State of Washington v. William Samuel Schmidt ( 2019 )


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  •                                                                            FILED
    JULY 30, 2019
    In the Office of the Clerk of Court
    WA State Court of Appeals, Division III
    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
    DIVISION THREE
    STATE OF WASHINGTON,                          )
    )         No. 36638-3-III
    Respondent,              )
    )
    v.                                     )
    )
    WILLIAM SAMUEL SCHMIDT,                       )         UNPUBLISHED OPINION
    )
    Appellant.               )
    KORSMO, J. — William Schmidt appeals from his convictions for four counts of
    first degree child molestation, arguing that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct.
    Concluding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in its rulings on misconduct
    related claims, we affirm.
    FACTS
    Mr. Schmidt was charged with molesting his stepdaughter over a three year
    period. The case proceeded to jury trial in the Pierce County Superior Court. In opening
    statement, the prosecutor advised jurors that the victim would testify that the defendant
    had once rubbed his bare penis on the victim’s clothed vagina. The defense moved for a
    mistrial, arguing that there was no evidence to support the statement. The trial court
    denied the motion.
    No. 36638-3-III
    State v. Schmidt
    Exhibit 6 was a drawing by the child depicting what had happened to her. In
    closing, the prosecutor relied on a PowerPoint slide show in support of his argument.
    Slide 4 displayed exhibit 6 with an insert depicting an enlarged view of one portion of the
    slide. The PowerPoint concluded with Slide 36, a slide with the word “JUSTICE” on the
    top and the word “Guilty” in the middle.1 Defense counsel objected to slide 36.
    After the jury returned its verdicts, the defense moved for a new trial, reprising its
    objections to the opening statement and the closing argument. The trial court denied the
    motion for a new trial, concluding that the prosecutor had acted in good faith during
    opening statement and there was no misconduct in closing argument. The court also
    concluded that any error would have been cured by the court’s first instruction to the jury.
    Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 316; Report of Proceedings (RP) at 2092-2093.
    The court imposed an exceptional minimum term sentence of 199 months in
    accordance with the jury’s special verdicts finding aggravating circumstances as well as
    the mandatory maximum life sentence required for the crime. Findings in support of the
    exceptional sentence also were entered.
    Mr. Schmidt timely appealed. Division Two administratively transferred the
    appeal to Division Three. This court considered the appeal without hearing argument.
    1
    Color copies of Slides 4 and 36 are attached to this opinion.
    2
    No. 36638-3-III
    State v. Schmidt
    ANALYSIS
    The sole issue presented is whether the trial court erred in its rulings on the
    misconduct allegations.2 We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in
    determining that there was no prejudicial misconduct.
    A trial court’s decision to grant a new trial is reviewed for abuse of discretion.
    State v. Hawkins, 
    181 Wash. 2d 170
    , 179, 
    332 P.3d 408
    (2014); State v. Williams, 
    96 Wash. 2d 215
    , 221, 
    634 P.2d 868
    (1981); State v. Marks, 
    71 Wash. 2d 295
    , 302, 
    427 P.2d 1008
    (1967). The same standard applies to review of motions for a mistrial. State v. Weber, 
    99 Wash. 2d 158
    , 166, 
    659 P.2d 1102
    (1983). Discretion is abused when it is exercised on
    untenable grounds or for untenable reasons. State ex rel. Carroll v. Junker, 
    79 Wash. 2d 12
    ,
    26, 
    482 P.2d 775
    (1971). Discretion also is abused when a court uses an incorrect legal
    standard in making a discretionary decision. State v. Tobin, 
    161 Wash. 2d 517
    , 523, 
    166 P.3d 1167
    (2007); State v. Rundquist, 
    79 Wash. App. 786
    , 793, 
    905 P.2d 922
    (1995). “The
    question is not whether this court would have decided otherwise in the first instance, but
    whether the trial judge was justified in reaching his conclusion.” State v. Taylor, 
    60 Wash. 2d 32
    , 42, 
    371 P.2d 617
    (1962).
    2
    Mr. Schmidt also claims that the cumulative error doctrine entitles him to a new
    trial, but the alleged errors were both before the trial court in the new trial ruling and it is
    unnecessary to reconsider the cumulative nature of the alleged errors.
    3
    No. 36638-3-III
    State v. Schmidt
    The first issue is whether the court erred in denying the mistrial over the opening
    statement. A mistrial should be declared when a trial irregularity so tainted the
    proceedings that the defendant was deprived of a fair trial. 
    Weber, 99 Wash. 2d at 164
    . The
    problem presented here involves an interview of the child. The written interview
    statement indicated that the defendant rubbed his penis on the child while both were
    clothed. The deputy prosecutor interpreted the child’s interview remarks as indicating
    that the defendant rubbed his uncovered penis on the child while both were wearing
    clothing. The trial court concluded that the prosecutor acted in good faith and it was up
    to the jury to determine what the child’s statement meant.
    These were tenable reasons for denying the mistrial. It was plausible that the
    defendant merely uncovered his penis while keeping his clothing on. Given the limited
    vocabulary of most young children, we cannot fault the trial court’s conclusion that the
    prosecutor acted in good faith. More importantly, an error of this variety is seldom going
    to deprive a defendant of a fair trial because the evidence in question was put before the
    jury for its consideration. If the prosecutor adopted an implausible interpretation of the
    statement, then the jury has a reason to doubt the prosecutor’s case rather than rely on an
    extra-record reason to convict the defendant. If the prosecutor had promised something
    he did not deliver—an eyewitness to the crime or other significant evidence that was
    never introduced—then the trial court would have faced a different problem that
    4
    No. 36638-3-III
    State v. Schmidt
    significantly impacted the probability of having a fair trial. But merely overstating the
    meaning of evidence admitted at trial only harms the prosecutor, not the defendant.
    Having tenable grounds for denying the mistrial motion, the court did not abuse its
    discretion.
    As with the mistrial motion, a motion for a new trial should be granted when the
    defendant’s right to a fair trial has been prejudiced. State v. Lord, 
    117 Wash. 2d 829
    , 887,
    
