Michael John Robert v. Commonwealth of Kentucky ( 2015 )

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RENDERED: OCTOBER 29, 2015
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MICHAEL JOHN ROBERT APPELLANT
ON APPEAL FROM DAVIESS CIRCUIT COURT
V HONORABLE JAMES A. WETHINGTON, II, JUDGE
NO. 13-CR-00235
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE
MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT
REVERSING AND REMANDING
A Daviess Circuit Court jury found Appellant, Michael J. Robert, guilty of
first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree rape, third-degree rape, and two
counts of third-degree sodomy. The jury recommended that Appellant be
sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment, but, pursuant to KRS 532.080(6)(b),
the trial court imposed the maximum sentence of twenty years' imprisonment.
Appellant now appeals as a matter of right, Ky. Const. § 110(2)(b), and raises
the following allegations of error: (1) the trial court erred in failing to excuse a
biased juror and/or declare a mistrial in violation of Appellant's right to a fair
and impartial jury, (2) the trial court allowed improper KRE 404(b) evidence to
be admitted at trial in violation of Appellant's rights under the Sixth and
Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and (3) the trial court denied
Appellant due process of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution by the introduction of two photographs of the victim taken at the
time the alleged crimes occurred.
I. BACKGROUND
More than two decades ago, Appellant lived just one street over from a
young girl named Jane.' Jane was admittedly unhappy with her home life and,
at age eleven, she began regularly visiting the home of Appellant and his then-
wife, Beth. Jane liked to visit their home to play with their dogs and soon
developed a relationship with both Appellant and Beth.
Approximately twenty years after the alleged acts of abuse began, Jane
contacted the police and reported that Appellant had molested her for
approximately five years, beginning when she was eleven years old. As a result
of the subsequent police investigation, Appellant was charged with and indicted
for one count of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of second-degree rape,
and two counts of third-degree sodomy.
Jane alleged that Appellant sexually touched her hundreds of times while
she visited his home during that five-year period. However, Appellant denied
that anything inappropriate ever occurred between him and Jane. Beth
testified that she was almost always around when Jane would visit and that
she never saw any inappropriate touching or contact between Jane and
Appellant during the time period in question. Appellant further stated that
Jane had attempted to contact him in an effort to let their children play
1 The name of the alleged victim has been changed to Jane for the purpose of
this opinion in an attempt to protect her privacy.
2
together, and that she only made her allegations against him when he did not
respond to her attempts at contact; Appellant claims this is the reason Jane
went to the police with false allegations.
Appellant was ultimately convicted of four of the five crimes he was
charged with and sentenced to the maximum of twenty years' imprisonment.
Further facts will be developed as necessary for our analysis.
II. ANALYSIS
A. Juror Qualification
Appellant's first argument is that the trial court erred in failing to strike
a biased juror or subsequently declare a mistrial when that juror sat on the
panel. Because we agree that this was a biased juror, we hold the trial court
violated Appellant's right to an impartial jury. Therefore, we reverse and
remand to the trial court for a new trial.
During voir dire, the trial court became aware that one of the prospective
jurors, Juror M, had a current back injury she was struggling with. Based on
the trial judge's willingness to accommodate Juror M by allowing her to stand
when necessary, she stated that she believed she could serve if selected. Both
Juror M and another juror, Juror B, were selected to serve on the jury in
Appellant's trial.
The jury was sworn, opening statements were given by each side, and the
trial judge took a recess for lunch. It was during this recess that Juror B
spotted a spectator in the courtroom whom she recognized from her church.
According to Jane's sister, upon greeting her, Juror B asked her, "Oh my gosh,
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is that [(the victim)] your sister?" To which the spectator replied by nodding her
head and saying, "Yes." Juror B immediately exclaimed, "Oh my God, I have got
to get off of this case!" Subsequently, Juror B approached the bailiff stating
that she needed to speak with the judge because she had a conflict.
