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Freeman v. State3/27/2002
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
No. 4550
MANNHEIMER, Judge, concurring.
Introduction
A jury convicted Robert V. Freeman of two counts of murder in the first degree and three counts of assault in the third degree. Freeman appeals, arguing that Superior Court Judge Jonathan H. Link improperly hampered his ability to present an adequate defense and improperly allowed the state to present evidence of his prior act of domestic violence. We affirm.
Facts and Proceedings
J.I. and her seven-year-old son, Martin, lived with Freeman in Soldotna, Alaska. On July 17, 1998, Freeman, J.I., and Martin went to the J Bar B south of Soldotna for dinner. J.I. and Freeman each had a drink. Before eating dinner, Freeman took J.I. and Martin home; Freeman returned to the J Bar B alone.
At the bar, Freeman had several more drinks. The bartender, Sharene Christensen, quit serving Freeman drinks when he became intoxicated. Christensen was worried that Freeman was becoming physically violent in the bar and offered to call him a cab. Freeman refused, so Christensen arranged with Tracy Eason, another bar patron, to go to Freeman's residence and pick up J.I. (apparently to return to the bar and get Freeman to leave).
When Christensen and Eason arrived at Freeman's residence, they discovered that Freeman was already there - he had driven his car home. Freeman and J.I. were standing in the driveway talking loudly. Christensen characterized Freeman as "ranting and raving." Christensen and Eason went up to the house with J.I. so Christensen could use the bathroom. Once in the house, Christensen went straight to the bathroom. J.I. and Eason stayed in the kitchen. A minute later, Freeman followed them into the house. Martin was in the next room watching TV. Christensen remembered Freeman being agitated and belligerent towards J.I.
While Christensen was in the bathroom, she heard J.I. tell Martin to go to the cabin. She also heard J.I. tell Freeman that she loved him and to go to bed because he was drunk. Immediately thereafter, Christensen heard two gunshots. Christensen was only in the bathroom for "a few minutes" before she heard the gunshots. Christensen opened the bathroom door and saw J.I. on the floor in the kitchen. She saw that J.I. had been shot in her side. J.I. told her to call 911. She waited until she heard the front door open and then went into the living room to find a phone. As she left the bathroom, she saw Eason's legs behind a stool. Christensen did not see Martin.
Christensen called 911 from the living room. While she was on the phone, she heard someone come back into the house. She hid behind a chair in the living room. While Christensen was talking to the 911 dispatcher, she heard Freeman's voice in the house. Christensen then heard more gunshots. A person Christensen thought to be Freeman picked up a phone in a different room, and Christensen quickly put the phone on the floor.
Christensen heard a knock on the door and listened to the person go and open the door. She heard Freeman's voice saying something like "you don't have to run away." Once Christensen heard Freeman go outside, she ran out of the house. The police were already on the scene.
Martin testified that he was sitting in the kitchen with J.I. and another woman (presumably Eason) when Freeman came into the house. Freeman was angry and yelled at J.I. Martin testified that he saw Freeman go into the bedroom, return with a pistol, and shoot his mother. He remembered J.I.'s friend screaming and running into a bedroom off of the kitchen. He said Freeman followed the woman (Eason) into the bedroom and t
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