State v. Smith

786 P.2d 1127, 117 Idaho 225, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 12
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 31, 1990
Docket17136
StatusPublished
Cited by82 cases

This text of 786 P.2d 1127 (State v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Smith, 786 P.2d 1127, 117 Idaho 225, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 12 (Idaho 1990).

Opinions

JOHNSON, Justice.

This is a criminal case in which a father was convicted of lewd conduct with his ten-year-old daughter. There are three issues presented on this appeal:

1. Should the trial court have instructed the jury that they were not required to reach a verdict, but might be a “hung jury?”

We hold that the jury instructions were sufficient to advise the jury that they were not required to change their opinion simply to reach a verdict.

2. Did the trial court violate its own prior ruling or the rules of evidence in not restricting the daughter from testifying that her father had improperly touched her on other occasions?

We hold that in allowing this testimony the trial court did not violate its prior ruling and did not violate the rules of evidence.

3. Should the trial court have restricted the cross-examination of the father’s wife and rebuttal evidence offered by the state? The rebuttal evidence indicated that, contrary to her testimony on cross-examination, the father’s wife had told investigating officers about other possible incidents of sexual misconduct by the father with his daughter.

We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the cross-examination or in allowing the rebuttal evidence.

I.

THE BACKGROUND AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS.

Smith was charged with fondling his ten-year-old daughter’s vaginal area. He was tried twice for this offense. The first trial ended in a mistrial when the jury was unable to reach a verdict. In the second trial the jury found Smith guilty.

At the first trial the defense attorney attempted to impeach the testimony of Smith’s daughter by referring to inconsistent testimony she had given in the preliminary hearing. This testimony concerned whether Smith had touched his daughter outside or inside her clothes. On redirect examination Smith’s daughter testified, without objection, that Smith had touched her previously outside her clothes. The prosecutor then asked her how many times her dad had touched her in a place that she felt uncomfortable. In ruling on an objection to this question by the defense attorney, the trial court allowed the prosecutor to go into the daughter’s explanation that the touching had happened at other times. However, the trial court refused to allow any other testimony as to other similar acts of Smith.

Before the second trial the defense attorney moved the trial court to reaffirm its previous ruling as to the testimony of Smith’s two sons, “as well as that of any other third party, dealing with any other uncharged acts of misconduct [that] are not admissible under the provisions of Rule 404 of the Idaho Rules of Evidence.” In ruling on this motion the trial court reaffirmed its “evidentiary ruling from the previous trial [227]*227... subject only [to] the Court’s review of said rulings concerning rebuttal testimony.”

During the second trial, Smith’s daughter testified, without objection, that her father had done some touching of her “private spots,” which she explained was her vagina. She also testified, without objection, that the touching took place “in his house and in the recliner and in his pickup and the van.” Over objection by the defense attorney, the prosecutor was allowed to ask Smith’s daughter where the last touching that she could recall took place. Also over objection, she was allowed to state how many other times he had touched her in places where she didn’t think he should touch her.

Smith’s wife, who was not his daughter’s mother, was called as a witness for the defense during the second trial. On direct examination she testified that Smith’s daughter never told her about the incident for which Smith was being tried. On cross-examination she testified, without objection, that Smith’s daughter never told her about any incident of molestation by Smith. She was also asked by the prosecutor whether she told investigating officers that Smith’s daughter had come to her and talked about Smith molesting her. The trial court overruled the objection of Smith’s attorney that this question was outside the scope of direct examination. Smith’s wife then answered: “She came to us and talked about the boys.” The prosecutor then asked the question again. The defense attorney objected on the ground that the question had been asked and answered. The trial court overruled the objection. Smith’s wife then answered that she did not remember Smith’s daughter coming to talk to her about Smith molesting the daughter.

On rebuttal the state offered the testimony of two former deputy sheriffs who had questioned Smith’s wife within three weeks after the incident for which Smith was tried. Over the objection that it was hearsay the first deputy was allowed to testify that Smith’s wife told him that Smith’s daughter and the daughter of Smith’s wife had come to Smith’s wife and told her that Smith had been sexually touching them. The second deputy testified, without objection, that Smith’s wife told him that Smith’s daughter and the daughter of Smith’s wife had told Smith’s wife that Smith had been touching their private parts.

In the second trial the jury instructions included these:

JURY INSTRUCTION NO. 29 Both the citizens of the State of Idaho and the defendant are entitled to the individual opinion of each juror. It is the duty of each of you to consider the evidence for the purpose of arriving at a verdict if you can do so. Each of you must decide the case for yourself but you should do so only after a discussion of the evidence and instructions with the other jurors.
You should not hesitate to change an opinion you are convinced is erroneous. However, you should not be influenced to decide any question in a particular way because the majority of the jurors, or any of them, favor such a decision. JURY INSTRUCTION NO. 30
You shall now retire and select one of your number to act as foreman who will preside over your deliberations. In order to reach a verdict, all twelve jurors must agree to the decision and to a finding you have been instructed to include in your verdict. As soon as all of you have agreed upon a verdict, you shall have it dated and signed by your foreman and shall return it to this courtroom.

The defense attorney did not object to these instructions. The jury found Smith guilty of lewd conduct with his daughter.

Within a few days after the trial the defense attorney moved for a new trial based on the affidavit of one of the jurors. A transcript of an interview of the juror by the defense attorney and the prosecutor was also presented to the trial court. The [228]*228thrust of both the affidavit and the interview was that the juror was not aware that the jury did not have to reach a verdict of guilty or not guilty and could be a “hung jury.” The trial court denied the motion for new trial. Smith appealed.

II.

THE JURY INSTRUCTIONS.

Smith asserts that he was deprived of his constitutional right to a jury trial because the jury instructions did not properly instruct the jury that if they could not reach a unanimous verdict of guilty or not guilty, they could simply fail to render a verdict and become a “hung jury.” We disagree.

We first note that the affidavit and transcribed interview of the juror are irrelevant to our consideration.

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

Related

State v. Long
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2025
State v. Ericson
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2025
State v. Garvin
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2024
State v. Howard
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2024
State v. Hawley
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2023
State v. Estrada
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2021
State v. McCoy
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2020
State v. Rodriquez
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2019
State v. Godwin, Sr.
436 P.3d 1252 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2019)
State v. Beyer
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2018
State v. Clark Jackson Cleveland
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2017
State v. Trevor Von Paoli
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2017
State v. Laura Lee Smith
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2015
State v. Tyler Anthony Howell
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2014
State v. James Leroy Skunkcap
Idaho Supreme Court, 2014
State v. Brandon Jonas Laursen
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2014
State v. Timothy Nichols
326 P.3d 1015 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Hector B. Almaraz, Jr.
Idaho Supreme Court, 2012
State v. Cody James Fortin
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2012
State v. Brummett
247 P.3d 204 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
786 P.2d 1127, 117 Idaho 225, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 12, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-smith-idaho-1990.