State v. Regan

CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 20, 2024
Docket49876
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Regan (State v. Regan) 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. Regan, (Idaho Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO

Docket No. 49876

STATE OF IDAHO, ) ) Filed: June 20, 2024 Plaintiff-Respondent, ) ) Melanie Gagnepain, Clerk v. ) ) THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED JOSINA MARIE REGAN, ) OPINION AND SHALL NOT ) BE CITED AS AUTHORITY Defendant-Appellant. ) )

Appeal from the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Ada County. Hon. Nancy A. Baskin, District Judge.

Judgment of conviction for first degree murder, preparing false evidence, possession of methamphetamine, conspiracy to commit possession of methamphetamine, grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft, possession of bath salts, conspiracy to commit possession of bath salts, and possession of drug paraphernalia, affirmed.

Erik R. Lehtinen, State Appellate Public Defender; Sally J. Cooley and Jenny C. Swinford, Deputy Appellate Public Defenders, Boise, for appellant. Sally J. Colley argued.

Hon. Raúl R. Labrador, Attorney General; Kenneth K. Jorgensen, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued. ________________________________________________

TRIBE, Judge Josina Marie Regan appeals from her judgment of conviction for first degree murder, preparing false evidence, possession of methamphetamine, conspiracy to commit possession of methamphetamine, grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft, possession of bath salts, conspiracy to commit possession of bath salts, and possession of drug paraphernalia. We affirm. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Regan shot and killed John Baker, her boyfriend, in his residence. She then called Todd Potter who came to the residence, driven by a third person, and helped Regan move items in bags

1 from the residence to the car in which Potter arrived. The trio then drove to a motel where Regan rented two rooms. They placed the bags in one room and Potter stayed in the other room. Regan returned to the residence, called police, and reported that she found Baker in an unconscious state with a gunshot wound. Regan was taken to the police station where she eventually admitted to shooting Baker. On the day Regan was arrested, police searched each of the motel rooms. In the room where Regan left the bags, the police discovered $1,275 in cash, 8.89 grams of methamphetamine, 0.18 grams of bath salts, and drug paraphernalia. Regan admitted that she took the items from the residence. Regan was charged with first degree murder, preparing false evidence, possession of methamphetamine, conspiracy to commit possession of methamphetamine, grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft, possession of bath salts, conspiracy to commit possession of bath salts, witness intimidation, and possession of drug paraphernalia. At trial, the State’s theory was that Regan shot and killed Baker due to financial pressure. The State sought to admit into evidence Regan’s phone records with call logs and text messages. Specifically, the State sought to introduce text messages to Regan from a person named “Landlord Tom” or “Tom Landlord” that were sent before the killing. The two text messages were identical and read, “When can I get rent?” Regan objected to the text messages on relevance grounds. The district court allowed, on at least two separate occasions, Regan and the State to make arguments regarding the admission of the text messages. Eventually, the district court overruled the objection and admitted the text messages. At the conclusion of the evidence, the jury was provided instructions for each charged crime (which included the conspiracy charges1) without objection from either party. The jury was instructed that, for Regan to be found guilty on the conspiracy charges, the State had the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that “[Regan] and/or Todd Potter and/or other unnamed or unknown persons” agreed to commit the substantive crimes. Regan was found guilty of first degree murder, Idaho Code §§ 18-4001, -4002, -4003; preparing false evidence, I.C. § 18-2602; possession of methamphetamine, I.C. § 37-2732(c); conspiracy to commit possession of

1 The State charged Regan with three counts of conspiracy for three distinct substantive crimes. For brevity, we will refer to the collective conspiracy counts as “the conspiracy charges.”

2 methamphetamine, I.C. § 37-2732(c), I.C. § 18-1701; grand theft, I.C. §§ 18-2403(1), -2407(1)(b), -2409; conspiracy to commit grand theft, I.C. §§ 18-2403(1), -2407(1)(b), -2409, I.C. § 18-1701; possession of bath salts, I.C. §§ 37- 2732(c), -2705(f)(5); conspiracy to commit possession of bath salts, I.C. §§ 37-2732(c), -2705(f)(5), I.C. § 18-1701; and possession of drug paraphernalia, I.C. § 37-2734A. Regan appeals. II. ANALYSIS A. Jury instructions Regan argues that the district court committed fundamental error by failing to properly instruct the jury on each of the conspiracy charges. Regan did not object to these jury instructions when they were given. When the alleged error was not followed by a contemporaneous objection, it shall only be reviewed by an appellate court under Idaho’s fundamental error doctrine. State v. Skunkcap, 157 Idaho 221, 227, 335 P.3d 561, 567 (2014); State v. Perry, 150 Idaho 209, 228, 245 P.3d 961, 980 (2010). Under that doctrine, there must be an error that violates one or more of the defendant’s unwaived constitutional rights; the error must be clear or obvious, without the need for any additional information not contained in the appellate record that the failure to object was a tactical decision; and the defendant must demonstrate that the error affected the defendant’s substantial rights, meaning (in most cases) that it must have affected the outcome of the trial proceedings. State v. Miller, 165 Idaho 115, 119, 443 P.3d 129, 133 (2019). The defendant has the burden of persuasion on these elements. Id. The first inquiry is whether there was an error in the jury instructions. Skunkcap, 157 Idaho at 227, 335 P.3d at 567. Regan argues that the jury instructions related to each of the conspiracy charges were improper and failed to instruct the jury on the State’s burden to prove every element of the crime of conspiracy. Regan argues that she was deprived of a fair trial in violation of her due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 13 of the Idaho Constitution. In criminal trials, the State must prove every element of the offense, and a jury instruction violates due process if it fails to give effect to that requirement. State v. Anderson, 144 Idaho 743, 749, 170 P.3d 886, 892 (2007). Whether the jury has been properly instructed is a question of law over which we exercise free review. State v. Severson, 147 Idaho 694, 710, 215 P.3d 414, 430 (2009). When reviewing jury instructions, we ask whether the

3 instructions as a whole, and not individually, fairly and accurately reflect applicable law. State v. Bowman, 124 Idaho 936, 942, 866 P.2d 193, 199 (Ct. App. 1993). Whether the instruction was erroneous will depend upon how a reasonable juror would have interpreted the instruction. Skunkcap, 157 Idaho at 227-28, 335 P.3d at 567-68. Conspiracy is defined as when “two (2) or more persons combine or conspire to commit any crime or offense . . . and one (1) or more of such persons does any act to effect the object of the combination or conspiracy.” I.C. § 18-1701.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Estelle v. McGuire
502 U.S. 62 (Supreme Court, 1991)
State v. Perry
245 P.3d 961 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Johnson
227 P.3d 918 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Severson
215 P.3d 414 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Anderson
170 P.3d 886 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2007)
Larry Hansen v. Matthew Roberts
299 P.3d 781 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Garcia
630 P.2d 665 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1981)
State v. Bowman
866 P.2d 193 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1993)
State v. James Leroy Skunkcap
335 P.3d 561 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2014)
State v. Laura L. Smith
391 P.3d 1252 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2017)
State v. Miller
443 P.3d 129 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2019)
State v. Garcia
462 P.3d 1125 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2020)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
State v. Regan, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-regan-idahoctapp-2024.