City of Bozeman v. McCarthy
City of Bozeman v. McCarthy
Opinion of the Court
***138¶1 Scott Reegan McCarthy appeals the judgment of the Montana Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Gallatin County, affirming the Bozeman Municipal Court's judgments of conviction on jury trial of misdemeanor Criminal Trespass, Assault (two counts), Resisting Arrest, and Obstructing a Peace Officer. We address the following restated issues on appeal:
1. Whether the Municipal Court erroneously subjected McCarthy's asserted "substantial need" for the arresting officers' personnel files under § 46-15-322(5), MCA, to balancing with their constitutional right to privacy?
2. Whether the Municipal Court erroneously excluded examining physician testimony regarding the nature and extent of injuries sustained by McCarthy incident to arrest?
3. Whether sufficient evidence existed to sustain McCarthy's conviction for obstructing a peace officer as defined by § 45-7-302, MCA ?
¶2 We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
¶3 While walking home after midnight on May 25, 2015, Bozeman ***139residents Christopher and Kelsey Cundy observed a man, later identified as McCarthy, inside their pickup where they had left it parked on the street outside their home. As they continued to approach, they saw the man exit the pickup and attempt to get into their nearby parked car. At that point, Kelsey yelled at the man, causing him to run away with Kelsey in pursuit. Before Christopher caught up with them, McCarthy stopped, turned around, and struck Kelsey, scratching her chest with a pen. The man then again ran away with Kelsey in pursuit and Christopher still lagging behind. At some point, McCarthy stopped to confront Kelsey again. This time, however, Christopher had caught up, jumped between them, and briefly grappled with McCarthy before he broke free and ran out of sight. In response to Kelsey's 911 call, Bozeman police officers quickly arrived on scene in numbers and spoke with the couple.
¶4 After stepping away from police to see if anything was missing from their pickup, the couple saw McCarthy reappear, running past them toward the end of the street where it dead-ended at Bozeman Creek. Christopher pursued the man toward the creek while Kelsey alerted the police. As McCarthy went into the creek, Officer Lloyd caught up, drew his sidearm, and ordered McCarthy to *1053stop and raise his hands. When McCarthy was slow to respond, Officer Lloyd threatened to shoot him if he did not comply. McCarthy then complied. After a second officer arrived at the creek and held McCarthy at bay at Taser-point, Lloyd approached and gripped McCarthy by an arm to cuff and arrest him.
¶5 Officer Lloyd testified at trial that McCarthy then tensed up and attempted to pull free. Lloyd testified that, as McCarthy continued to struggle to break free, he punched McCarthy several times in the midsection to terminate his resistance and force him to submit to arrest. Lloyd and McCarthy fell to the ground as the struggle continued, with McCarthy face-down, holding his hands in underneath his body. Lloyd testified that McCarthy continued to defiantly hold his hands in despite repeated commands to show his hands and unsuccessful attempts by Lloyd to physically pull his hands out to subdue and cuff him. Lloyd further testified that during the process, he again repeatedly punched McCarthy in the side in an attempt to force him to submit to arrest. Meanwhile, a third officer (Officer Chaffins) soon joined the fray and also repeatedly punched McCarthy to force him into submission. The officers' body cameras revealed the two officers on the ground struggling with McCarthy, punching and ***140kneeing him, with another standing nearby.
¶6 In a contentious pretrial discovery process, the State ultimately provided a broad swath of investigative information compiled by the Bozeman Police Department regarding the incident. The State refused, however, to permit discovery of the requested internal police department use-of-force policy, related use-of-force reports and dispositions regarding the McCarthy incident, and the involved officers' pre-incident "personnel records."
¶7 On February 9, 2016, McCarthy filed a motion to compel discovery of the disputed information pursuant to § 46-15-322(1) and (5), MCA. Without further explanation, the motion cursorily asserted that the disputed items of information were relevant to the circumstances of McCarthy's arrest and his contemplated defense that he was physically unable to obstruct and resist his arrest as alleged. In opposition, the State asserted that the disputed items of information were outside the scope of discovery separately required by § 46-15-322(1), MCA (required scope of state disclosure in ordinary course), and the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (exculpatory information and other constitutionally material information
all information ... pertaining to [McCarthy's] arrest is entirely within the purview of § 46-15-322(1), MCA, because it may constitute a "statement" by the officers whom the State may rely on at trial ... and most, if not all, of the information could mitigate or negate [his] guilt or may reduce his potential sentence ... because it would provide additional details pertaining to the basis of the criminal charges against [him].
(Emphasis added.) However, without reference to Brady / Giglio standards, the court denied McCarthy's request for discovery of the officers' prior personnel records, concluding that:
employment records are subject to the right to privacy set forth in [ ] Article II, Section 10 of the Montana Constitution ... [and that i]n balancing the Defendant's right to know with [the officers'] right to privacy in their respective personnel records, [the officers'] demand for privacy exceeds the merits of disclosure to the Defendant in this instance. [McCarthy] has not shown substantial need for the personnel records.