In chambers, the prosecutor relayed to the trial judge the details of this
conversation between Juror B and Jane's sister. Juror B was brought back into
chambers where she spoke with the judge in front of the attorneys. Juror B
stated that as she was leaving the courtroom she recognized this spectator
from her church and that she just wanted to make the judge aware she attends
church with Jane's sister and parents and does know this family. When asked
by the judge if this would make a difference in her ability to serve as a juror in
this case, Juror B replied that it would not as she had sworn to be impartial.
When the judge prompted Juror B for more information regarding this
conversation, Juror B replied that she and Jane's sister had merely made eye
contact and said "hi" because they recognized each other.
After Juror B was dismissed from the trial judge's chambers, the
prosecutor told the trial judge that Juror B gave a markedly different account
of this incident than did Jane's sister. At this time, the defense attorney moved
to strike Juror B. The trial judge asked the prosecutor for a response and he
agreed that either Juror B should be stricken or all parties should agree to
keep her and agree that she would be the alternate. Defense counsel agreed
and the trial judge then stated "let's agree that she's going to be stricken . . . as
the alternate."
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The trial proceeded and, on Friday morning, the prosecution rested its
case. The trial judge called for a recess and the jurors filed out into the
hallway. While in the hallway, Juror M (the juror with a prior back injury)
slipped and fell, badly injuring herself. She was immediately transported to the
hospital. In hopes that she would be able to return after the weekend, the court
called a recess until Monday morning. Unfortunately, Juror M was unable to
return for jury duty. The trial court chose to proceed with the trial, moving
Juror B from the alternate spot and onto the panel. The defense moved for a
mistrial on the ground that Juror B was a biased juror and her service on this
jury would violate Appellant's constitutional right to an impartial jury. The trial
judge denied the motion for a mistrial and Juror B sat in judgment of
Appellant.
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 11
of the Kentucky Constitution guarantee a criminal defendant the right to trial
by an impartial jury. The Kentucky Rules of Criminal Procedure provide that
"[w]hen there is reasonable ground to believe that a prospective juror cannot
render a fair and impartial verdict on the evidence, that juror shall be excused
as not qualified." RCr 9.36. Challenges for impartiality must be made before
the jury is sworn, but a juror may be challenged after the jury is impaneled if
the court finds good cause. RCr 9.36(1), (3).
"A trial court's decision whether to remove a juror from a panel that has
already been seated is reviewed for an abuse of discretion." Lester v.
Commonwealth, 132 S.W.3d 857 (Ky. 2004). A trial court abuses its discretion
when this decision is arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, or unsupported by sound
legal principles. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. v. Thompson, Ky., 11 S.W., 575,
581 (Ky. 2000). In making this determination, the trial court is charged with
weighing "the probability of bias or prejudice based on the entirety of a juror's
responses and demeanor." Shane v. Commonwealth, 243 S.W.3d 336, 338 (Ky.
2007). This includes ascertaining the credibility of the prospective juror's
answers. Id. at 338. "And, 'notwithstanding a prospective juror's responses .. .
whatever his or her protestations of lack of bias, the juror's close relationship,
be it familial, financial or situational, with any of the parties, counsel, victims
or witnesses, is sufficient to require the court to sustain a challenge for cause
and excuse the juror."' Jackson v. Commonwealth, 392 S.W.3d 907 (Ky. 2013)
(citing Brown v. Commonwealth, 313 S.W.3d 577, 596 (Ky. 2010) (quoting
Marsch v. Commonwealth, 743 S.W.2d 830, 833 (Ky. 1988)).
Here, the juror's statements regarding this conversation were at odds
with Jane's sister's recollection of the incident. The juror was untruthful when
explaining the details of the conversation and gave an entirely different account
to the judge than her initial reaction (as recounted by Jane's sister) when
realizing she knew this family. The trial judge was aware of all these facts at
the time he questioned Juror B in chambers and at the time he made his ruling
on both the motion to strike and motion for mistrial. "[A] juror may indicate
that he or she can be impartial, but they may demonstrate a state of mind to
disprove that statement by subsequent comments or demeanor so
substantially at odds that it is obvious the [trial court] has abused [its]
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discretion in deciding the juror is unbiased; in contrast, an individual may
flatly and blatantly demonstrate his inability to be impartial and fair, and no
magic question can rehabilitate his impartial state of mind." McDaniel v.
