State v. Neeper, 2008-834 (N.H. Sup. Ct. 2010)
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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as
well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports.
Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New
Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any
editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes
to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address:
reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00
a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home
page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme.
THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
No. 2008-834
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
JAY NEEPER
Argued: January 13, 2010
Opinion Issued: March 25, 2010
Michael A. Delaney, attorney general (Nicholas Cort, assistant attorney
general, on the brief and orally), for the State.
Stephanie Hausman, assistant appellate defender, of Concord, on the
brief and orally, for the defendant.
DUGGAN, J. The defendant, Jay Neeper, was convicted of aggravated
felonious sexual assault, see RSA 632-A:2 (2007), following a jury trial in the
Superior Court (Brown, J.). On appeal, he argues that the trial court
erroneously denied his motions for a mistrial. We affirm.
The jury could have found the following facts. The defendant's daughter
and the victim were friends on the same cheerleading squad. The daughter, a
diabetic, was required to test her blood sugar several times a day with a
diabetes monitor.
On February 16, 2007, the victim slept over at the defendant's two-
bedroom apartment in Barrington, where the daughter was living at the time.
The daughter and the victim practiced their cheerleading routines in the
daughter's bedroom, and then went to sleep. The defendant and his nine-year-
old son slept in the living room. The victim testified that she woke up at
around 2:00 a.m. because she felt the defendant's hand "rubbing and patting"
her vagina. The victim woke the daughter and the defendant left the girls'
room.
The daughter immediately confronted the defendant and accused him of
sexually assaulting the victim. The defendant stated that he did not know
what she was talking about, got up, and left the room. The daughter then told
the defendant that they were leaving. In spite of the lateness of the hour, the
defendant said that was "fine" and did not try to stop them or ask where they
were going. The daughter and the victim left the apartment and called the
defendant's brother, who came to pick them up. The brother flagged down
Officer Jared Welman, a Lee police officer, and they went to the Lee police
station to be interviewed.
At approximately 5:00 or 6:00 a.m., Officer Welman and Officer
Christopher Plummer, a Barrington police officer, went to the defendant's
apartment. Officer Plummer explained that the police were there to talk to him
because they "found" his daughter and the victim walking down Route 4. In
response, the defendant explained that he had argued with his daughter
because the victim refused to call her mother and the girls refused to go to
sleep, and that, afterwards, she and the victim left. He also stated that, before
they left, "[t]hey accused me of . . . " but then he stopped talking.
At trial, on direct examination, the prosecutor asked Lieutenant Jacob
Banaian, a Barrington police officer, whether the defendant had attempted to
contact him or the Barrington police. Lieutenant Banaian stated that the
defendant had not. The defendant objected and the trial court overruled the
objection. Lieutenant Banaian testified that he spoke with the defendant on
February 18 and informed him of the charges against him. Then, the following
exchange occurred between the prosecutor and Lieutenant Banaian:
Q. Okay. And what did he say in response to you reading the charge
involving [the victim]?
A. He said he did not understand.
Q. Okay.
A. And that . . .
Q. And at that point, you – there were no further questions asked,
A. Right. He said he did not understand, he would like to talk with an
attorney, so there were no further questions.
Counsel for the defendant objected, and moved for a mistrial. The court
held a hearing outside of the presence of the jury. During the hearing, the
defendant introduced a copy of Lieutenant Banaian's police report, which
stated that the defendant was arrested on February 18 and subsequently met
with Lieutenant Banaian at the Barrington Police Department. Lieutenant
Banaian introduced himself to the defendant, who stated that he did not
understand what was happening. Lieutenant Banaian read the charges to the
defendant and "informed him if he would like to talk to me I would like to go
over his rights." The report also indicated that, although Lieutenant Banaian
apparently did not read the defendant his Miranda rights, he showed the
defendant "the rights form." In response, the defendant stated, "I don't
understand what is going on, so I would like an attorney."
The court found that the testimony at issue was "Doyle-like" and that the
prosecutor did not engage in any misconduct. See Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610
(1976). The court also found that there was "a little bit of a trail within the
records that lead up to [Lieutenant Banaian's comment]." The court denied the
defendant's motion for a mistrial. The court issued a curative instruction to
the jury to "disregard the . . . last two questions from the State and the
lieutenant's answers to them," and, in particular, the references to the
defendant's exercise of his constitutional rights. The court instructed the jury
that it could not "draw an inference as to guilt or innocence" based upon the
fact that the defendant exercised his rights, and emphasized the importance of
compliance with the instruction. The court then asked the jurors to indicate
"by a show of hands" whether they could disregard Lieutenant Banaian's
answer. The court asked the jurors whether they could "appreciate . . . the
principles of constitutional law," and they responded affirmatively.
