State v. Sandate

889 P.2d 843, 119 N.M. 235
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 21, 1994
Docket15273
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 889 P.2d 843 (State v. Sandate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico 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. Sandate, 889 P.2d 843, 119 N.M. 235 (N.M. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION

BLACK, Judge.

Defendant appeals from his conviction on one count of criminal sexual contact with a minor. He raises three issues on appeal: 1) whether a videotaped police interview of the alleged victim was properly admitted as a prior consistent statement; 2) whether the district court erred in admitting evidence of uncharged sexual acts between Defendant and others, as well as between Defendant and the alleged victim; and 3) whether it was fundamental error to fail to instruct the jury on the element of unlawfulness. We reverse on issue one, and address issues two and three only as they may arise on retrial.

I. SUMMARY OF FACTS AND TESTIMONY

On May 15, 1992, Susan sent her six-year-old daughter, Tiffany, to Defendant’s trailer to borrow some toenail clippers. When Tiffany was gone fifteen to twenty minutes, Susan began to worry. Upon Tiffany’s return home, Susan questioned her at length. After thirty-five to forty minutes of questioning, Tiffany reported that Defendant had licked her “private.”

At trial, Defendant objected to a neighbor, Sherry, relating comments made to her by her daughter, Amanda, about what Tiffany had told Amanda. Sherry was, however, allowed to testify that Amanda told her “something.” Sherry further testified that she then told Susan “something” was happening between Defendant and Tiffany. Sherry also testified that she did not trust Defendant because, on a previous occasion, after promising that her son would not be allowed to go swimming, Defendant allowed him to swim in his underwear.

Amanda was twelve years old at the time of trial. Amanda testified that she saw Defendant tickle Tiffany all over, including her private parts. She, too, was allowed to testify that Tiffany had told her about “something” occurring between' Tiffany and Defendant. Amanda also testified that she had reported that “something” to her mother. Finding that the probative value of the testimony outweighed its inflammatory effect, the district court allowed Amanda to testify that she told her mother a second time that Tiffany had said “something.” Amanda also testified that her memory was better when she gave her statement to the police than it was “today.” She was then asked whether the police had inquired if she had seen Defendant touching Tiffany’s breasts, and rubbing or touching Tiffany on the vagina. On the witness stand, Amanda was asked, not whether any of this actually had occurred, but rather, whether she remembered being asked about these things by the police. She had some recollection of such questioning.

Susan testified that Tiffany told her Defendant had molested her and her friend, Omi. Susan further testified that Omi told her mother the same story. Defense counsel objected to this testimony as hearsay, and the district court admonished the prosecutor to avoid hearsay. Susan also testified that Tiffany had been sexually molested on several occasions by at least two neighborhood children.

Susan testified that Sherry had reported to her the night before the alleged incident that Amanda had said “something” about Tiffany and Defendant. Susan said she discounted this report as jealousy and allowed Tiffany and her brother to stay overnight at Defendant’s that same night. The State then questioned Susan at length as to whether Tiffany had told her about any specific sexual acts performed by Defendant.

On redirect examination, the prosecutor asked Susan whether Tiffany had told her about other prior sexual contact between Defendant and Tiffany. Susan indicated that Tiffany had said nothing at first, but when asked about specific different types of penetration, Tiffany agreed that some had occurred, but not others. The prosecutor then began trying to refresh Susan’s recollection with a prior statement she had given to the police the day of the incident.

Tiffany also took the witness stand. When the prosecutor asked her if Defendant ever did anything painful to her, she answered affirmatively. When the prosecutor asked what Defendant had done, she did not answer. The prosecutor continued questioning Tiffany. During a portion of that direct examination, the following exchange occurred:

Q: What happened after you were laying down on the bed?
A: He pulled my panties down.
Q: He pulled your panties down? What happened then?
A: He did “nasties” to me.
Q: You said he did “nasties” to you — can you tell us exactly what it was that he did? [silence]
Q: Did he touch you?
A: Yes.
Q: What did he touch you with?
[silence; prosecutor repeated the question]
A: His “private.”
Q: Did he touch you with anything else?
A: No.
Q: What did he do with his “private?”
A: He put it in my “private.”
Q: Put it in your “private?”
A: Yes
Q: How did he put — can you tell us how he did this? Exactly what he did? [silence]
Q: Can you say how long it was? Was it a long time, a short time, what?
A: Short.
Q: You said he was wearing white shorts. And what did he do with the white shorts when he did this? [silence]
Q: tiffany, do you need a drink of water or something? You want to tell us what happened? [silence]
Q: Can you tell us more about what happened? [silence]
Q: Okay, Tiffany, did he touch you with anything else besides his private parts?
A: No.
Q: Was that the whole time?
A: No.
Q: And when you went to get the clippers?
A: Yes.
Q: What else did he touch you with? [silence]
[Prosecutor reminds her that she said she would tell the truth.]
Q: You’d like to do that [tell the truth]?
A: Yes.

After this exchange, defense counsel asked for a bench conference. He objected to the repeated questions because Tiffany was not answering them. The judge informed the prosecutor that he was not going to allow him to ask totally repetitive questions.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
889 P.2d 843, 119 N.M. 235, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sandate-nmctapp-1994.