State v. Miller

106 P.3d 474, 141 Idaho 148, 2004 Ida. App. LEXIS 101
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 16, 2004
DocketNo. 29925
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 106 P.3d 474 (State v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Miller, 106 P.3d 474, 141 Idaho 148, 2004 Ida. App. LEXIS 101 (Idaho Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

LANSING, Chief Judge.

Pamela Alice Miller appeals from the judgment of conviction entered after a jury found her guilty of possession of methamphetamine. She challenges the district court’s admission of trial evidence that disclosed that Miller had been on misdemeanor probation. We affirm.

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Miller was a passenger in a car that was involved in a traffic stop. During the stop, one of the police officers discovered that Miller was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant. She was arrested, and the police officers searched the car. On the floorboard directly beneath Miller’s seat, the officers found a bindle of methamphetamine. The paper bindle was made from a receipt that was titled “misdemeanor probation,” was issued to “Pamela Miller,” and was dated a few days prior to the traffic stop.

Miller was charged with possession of methamphetamine, Idaho Code § 37-2732(c)(1). On the day of trial, she moved to prohibit the State from introducing into evidence the receipt in which the methamphetamine had been packaged or, in the alternative, to redact the words “misdemeanor probation” from the receipt. Miller argued that this evidence disclosing that she was on probation for a misdemeanor was not relevant and, as evidence of a prior bad act, it was barred by Idaho Rule of Evidence 404(b). Miller also argued that in an unredacted form the receipt was unfairly prejudicial and therefore should be disallowed under I.R.E. 403. The district court denied Miller’s motion, holding that the evidence was relevant to identify Miller as the owner of the methamphetamine and that the possibility of prejudice did not outweigh the probative value of the evidence. At trial, Miller again objected to the admission of the receipt, this time arguing that it' was hearsay. The district court overruled the objection. The jury found Miller guilty of the charged crime, and she now appeals.

II.

ANALYSIS

A. Hearsay Objection

Miller first contends that the district court erred in failing to hold that the receipt was hearsay to which none of the hearsay exceptions apply. Hearsay is an out-of-court statement “offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.” I.R.E. 801(c). See also State v. Cox, 136 Idaho 858, 861, 41 P.3d 744, 747 (Ct.App.2002); State v. Gomez, 126 Idaho 700, 704, 889 P.2d 729, 733 (Ct.App.1994). A “statement” under this rule, may consist of, among other things, an oral or written assertion. I.R.E. 801(a); State v. Salinas, 134 Idaho 362, 365, 2 P.3d 747, 750 (Ct.App.2000). Hearsay evidence is inadmissible unless an applicable exception is provided in the Rules of Evidence. I.R.E. 802.

We conclude that the district court correctly overruled Miller’s hearsay objection because the receipt was not offered “for the truth of the matter asserted” and therefore did not meet the definition of hearsay for purposes of this trial. The receipt, taken as a whole, does constitute an assertion that a specified sum had been paid by Miller for a purpose related to misdemeanor probation. The receipt was not offered by the State to prove such payment, however. Whether Miller had actually made the indicated payment was irrelevant and of no consequence to the State in this prosecution. Rather, the receipt bearing Miller’s name was used as circumstantial evidence tying her to the methamphetamine that was wrapped within the receipt. This case involved the issue of constructive possession, which required that the State show a “nexus between the accused and the substance ... so as to give rise to the reasonable inference that the accused [150]*150was not simply a bystander but, rather, had the power and intent to exercise dominion and control over the substance.” State v. Rogerson, 132 Idaho 53, 58, 966 P.2d 53, 58 (Ct.App.1998) (quoting State v. Rozajewski, 130 Idaho 644, 647, 945 P.2d 1390, 1393 (Ct.App.1997)). The receipt that formed the bindle was evidence of the necessary nexus between the methamphetamine and Miller.

Several courts have held that, when used for such purpose, a receipt is not hearsay. For example, in United States v. Mejias, 552 F.2d 435 (2nd Cir.1977), the government introduced, among other things, a hotel receipt and a luggage invoice seized from the defendant upon his arrest. The Second Circuit upheld the lower court’s determination that the receipt and invoice were not hearsay:

These documents were not offered to prove either the payment of a hotel bill or the purchase of a piece of luggage, but were circumstantial evidence of [the defendant’s connection with the Skyline Motor Inn and the attaché case seized therefrom .... Because these documents were not offered to prove the truth of their contents, they were not hearsay, Fed. R.Evid. 801(c); and the jury could consider them circumstantially to corroborate other evidence in the case.

Id. at 446. In United States v. Mazyak, 650 F.2d 788, 792 (5th Cir.1981), the court held that receipts for repair work, a hotel room, and fuel were not hearsay because they were not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted — that the payments were made— but were instead offered as circumstantial evidence tying defendants to the crime. Likewise, in United States v. Marino, 658 F.2d 1120, 1124 (6th Cir.1981), it was held that documents, including airline tickets and receipts, were not excludable as hearsay because they were admitted only to show the circumstantial relationship of the parties to the scene, the contraband or other parties.

Because the prosecutor in Miller’s trial did not offer the receipt to prove the truth of its contents, the district court correctly held that it was not hearsay.

B. Objection Under Rules 404(b) and 403

Miller also maintains that the district court erred in denying her motion in limine seeking, at the least, redaction of the words “misdemeanor probation” from the receipt. Miller argues that the receipt without redaction constituted evidence of other misconduct, which is inadmissible under I.R.E. 404(b). That rule specifies that evidence of misconduct that is not the subject of the litigation is generally inadmissible when offered “to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith.” Such evidence is nevertheless admissible when introduced for other legitimate purposes, such as proof of identity. I.R.E. 404(b); State v. Porter, 130 Idaho 772, 783, 948 P.2d 127, 138 (1997); State v. Nichols,

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Bluebook (online)
106 P.3d 474, 141 Idaho 148, 2004 Ida. App. LEXIS 101, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-miller-idahoctapp-2004.