The defendant testified and offered an explanation of his conduct that
night. He said his daughter kept her diabetes monitor on the front of the bed
because he routinely checked it at night. He also testified that she did not
know that he checked her monitor at night. The defendant stated that he and
his daughter frequently argued about how she monitored her diabetes, and
that she had high levels of insulin on the night of the assault. The defendant
testified that he went into her bedroom after she and the victim fell asleep to
check her monitor. However, he could not find it and, when someone started
moving, he left to avoid a confrontation with his daughter. The defendant
stated that his daughter yelled at him and "accused [him] of a bunch of stuff."
He testified that he did not stop her from leaving the apartment because a
therapist had recommended that he manage her outbursts by letting her "go
for a walk and cool down." However, his daughter testified that the defendant
never checked her diabetes monitor and they had not discussed it on the night
of the assault.
At the conclusion of the State's closing argument, the defendant renewed
his request for a mistrial, contending that the State's argument encompassed
his post-arrest silence. The court implicitly denied the defendant's motion.
On appeal, the defendant argues that the State improperly elicited
testimony that he invoked his constitutional rights post-arrest and after
receiving Miranda warnings, and commented on that testimony when the
prosecutor asserted in his closing argument that the defendant "never told
anyone" his exculpatory story. The defendant relies upon Part I, Article 15 of
the State Constitution and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the
Federal Constitution. The State counters that the court's curative instruction
alleviated any prejudice resulting from Lieutenant Banaian's testimony, and
disputes that the prosecutor commented on the defendant's post-Miranda
silence in his closing argument. Specifically, the State contends that the
prosecutor was referring to the defendant's failure to explain himself to his
daughter, the victim, and Officer Plummer on the night of the assault. The
State also argues that any error was harmless.
We first address the defendant's claims under the State Constitution,
and cite federal opinions for guidance only. State v. Ball, 124 N.H. 226, 231-33
(1983). In Doyle, 426 U.S. at 617-18, the United States Supreme Court "held
that the requirement of fundamental fairness inherent in the due process
guarantee bars the State from impeaching a defendant with evidence that he
remained silent after arrest and Miranda warnings." State v. Coppola, 130
N.H. 148, 150-51 (1987), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 969 (1989); see N.H. CONST.
pt. I, art. 15. Accordingly, the State may not use "the defendant's silence in
response to [Miranda] warnings to impeach the defendant's credibility, or . . . in
its case-in-chief as substantive evidence of the defendant's guilt." State v.
Demeritt, 148 N.H. 435, 439-40 (2002) (citation omitted); see State v. Munson,
126 N.H. 191, 193 (1985) ("The suspect's silence in the face of accusation may
not be used against him at trial." (quotation omitted)); Doyle, 426 U.S. at 617-
18. However, the defendant's silence towards private parties is not
constitutionally protected. State v. Brown, 128 N.H. 606, 613 (1986).
I. Lieutenant Banaian's Testimony
We first consider whether the trial court correctly declined to declare a
mistrial following Lieutenant Banaian's testimony that the defendant exercised
his constitutional rights. "Mistrial is the proper remedy only if the evidence or
comment complained of was not merely improper, but also so prejudicial that it
constitutes an irreparable injustice that cannot be cured by jury instructions."
State v. Ellsworth, 151 N.H. 152, 154 (2004) (quotation omitted); see State v.
Remick, 149 N.H. 745, 747 (2003). "The trial court is in the best position to
determine what remedy will adequately correct the prejudice, . . . and absent
an unsustainable exercise of discretion, we will not overturn its decision."
Ellsworth, 151 N.H. at 154. "A mere reference by a witness to a defendant's
silence, without more, however, does not necessarily require a mistrial." State
v. Spaulding, 147 N.H. 583, 587 (2002); see Remick, 149 N.H. at 747. "An
instruction to disregard the reference to silence is generally sufficient in the
absence of prosecutorial misconduct or comment that cannot be cured by a
cautionary jury instruction." Spaulding, 147 N.H. at 587; see Remick, 149
N.H. at 747. We presume that jurors follow the court's instructions. Remick,
149 N.H. at 747.
The defendant argues that the prosecutor "improperly elicited testimony
about [the defendant's] silence earlier in the trial," pointing to the prosecutor's
questions to Lieutenant Banaian and other witnesses as to whether the
defendant called the police after his daughter and the victim left the apartment,
whether he asked about their welfare, and whether he contacted the police
between the assault and his arrest. The defendant contends that the
prosecutor repeatedly highlighted his contact with Lieutenant Banaian to
emphasize his post-arrest, post-Miranda silence, and that the prosecutor's
question regarding the defendant's response after Lieutenant Banaian read the
charges to him called for the defendant's post-Miranda statements. The
defendant also argues that the prejudice resulting from Lieutenant Banaian's
comment was exacerbated because the jury was not aware that the defendant
had just received Miranda warnings. The State concedes that Lieutenant
Banaian's comment was inadmissible, but contends that the court correctly
denied the defendant's motion for a mistrial because the court's curative
instruction ameliorated any resulting prejudice, and the court found no
prosecutorial misconduct.
