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People v. Hoskay10/9/2003
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED
Rothenberg and Graham, JJ., concur
Defendant, Stanton Hoskay, appeals the judgment of conviction entered upon jury verdicts finding him guilty of sexual assault of a physically helpless victim and public indecency. We affirm.
A counselor at a detoxification facility testified that he admitted defendant to the facility and directed him to the men's dormitory. Later that evening, the counselor conducted a bed check and looked into the dormitory room through a window in the hall. The counselor saw defendant, whose pants were pulled down, on top of a man (the victim) who appeared to be asleep. Although the counselor could not see defendant's genitals, it appeared to him that defendant was having anal intercourse with the victim. When the counselor entered the room, defendant was startled. However, the victim remained motionless.
The counselor escorted defendant to the main office and soon returned to the dormitory room. The counselor then woke the victim and asked him whether he knew what had just occurred. The victim said that he did not.
The victim testified that he was dreaming about analingus being performed on him when he awoke to the sound of the counselor yelling at a man to get back in his own bed. The victim fell back to sleep until the counselor woke him a second time and told him what had happened. The victim testified that he experienced soreness in his anus for a couple of days after the incident.
I.
Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his challenge for cause to one of the prospective jurors. We are not persuaded.
A prospective juror should be disqualified for cause if he or she is biased and cannot render a fair and impartial verdict according to the laws and evidence presented at trial. Section 16-10-103(1)(j), C.R.S. 2002. Under § 16-10-103(1)(j), the trial court must sustain a challenge for cause to a prospective juror if the juror has a state of mind "evincing enmity or bias toward the defendant or the state"; however, no juror
shall be disqualified by reason of a previously formed or expressed opinion with reference to the guilt or innocence of the accused, if the court is satisfied, from the examination of the juror or from other evidence, that he will render an impartial verdict according to the law and the evidence submitted to the jury at the trial.
A trial court's ruling denying a challenge for cause may only be reversed on appeal if the trial court abused its discretion. People v. Vecchiarelli-McLaughlin, 984 P.2d 72, 75-76 (Colo. 1999).
Here, the challenged prospective juror initially stated that she had a religious objection to homosexuality and admitted that if she were in defendant's position, she would be concerned about having a person such as herself on the jury. The prospective juror also stated that she hoped she would not be selected because of the nature of the case. The prospective juror conceded that she did not know how her feelings about homosexuality would affect her judgment.
However, the prospective juror also stated that she thought she could judge the case based on the evidence and afford defendant the presumption of innocence irrespective of his sexual orientation. In addition, the prospective juror told the court that she would "hear the evidence and decide whether or not he had committed an illegal act rather than judge him upon his . . . tendencies." The prospective juror made clear that she would "judge solely upon the evidence that's presented whether he committed the act or whether he has not committed the act" and "would never send someone [to prison
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