Whiteplume v. State

841 P.2d 1332, 1992 Wyo. LEXIS 159, 1992 WL 321438
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 10, 1992
Docket91-241
StatusPublished
Cited by53 cases

This text of 841 P.2d 1332 (Whiteplume v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whiteplume v. State, 841 P.2d 1332, 1992 Wyo. LEXIS 159, 1992 WL 321438 (Wyo. 1992).

Opinions

GOLDEN, Justice.

Appellant, Adolph Francis Whiteplume, appeals his conviction of first degree sexual assault.1 He raises issues concerning his right to speedy trial, the admissibility of testimony allegedly vouching for the alleged victim’s credibility, the admissibility of testimony allegedly expressing an opinion of appellant’s guilt, and the admissibility of hearsay testimony.

We reverse and remand for retrial.

Appellant states the issues in this way:

ISSUE I
Did the trial court err when it failed to dismiss for lack of speedy trial?
ISSUE II
Was the admission of testimony of two of the State's witnesses vouching for the credibility of the alleged victim and stating that Appellant was guilty of the crime charged error per se and plain error, denying Appellant his right to a fair trial by jury?
ISSUE III
Were hearsay statements improperly introduced in violation of Appellant’s right to confrontation?

FACTS

The state’s prosecution of appellant arose from activities involving appellant and the alleged victim in the late night hours of October 12, and the early morning hours of October 13, 1990, in appellant’s mobile home in Riverton, Wyoming. In drawing a picture of the facts relevant to the issues presented in this appeal, we need not describe events transpiring earlier in the evening of October 12 before the victim and appellant are placed in appellant’s mobile home. About those earlier events, it suffices to say discrepancies exist when one compares the victim’s testimony with appellant’s testimony. Agreement between them exists, however, that the victim was intoxicated when she arrived at appellant’s mobile home and there was sexual contact between them that night. With regard to that sexual contact, the victim’s testimony describes a sexual assault. Appellant’s testimony, in contrast, describes consensual behavior.

According to the victim, soon after she and appellant were alone in his mobile home, he brutally attacked her, grabbed her by her hair, dragged her into a small bedroom, pulled off her clothing, and tried, against her will, to have sexual intercourse. Unable to accomplish that act, appellant allegedly tried to force the victim to perform several oral sex acts on him, which she resisted. Against the victim’s will, appellant allegedly penetrated the victim’s vagina with a dildo. Fighting back, she was able to briefly incapacitate appellant and make her escape wearing only a shirt she grabbed as she ran from the mobile home.

The victim ran to a nearby house and was let in by the occupants. They called the sheriff’s department. Two sheriff’s deputies quickly responded by coming to the house where the victim was and interviewing her. After interviewing the victim, sheriff’s deputy James Nethercott drove the victim to the hospital. As they drove past appellant’s mobile home, the victim pointed it out to the deputy, telling him that was where she was raped.

[1334]*1334At the hospital, in addition to being medically examined, the victim was interviewed by Jacque Taylor, director of the Office of Family Violence and Sexual Assault.

In the meantime, Deputy Nethercott drove to appellant’s mobile home to speak with him. The deputy informed appellant of his constitutional rights; appellant agreed to talk to the deputy and consented to the deputy’s search of his mobile home and a visual examination of his chest, arms, hands and back. During the search, the deputy observed a dildo. He located and seized the victim’s clothing.

Leaving appellant’s mobile home, Deputy Nethercott returned to the hospital and again interviewed the victim. During that interview, he learned that appellant had used a dildo on the victim. Later on October 13, the deputy obtained a search warrant, returned to appellant’s mobile home, and seized the dildo.

In the evening hours of October 13, 1990, following appellant’s physical examination at the hospital pursuant to a search warrant, the deputy arrested appellant and placed him in the county jail. On October 15, 1990, the state filed a criminal complaint in which it charged appellant with first degree sexual assault. At his initial appearance in county court, appellant was released on an unsecured $10,000 bond.

On November 2, 1990, appellant’s preliminary hearing was held, at the conclusion of which he was bound over for trial in the district court. The district court arraigned appellant on December 19, 1990, at which he entered a not guilty plea; the district court set the trial for February 25, 1991, and continued appellant’s bond.

Sixty-eight days elapsed from appellant’s arrest until his arraignment. When the district court at arraignment set the trial for February 25, 1991, all knew that another sixty-eight days would pass before trial; thus, a total of 136 days would have elapsed between appellant’s arrest and trial. At the arraignment, when this was known, neither appellant nor his lawyer complained or showed either orally or in writing how a sixteen-day delay beyond the 120-day period provided by Rule 204, Uniform Rules of the District Courts, might prejudice appellant’s defense.

On January 29, the day before the pretrial conference was to be held, the prosecutor decided to charge appellant with kidnapping and a second count of first degree sexual assault growing out of the same activities that had supported the first charge of first degree sexual assault. On January 29, then, appellant was arrested on these two new charges.

On January 30, the prosecutor and appellant’s lawyer met with the district court judge. The pretrial conference was vacated. The prosecutor informed those present of his intentions to pursue the two new felony charges in addition to the pending charge. The prosecutor stated that the three charges could be consolidated for trial purposes and no need existed to vacate the existing trial date of February 25. Appellant’s lawyer urged a continuance of the trial date, stating that his investigator would need further time to investigate the case due to the additional charges. The district court judge then decided to vacate the February 25 trial date.

On February 8, the county court held a preliminary hearing on the additional charges; appellant was bound over on the additional sexual assault charge, but not the kidnapping charge. On March 6, the prosecutor filed an information against appellant with respect to the additional sexual assault charge.

On April 8, the district court arraigned appellant on that additional charge. The court continued his unsecured bond. On April 29, the district court’s order was filed and approved as to form by both the prosecutor and appellant’s lawyer. Among other things, it recited that appellant’s trial was set for June 18, 1991, that all motions were to be filed by May 20, 1991, and that a pretrial conference was set for May 30, 1991.

Between April 29, and May 21, appellant did not show the district court either orally or in writing how a delay in the trial, now set to begin June 18, may prejudice his defense. On May 22, however, appellant [1335]*1335filed with the district court a motion to dismiss for failure to grant a speedy trial.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
841 P.2d 1332, 1992 Wyo. LEXIS 159, 1992 WL 321438, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whiteplume-v-state-wyo-1992.