State v. Jones

490 N.W.2d 787, 1992 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 337, 1992 WL 171329
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedJuly 22, 1992
Docket91-1321
StatusPublished
Cited by52 cases

This text of 490 N.W.2d 787 (State v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Jones, 490 N.W.2d 787, 1992 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 337, 1992 WL 171329 (iowa 1992).

Opinion

ANDREASEN, Justice.

The defendant in a child sexual abuse case appeals his conviction on the grounds that the court improperly excluded evidence. He challenges the jury venire on both constitutional and statutory grounds. Defendant also alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective. We affirm the judgment entered upon the conviction.

I.Background.

Milton Jones was charged and convicted of sexual abuse in the third degree. Iowa Code § 709.4 (1987). The charge and conviction resulted from his sexual contact with a child; a ten-year-old girl. Iowa Code §§ 702.5; 70S».4(3).

Prior to trial, Jones challenged the makeup of the jury panel and requested that certain evidence be admitted as an exception to Iowa Rule of Evidence 412. Judge Margaret S. Briles denied the evidentiary motion and set the challenge to the jury panel for hearing. The hearing took place on the morning of the trial. Following the hearing, Judge Edward deSilva denied the challenge to the jury panel. The case was then tried to a jury. Judge deSilva entered a judgment of conviction upon the jury’s verdict of guilty, and Jones was sentenced to a term of confinement not to exceed ten years. Jones appealed.

II. Scope of Review.

When reviewing a trial court’s rulings on admissibility of evidence, we use an abuse-of-discretion standard. State v. Alvey, 458 N.W.2d 850, 852 (Iowa 1990). Our review of constitutional questions is de novo. State v. McKettrick, 480 N.W.2d 52, 55 (Iowa 1992). Statutory challenges are reviewed for errors of law. State v. Stoneking, 379 N.W.2d 352, 354 (Iowa 1985).

III. Exclusion of Evidence Under Iowa Rule of Evidence 412.

Jones filed a pretrial motion under Iowa Rule of Evidence 104 to secure a ruling that evidence of prior sexual abuse of the alleged victim by another person was admissible. He urged the “evidence is relevant to counteract the commonly held belief that children, such as the alleged victim herein, have no basis of knowledge of sexual activity unless they learned of such activity in the context of the abuse at issue.” He further argued that a refusal to allow him to present such evidence would result in a denial of “due process and a fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and under Article I, Sections 9 & 10 of the Iowa Constitution.” The court ruled the proposed evidence was prohibited by Iowa Rule of Evidence 412 — the “rape shield” rule.

On appeal, Jones argues that the evidence is not subject to rule 412 and should have been admitted under a relevancy standard. In support of this argument, Jones claims the evidence he sought to admit was not in “reference to previous sexual behavior of the victim” because “previous inci *790 dents of abuse cannot be characterized as ‘behavior.’ ”

Jones also now claims the evidence was not to be used to show that the victim gained knowledge of sexual activity, but rather that the victim was confusing the incidents of her previous sexual abuse with her alleged abuse by Jones because of the “close proximity in time” in which the other abuse occurred.

A. The Applicability of Rule 412.

Rule 412 in part provides:

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in a criminal case in which a person is accused of sexual abuse, evidence of a victim’s past sexual behavior ... is also not admissible, unless such evidence ... is:
(1) admitted in accordance with subdivisions “c”(l) and “c”(2) and is constitutionally required to be admitted; or ...

(Emphasis added.)

Jones argues that sexual activity of a victim of sexual abuse is not sexual behavior. He urges that behavior is defined as conduct. He claims that conduct is an affirmative rather than a reactive or passive action taken by a person. Therefore, being the victim of sexual abuse is not an affirmative act. Thus, he concludes that evidence of prior sexual abuse is not “prior sexual behavior of the victim” and rule 412 has no application. We are not persuaded.

We think the term past sexual behavior as it is used in the rule clearly encompasses prior sexual abuse perpetrated upon the victim. Many other state and federal courts have found “rape shield” rules, identical or highly similar to Iowa Rule of Evidence 412, applicable to evidence of previous sexual abuse of a child victim. See, e.g., United States v. Nez, 661 F.2d 1203 (10th Cir.1981); State v. Oliver, 158 Ariz. 22, 760 P.2d 1071 (1988); State v. Jacques, 558 A.2d 706, 707 (Me.1989); People v. Arenda, 416 Mich. 1, 2-3, 330 N.W.2d 814, 815 (1982); State v. Padilla, 110 Wis.2d 414, 426-28, 329 N.W.2d 263, 270 (1982). See also Annotation, Admissibility of Evidence that Juvenile Prosecuting Witness in Sex Offense Case had Pri- or Sexual Experience for Purpose of Showing Alternative Source of Child’s Ability to Describe Sex Acts, 83 A.L.R.4th 685 (1991) [Annotation]; Note, State v. Oliver: Children With a Past: The Admissibility of the Victim’s Prior Sexual Experience in Child Molestation Cases, 31 Ariz.L.Rev. 677, 685 (1989) (noting the “general consensus is that rape shield statutes do apply to cases involving minor victims”) \Note\ But see State v. Carver, 37 Wash.App. 122, 678 P.2d 842 (1984), in which the court stated: “The evidence proffered in this case does not fit within the concepts and the purposes of the rape shield statute. First, the evidence sought to be admitted here was prior sexual abuse, not misconduct of a victim.” Id. at 123, 678 P.2d at 843. This case is cited as the sole exception to the general consensus. Note, at 685 n. 74. We find the majority reasoning more persuasive.

B. Relevancy Analysis.

After properly concluding that rule 412 was applicable to the evidence, the district court proceeded to conduct a relevancy analysis pursuant to rule 412(c)(3).

Subdivision 412(c)(3) is triggered when the past sexual behavior evidence is offered.

(A) ... upon the issue of whether the accused was or was not, with respect to the alleged victim, the source of semen or injury; or
(B) ... upon the issue of whether the alleged victim consented to the sexual behavior with respect to which sexual abuse is alleged.

Iowa R.Evid. 412(b)(2).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
490 N.W.2d 787, 1992 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 337, 1992 WL 171329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jones-iowa-1992.