Summary 2010 WY 64

Summary of Decision issued May 19, 2010

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Case Name: Garza v. State

Citation: 2010 WY 64

Docket Number: S-08-0279

Appeal from the District Court of Laramie County, the Honorable Peter G. Arnold, Judge.

Representing Garza: Diane Lozano, Wyoming State Public Defender; Tina Kerin, Appellate Counsel; Kirk A. Morgan, Assistant Appellate Counsel.

Representing State: Bruce A. Salzburg, Wyoming Attorney General; Terry L. Armitage, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Jenny L. Craig, Assistant Attorney General.

Facts/Discussion: Garza appealed from the Judgment and Sentence convicting him of two counts of second degree sexual assault and imposing a combined prison sentence of twenty-one to twenty-seven years.

Admission of tape recordings: At trial, Garza’s girlfriend KV was called by the State to testify regarding her recollection of the events on the last day that JM alleged Garza assaulted her. Immediately before KV testified, the prosecutor, defense counsel, and the district court discussed the use of certain tape recorded conversations between Garza and KV which occurred while Garza was incarcerated awaiting trial. The prosecutor indicated she would use the recordings for impeachment only if KV denied making certain statements. Garza asserted reversible error in the admission of the tape recordings. He argued that the recordings were improper impeachment material and otherwise irrelevant, inadmissible evidence. The Court agreed with the district court’s ruling that they were admissible as statements by a party opponent under W.R.E. 801(d)(2)(A). The Court also agreed that the recordings were relevant because they showed an indicia of guilt.
Motion for new trial: Garza filed a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence premised on a letter purportedly written by JM in which she recanted her allegations of sexual abuse. The Court’s review of the district court’s denial of the motion revealed no abuse of discretion. Based on his familiarity with the case, the district judge was in the best position to determine the credibility of the recanting evidence. The district court afforded Garza an evidentiary hearing and an opportunity to establish the validity of the victim’s alleged recantation.
Sentencing: The Court found no merit in Garza’s contention that the tenets of Apprendi and Blakely were transgressed. Those cases involved the determination of facts that resulted in an enhancement of a criminal penalty beyond the prescribed statutory maximum. The eleven-to-fifteen-year and ten-to-twelve-year sentences were well within the prescribed statutory range.
Jury instruction: Garza condemned the district court’s decision to give, over his objection, Instruction No. 17 which stated “Corroboration of a victim’s testimony is not necessary to obtain a conviction for sexual assault.” The Court agreed the instruction was improper but that it amounted to harmless error in the instant case. The testimony of the victim was corroborated by other evidence. In addition the district court expressly instructed the jury that it must reach a verdict on the charged crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.

Conclusion: Garza was not successful in his attempt to convince the Court that reversible error occurred with respect to any of the issues raised in the appeal.

Affirmed.

J. Golden delivered the decision.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/2ewq5st .

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