Commonwealth, 341 S.W.3d 89 (Ky. 2011) (citing Shane v. Commonwealth, 243
S.W.3d 336 (Ky. 2007)). In this instance, the juror's initial reaction indicated
that she could not be fair and needed to be released from her duty on this jury.
Her subsequent comments and demeanor toward the judge do not rectify this
showing of apparent bias. There can be no magic questions to rehabilitate a
juror and this juror's apparently untruthful response to the judge's questions
regarding the conversation she had with Jane's sister certainly does not serve
to rehabilitate her as a juror.
At the very least, Juror's B's remarkably different response about her
ability to be fair and impartial and the account of her conversation with Jane's
sister were enough to cast serious doubt on her qualifications as a juror in this
case. This Court has long held, "[a]ny doubts about the ability of a juror to be
fair and impartial should be construed in favor of a defendant." Paulley v.
Commonwealth, 323 S.W.3d 715, 721 (Ky. 2010). The trial judge's decision
(and the parties' agreement) to designate this juror as the alternate is evidence
that there was doubt surrounding the qualifications of this juror.
Criminal Rule 9.32 provides that a juror may be designated as the
alternate either by agreement between the parties or by random selection.
However, this juror was not removed as an alternate under either of the
provided methods in Criminal Rule 9.32. In the case sub judice the trial judge
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effectively determined the juror would be excused by designation as the
alternate. This is the very situation contemplated by this Court in Nunley v.
Commonwealth, 393 S.W.3d 9 (Ky. 2013). In Nunley, this Court stated:
The rule (Criminal Rule 9.32), however, recognizes that it
sometimes "become[s] necessary to excuse a juror" other than by
agreement or random selection. Though the rule is not explicit,
this must refer to excusing a juror for cause during the trial once it
becomes evident that the juror is not qualified to sit. Though this
practice is often referred to as designating the juror as the
alternate, that is not what it is; otherwise, such a juror could be
subject to recall if another member of the jury became unable to
sit. See RCr 9.32(2). Instead, what technically happens when the
juror is disqualified, even in the middle of the trial, is that he is
struck for cause. This is what the trial judge did in this case.
Id. at 14.
Thus, when the doubt surrounding the qualification of this juror caused
the trial judge to designate this juror as the alternate, she was effectively
stricken for cause. Therefore, when Juror M later became disqualified by
physical injury, it was error for the trial court to cause Juror B to sit in
judgment of Appellant as a previously disqualified juror. For this reason, we
reverse the trial court and remand for a new trial. Having already found
grounds to reverse Appellant's conviction and remand for a new trial, we will
only look at Appellant's remaining arguments insofar as they are likely to recur
on remand.
B. KRE 404(b) Evidence
Next, Appellant argues the trial court committed reversible error when it
admitted KRE 404(b) evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts. Pursuant to
KRE 404(c), the Commonwealth notified Appellant of its intention to introduce
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evidence at trial that Appellant had engaged in sexual acts with Jane on
numerous occasions—more instances than those for which Appellant had been
charged. This evidence included additional acts of sexual touching during the
time span covered by the indictment and, also, at least one incident after that
time period. Because we believe this issue is likely to recur on remand, we
reach the merits.
Kentucky Rules of Evidence 404 deals with character evidence and
evidence of other crimes. More specifically, KRE 404(b) provides:
(b) Other crimes, wrongs, or acts. Evidence of other crimes,
wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person
in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however,
be admissible:
(1) If offered for some other purpose, such as proof of
motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan,
knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident;
or
(2) If so inextricably intertwined with other evidence
essential to the case that separation of the two (2)
could not be accomplished without serious adverse
effect on the offering party.
