State v. Kidwell

475 P.2d 241, 106 Ariz. 257, 1970 Ariz. LEXIS 406
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 8, 1970
Docket2068
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 475 P.2d 241 (State v. Kidwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona 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. Kidwell, 475 P.2d 241, 106 Ariz. 257, 1970 Ariz. LEXIS 406 (Ark. 1970).

Opinion

UDALL, Justice:

Defendant Raymond W. Kidwell was convicted on two counts: (1) lewd and lascivious acts, and (2) rape. He was sentenced on May 27, 1969, to a term of from *259 four to five years on the first count and from ten to fifteen years on the second; the sentences were ordered to run consecutively. The trial court denied defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and his motion for a new trial. Several months thereafter defendant filed a second motion for a new trial, based on newly-discovered evidence; that motion was also denied. Defendant appeals from the judgment and from the denial of his motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial.

Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the state, we have determined the facts of the case to be as follows: The criminal acts which form the basis of this action occurred early in the morning of February 14, 1969. Prosecutrix was at home with her two children, a son eleven and a daughter seven. Her husband was in Nevada on assignment with the Air Force. On the evening of February 13 the children went to bed at their customary time of 8:30 p. m. Prosecutrix stretched out on the couch to watch T.V., and sometime thereafter fell asleep. About 1:00 a. m. she was awakened by a knock on the door. She opened the door and saw a man standing outside whom she later identified as defendant Kidwell. Pie asked whether a particular family lived at that address; she replied that they did not and that she had no idea where they lived. Defendant then forced his way in through the door, grabbed her around the head, and threw her down against the couch. Her daughter was apparently awakened by the commotion, as she came in from the bedroom and stood crying in the living room. Defendant instructed prosecutrix to send her daughter back to bed, and stated “I have a knife, I won’t hesitate to use it.” Prosecutrix ushered her daughter back to bed and was then marched back into the living room by the defendant. He ordered her to take off her clothes, which she did. She said, “Please don’t make the kids watch.” In response he took her into the kitchen, where he required her to engage in various sexual activities culminating in the act of sexual intercourse. He then allowed her to put on her dress and took her into the living room. He ordered her to lie on the floor and warned, “Don’t you tell anybody. If you tell anybody, I will either come back, or I will send somebody back.” Pie then left.

This case presents two questions on appeal: (1) Was there sufficient evidence to sustain defendant’s conviction? (2) In denying defendant’s motion for a new trial based on newly-discovered evidence, was there an abuse of discretion by the trial court ?

As to the question of sufficiency of evidence, defendant first argues that the testimony of the prosecutrix was not sufficient to demonstrate lack of consent on her part to the sexual activities engaged in. Defendant was prosecuted for rape under A.R.S. § 13-611, subsec. A, par. 3, which requires that in order for the crime of rape to have occurred, the female must have been prevented from resisting “by threats of great and immediate bodily harm, accompanied by apparent power of execution”. Defendant argues that the testimony of the prosecutrix is insufficient to show fear of the type that would prevent resistance or to show that there was an apparent power of execution.

We have previously held that consent induced by force or fear and intimidation does not amount to consent in law and does not prevent intercourse from beitig rape. State v. Denton, 101 Ariz. 455, 420 P.2d 930 (1966). The question of consent or absence thereof is a question of fact to be determined by the jury.

In reviewing the sufficiency of evidence to support a conviction, the evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to the state, and all reasonable inferences must be resolved against defendant. In considering whether a verdict is contrary to the evidence we do not decide whether we would reach the same conclusion as the jury. Rather, the question is whether there is competent evidence to support the conclusion found. State v. French, 104 Ariz. *260 359, 453 P.2d 505 (1969); State v. Norgard, 103 Ariz. 381, 442 P.2d 544 (1968).

It is apparent that the jury, with proper instructions on the law, decided that the evidence presented was sufficient to show an absence of consent on the part of the prosecutrix. Our review of the record leads us to conclude that there is competent •evidence to support the conclusion reached by the jury.

The other argument by the defendant on the question of sufficiency of evidence is that the evidence overall was not sufficient to convince the jurors of the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt, and was therefore not sufficient to justify the denial of a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or the denial of a motion for a new trial.

At the trial the prosecutrix testified as to the events and circumstances surrounding the alleged criminal acts. A doctor from the county hospital'testified as to his examination of the prosecutrix several hours after the rape allegedly occurred. The police officer who investigated the incident testified. Three persons acquainted with defendant Kidwell testified as to his whereabouts on the night of the alleged crime. Defendant Kidwell testified, stating in response to questioning by counsel, that he had never seen the prosecutrix before in his life, that he had never had sexual intercourse with her, and that he had not raped her on February 14, 1969. The jury observed the witnesses and heard the testimony and reached the conclusion of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We have carefully reviewed the record and have determined that the evidence overall is sufficient to support that conclusion.

The second question presented on appeal is whether there was an abuse of discretion by the trial court in denying defendant’s motion for a new trial based on newly-discovered evidence.

The test we must apply has been stated by this Court to be as follows:

“On an appeal from an order denying a new trial to the defendant in a criminal case, the matter is largely one of discretion with the trial court, and the denial will not be grounds for reversal unless it appears affirmatively that the court abused its discretion, and acted arbitrarily.” State v. Turner, 104 Ariz. 469 at 471, 455 P.2d 443 at 445 (1969); State v. Blankenship, 99 Ariz. 60, 406 P.2d 729 (1965).

The trial judge who heard the defendant’s motion for a new trial based on newly-discovered evidence had also presided over the trial. He had observed the witnesses and heard the testimony and instructed the jury on the law, and was therefore thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the case. The trial judge denied defendant’s motion for a new trial; the only question facing us is whether in so doing he was guilty of an abuse of discretion.

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Bluebook (online)
475 P.2d 241, 106 Ariz. 257, 1970 Ariz. LEXIS 406, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kidwell-ariz-1970.