State v. Stackhouse

957 P.2d 218, 90 Wash. App. 344, 1998 Wash. App. LEXIS 326
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMarch 3, 1998
Docket15646-0-III
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 957 P.2d 218 (State v. Stackhouse) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Stackhouse, 957 P.2d 218, 90 Wash. App. 344, 1998 Wash. App. LEXIS 326 (Wash. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

[348]*348Sweeney, J.

This is a first degree murder case. In response to Tobias Stackhouse’s motion in limine, the trial judge ruled there would be no mention and no evidence of another recent prior murder by Mr. Stackhouse in Pend Oreille County (Roscoe murder). The court found that such evidence would be highly prejudicial and serve no legitimate evidentiary purpose, i.e., motive, intent, opportunity. But the court later denied Mr. Stackhouse’s challenges for cause to two jurors who knew that he had been involved in the Roscoe murder. The question here is whether the refusal to excuse these two jurors was an abuse of discretion. We conclude it was and reverse and remand for retrial.

FACTS

On January 11, 1995, Mr. Stackhouse and Jason Kukrall were arrested on Pend Oreille County charges for residential burglary and the murder of Steven Roscoe. They were arrested in Spokane and held in the Spokane County jail overnight. The following day, Spokane County deputies transported Mr. Stackhouse and Mr. Kukrall in separate vehicles to the Pend Oreille County jail. As Mr. Kukrall was being transported to Pend Oreille County, two Spokane police detectives rode in the car and questioned him about the murder of Linda Jaramillo-Guillen that occurred in Spokane County on November 30, 1994. Mr. Kukrall implicated himself and Mr. Stackhouse in that murder.

At the Pend Oreille County jail, Mr. Stackhouse was ushered into the jail library. There two Spokane detectives advised him of his Miranda1 rights. He waived them, agreed to speak and confessed to the murder of Ms. Guillen in Spokane County.

Mr. Stackhouse was then taken from the jail library and arraigned for the murder of Mr. Roscoe. At the preliminary hearing, the court appointed counsel to represent Mr. Stackhouse on the Roscoe murder charges. Both Spokane [349]*349detectives attended the preliminary hearing. Mr. Stack-house’s attorney told him in court not to speak to anyone, including police.

Mr. Stackhouse was taken back to the Pend Oreille County jail. There the Spokane detectives asked for a taped confession on the Guillen murder. He agreed. On the tape, the detectives again read him his constitutional rights. He again waived them and admitted murdering Ms. Guillen.

As Mr. Stackhouse’s confession was being recorded, his appointed attorney (on the Roscoe murder charges) tried to contact him. The jail supervisor told him that Mr. Stack-house was unavailable. The lawyer assumed Mr. Stack-house was being transported from the hearing. He waited for about 15 minutes. When the attorney became aware that Mr. Stackhouse was being interviewed, he demanded that the supervisor stop the interview. The jail supervisor left and returned a couple of times. The Spokane detectives finished taping the confession and left.

Mr. Stackhouse murdered Mr. Roscoe about five weeks after Ms. Guillen. Mr. Kukrall and Mr. Stackhouse were convicted of the Roscoe murder prior to this trial on Ms. Guillen’s murder.

Mr. Stackhouse and Mr. Kukrall were charged with one count of first degree murder and in the alternative felony first degree murder during the commission of the robbery of Ms. Guillen. Prior to trial, the court severed an unrelated burglary charge from the murder charge. The court, however, denied Mr. KukraU’s motion to be tried separately from Mr. Stackhouse. Mr. Kukrall agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder and testify against Mr. Stackhouse.

In response to Mr. Stackhouse’s motion in limine, the court ordered there be no mention or evidence of Mr. Kukrall’s or Mr. Stackhouse’s prior conviction for the murder of Mr. Roscoe. The trial court reasoned that to simply say to the jury “he’s a murderer, therefore he must be a murderer, is a jerkitude factor. [It djoesn’t invite them to look at the facts of this case and make their decision on this case. It overwhelms. That’s the 403 factor.” Report of [350]*350Proceedings at 251. The trial court agreed, however, to allow the State to tell the jury that both Mr. Kukrall and Mr. Stackhouse had prior unnamed felonies.

During voir dire, two jurors admitted knowing that Mr. Stackhouse and Mr. Kukrall were involved in the Roscoe murder. Mr. Stackhouse challenged both for cause. The court denied both challenges. And both jurors were impaneled.

