State v. Oberg

CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 13, 2021
Docket47207
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Oberg (State v. Oberg) 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. Oberg, (Idaho Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO

Docket No. 47207

STATE OF IDAHO, ) ) Filed: July 13, 2021 Plaintiff-Respondent, ) ) Melanie Gagnepain, Clerk v. ) ) THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED JACOB GLEN OBERG, ) OPINION AND SHALL NOT ) BE CITED AS AUTHORITY Defendant-Appellant. ) )

Appeal from the District Court of the Seventh Judicial District, State of Idaho, Fremont County. Hon. Darren B. Simpson, District Judge.

Judgment of conviction and unified sentence of life with fifteen years determinate for rape and a persistent violator enhancement, affirmed. Case remanded to ensure compliance with I.C.R. 32.

Eric D. Fredericksen, State Appellate Public Defender; Jenny C. Swinford, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Kenneth K. Jorgensen, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. ________________________________________________

BRAILSFORD, Judge Jacob Glen Oberg appeals from his judgment of conviction and sentence for rape, Idaho Code § 18-6101(5). We affirm the judgment of conviction and sentence. We remand the case, however, for the district court to ensure any changes the court made to the presentence investigation report (PSI) are reflected in the PSI subject to disclosure under Idaho Criminal Rule 32(h). I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In November 2017, the State charged Oberg with violating I.C. § 18-6101(5) for raping K.O. “while she was unable to resist due to any intoxicating, narcotic, or anesthetic substance.” Subsequently, the State amended the charge to include a violation of I.C. § 18-6101(7) for raping

1 K.O. when she was “incapable of resisting because she was at the time unconscious or asleep” and to allege a persistent violator enhancement. Oberg pled not guilty to these charges, and the case proceeded to trial in October 2018. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury was unable to reach a decision, and the district court declared a mistrial. The State elected to retry the case, and a second trial occurred in March 2019. The evidence at the second trial showed that Oberg; K.O; Oberg’s friend, E.G.; and E.G.’s son went camping together in June 2017. On the day in question, Oberg and K.O. smoked three bowls of marijuana throughout the day, and K.O. testified she ingested approximately six beers later that evening. After she had drunk five beers, K.O. left the campfire to use the restroom. While K.O. was gone, Oberg opened a sixth beer for her and placed it in the cup holder of her chair. When K.O. returned, she drank the beer. K.O. testified that, shortly after drinking the sixth beer, she began feeling “really heavy,” lightheaded, sleepy, and her fingers felt “tingly.” Oberg then exposed his penis and asked K.O. if she wanted to look at it. K.O. testified that she was “shocked” and “really scared” and that she immediately attempted to go inside the camper but was stumbling, could not walk straight, and felt like she was going to fall. Once K.O. was inside the camper, Oberg had intercourse with her. K.O. testified that while in the camper she continuously blacked out and “slipped in and out of consciousness several times.” When she was conscious, she tried to fight off Oberg, but her resistance was futile because her “arms felt so weak.” She felt as if she had “sandbags on her chest,” and it was hard for her to breathe, talk, and keep her eyes open. K.O. testified that she had previously drunk beer and smoked marijuana and knew what it felt like but that she had never felt like she did that night. After the camping trip, K.O. confronted Oberg in messages she exchanged with him in a social messaging application, Snapchat (“Snapchat messages”). During the second trial, the State admitted in evidence some of these Snapchat messages, several of which were redacted pursuant to the district court’s earlier rulings on Oberg’s hearsay objections made during the first trial. The State also presented the testimony of Oberg’s friend, E.G, who was camping with Oberg and K.O. E.G. testified that he had a prescription for Seroquel, which he used as a sleep aid, and for Suboxone; he brought these medications with him on the camping trip and kept them in the camper; the Seroquel dosage was 100 milligrams; and by the end of the trip, one bottle was empty and the other was low, although he could not recall which prescription was empty.

2 E.G. also testified that Oberg never asked for the pills and that E.G. never saw or heard anyone take his pills. The State, however, presented the testimony of an inmate who had been incarcerated with Oberg after he allegedly raped K.O. The inmate testified Oberg revealed to him that Oberg had given K.O. Seroquel “to loosen her up” and then “took advantage of her” but that Oberg did not intend for K.O. to “get that messed up.” Additionally, the State presented the testimony of Dr. Dawson, a pharmacologist. Dr. Dawson testified generally about Seroquel’s use and effects, including that it is “a very commonly used drug” prescribed to treat psychiatric disorders, drug withdrawals, and post- traumatic stress. Further, he testified that if Seroquel is taken with alcohol, its sedating effects are intensified; the resulting side effects would include numbness, inability to move, inability to speak, and unconsciousness; and using marijuana with Seroquel would further impair psychomotor and cognitive functions. Finally, Dr. Dawson opined it “would be unlikely” that someone under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, and Seroquel could “knowingly consent to sexual intercourse of any kind.” Ultimately, the jury found Oberg guilty of rape and of being a persistent violator. Thereafter, the district court held a sentencing hearing during which Oberg informed the court of two errors in the presentence investigation report (“PSI”). The district court agreed to redline those errors and then sentenced Oberg to life in prison with fifteen years determinate. Oberg appeals both the judgment of conviction and the sentence. II. STANDARD OF REVIEW We review the trial court’s decision to admit expert witness testimony for an abuse of discretion. State v. Ellington, 151 Idaho 53, 64, 253 P.3d 727, 738 (2011). Likewise, we review a trial court’s decision to admit or exclude evidence for an abuse of discretion. State v. Zimmerman, 121 Idaho 971, 973-74, 829 P.2d 861, 863-64 (1992). We also review a trial court’s decision to redline a PSI for an abuse of discretion. State v. Golden, 167 Idaho 509, 511, 473 P.3d 377, 379 (Ct. App. 2020). When a trial court’s discretionary decision is reviewed on appeal, the appellate court conducts a multi-tiered inquiry to determine whether the trial court: (1) correctly perceived the issue as one of discretion; (2) acted within the boundaries of such discretion; (3) acted consistently with any legal standards applicable to the specific choices before it; and (4) reached

3 its decision by an exercise of reason. State v. Herrera, 164 Idaho 261, 270, 429 P.3d 149, 158 (2018). III. ANALYSIS A. Expert Witness Testimony On appeal, Oberg challenges the district court’s denial of his motion in limine to preclude Dr. Dawson from testifying about the combined effects of Seroquel, alcohol, and marijuana on the ability to consent to sexual conduct. Before the second trial, the State disclosed Dr. Dawson as an expert witness, and Oberg moved in limine to exclude his testimony. The district court denied that motion but postponed the trial to allow Oberg an opportunity to locate an opposing expert. Thereafter, Oberg moved in limine again seeking to exclude Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Oberg, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-oberg-idahoctapp-2021.