State v. Sua

115 Wash. App. 29
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 10, 2003
DocketNo. 27306-3-II
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 115 Wash. App. 29 (State v. Sua) 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. Sua, 115 Wash. App. 29 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

Morgan, J. —

Elemene Tinie Sua appeals a conviction for indecent liberties by forcible compulsion. He contends in part that the trial court erred by admitting exhibits 1 and 2, and by denying his motions for mistrial. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

In early December 2000, Sua, Karen Williams, and Williams’ three daughters were all living together in a motel room in Pierce County. Two of the daughters were S.S., age 16, and A.S., age 19.

On December 5, 2000, S.S. told Williams that earlier that day Sua had taken indecent liberties with her by putting his hands down her pants. Williams and her daughters went to the motel office, where A.S. called 911.

Before the police arrived, S.S. told A.S. that Sua had put his hands down the front and back of her pants. She said he also had touched her breasts.

[32]*32When Deputies Kolp and Unfred arrived, they spoke with Williams, S.S., and Sua. It was apparent that Williams and Sua had been drinking. Williams initially “said she hadn’t witnessed anything.”1 Later, however, she said that Sua had been saying he wanted another child, and that he wanted S.S. to bear that child. S.S. said that Sua had kissed her on the mouth, groped her breasts and buttocks, and put his hands down her pants. Like her mother, she said that Sua had been talking about wanting another child, and wanting her (S.S.) to bear that child. Sua denied wrongdoing; he also explained, however, that as he, Williams, and S.S. were all lying on the motel room bed, he might have put his hands down S.S.’s pants in the mistaken belief that she was Williams.

At the deputies’ request, S.S. and Williams each wrote a statement on a printed form. S.S. said:

Tonight my daddy said to my mom that he was going to have a baby by me and my mom stepped and and [sic] said you’re not going to have sex with my daughter. Then he got mad but before that he had me against the wall by the bathroom and asked for a hug. I gave him a hug then he started kissing me and he tryed [sic] to force his tounge [sic] in my mouth then he started putting his hands down my pants and rubbed me un-appriopriately [sic]. And I said no to him then he said It doesn’t matter what I say or do because what he says and does is right even if I don’t think so and I don’t like it. He put his hands in the back of my pants and inside my panties then he tried to rub my chest and I don’t like it.[2]

Williams said:

[Sua] said he wanted a child by someone before he died. He said he can not have kids by me that that [sic] the only way that he can have a child is with my Daughter. My Daughter] is only 16 years old. She’s too young to even think about a family. He said he didn’t care what I thought as long as he was able to have a [33]*33child by somebody else. There is a no-contact order in affect [sic].[3]

Neither S.S. nor Williams signed her written statement under oath or penalty of perjury. Each did, however, sign beneath a printed paragraph that read:

The above is a true and correct statement to the best of my knowledge. No threats or promises have been made to me nor any duress used against me.[4]

On December 6, 2000, the State charged Sua with indecent liberties by forcible compulsion. Before trial, Sua moved to suppress his pretrial statements on the ground that the deputies had unlawfully obtained them. After a hearing held under CrR 3.5, the court denied the motion.

A jury trial was held in March 2001. All the evidence was produced on March 12. The State presented five witnesses and three exhibits. Its witnesses were S.S., Williams, A.S., Deputy Kolp and Deputy Unfred. Its exhibits were S.S.’s pretrial written statement, Williams’ pretrial written statement, and a tape recording of A.S.’s call to 911. Sua did not present evidence.

S.S. testified first. She said that Sua had not taken indecent liberties with her. Although she admitted making her earlier oral and written statements to the police, she said they were a “cry for attention”5 and were not true.

At the end of S.S.’s testimony, the State offered her pretrial written statement as exhibit 1. Sua objected, claiming the statement was inadmissible hearsay. The court admitted the written statement and excused the jury for the morning recess.

After the jury went out, counsel and the court continued to discuss the admissibility of S.S.’s written statement. The prosecutor said:

[34]*34Your Honor, State has not admitted any of these prior statements as substantive evidence. State has brought this forth to show that the witness has made prior inconsistent statements. They’ve been offered for impeachment value. The specific statements that the witnesses made previously, which contradicted with the testimony today, and only the contradicting statements, have been admitted for the purposes of impeachment, not as substantive evidence.
I am not opposing Counsel being allowed a limiting instruction to the jury at the time when all the other instructions are read. I think that is clearly proper under the WPIC [Washington Pattern Jury Instructions: Criminal] and under case law. . . .
Counsel can argue before the jury that these aren’t substantive evidence, but on the same hand, I have not argued to the jurors that these are substantive evidence.[6]

Defense counsel requested a limiting instruction, which the court ultimately agreed to give. Thus, when the jury returned, the court instructed as follows:

Prior to our recess, State’s Exhibit No. 1 was admitted into evidence, and that statement is what we refer to as a prior written statement of a witness. I have an instruction that pertains to Exhibit No. 1 and will pertain possibly to other exhibits that are admitted in this case.
This evidence has been and will be introduced in this case on the subject of prior written statements and statements made to police officers for the limited purpose of assisting you in evaluating the credibility of the witnesses. If you find such prior statements were, in fact, made, they are not to be considered by you as proof of the matters recited in such statements.[7]

Williams testified next. She said that she had been “upset” and “drinking that night,”8 and that she had based her pretrial written statement on what she had been told by [35]*35S.S. When she had confronted S.S. about the truth of S.S.’s allegations, S.S. had said the allegations were not true.

At the end of Williams’ testimony, the State offered her pretrial written statement as exhibit 2. When defense counsel objected as hearsay, the prosecutor responded, “State is admitting it for purposes of impeachment, Your Honor.”9 The court then instructed the jury:

As we have explained once before, evidence has been introduced in this case, Exhibit No. 2, on the subject of prior written statements and statements made to police officers.

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Bluebook (online)
115 Wash. App. 29, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sua-washctapp-2003.