 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Hutchins2/8/2000
ement could reasonably be interpreted to have exceeded the scope of the charged criminal conduct, and therefore extended to issues that were collateral to his defense. Compare State v. DeSchepper, 231 N.W.2d 294, 303 (Minn. 1975) (truth of defendant's statement that he did not drive vehicle in a particular county not necessarily determined in acquittal on speeding charge because jury could have concluded that he drove in that county but was not speeding at time he was driving), with Canon, 602 N.W.2d at 319-20 (truth of defendant's statement that he did not drive vehicle at time offense was committed necessarily determined by acquittal on charges of driving under the influence and operating after license revocation where defendant admitted consuming alcohol and did not contest that his driver's license had been revoked).
The defendant also argues that, when evaluated in the context of the entire record, his denial that anything of a sexual nature ever occurred between himself and the victim referred only to the acts alleged in the indictments. The context of the prosecutor's question and the defendant's response, however, would not necessarily require such a conclusion. The prosecutor asked whether "anything of a sexual nature ever occur between you and [the victim]?" The defendant replied: "The descriptions of abuse from her father, yes. Physical, no." On its face, the defendant's statement was a blanket denial that anything of a sexual nature ever occurred between himself and the victim. Moreover, the defendant's reference to sexual conduct allegedly perpetrated by the victim's father indicates that he understood the prosecutor's question to refer to incidents of a sexual nature beyond the charged assaults. Finally, the immediate context in which the question was asked focused on all past encounters between the defendant and the victim, rather than on the specific events charged in the indictments. Immediately preceding the question whether "anything of a sexual nature ever occur between you and [the victim]," the defendant was asked whether "anything inappropriate ever occur between you and [the victim]." (Emphasis added.) Thus, the context in which the critical question was asked could reasonably have referred to any sexual contact, not just the charged offenses.
Affirmed and remanded.
All concurred.
|