held that the trial court erred in admitting a prior rape conviction to prove the element of a past felony conviction when Mr. Johnson proffered a stipulation to that effect. Johnson, 90 Wn. App. at 62-63.

Old Chief and Johnson are distinguishable because Mr. Gladden did not offer to stipulate that he had a prior conviction for a felony sex offense. Instead, Mr. Gladden offered to delete any reference to a statutory element that required proof of a prior conviction for a felony sex offense. Under these circumstances, the trial court did not err by admitting the certified copy of the judgment and sentence related to the prior conviction.

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State v. Gladden, 66 P.3d 1095, 116 Wash. App. 561 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003).

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State v. Gladden
66 P.3d 1095 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2003)