(Emphasis added.)
¶9 In a separate pretrial matter, the State filed a motion in limine pursuant to M. R. Evid. 402 - 03 to preclude McCarthy from presenting examining physician testimony regarding the nature and extent of injuries he sustained incident to the arrest (five fractured ribs and a partially collapsed lung). The State conceded that information describing "the sequence of events" regarding McCarthy's "arrest or actions by those involved" was generally "relevant" to the charged offenses but asserted that any "medical information collected thereafter does not have any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is [of] consequence" to the charged offenses "more or less probable...." McCarthy contrarily asserted that the nature and extent of his injuries tended to prove that he was in fact physically unable to resist and obstruct the arrest as alleged. The Municipal Court reserved ***142judgment pending consideration in the context of the actual trial evidence.
¶10 At trial, McCarthy made an offer of proof that the proffered testimony of the physician who examined him the next day was relevant to show the amount of force, i.e., excessive force, used by the arresting officers. The State reasserted its prior objections pursuant to M. R. Evid. 402 - 03. Noting that the physician did not examine McCarthy until the next day and that Officer Lloyd had already testified regarding his injuries, the Municipal Court rejected the offer of proof and excluded the proffered physician testimony. After a two-day trial, the jury found McCarthy guilty on all counts as charged. He appealed to the Montana Eighteenth Judicial District Court. The District Court affirmed. McCarthy timely appeals to this Court.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶11 On appeal from municipal courts of record, district courts functions as intermediate courts of appeal with the scope of review limited to "the record and questions of law. ..." Sections 3-6-110(1), 3-5-303, MCA. On appeal of a judgment of an intermediate court of appeal, we review the record independent of the district court as if the matter was originally appealed directly to this Court. Stanley v. Lemire ,
¶12 We review evidentiary rulings and rulings on discovery motions for an abuse of discretion. State v. Spottedbear ,
DISCUSSION
¶13 1. Whether the Municipal Court erroneously subjected McCarthy's asserted "substantial need" for the arresting officers' personnel files under § 46-15-322(5), MCA, to balancing with their constitutional right to privacy?
¶14 Upon request, the criminal prosecutor must permit defense discovery of various enumerated classes of "material and information," including, inter alia , all "statements" of potential state witnesses and "all material or information that tends to mitigate or negate the defendant's guilt as to the offense charged or that would tend to reduce the defendant's potential sentence." Section 46-15-322(1) - (2), MCA. Independent of § 46-15-322, MCA, and implied from the fundamental fair trial rights guaranteed to criminal defendants under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, criminal prosecutors have an affirmative duty to disclose all information and materials known to the prosecutor that are favorable to the accused and constitutionally material to the determination of his or her guilt or punishment. Brady , 373 U.S. at 87-88, 83 S. Ct. at 1196-97 ; Giglio , 405 U.S. at 153-55, 92 S. Ct. at 766.
¶16 As to his request for the officers' pre-incident personnel records pursuant to § 46-15-322(5), MCA, McCarthy asserts *1057that the Municipal Court erroneously considered the officers' privacy rights with his asserted "substantial need" instead of exclusively assessing or analyzing his asserted need in isolation. McCarthy correctly points out that the Municipal Court did not first assess and determine whether he had "substantial need" for the officers' pre-incident personnel records. However, when a lower court affirmatively grants or denies a motion, the court's failure to explicitly address every argument or assertion in opposition to the ruling is an implicit rejection of those arguments or assertions and is not erroneous per se . See Masters Grp. Int'l, Inc. v. Comerica Bank ,
¶17 As to the central issue of whether an asserted "substantial need" under § 46-15-322(5), MCA, is even subject to balancing with implicated privacy rights as a threshold matter, all individuals, including police officers, have a fundamental Montana constitutional right to privacy. Mont. Const. art. II, § 10 ; State ex rel. Zander v. Fourth Judicial Dist. Ct. ,
¶18 Section 46-15-322(5), MCA, is a provision of criminal procedure enacted by the Legislature in furtherance of Montana's compelling interest in providing fair trials in accordance with Title 46, MCA, and over-arching federal and state constitutional fair trial rights. In contrast, the right to individual privacy is an often-competing Montana constitutional right. Neither necessarily trumps the other in every circumstance. When an asserted or implicated right to individual privacy conflicts with enforcement or furtherance of a competing federal or state constitutional right or other compelling state interest furthered by law, courts must first assess the nature and extent of the asserted privacy interest (i.e., whether subjectively and objectively reasonable) under the totality of the circumstances at issue and then balance it with the competing constitutional right or other compelling state interest. See Missoula Cty. Pub. Schs. , ¶¶ 11-13 ; Gazette 2013 , ¶¶ 18-59 ; Gazette 2011 , ¶¶ 16-29 ; Bozeman Daily Chronicle ,
¶19 McCarthy nonetheless asserts that our holdings in Peterson and State v. Romero ,
¶20 In Romero , as pertinent, a defendant convicted of various hunting violations asserted that the district court erroneously denied a defense motion in limine to preclude the investigating undercover state officer from testifying at trial in light of the State's *1059refusal to permit discovery of the officer's personnel file. Romero ,
¶21 McCarthy did not sufficiently challenge the actual balance of his asserted need for the arresting officers' personnel records and their implicated privacy interests in the Municipal Court. As in Peterson , he did not sufficiently raise a Brady / Giglio issue in the Municipal Court and has not sufficiently shown one on the record on appeal. More fundamentally, based on mere cursory assertion of a "substantial need" for the officers' pre-incident personnel records, McCarthy sufficiently challenged only the threshold question of whether an asserted "substantial need" for extraordinary discovery under ***150§ 46-15-322(5), MCA, is subject to assessment and balancing with implicated privacy interests. Under these circumstances, we hold that the Municipal Court correctly denied McCarthy's request for discovery of the arresting officers' pre-incident personnel records.
