State v. Heaven

110 P.3d 835
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedApril 25, 2005
Docket54123-4-I
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 110 P.3d 835 (State v. Heaven) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Heaven, 110 P.3d 835 (Wash. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

110 P.3d 835 (2005)

STATE of Washington, Appellant,
v.
Stephen Robert HEAVEN, Respondent.

No. 54123-4-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

April 25, 2005.

Charles F. Blackman, Snohomish Co. Pros. Atty, Everett, WA, for Appellant.

Dana M. Lind, Nielsen Broman & Koch PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

COLEMAN, J.

¶ 1 Stephen Robert Heaven was tried on *836 three counts of child molestation.[1] During the trial, the State presented evidence of numerous acts of molestation. The court's instructions required the jury to decide unanimously on at least one of the alleged acts with respect to each count to reach a conviction on that count. The jury acquitted Heaven on two counts, but could not reach a verdict on the third. The trial court declared a mistrial on the third count and set a new trial date. Heaven moved for a dismissal on the ground that a new trial would expose him to double jeopardy. The trial court granted the dismissal, and the State appeals. We affirm because a new trial on the third count would place Heaven in jeopardy of conviction for alleged acts of molestation for which he has already been acquitted.

FACTS

¶ 2 The State charged Stephen Robert Heaven with three counts of child molestation in the third degree. In each count, the State alleged that between January 1, 2001, and January 7, 2002, Heaven had sexual contact with D.H., a minor, in violation of RCW 9A.44.089. The information did not identify specific acts or segregate charging periods among the three counts.

¶ 3 At trial, the State presented evidence that Heaven had touched or caressed D.H.'s breasts many times, that on at least one occasion he touched her vaginal area over her clothes, and that on one occasion he sat behind her and made pressing motions with his pelvis against her back while she was seated at her computer. The State chose not to elect which alleged acts of molestation to rely on for conviction on the three counts. In accordance with our Supreme Court's decision in State v. Petrich, 101 Wash.2d 566, 683 P.2d 173 (1984), the court instructed the jury that it must agree unanimously on one or more alleged acts to convict. Instruction 12 reads,

There are allegations that the defendant committed acts of Child Molestation in the Third Degree on multiple occasions. To convict the defendant, one or more particular acts must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt and you must unanimously agree as to which act or acts have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. You need not unanimously agree that all the acts have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court did not employ special verdict forms, and none were requested. In closing arguments, the prosecutor told the jury, "You have at your disposal numerous allegations, numerous allegations of touching of intimate parts.... You don't have to find how many times he did this, because the State has only charged three incidents. You get to decide which incidents." Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (January 22, 2004) at 173. The prosecutor then said,

Now, you may recall when I came to you before in opening statement, I identified some incidents that you could assign to different counts. You could say all of the breast touches were one count and you could say the vagina touch the victim was anticipated to talk about was another count and the humping motion the defendant made in early January of '02 was the third *837 count. Things don't always work out exactly as planned. One of the realities of a real trial as opposed to a TV script is you see the case as it unfolds, and I'll be the first to say that one of the things that the victim said when she testified was she thought she might have been 13 when the vagina touch occurred and clearly, that puts it outside the charging period if she was 13. And so if he did that when she was a younger girl, then that might be a reason to doubt that the crime occurred in the charging period, the charging period being January 1st of '01 to January 7th of '02. However, in this case it hardly matters, because you have so many intimate part touchings, sexual touchings, even in that last year. There are well over three, because this was going on several times a week in that household.

VRP (January 22, 2004) at 173-74. The prosecutor later said,

[T]here are only three counts in front of you. You can use whichever breast touches you wish. You can use the sexual touching of his groin against her back. The one thing you have to keep in mind is whatever incidents you assign, whatever occurrences you assign to a count, Count 1, 2 or 3, you need to be unanimous about it. But you have at your disposal ample evidence, and when you think it through, when you consider the reasonable explanation and the unreasonable explanation, the inescapable conclusion is that this man is guilty of at least three counts of child molest 3, [sic] and that is why I am asking you to find him guilty.

VRP (January 22, 2004) at 185-86.

¶ 4 The jury found Heaven not guilty on the first two counts, but could not agree on the third count. The trial court declared a mistrial on the third count and set a date for a new trial. The defense successfully moved for a dismissal on the ground that a new trial would constitute double jeopardy. The State appeals.[2]

ANALYSIS

¶ 5 Article I, section 9 of the Washington Constitution prohibits the State from twice putting a defendant on trial for the same offense; so does the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. The state and federal double jeopardy clauses offer the same scope of protection. In re Percer, 150 Wash.2d 41, 49, 75 P.3d 488 (2003). This doctrine reflects a deeply ingrained principle of Anglo-American jurisprudence.

[T]he State with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the possibility that even though innocent he may be found guilty.

Green v. United States, 355 U.S. 184, 187-88, 78 S.Ct. 221, 2 L.Ed.2d 199 (1957).

¶ 6 The prohibition against double jeopardy bars trial if three elements are met: (a) jeopardy previously attached, (b) jeopardy previously terminated, and (c) the defendant is again in jeopardy for the same offense. State v. Corrado, 81 Wash.App. 640, 645, 915 P.2d 1121 (1996). As a general rule, jeopardy attaches in a jury trial when a jury is sworn in, and it terminates with a verdict of acquittal. Corrado, 81 Wash.App. at 646-47, 915 P.2d 1121. For this reason, jeopardy has attached and terminated on the two counts for which the jury acquitted Heaven. A court cannot retry Heaven on the offenses for which he was acquitted without violating his right against double jeopardy.

¶ 7 Unfortunately, the record does not indicate the specific offenses for which the jury acquitted Heaven.

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Bluebook (online)
110 P.3d 835, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-heaven-washctapp-2005.