State v. Montoya

580 P.2d 973, 91 N.M. 752
New Mexico Court of Appeals·Decided May 16, 1978·No. 3403·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

OPINION

WOOD, Chief Judge.

■ Defendant appeals his conviction of criminal sexual penetration in the second degree. We discuss: (1) application of § 40A-9-26, N.M.S.A. 1953 (2d Repl. Vol. 6, Supp. 1975); (2) compulsory process; and (3) summarily answer other issues.

Application of § 40A-9-26, supra

Section 40A-9-26(A), supra, limits the admissibility of evidence of the victim’s past sexual conduct. Section 40A-9-26(B), supra, sets forth the procedure for determining the admissibility of such evidence.

Defendant is the brother of the victim’s husband. One day prior to trial, defendant filed a motion to be allowed to offer evidence that the victim had engaged in sexual intercourse with her husband within 24 hours of the rape. This motion was denied. There is no issue concerning the denial of this motion; evidence to this effect was admitted at trial.

During cross-examination of the victim, defendant asked: “Have you ever had intercourse against your will at any other time?” The prosecutor objected, the question was not answered. During argument outside the presence of the jury, defendant asserted that one of the victim’s children resulted from a prior rape. Defendant contended the question was admissible because the defense was that the victim’s testimony was a fabrication based on the victim’s pri- or rape experience. The trial court excluded the above-quoted question and other questions concerning the prior rape.

This issue does not involve a question of relevancy; the trial court did not reach that question. See State v. Herrera, 91 N.M. -, - P.2d - (Ct.App.), decided April 25, 1978. The trial court ruled that the proposed questioning was in violation of § 40A-9-26(B), supra, in that no written motion had been filed before trial.

Section 40A-9-26(B), supra, provides that a written motion is to be filed, heard and decided prior to trial. “If new information, which the defendant proposes to offer under subsection A of this section, is discovered prior to or during the trial, the judge shall order an in camera hearing to determine whether the proposed evidence is admissible”. On appeal, defendant asserts that inasmuch as a pretrial motion had been filed concerning the victim’s intercourse with her husband, it can be logically inferred that the prior rape was “new information”. No such claim was raised in the trial court; the “new information” claim will not be considered because raised for the first time on appeal. N.M.Crim.App. 308.

The trial court excluded the questioning because of noncompliance with the requirement of a pretrial motion. It could properly exclude the questioning on that ground. State v. Palmer, 89 N.M. 329, 552 P.2d 231 (Ct.App.1976); State v. Helker, 88 N.M. 650, 545 P.2d 1028 (Ct.App.1975), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 836, 97 S.Ct. 103, 50 L.Ed.2d 102 (1976); see State v. Smith, 88 N.M. 541, 543 P.2d 834 (Ct.App.1975).

Defendant’s claim in the trial court was that § 40A-9-26, supra, did not apply to questions concerning a prior rape. The argument was that “past sexual conduct” in § 40A-9-26(A), supra, means only consensual sex acts. We disagree. For the prior rape to have resulted in the birth of a child, there must have been sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse is sexual conduct whether by consent or force. Section 40A-9-26(A), supra, is not limited to sex by consent; rather, by its unlimited wording, it applies to all forms of past sexual conduct. The trial court correctly ruled that the prior rape was past sexual conduct within the meaning of § 40A-9-26(A), supra.

Compulsory Process

A witness, who allegedly would support defendant’s alibi defense, was subpoenaed, but did not appear pursuant to the subpoena. During the trial, defendant moved that a bench warrant be issued to require the attendance of the witness. The trial court refused to issue the bench warrant. Defendant contends this ruling was error in that it violated his constitutional right “to have compulsory process to compel the attendance of necessary witnesses in his behalf”. N.M.Const., Art. II, § 14; see State v. Cooley, 19 N.M. 91, 140 P. 1111, 52 L.R.A.,N.S.; 230 (1914).

This contention ignores the trial proceedings. The tapes show that the absent witness was an 80-year-old woman suffering from severe hypertension and anxiety. Pour days prior to trial, the husband and son of the woman contacted the trial court and showed the judge a note from a physician stating the woman should not appear as a witness. The trial court stated that it had promptly referred the husband and son, together with the physician’s note, to defense counsel. With information that the woman should not appear as a witness, defense counsel neither sought a continuance nor sought to take the woman’s deposition. The tapes indicate defense counsel took no action on the pretrial information; rather, counsel waited until the trial was in progress and sought the issuance of the bench warrant.

State v. Schaffer, 70 Wash.2d 124, 422 P.2d 285 (1966) states:

[Cjompulsory process in criminal cases involves such disparate elements as surprise, diligence, materiality, and maintenance of orderly procedures; and this court leaves the decision largely to the discretion of the trial court

Defendant was not surprised by the absence of the subpoenaed witness, having been informed four days prior to trial that, because of her illness, the witness should not appear. Having received this information, defendant took no pretrial action and thus was not diligent. In light of these facts, the trial court’s refusal to issue the bench warrant was consistent with the maintenance of orderly procedures. There was no abuse of discretion and no violation of the right to compulsory process by the trial court’s refusal to issue the bench warrant.

Issues Answered Summarily

(a) Chain of Custody

An exhibit, called a rape kit and identified as containing specimens taken from the victim by a physician at a hospital, was admitted into evidence over defendant’s objections.

Defendant’s first claim relies on evidence that the physician left the examining room several times while “the specimens remained in the room” and that the physician collected specimens in other rapes cases “on the night” that she examined the victim in this case. This claim misstates the evidence. The physician testified to having examined four victims “that day” but that no one else was examined at the time the victim in this case was examined. Defendant recognizes “there is no evidence . to suggest the specimens were confused or in some other way tampered with”.

After the specimens were placed in the rape kit and sealed, the sealed container was taken to and placed in an “evidence drop box” from which it was subsequently taken for laboratory analysis.

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State v. Montoya, 580 P.2d 973, 91 N.M. 752 (N.M. Ct. App. 1978).

580 P.2d 973 (State v. Montoya) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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