¶22 2. Whether the Municipal Court erroneously excluded examining physician testimony regarding the nature and extent of injuries sustained by McCarthy incident to arrest?
¶23 In response to the State's trial and pretrial objections pursuant to M. R. Evid. 402 - 03, the Municipal Court excluded defense-proffered physician testimony regarding the nature and extent of the injuries sustained by McCarthy incident to his arrest. The court reasoned that the testimony was only marginally relevant, if at all, given the elements of the offenses of obstructing and resisting a peace officer, the fact that Officer Lloyd had already testified regarding McCarthy's injuries incident to arrest, and that the physician did not examine him until the next day. The court thus essentially concluded that the danger of unfair prejudice substantially outweighed any probative value of the proffered testimony. McCarthy asserts that the court erroneously applied M. R. Evid. 403 because the nature and extent of his injuries were highly relevant to whether he "was physically incapable of resisting or obstructing, and [that] his conduct was consistent with [merely] defending himself against the punches and kicks" rather than knowingly obstructing and resisting the officers' attempt to arrest him as alleged. He asserts that Officer Lloyd's "non-medical, brief and general narrative" account of his injuries was insufficient to adequately support his asserted defense theory.
¶24 All evidence probative of a fact at issue is generally admissible. M. R. Evid. 402. Here, the State tacitly concedes that the proffered physician testimony had at least some marginal relevance in furtherance of McCarthy's asserted defense theory. However, a trial court may nonetheless exclude otherwise relevant evidence if its "probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence." M. R. Evid. 403. While all probative evidence is generally prejudicial to the opposing party, evidence is "unfairly prejudicial only if it arouses the jury's hostility or sympathy for one side without regard to its probative value, if it confuses or misleads the trier of fact, or if it unduly distracts from the main issues." State v. Daffin ,
¶25 As referenced in M. R. Evid. 403, "unfair prejudice" refers "to the capacity of some concededly relevant evidence to lure the factfinder" into determining a disputed issue of fact "on a ground different from proof specific to" an essential element of proof of an asserted legal charge, claim, or defense at issue. Old Chief v. United States ,
¶26 Here, as noted by the Municipal Court, Officer Lloyd had already testified that McCarthy was in immediate need of medical care as a result of his struggle with the arresting officers. Lloyd testified that McCarthy was taken to the emergency room for x-rays and treated for a collapsed lung among other injuries. Two of the officers' body camera video/audio recordings captured the struggle with McCarthy on the ground, revealing at least two officers repeatedly punching, kneeing, and kicking him in the side, his verbal wailing and other expressions of pain, his resulting inability to stand and walk without assistance, and his repeated post-custody exclamations or questions as to why or how the officers "kicked the shit out of [him]." Though the physician could have testified that McCarthy's injuries were consistent with being repeatedly punched and kicked, the proffered testimony was limited to the nature and extent of McCarthy's injuries as observed the next day and could not account for the circumstances under which the injuries occurred or how they in fact affected his intent or ability to obstruct and resist as alleged by the State. The proffered physician testimony in any event had no bearing on McCarthy's mental state or physical ability to obstruct or resist prior to the fact of the alleged obstruction and resistance that precipitated the officers' ensuing use of force.