In Bell v. Commonwealth, 875 S.W.2d 882, 889 (Ky. 1994), this Court stated
"trial courts must apply the rule cautiously, with an eye towards eliminating
evidence which is relevant only as proof of an accused's propensity to commit a
certain type of crime." However, this Court has ruled on numerous occasions
that "similar acts perpetrated against the same victim are almost always
admissible" to prove motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge,
identity, or absence of mistake or accident. Price v. Commonwealth, 31 S.W.3d
885, 888 n. 4 (2000).
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Jane testified that Appellant first groped her breasts in 1994—an act
charged under Appellant's indictment. She also testified that Appellant had
done so several other times (these times uncharged) leading up to the first time
he raped her in 1997. In all, she said Appellant touched her sexually
"hundreds" of times. She testified that Appellant placed his mouth on her
vagina around ten times and placed his penis inside her mouth no more than
three times. The touching continued until Jane had a boyfriend at age 16.
Just as in the case at bar, in Noel v. Commonwealth, 76 S.W.3d 923, 931
(Ky. 2002), the victim testified that the appellant "had sexually abused her
``more than one time"' and the appellant in that case argued that this amounted
to a violation of KRE 404(b). However, this Court held that "this testimony falls
within the exceptions for evidence offered to prove intent, plan, or absence of
mistake or accident." Id. We reiterated that "evidence of similar acts
perpetrated against the same victim [is] almost always admissible for those
reasons." Citing Price, 31 S.W.3d at 888 n. 4.
In yet another similar case in which the victim was permitted to testify
regarding uncharged acts of sexual contact, Harp v. Commonwealth, 266
S.W.3d 813, 822-23 (Ky. 2008), we held:
The Commonwealth bore the burden of proving each element
of each charge against [the appellant] beyond a reasonable doubt.
Thus, the Commonwealth was required to offer proof of [the
appellant's] intent. Accordingly, the evidence of other sexual
contact between [the appellant and the victim] . . . was both highly
relevant and probative. Additionally, the evidence [the appellant]
challenges on appeal also was admissible as proof of at least
identity and absence of mistake or accident.
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As we have definitively held, "evidence of similar acts
perpetrated against the same victim are almost always admissible .
. . ." [Price, 31 S.W.3d at 888, n.4.] And we do not perceive that
any prejudice suffered by [the appellant] was sufficient to overcome
the general rule regarding admissibility of similar acts perpetrated
against the same victim. Thus, we find no error in the trial court's
decision to admit the KRE 404(b) evidence in question.
Here, Appellant denied any of the allegations. Therefore, his intent,
motive, plan, absence of mistake, and course of conduct were all squarely at
issue, just as in the cases cited above. The Commonwealth's theory of the case
was that Appellant was obsessed with Jane and started abusing her when she
was eleven years old. According to Jane, Appellant told her he was the only
person who would love her and that he wanted the two to live together when
she turned eighteen. The ongoing sexual contact, including testimony that
such contact persisted even after she reached the age of consent, was both
relevant and probative in this case, just as similar evidence was relevant and
probative in Harp. The trial court did not abuse its discretion here in allowing
the evidence under KRE 404(b), and assuming the Commonwealth gives proper
notice pursuant to KRE 404(c) on retrial, such evidence should be allowed in
Appellant's new trial for the limited purposes of proving Appellant's "motive,
opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of
mistake or accident" or "if [it is] so inextricably intertwined with other evidence
essential to the case that separation of the two (2) could not be accomplished
without serious adverse effect on the offering party." KRE 404(b).
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C. Photographs of the Victim
Lastly, Appellant argues that he was denied due process of the law based
on the introduction of photographs of Jane at the time of the alleged crimes.
Two photographs of Jane were introduced; one depicts her at age eleven and
the other at age fourteen. Again, we reach the merits of this argument due to
its likelihood to recur on remand.
