State v. Gonzales

2005 UT 72, 125 P.3d 878, 538 Utah Adv. Rep. 25, 2005 Utah LEXIS 116, 2005 WL 2899856
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 4, 2005
Docket20020935
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 2005 UT 72 (State v. Gonzales) 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. Gonzales, 2005 UT 72, 125 P.3d 878, 538 Utah Adv. Rep. 25, 2005 Utah LEXIS 116, 2005 WL 2899856 (Utah 2005).

Opinion

NEHRING, Justice:

¶ 1 Arthur Anthony Gonzales appeals his conviction for attempted rape and forcible sexual abuse. Mr. Gonzales challenges the trial court’s rulings quashing a subpoena for the victim’s mental health records, removing his counsel, and denying him the opportunity to cross-examine the victim about her previous juvenile adjudications. He also claims that his attorney rendered ineffective assistance, and that, cumulatively, all these errors require reversal. We affirm.

FACTS

¶2 Elizabeth Snodgrass and her sixteen-year-old daughter Jessica moved next door to Mr. Gonzales and his children in 1999. Ms. Snodgrass and Mr. Gonzales began dating and became engaged. During the engagement, each maintained a separate residence, but they began to blend their families with activities such as joint dinners.

¶ 3 Mr. Gonzales and Ms. Snodgrass began to discuss their differences in discipline, which was creating contention between the two families. When disagreements over parenting styles would arise, Mr. Gonzales and Ms. Snodgrass would host “table talks” to discuss the issue. One of these meetings was held after Ms. Snodgrass broke off the engagement when Jessica accused Mr. Gonzales of grabbing her buttocks and pressing himself against her during a hug. After discussing the matter with the family, Ms. Snodgrass concluded Jessica either was lying or misunderstood Mr. Gonzales’s actions and subsequently recommitted to marry Mr. Gonzales.

¶4 On the Saturday before the planned wedding, Mr. Gonzales drove Ms. Snodgrass to work. When he dropped her off, Ms. Snodgrass took only her office keys, leaving her car and house keys with Mr. Gonzales. Around 9:00 a.m., Mr. Gonzales told his daughter that he was going next door to do laundry. Access to the laundry room could only be gained by passing through Jessica’s bedroom. At approximately 10:00 a.m., Mr. Gonzales again told his daughter he was going to check on the laundry.

¶ 5 Jessica alleged that around that same time, she felt a man crawl into her bed and put his arms around her. He began to rub his pelvis against her backside and to “hump” her on her buttocks. She says that when she saw the man’s hand, she knew it was Mr. Gonzales. He put his hand under her shirt and bra and started touching her breasts, to which she responded by stating “no.” He said “it’s okay” and then pulled down her pants and underpants, grabbed her buttocks, and placed his finger inside of her vagina. He then rubbed his penis on her buttocks before placing it between her legs and tried to penetrate her. At that point, Jessica put her feet against the wall and pushed Mr. Gonzales off of the bed. She told him it wasn’t right and that “this is not what fathers and daughters do.” According to Jessica, Mr. Gonzales warned her not to tell anyone because no one would believe her and that he would give her whatever she wanted. She also said that Mr. Gonzales asked her not to notify the police.

¶ 6 In Mr. Gonzales’s version of events, he kneeled on Jessica’s bed to wake her up. He put his arms around and under her while calling her by her nickname and saying, “Come on ... let’s go ... I need your help.” *881 Jessica then became “irate” and began yelling at him. He threw his hands in the air and told her if she was hungry to come over and eat and repeated that he needed her help.

¶ 7 After Mr. Gonzales left, Jessica called her friend Anjali, who testified that Jessica was scared and upset. Jessica also spoke with Anjali’s father, Rajiv Kulkarni. He testified that Jessica was crying and upset when he spoke to her that morning. Mr. Kulkarni called the police, and then went to pick up Jessica, leaving his car parked about a block away. Jessica came running toward Mr. Kulkarni, carrying her bed sheets. Jessica suspected that some of the stains on her sheets might be semen. Mr. Kulkarni drove Jessica to meet with the police. During her police interview, Jessica told police that a week before this incident Mr. Gonzales had tried to hypnotize her, asked her to remove her clothing, and touched her breast.

¶ 8 The morning of the incident, Mr. Gonzales paged Ms. Snodgrass twice. The second time, he included a “911” along with his cell phone number, indicating to her that she needed to call back immediately. Ms. Snod-grass called Mr. Gonzales, who said he thought he scared Jessica when he awoke her for breakfast and that she may have run away.

¶ 9 The police officers who interviewed Mr. Gonzales said that he admitted “wrestling” with Jessica. Jessica was not tested for seminal fluid or other physical evidence. No semen was found on Jessica’s sheets or pants.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 10 Mr. Gonzales was charged with one count of attempted rape and one count of forcible sexual abuse. Despite having appointed counsel, Mr. Gonzales filed a pro se motion stating that Jessica’s claim was a retaliation against an unwanted marriage. He also claimed, apparently to suggest that Jessica’s ability to tell the truth was impaired, that Jessica was undergoing psychological therapy, and that she was taking medicine for a psychological condition. Mr. Gonzales’s counsel withdrew and the trial court appointed Mr. Edward Montgomery as new counsel.

¶ 11 Although Mr. Gonzales’s motion was filed without the knowledge or over the objection of his attorney, the matters raised in it were at the core of his defense. His effort to advance the cause of his theory that his accuser was a mentally disturbed teen bent on retaliation gives rise to the first issue that we decide today: the admissibility of Jessica’s mental health records.

I. THE SUBPOENAS FOR JESSICA’S MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS

¶ 12 Mr. Montgomery served a subpoena on the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI) for Jessica’s treatment records. UNI responded with a letter stating that the records were privileged under Utah Rule of Evidence 506 and could only be released if an affidavit attesting that the request for records satisfied an exception to the privilege. Mr. Montgomery completed an affidavit for medical records entitled “PATIENT HAS PLACED MENTAL OR PHYSICAL CONDITION AT ISSUE AS A CLAIM OR DEFENSE IN A LAWSUIT” and checked the boxes indicating that Jessica’s mental and physical condition were “an element of a claim or defense in this lawsuit.” UNI sent Jessica’s treatment records directly to Mr. Montgomery. Not long after Mr. Montgomery received the records, UNI’s general counsel called him to say that a mistake had been made; UNI should not have released the records; and instead, should have moved to quash the subpoena.

¶ 13 Investigators retained by Mr. Gonzales’s counsel also contacted Ms. Snodgrass at her home and attempted to serve her with subpoenas seeking the names of Jessica’s mental health providers. These actions prompted the prosecutor to request that any contact with State witnesses should be made through her. The prosecutor also told Mr. Montgomery to serve subpoenas on mental health service providers directly, but indicated an intention to move to quash any subpoenas regarding Jessica’s mental health. On April 2, 2002, Mr. Montgomery served subpoenas on two of Jessica’s private therapists.

*882 ¶ 14 At a pre-trial conference, the State challenged Mr. Gonzales’s acquisition of the UNI treatment records. Having learned that the records had been obtained by Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
2005 UT 72, 125 P.3d 878, 538 Utah Adv. Rep. 25, 2005 Utah LEXIS 116, 2005 WL 2899856, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gonzales-utah-2005.