We cannot find that the trial court unsustainably exercised its discretion
when it denied the defendant's motion for a mistrial. While we agree that some
of the prosecutor's questions preceding Lieutenant Banaian's remark were
troublesome, the prosecutor's last question called for a yes or no response and
thus did not seek to elicit testimony about the defendant's post-arrest, post-
Miranda silence. After establishing that Lieutenant Banaian read the charges
to the defendant and that the defendant stated that he did not understand
them, the prosecutor asked, "there were no further questions asked, correct?"
Lieutenant Banaian's statement that the defendant said "he would like to talk
with an attorney, so there were no further questions" was not responsive. We
thus agree with the trial court that the prosecutor did not engage in
misconduct.
As for the argument that any prejudice was heightened because the jury
was unaware that the defendant had been shown Miranda warnings, the
defendant simply fails to explain why this is so. We find that any prejudice
resulting from Lieutenant Banaian's testimony was alleviated by the trial
court's curative instruction and affirmative response from the jurors that they
could comply with the court's instructions. See Remick, 149 N.H. at 747;
Spaulding, 147 N.H. at 587.
The State also argues that any error by the trial court was harmless.
However, we need not address this argument because the trial court did not
erroneously admit Lieutenant Banaian's testimony. See Spaulding, 147 N.H. at
588; Demeritt, 148 N.H. at 440.
II. The Prosecutor's Closing Argument
We next consider whether the prosecutor referred to the defendant's
post-Miranda silence in his closing argument. The defendant contends that
the prosecutor's argument was improper because he "invited the jury to use
the post-Miranda silence improperly," and "stress[ed] the time period between
the incident and trial, the bulk of which was post-Miranda" to highlight the
post-Miranda silence. The State contends that the prosecutor's comment that
the defendant "never told anyone anything" clearly referred to the defendant's
statements on the night of the assault and not to post-Miranda silence.
During his closing argument, counsel for the defendant referred explicitly
to the defendant's statement to Officer Plummer on February 17 that "They
accused me of . . . ", and argued that the fact that the defendant stopped
speaking was "consistent with innocence." The prosecutor, in response,
repeatedly discussed the defendant's actions and words on February 17, the
night of the assault, and commented on his interaction with Officer Plummer
the next morning, disputing the defendant's account of that conversation. In
that context, the prosecutor stated that the defendant "never told anyone" that
he went into his daughter's bedroom to check her diabetes monitor.
Specifically, he asserted that:
The idea that somehow the police have prevented Mr. Neeper from giving
his version of events, his complete version of events, a version of events
which has a very innocent explanation for why he went into the room in
the first place, which is this diabetes monitor, is not true. Telling you
that [the victim's] story has changed is actually quite humorous because,
in fact, it is Mr. Neeper's version of events that has changed dramatically,
because on February 17th, 2007, this diabetes monitor thing is never
put into play. You don't hear a word about it. And he is given an
opportunity, folks, to say what he needs to say.
The State also argued that the defendant "never told anyone there was a
perfectly legitimate and innocent reason why he would have gone into the room
that evening," and that the defendant's explanation "comes a little too lately
[sic] and is a little too different from what was said on the night in question by
the defendant."
Following the State's closing argument, the defendant again moved for a
mistrial, contending that the State's argument "broadly asserting . . . he never
told anyone . . . was not focused to the contact with the police on the night in
question" and included "his post-arrest silence." After hearing arguments from
the parties, the court stated, "Okay," and immediately began instructing the
jury. The court did not issue a curative instruction.
Taken in context, the prosecutor's comment that the defendant "never
told anyone" refers to his statements immediately following the assault and not
his post-Miranda silence. See Spaulding, 147 N.H. at 588 (prosecutor did not
make reference to witness's post-Miranda silence); Taylor v. State, 72 S.W.3d
882, 888 (Ark. Ct. App. 2002) (finding that, in context, prosecutor's statement
during closing argument that defendant "never said it was an accident" was not
reference to defendant's decision not to testify); see also State v. Gaiolas, 116
N.H. 216, 217 (1976) ("Whether due process is violated is not to be determined
by isolation of a phrase from the record of the prosecution's argument.").
Accordingly, we cannot conclude that the trial court unsustainably exercised
its discretion when it declined to declare a mistrial.
Because the State Constitution is at least as protective as the Federal
Constitution under these circumstances, see Anderson, 141 N.H. at 169, we
reach the same result under the Federal Constitution. Given this result, we
need not address the parties' remaining arguments.
BRODERICK, C.J., and DALIANIS and HICKS, JJ., concurred.
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