The jury found Mr. Stackhouse guilty of first degree murder.

DISCUSSION

The right to trial by a jury assumes the right to an unbiased and unprejudiced jury. Accordingly, if one or more members of the jury panel are biased or prejudiced, the constitutional right to trial by jury is denied. State v. Parnell, 77 Wn.2d 503, 507, 463 P.2d 134 (1969). But a defendant assigning error to the court’s denial of a challenge for cause must show more than the mere possibility that the juror was prejudiced. State v. Noltie, 116 Wn.2d 831, 840, 809 P.2d 190 (1991) (citing 14 Lewis H. Orland & Karl B. Tegland, Washington Practice: Trial Practice § 202, at 331 (4th ed. 1986)). And, therefore, unless it is very clear, the court’s denial of a challenge for cause must be sustained. Noltie, 116 Wn.2d at 839; State v. Witherspoon, 82 Wn. App. 634, 637, 919 P.2d 99 (1996), review denied, 130 Wn.2d 1022 (1997).

The trial judge here appropriately prohibited the State from introducing evidence of Mr. Stackhouse’s recent prior conviction for the murder of Mr. Roscoe. He concluded that evidence of this recent prior conviction for murder—the same type of crime Mr. Stackhouse was on trial for—would be overwhelmingly prejudicial and had no probative value. The judge was correct. State v. Pam, 98 Wn.2d 748, 762, 659 P.2d 454 (1983) (Utter, J., concurring) (“strong presumption against the admission of evidence of a prior conviction identical to that for which the defendant is on trial”), overruled on other grounds by State v. Brown, 111 [351]*351Wn.2d 124, 761 P.2d 588 (1988), aff’d on reh’g, 113 Wn.2d 520, 782 P.2d 1013, 80 A.L.R.4th 989 (1989). “Where multiple convictions of various kinds can be shown, strong reasons arise for excluding those which are for the same crime because of the inevitable pressure on lay jurors to believe that ‘if he did it before he probably did so this time.’ ” Pam, 98 Wn.2d at 761 (Utter, J., concurring) (quoting Gordon v. United States, 383 F.2d 936, 940 (D.C. Cir. 1967), cert. denied, 390 U.S. 1029 (1968)). The court, however, refused to dismiss two jurors who knew of Mr. Stackhouse’s involvement in the Roscoe murder.

Juror No. 6 responded in his jury questionnaire that he knew “[t]hey have been implicated in one other murder and one or the other may have confessed while in custody.” In response to voir dire questioning, that same juror responded that “presumably because the average person would, yeah, I think, would think that maybe a person was more predisposed if they had been convicted, especially recently.”

Juror No. 32 responded in her questionnaire that “Jason Kukrall and Tobias Stackhouse were also involved in another murder in or around Deer Park and that Jason Kukrall was guilty in that role.” Again during voir dire, the juror responded “[t]hey were doing it together. I would think.

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

Related

Personal Restraint Petition Of Joel Micheal Krebs
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2022
State Of Washington, V. Abel Linares-montejo
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
State of Washington v. Richard John Richardson
459 P.3d 330 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2020)
State Of Washington v. Bruce J. Brooks
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2019
State Of Washington, Resp-cross App v. John Alan Whitaker, App-cross
429 P.3d 512 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018)
State of Washington v. Alexander Travis Johnson
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018
State of Washington v. Francisco J. Resendez Miranda
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2017
State Of Washington v. Derrius D. Forcha-williams
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2017
State Of Washington v. D'marco La'calvin Mobley
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2014
State Of Washington, Resp. v. Russell Loven, App.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2013
State v. Fraser
282 P.3d 152 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2012)
State v. Birch
213 P.3d 63 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2009)
State v. Grenning
142 Wash. App. 518 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)
In re the Detention of Duncan
142 Wash. App. 97 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
In Re Detention of Duncan
174 P.3d 136 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
State v. Boiko
138 Wash. App. 256 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
State v. Whitaker
135 P.3d 923 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2006)
State v. Romero
54 P.3d 1255 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2002)
State v. Jackson
46 P.3d 257 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2002)
Dennis v. State
1999 OK CR 23 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
957 P.2d 218, 90 Wash. App. 344, 1998 Wash. App. LEXIS 326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stackhouse-washctapp-1998.