¶27 Pursuant to §§ 45-7-301(2) and -302(2), MCA (legality of an arrest no defense to obstructing or resisting arrest), and M. R. Evid. 402, the injuries sustained by McCarthy after his alleged refusal to comply with ***152officer commands and his pre-injury physical resistance to the officers' initial use of force are not probative of whether he obstructed or resisted prior to that resulting use of force and injury. There is no evidence or assertion that McCarthy was injured prior to his alleged failure to comply and submit to arrest. Under these circumstances, the primary, if not exclusive, purpose and effect of additional evidence regarding the nature and extent of his injuries would have been to create sympathy for McCarthy, and prejudice against the officers regarding the amount of force used, thus inviting the jury to decide his guilt or innocence on that basis rather than the sufficiency of the State's proof on the elements of the charged offenses. Given these circumstances, we cannot say that the Municipal Court abused its discretion under M. R. Evid. 403. We hold that the Municipal Court did not erroneously exclude McCarthy's proffered physician testimony regarding the nature and extent of the injuries he sustained incident to arrest.
¶28 3. Whether sufficient evidence existed to sustain McCarthy's conviction for obstructing a peace officer as defined by § 45-7-302, MCA ?
¶29 McCarthy asserts that insufficient evidence existed to convict him of obstructing a peace officer because, at the time he was attempting to apprehend McCarthy, Officer Lloyd was not yet engaged in an investigation and McCarthy thus could not have "knowingly obstruct[ed], impair[ed], or hinder[ed] the enforcement of the criminal law" as referenced in § 45-7-302(1), MCA. Citing *1061Missoula v. Asbury ,
¶30 In Asbury , following an unsuccessful intermediate appeal to district court, multiple protesters, who had blocked the doors of a Missoula abortion clinic and otherwise interfered with persons desiring to utilize the clinic, ultimately appealed their various municipal court convictions to this Court. Asbury ,
¶31 In Akers , on appeal of an unsuccessful intermediate appeal to district court on other grounds, a defendant convicted of misdemeanor assault further asserted for the first time on appeal here that the justice court erroneously failed to properly instruct the jury on the affirmative defense of justifiable use of force. Akers , ¶¶ 2-8. Noting that, unlike in Asbury , the defendant had not previously raised the issue in any court, we recognized that he waived appellate review by this Court under the general rule of Asbury . See Akers , ¶¶ 19-20. However, distinguishing Asbury as a mere application of the general rule without consideration of the plain error exception, we rejected the State's waiver argument, holding that despite the defendant's failure to raise the issue in both courts below, the issue was still subject to plain error review on ultimate appeal to this Court. Akers , ¶ 20. Finding error, we exercised plain error review and reversed. Akers , ¶ 20-21.
¶32 Reaffirming Asbury synthesized with Akers , the failure to raise an appealable issue, whether preserved in the trial court or not, on intermediate appeal from a lower court of record generally constitutes an implied waiver of the issue for ultimate appeal to this Court. See Akers , ¶ 20 ; Asbury ,
***154¶33 Here, under the general rule of Asbury , McCarthy implicitly waived his sufficiency of the evidence challenge by failing to raise it on intermediate appeal. The issue is therefore subject to review on direct appeal only as plain error, in our discretion. In that regard, substantial record evidence manifests that Officer Lloyd was immediately pursuing and then attempting to apprehend McCarthy in response to a 911 report of criminal activity and Kelsey's subsequent on-scene alert and identification of him as a suspect in that activity. Lloyd testified that after identifying himself as a police officer, he commanded McCarthy to place his hands in the air and that he did not immediately comply. The sufficiency of the trial evidence *1062to support a conviction is presumed on appeal. See State v. Gomez ,
CONCLUSION
¶34 We hold that the Municipal Court correctly denied McCarthy's request for discovery of the arresting officers' pre-incident personnel records. We hold that the Municipal Court did not erroneously exclude McCarthy's proffered physician testimony regarding the nature and extent of the injuries he sustained incident to arrest. We decline to review the sufficiency of the evidence for plain error.
¶35 Affirmed.
We concur:
MIKE McGRATH, C.J.
JAMES JEREMIAH SHEA, J.
BETH BAKER, J.
JIM RICE, J.
The State euphemistically refers to the officers' punching and kneeing as the administration of "distraction strikes."
See Brady v. Maryland ,
See also Danforth v. Minnesota ,
While we have yet to squarely address whether an accused's due process and confrontation rights under Montana Constitution Article II, Sections 17 and 24 are coextensive with those afforded under the Fourteenth Amendment, our prior decisions are seemingly in substantial accord with federal due process standards. See State v. Duffy ,
We thus need not address McCarthy's side argument that Brady / Giglio require the prosecutor, not the involved law enforcement agency, to determine whether information or material known to law enforcement is exculpatory or otherwise constitutionally material.
The defendants were convicted of misdemeanor criminal trespass, "criminal contempt," and "failure of disorderly persons to disperse." Asbury ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CITY OF BOZEMAN, and v. Scott Reegan MCCARTHY, and
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published