"In order to be admissible, a photograph must be relevant, and its
prejudicial effect must not substantially outweigh its probative value." Chesnut
v. Commonwealth, 250 S.W.3d 288, 302 (Ky. 2008). We review a trial court's
evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v.
Thompson, 11 S.W.3d 575, 581 (Ky. 2000). "The test for abuse of discretion is
whether the trial judge's decision was arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, or
unsupported by sound legal principles." Id. (citing Commonwealth v. English,
993 S.W.2d 941, 945 (Ky. 1999)).
The photographs of Jane are relevant due to the fact that at the time of
the first alleged instance of sexual abuse, Jane was eleven years old and at the
time of trial Jane was approximately thirty years old. Just as one is entitled to
use photographs of a deceased victim to show him or her as a living person, an
alleged victim of sexual abuse may use photographs of himself or herself at the
time of the alleged incident to provide an accurate depiction at the relevant age.
Rogers v. Commonwealth, 60 S.W.3d 555, 560 (Ky. 2001). Often, sexual crimes
are not reported or prosecuted until later in time, when the victim's appearance
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may have markedly changed since the time of the alleged crime. Thus, these
photographs were relevant for that purpose.
Furthermore, the photographs of Jane were not unduly prejudicial.
Unlike the objectionable photographs shown in Hughes v. Commonwealth, 445
S.W.3d 556 (Ky. 2014)—where the jury was shown pictures of the victim just
after childbirth, in a hospital bed—the pictures shown here did not portray the
victim in a light which would evoke undue sympathy or mislead the jury in any
way. Appellant does not contend that Jane looks like anything other than a
normal eleven-year-old and fourteen-year-old girl in these photographs. Nor
does Appellant contend that the actions portrayed in these photographs would
evoke undue prejudice. Thus, Appellant contends that he is unduly prejudiced
by publication to the jury of photographs which he admits accurately portray
his alleged victim in a fair light at the time of the alleged incidents. While
Appellant may indeed be prejudiced by these photographs, their accuracy and
fairness prevent this prejudice from being undue. As a result, we hold that
Appellant was not denied due process of law based on the admission of the two
subject photographs.
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we reverse Appellant's convictions and
corresponding sentences and remand for a new trial in accordance with this
opinion.
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All sitting. Minton, C.J., Abramson, Barber, Cunningham, and Keller,
JJ., concur. Noble, J., concurs in result only by separate opinion in which
Venters, J., joins.
NOBLE, J., CONCURRING IN RESULT: While I agree with the majority's
resolution of the juror issue and its result in this case, I write separately to
respectfully express my disagreement with the majority's perpetuation of what
has seemingly become a hard-and-fast rule that "evidence of similar [sex] acts
perpetrated against the same victim are [sic] almost always admissible" to
prove intent, plan, or absence of mistake or accident, or some "other purpose"
under KRE 404(b)(1). Noel v. Commonwealth, 76 S.W.3d 923, 931 (Ky. 2002). It
is clear that our case law has effectively abandoned the requirement that other-
bad-acts evidence be offered for some purpose other than showing the
defendant's criminal disposition simply because the evidence offered is of other
sexual acts involving the same victim, and I disagree with rubberstamping this
judicial carve-out of KRE 404(b)'s prohibition against such evidence.
Unlike their federal counterparts, 2 the Kentucky Rules of Evidence
contain no exception to KRE 404(b) for evidence of other sex acts. Yet,
particularly since it made its conclusory pronouncement in Noel, the tendency
of this Court has been to treat the Rules of Evidence as having just such an
exception, at least in cases of other-sex-crimes evidence involving the same
2 See Fed. R. Evid. 413 (authorizing use of other sexual assaults in prosecution
for sexual assault), Fed. R. Evid. 414 (authorizing use of other child molestations in
prosecution for child molestation).
