COURT OF APPEALS DECISION DATED AND FILED May 20, 2008
David R. Schanker Clerk of Court of Appeals |
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NOTICE |
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This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. A party may file with the Supreme Court a petition to review an adverse decision by the Court of Appeals. See Wis. Stat. § 808.10 and Rule 809.62. |
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Appeal No. |
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STATE OF WISCONSIN |
IN COURT OF APPEALS |
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DISTRICT III |
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State of
Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Dennis E. Pearson,
Defendant-Appellant. |
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APPEAL
from a judgment and an order of the circuit court for
Before
¶1 PER CURIAM. Dennis Pearson appeals a judgment convicting him of repeatedly sexually assaulting two stepdaughters and an order denying his motion for a new trial. He argues: (1) the court should have declared a mistrial and his counsel was ineffective for not requesting a mistrial after a prospective juror indicated she was the jail nurse and had treated Pearson; (2) the court denied Pearson his right to be present when the court responded to the jury’s requests to see some exhibits; (3) Pearson’s trial counsel was ineffective when he failed to object to sending a doctor’s cover letter into the jury room along with the medical reports when the letter vouched for the accusers’ credibility; and (4) a new trial should be granted in the interest of justice because the real controversy was not fully tried. We reject these arguments and affirm the judgment and order.
BACKGROUND
¶2 The allegations arose when Pearson’s thirteen-year-old stepdaughter reported sexual abuse to a school counselor. The child’s mother and fifteen-year-old sister took her to see Dr. Gary Hegranes for an examination. When Hegranes’ examination determined the child’s vagina was comparable to a mature woman’s and consistent with intercourse on many occasions, he informed her mother of his findings. When the fifteen-year-old was informed of the findings, she also indicated that Pearson had intercourse with her since she was in the third grade.
¶3 At trial, both girls testified to numerous instances of intercourse with Pearson. Both girls denied having boyfriends and denied having intercourse with any other person. The older child also presented a note that she found in her room approximately one year before trial. The note was signed “Me,” and the child identified Pearson’s handwriting. The note states in part:
I’m giving this to you so you know how much you mean to me, and how much I love you very much in every way. I don’t try to hurt you, and I try to keep ma off your ass. If you hate me and don’t want nothing to do with me let me know by putting something in my truck, but if you have some feelings for me put your holy [sic] jeans on and sleep on the white couch to night.
¶4 On cross-examination, both of the girls indicated Pearson was the family disciplinarian. He would punish the girls by requiring them to wash dishes. He yelled at them and one of the girls indicated he struck her. They testified that Pearson had talked about moving from their farm. The younger girl indicated she did not want to move and would miss the horses. The older girl did not care whether they moved and was only interested in the beef cattle. The older child indicated she had participated in a school program that discussed inappropriate sexual contact with adults, but did not report her stepfather’s assaults. She also testified that she did not have a driver’s license because Pearson did not pay for the lessons and always came up with some bill to pay instead.
DISCUSSION
¶5 Pearson did not testify. The only defense witness, a State Crime Lab scientist, testified that fabric samples from the girls’ mattresses did not reveal the presence of any semen.
¶6 Pearson first argues that the jury pool was contaminated when
a prospective juror, the jail nurse, indicated she had treated Pearson. He contends that the jury became objectively
biased by hearing the nurse’s comments. Pearson’s
counsel did not request a mistrial at that time. Therefore, he waived that issue for appellate
review.
¶7 Furthermore, Pearson’s argument is based on the unsupported
assumption that jurors would have thought Pearson was in jail for a crime other
than the present offenses. The nurse’s
statement was entirely consistent with Pearson being confined for the present
offenses. There is no reasonable
probability that the extraneous information had a prejudicial effect upon a
hypothetical average juror.
¶8 Pearson argues his trial counsel was ineffective for failing
to request a mistrial. To establish
ineffective assistance of counsel, Pearson must show deficient performance and
prejudice. Strickland v.
¶9 Pearson next argues that the trial court denied him the right
to be present at his trial when it responded to the jury’s requests for
exhibits in his absence. We conclude
this error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
¶10 Pearson did not establish prejudice from his counsel’s failure
to object to disclosure of the cover letters to the jury. The cover letters impermissibly vouched for
the credibility of Pearson’s stepdaughters, indicating that Heranes found their
accusations “believable.”
¶11 Finally, there is no basis for granting a new trial in the
interest of justice. To establish that
the real controversy was not fully and fairly tried, Pearson must show that the
nurse’s comment or the doctor’s cover letter “clouded a crucial issue” in the
case. State v. Cleveland, 2000
WI App, 142, ¶21, 237
By the Court.—Judgment and order affirmed.
This opinion will not be published. See Wis. Stat. Rule 809.23(1)(b)5.