State v. Robinson

699 N.W.2d 790, 2005 Minn. App. LEXIS 703, 2005 WL 1668877
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJuly 19, 2005
DocketA04-840
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 699 N.W.2d 790 (State v. Robinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Robinson, 699 N.W.2d 790, 2005 Minn. App. LEXIS 703, 2005 WL 1668877 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

DIETZEN, Judge.

In this third-degree assault case, appellant challenges a victim’s out-of-court statements admitted by the district court, the validity of the district court’s jury instructions, and the imposition of a double upward departure from the presumptive guidelines sentence. We conclude that the out-of-court statements were admissible as non-hearsay or, in the alternative, as exceptions to the hearsay rule. We also conclude that the district court’s jury instructions were adequate. But because the double upward departure from the *793 presumptive sentence violates the rule of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for resentencing.

FACTS

In the early morning of April 12, 2003, appellant Andre Robinson, the father of two children with Fountaine Thompson, arrived at Thompson’s townhouse. After opening the door for Robinson, Thompson became angry because she thought Robinson had been with another woman. The two argued, and Thompson ultimately received a “blow-out” fracture in the orbit of her eye. There are two explanations for the cause of the fracture. First, according to the testimony of the attending nurse.at the hospital, Thompson stated that Robinson slapped her with an open hand to her face. This statement was replicated on a physical-assessment questionnaire completed by the nurse at the emergency room. The questionnaire also indicated that Robinson had grabbed Thompson before but had not hurt her.

Second, about a month after the incident, Thompson met with the prosecuting attorney and said that her injury • was caused by accident; at trial, she admitted that she told the nurse that Robinson hit her but testified she did so because , she was angry and wanted to get Robinson in trouble. According to this version of events, Thompson went into the bathroom to stop the argument with Robinson. After some time, Thompson peered out of the door to see if Robinson was in the hallway. At that moment, Robinson pushed the bathroom door and struck Thompson in the eye.

In May 2003, the state charged Robinson with third-degree assault and interference with an emergency call. 1 At a pretrial hearing, Robinson objected to the admission of Thompson’s statements to the nurse implicating him in the assault. The state argued that the statements should be- considered as non-hearsay because they were statements of identification, or, in the alternative, the statements were admissible subject to the medical diagnosis or catchall exceptions to the hearsay rule. The district court found that the statements were not statements of identification or admissible under the catchall exception, but admitted the statements pursuant to the medical diagnosis exception.

After a jury trial, Robinson was convicted of third-degree assault. In February 2004, the district court sentenced Robinson to 48 months in prison, a double upward departure from the ‘presumptive sentence of 24 months. See Minn. Sent. Guidelines IV-V. The district court stayed the prison sentence for five years and placed Robinson on probation. This appeal followed.

ISSUES

I. Are Thompson’s statements admissible as non-hearsay or as exceptions to the hearsay rule?

II. Did the district court abuse its discretion by failing to instruct the jury on the definition of intent? ■

III. Does Robinson’s sentence violate the Sixth Amendment right to a jury.trial under the rule announced in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004)?

*794 ANALYSIS

I.

A. Hearsay

A district court exercises discretion when it makes evidentiary rulings, and those rulings will not be reversed absent an abuse of that discretion. State v. Amos, 658 N.W.2d 201, 203 (Minn.2003). “On appeal, the appellant has the burden of establishing that the trial court abused its discretion and that appellant was thereby prejudiced.” Id.

Hearsay is an out-of-court statement that is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Minn. R. Evid. 801(c). Hearsay is generally not admissible at trial. Minn. R. Evid. 802. An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted is admissible, however, if it is covered by an exception to the hearsay rule or if it is exempted from the definition of hearsay. See Minn. R. Evid. 803 (providing exceptions when declarant’s availability is immaterial); Minn. R. Evid. 804 (providing exceptions when declarant is unavailable); Minn. R. Evid. 801(d) (listing statements that are not hearsay). Generally, hearsay evidence is admissible if it is reliable and trustworthy such that cross-examination would be unnecessary. See Minn. R. Evid. 803(24) (allowing hearsay if statement has “equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness”); Minn. R. Evid. 102 (noting that purpose of rules of evidence is to ascertain truth). 2

B. Medical Diagnosis or Treatment Hearsay Exception

The district court admitted Thompson’s statements pursuant to the medical diagnosis or treatment exception to the hearsay rule. The exception admits hearsay “[statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment and describing medical history, or past or present symptoms, pain, or sensations, or the inception or general character of the cause or external source thereof insofar as reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment.” Minn. R. Evid. 803(4). Robinson argues that the district court erroneously admitted Thompson’s statements under this exception because the statements identified Robinson as the abuser and were not relevant to Thompson’s diagnosis or treatment for the “blow-out” fracture. We agree.

Historically, caselaw has concluded that statements concerning the cause of an injury are inadmissible under the medical diagnosis or treatment exception:

Care should ... be exercised in distinguishing between statements made to a physician relating to conditions and symptoms of the injury or ailment for which treatment is sought and statements made to the physician as to the cause of the injury or the circumstances concerning the manner in which the accident occurred. Such statements are inadmissible.

Peterson v. Richfield Plaza, Inc., 252 Minn. 215, 228, 89 N.W.2d 712, 721-22 (1958); see also United States v. Beaulieu, 194 F.3d 918

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Bluebook (online)
699 N.W.2d 790, 2005 Minn. App. LEXIS 703, 2005 WL 1668877, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-robinson-minnctapp-2005.