    822 P.2d 177
    (1991). While the defendant’s motion included the mistrial allegation
    within its argument, the primary focus was on slides 4 and 36. The trial court found that
    there was no misconduct and that any misconduct was not prejudicial in light of jury
    instruction 1, the standard instruction telling jurors that the remarks of the attorneys are
    not evidence and that those remarks should be disregarded if they conflict with the
    evidence or the law contained in the court’s instructions. CP at 132; RP at 2092-2093.
    We agree with the trial court that Slide 4 did not constitute error. Exhibit 6 had
    been admitted and Slide 4 simply consisted of that exhibit along with an added
    enlargement of the portion of the child’s drawing showing how the touching occurred.
    See Slide 4. Unlike Mr. Schmidt, we do not consider this slide an “alteration” of the
    exhibit. The meaning of the drawing was not changed merely because a portion of it was
    enlarged to aid viewing. The State was free to focus the jury’s attention on the salient
    portion of the exhibit.
    5
    No. 36638-3-III
    State v. Schmidt
    Slide 36, however, is a different story. Although it should not be surprising to the
    jury when a prosecutor argues the defendant is guilty of the charged crime, the
    presentation of that conclusion on a slide can constitute prejudicial misconduct. See State
    v. Walker, 
    182 Wash. 2d 463
    , 
    341 P.3d 976
    (2015); In re Glasmann, 
    175 Wash. 2d 696
    , 
    286 P.3d 673
    (2012); State v. Hecht, 
    179 Wash. App. 497
    , 
    319 P.3d 836
    (2014). In those cases,
    it largely was the sensational nature of the slides that was particularly problematic. E.g.,
    
    Walker, 182 Wash. 2d at 468
    (100 slides captioned with “Defendant Walker Guilty of
    Premeditated Murder”). By superimposing the “guilty” theme on a large number of
    slides, the prosecutor conveyed a personal opinion of the defendant’s guilt. 
    Id. Superimposing the
    caption also served to alter the pictures and exhibits to which the
    caption was added. 
    Id. We cannot
    equate a single slide presented at the conclusion of the argument with
    the 100 slides used in Walker. But the pairing of the word “guilty” with the word
    “justice” is particularly inappropriate and can easily be interpreted as the prosecutor’s
    own personal opinion rather than as the conclusion the prosecutor is urging the jury to
    draw from evidence and the law. And while every prosecutor in this state should be wary
    of using a slide such as this one, we think that a Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor should
    be particularly sensitive to this issue in light of the noted authorities.
    Nonetheless, under the facts of this case, the trial court had tenable grounds for
    concluding as it did that any misconduct was not prejudicial in light of the court’s
    6
    No. 36638-3-III
    State v. Schmidt
    instruction. The "guilty" conclusion did not permeate the slide show and came at the
    natural point of the argument-the conclusion the prosecutor sought for the jury to reach.
    To the extent that it conveyed the prosecutor's personal, rather than professional, view of
    the outcome, it was not so egregious that the defendant's right to a fair trial was
    impugned.
    The trial court had tenable grounds for denying the motion for a new trial. There
    was no abuse of the court's discretion.
    Affirmed.
    A majority of the panel has determined this opinion will not be printed in the
    Washington Appellate Reports, but it will be filed for public record pursuant to RCW
    2.06.040.
    WE CONCUR:
    7
    No. 36638-3-III
    State v. Schmidt
    ATTACHMENT 1
    Photos
    8
    No. 36638-3-III
    State v. Schmidt
    ATTACHMENT 2
    JUSTICE
    Guilty
    9
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 36638-3

Filed Date: 7/30/2019

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 7/30/2019