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victim. See, e.g., Lopez v. Commonwealth, 459 S.W.3d 867, 875 (Ky. 2015)
(holding testimony about prior sexual conduct between defendant and victim
admissible under KRE 404(b) (1) simply because it "f[ell] squarely within the
parameters set forth in Noe); Harp v. Commonwealth, 266 S.W.3d 813, 822-
23 (Ky. 2008) (holding, based on the Court's "definitive[]" holding in Noel, that
"any prejudice suffered by [the defendant] was [in]sufficient to overcome the
general rule regarding admissibility of similar acts perpetrated against the
same victim").
While I admit my own culpability in silently joining the summary
disposition of these issues in cases such as Lopez and Hart, I now believe it is
time for this Court to right the ship. We must buck this trend and reassert the
exclusionary thrust of Rule 404(b)'s prohibition against admitting propensity
evidence.
In this case, Robert was charged with only five discrete crimes: first-
degree sexual abuse for the first time he illegally touched Jane in 1994,
second-degree (or third-degree) rape for having sexual intercourse with Jane on
a jet ski in 1997 (or 1998), second-degree (or third-degree) rape for having
sexual intercourse with Jane on a waterbed in 1997 (or 1998), third-degree
sodomy for having deviate sexual intercourse with Jane (her mouth, his penis)
when she was less than sixteen years old, and third-degree sodomy for having
deviate sexual intercourse with Jane (his mouth, her vagina) when she was less
than sixteen years old. But, in addition to the charged offenses, the trial court
allowed evidence of additional uncharged sexual acts involving Jane to also be
15
admitted. This included testimony of illegal touching between Robert and Jane
"hundreds of times" following the first (charged) touching; that Jane had
performed oral sex on Robert one or two other times before she turned sixteen;
that Robert had performed oral sex on Jane around nine other times before she
turned sixteen; that Robert had taken Jane driving on country roads when she
was sixteen and had touched her all over and under her clothes, including her
vagina, while she was driving; and that when Jane visited Robert at his
apartment a few years after the time period of the indictment, he pushed her
onto his couch and began touching her but stopped when she told him she was
pregnant by another man.
In overruling Robert's pretrial objection, the trial court summarily found
that this evidence "is relevant and is offered to show proof of motive,
opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of
mistake or accident and is so inextricably intertwined with other evidence
essential to the case that separation of the two can not [sic] be accomplished
without serious adverse effect on the Commonwealth." Therein lies the
problem. Because our case law permits such perfunctory treatment of
KRE 404(b) evidence in sex cases, trial courts are emboldened to admit pure
propensity evidence of other sexual acts by the accused without performing the
analysis required for all other other-bad-acts evidence—that is, whether it
actually is being offered for some other permissible, relevant purpose and
whether its probative value is nevertheless outweighed by its prejudicial effect,
Bell v. Commonwealth, 875 S.W.2d 882, 890 (Ky. 1994). Not only does the
16
majority sign off on the trial court having done so in this case, but it
prospectively directs that the same be done on remand. Ante at ("[S]uch
evidence should be allowed in Appellant's new trial for the limited purposes of
proving Appellant's 'motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge,
identity, or absence of mistake or accident,' or 'if [it is] so inextricably
intertwined with other evidence essential to the case that separation of the two
(2) could not be accomplished without serious adverse effect on the offering
party."' (quoting KRE 404(b))).
The primary mistake, one that has been repeated time and again in our
more recent cases, is it fails to identify how it is, exactly, that the uncharged-
crimes evidence actually serves to prove any of the "limited purposes" it lists
from KRE 404(b)(1), or even whether those other uses were even relevant in
this case. It is no answer to merely list examples of such other purposes
without more. Indeed, this prevalent practice renders the prohibition against
propensity evidence largely illusory in sex-abuse cases.
Here, as in most, if not all, other cases that have mechanically applied
the Noel "rule," the majority signs off on the purported use of the uncharged-
crimes evidence to prove "intent." But how do the other alleged sexual acts by
Robert prove that he intended to commit the charged acts? Perhaps more
importantly, why was it necessary, when he denied committing the crimes at
all, that the Commonwealth affirmatively prove that he intended to commit the
acts he is charged with committing? He either did them or he did not.
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Robert's intent was wholly irrelevant at trial. Intent is not an element of
statutory rape and similar sexual-assault offenses where the victim is underage
and that age is the basis for the lack of consent. Davis v. Commonwealth, 561
S.W.2d 91, 94 (Ky. 1978). Of course, the law requires that the defendant have
acted voluntarily. KRS 501.030(1). Thus, Robert could not have been convicted
of the first sodomy charge (her mouth, his penis) if he had actually been asleep
when Jane performed oral sex on him. Thus, even though he had participated
in an act that would ordinarily give rise to absolute liability, he would not be
guilty of a crime because he did not act voluntarily. But here, none of the
allegations in any way placed Robert's voluntariness in dispute. While the
burden is on the prosecution to prove all the elements of the charged offense
beyond a reasonable doubt, Robert's alleged actions spoke for themselves in
terms of their voluntariness. And that he may have committed the same or
similar acts on other occasions in no way showed the voluntariness of his
conduct in the charged instances.
This is important because very little distinguishes the inferential logic of
using other-crimes evidence to prove intent or voluntariness (he intended to
commit the other crimes, so it is likely he intended to commit the charged
crime) from the prohibited inference drawn from using such evidence to prove
general propensity (because he committed the other crimes, he is the type of
person who commits such crimes, so it is likely he committed this crime too).
See Robert G. Lawson, Kentucky Evidence Law Handbook, § 2.30[4][c], at 150
(5th ed. 2013). It is for this reason that, historically at least, this Court has
18
recognized the increased potential intent poses for abuse of the "other
purposes" exception and has, therefore, insisted on heightened precautions
when using other-crimes evidence to show intent. As Professor Lawson has
explained, "[a]buse is most likely to occur when the need for the evidence is
ignored or overlooked or when the evidence is admitted without careful analysis
of its relevance to prove intent." Id. (footnotes omitted).
Despite Noel's conclusory holding (and the misguided progeny it has
spawned), "evidence of other crimes should be admitted to prove intent only
when intent is in genuine dispute ... [, and] even when in dispute, a trial court
must still determine that the evidence is relevant to prove the intent to commit
the crime charged." Walker v. Commonwealth, 52 S.W.3d 533, 535-36 (Ky.
2001) (emphasis added); see also 1 Mueller 86 Kirkpatrick, Federal Evidence,
§ 112 (2nd ed. 1994) ("[C]ourts are wise ... to exclude the [other-crimes]
evidence ... where such proof is not necessary because intent is readily inferred
from the act itself ... or because there is no dispute on intent."). There is no
reason to treat attempts to use other-crimes evidence to show intent any
differently simply because the other crime involved the same victim as the
crime charged.
The same is true of another commonly listed purpose for introducing
other-crimes evidence involving the same victim cited by the majority: "absence
of mistake or accident." Where is the mistake here, the absence of which the
evidence of Robert's other sexual acts with Jane was purportedly used to
prove? Evidence of other crimes can be admitted as proof of absence of mistake
19
or accident only if mistake or accident is actually in genuine dispute. For
instance, if Robert had admitted to touching Jane's breast but claimed that it
had been an accident and that he had not meant to touch her there, then
evidence of the uncharged touchings would be admissible to prove absence of
accident for the charged touching. Because that was not the case here, the
other-crimes evidence cannot have been introduced for that purpose and,
therefore, can obviously not have been admissible for that purpose.
"Mistake" (or "knowledge") could have been at issue if Robert had
defended that he did not know the age of his victim. See KRS 510.030 (creating
defense to statutory rape if the defendant did not know the victim was
underage). But that was not at issue in this case.
"Motive," too, is an inappropriate ground for admitting the uncharged-
crimes evidence in this case. What do the other sexual acts prove about
Robert's motive for committing the charged crimes? At most, they show a
motive of achieving sexual gratification from activities involving a minor,
specifically Jane. From this, it follows that because his motive for committing
the other crimes was to satisfy his sexual desires for a minor (Jane), he
probably had the same motive for committing the charged crimes. But this is
nothing more than bootstrapping prohibited general-propensity evidence into
motive. It does nothing more than allow the jury to conclude that since Robert
committed all these uncharged sexual acts, he is the sort of person who
commits such sexual acts and, thus, probably committed the charged sexual
acts too. This is exactly what KRE 404 is intended to protect against. To again
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borrow a quote from Professor Lawson, ``Jig protection against propensity
evidence is to be meaningful, courts must limit the use of the 'motive' exception
to situations where motive is pertinent to the issues of the case and where the
other crimes evidence shows a motive to commit the charged offense and not
just some offense." Lawson, supra, § 2.30[4][e], at 155.
Nor was the evidence of other sexual conduct between Robert and Jane
admissible as proof of "plan" or "preparation." What plan? The evidence proved,
at most, that Robert had a general, undefined "plan" to achieve sexual
gratification through his exploits with Jane. But just like intent and motive, the
invocation of this "other purpose" to admit the other-crimes evidence here is all
smoke and mirrors. Use of other-crimes evidence to prove "plan" or
"preparation" (formerly, "common scheme") is admissible only when there is an
actual plan involving commission of both the uncharged and charged crimes
and when evidence of the plan, in particular, proves the commission of the
charged crime in some specific way, rather than merely showing a propensity
to commit the crime. See id. at § 2.30[4][g], at 160. Here, the other-crimes
evidence proved nothing beyond a propensity to commit the charged sex
crimes.
Similarly, the majority has not shown, nor can it, how the uncharged-
crimes evidence here would be admissible to prove "opportunity" or "identity"
under KRE 404(b)(1). How do the other acts prove his opportunity to commit
the charged acts? How do they prove the identity of the perpetrator? Again, he
either did the charged acts, or he did not. The questions whether he had an
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opportunity to commit them, or whether he in fact was the one that committed
them, are subsumed in the allegations themselves.
Finally, the majority last would allow the other-sex-acts evidence to be
admitted under KRE 404(b)(2) as being "inextricably intertwined" to the
charged crimes. That is, that the majority believes proof of all the sexual
activities is needed to show the entire, ongoing course of sexual conduct. I
disagree. The fact that Robert allegedly continued touching Jane hundreds of
times after the first charged touching in 1994, or that he performed oral sex on
Jane nine times in addition to the one instance for which he was charged, or
that he had Jane perform oral sex on him one or two times in addition to the
one for which he was charged, are all completely irrelevant to whether he
actually committed the charged offenses. Their only relevance is to serve the
prohibited purpose of allowing the jury to infer that since the defendant did all
this other sexual stuff with the victim, he must have also done the sexual stuff
for which he was actually charged. If the Commonwealth truly needed Robert's
entire alleged "course of conduct" to be considered by the jury, then it should
have charged him with all the crimes he allegedly committed during that
course of conduct.
In sum, the uncharged-crimes evidence here served little purpose other
than to inform the jury that Robert was a bad person, i.e., that he was the type
of person who engages in sexual activities with a minor. It clearly violates
KRE 404(b)'s prohibition against other-bad-acts evidence to show action in
conformity therewith and is not properly admissible for any other purpose
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under KRE 404(b)(1) or (2). By applying the unsound, summary holdings in
Noel and its progeny, the majority erroneously concludes that the evidence of
Robert's other sexual conduct with Jane is admissible. Because I believe that it
is time for this Court to gather up the apples that spilled when Noel upset the
cart, I do not concur with Part ILB of the majority opinion.
Venters, J., joins.
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT:
Karen Shuff Maurer, Assistant Public Defender
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE:
Jack Conway, Attorney General of Kentucky
James Coleman Shackelford, Assistant Attorney General
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