COURT OF APPEALS DECISION DATED AND RELEASED November 22, 1995 |
NOTICE |
A party may file
with the Supreme Court a petition to review an adverse decision by the Court
of Appeals. See § 808.10
and Rule 809.62, Stats. |
This opinion is
subject to further editing. If
published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the
Official Reports. |
No.
95‑0827‑CR
STATE OF WISCONSIN IN
COURT OF APPEALS
DISTRICT II
STATE OF WISCONSIN,
Plaintiff‑Respondent,
v.
DEBRA KERKMAN,
Defendant‑Appellant.
APPEAL
from a judgment of the circuit court for Kenosha County: DAVID M. BASTIANELLI,
Judge. Reversed.
ANDERSON,
P.J. Debra Kerkman appeals from a judgment of
conviction for intimidation of a victim contrary to § 940.44(1), Stats.[1] We conclude that the evidence presented to
the trial court was insufficient to constitute intimidation of a victim and
therefore reverse Kerkman's conviction.
In
June 1994, Kerkman was charged with two counts of physical abuse of a child
contrary to § 948.03(2)(b) and (5), Stats.,
and one count of intimidation of a victim contrary to § 940.44(1), Stats.
The charges stemmed from multiple incidents between Kerkman and her then
fourteen-year-old daughter, Tracy W.[2] Kerkman waived her right to a trial by jury,
and her case proceeded to a trial by the court.
At
the end of the State's case-in-chief, Kerkman moved to dismiss all three
charges. The trial court examined Wis J I—Criminal 950, a composite of
§ 939.45(5), Stats., which
provides for privileged discipline by a person responsible for the welfare of a
child, and concluded that since Tracy initiated both altercations, Kerkman's
physical retaliations were privileged for self-defense purposes. The court reasoned that the events consisted
of a typical altercation in which both Kerkman and Tracy had used nearly
identical force. Therefore, the court
granted Kerkman's motion and dismissed both physical abuse counts, but
proceeded on the intimidation of a victim charge.
The
intimidation of a victim charge stems from comments made by Kerkman to Tracy
after Kerkman learned Tracy reported
the two incidents to the police. Based
on Tracy's recollection of the events, she claims her mother told her, “there's
no more friends coming over” and that “if this gets out, this can ruin my
life.” However, the testimony of Tracy,
Kerkman and Officer Mark Hunter conflict as to what actually was said and in
what context such comments were made.[3]
Despite
the dismissal of both physical abuse charges based on privilege, the court
found Kerkman guilty of intimidation of a victim, sentenced her to two- years
probation and instructed her to continue counseling. Although the court found Kerkman's actions privileged, the court
was satisfied with the State's argument that Kerkman threatened Tracy to
prevent the matter from continuing. The
court concluded that threats made to Tracy about ruining her life and not
having friends come over essentially meant that Tracy would not be “able to
enjoy the normal aspects that a child normally enjoys in association with their
peers.”
Kerkman
appeals her conviction arguing that she cannot be convicted of intimidation of
a victim pursuant to § 940.44(1), Stats.,
since she was acquitted of the underlying charges of physical abuse of a child.
According
to Wis J I—Criminal 1294, the
State must prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt for a fact finder to
convict Kerkman of intimidation of a victim:
(1) that Tracy was a victim of a crime; (2) that Kerkman prevented,
dissuaded, or attempted to prevent or dissuade Tracy from reporting the crime
to a law enforcement agency, and (3) that Kerkman acted knowingly and
maliciously.
Kerkman
argues that since she was acquitted of the two physical abuse charges, Tracy
cannot be considered a “victim of a crime.”
To convict of intimidation of a victim, the State must prove the
elements of the underlying crime or crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Thomas, 161 Wis.2d
616, 624, 468 N.W.2d 729, 732 (Ct. App. 1991).
We agree with the trial court's determination that since all the
elements of child abuse were proven, dismissing the charges against Kerkman
because of her privilege of self-defense as a parent did not nullify Tracy's
status as a “victim of a crime.”
The
court of appeals has broad discretionary reversal power under § 752.35, Stats., when the court is convinced
either that the real controversy has not been fully tried or that it is
probable that justice has for any reason been miscarried. Vollmer v. Luety, 156 Wis.2d
1, 19, 456 N.W.2d 797, 805 (1990).
Although an issue may not be raised or challenged by the parties, the
courts have the power to voluntarily consider such issues in the interest of
justice. Id. at 22 n.5,
456 N.W.2d at 806. Kerkman did not
directly appeal her conviction based on insufficiency of the evidence; however,
we feel the evidence was insufficient for an intimidation conviction.
Generally,
before an appellate court can overturn a conviction on insufficiency of the
evidence grounds, “the evidence, viewed most favorably to the state and the conviction,
[must be] so insufficient in probative value and force that it can be said as a
matter of law that no trier of fact, acting reasonably, could have found guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt.” State
v. Poellinger, 153 Wis.2d 493, 501, 451 N.W.2d 752, 755 (1990).
Since
all three elements of intimidation of a victim must be proven, if any one
element was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, Kerkman should not have been
convicted. First, we look to whether
Kerkman acted knowingly and maliciously.
This element requires that Kerkman knew Tracy was a victim of a crime
and either “acted with the intent to injure or annoy another” or “acted with an
intent to interfere with the orderly administration of justice.” See Wis J I—Criminal
1294. “State of mind can ¼ only be inferred
from assessment of a person's acts and statements in light of the surrounding
circumstances.” State v. Schlegel, 141 Wis.2d 512, 517, 415
N.W.2d 164, 166 (Ct. App. 1987) (citation omitted).
After reviewing the
conflicting testimony of Kerkman, Tracy and Hunter as to what Kerkman said to
Tracy and in what context and circumstances the comments were made, we fail to
see how such comments were knowingly and maliciously made. Kerkman and Tracy both testified that at the
time Kerkman made the statements she was upset and that the statement about
ruining her life was made in reference to Kerkman's life, not Tracy's
life.
Also,
Kerkman testified that the comments about Tracy's friends were not made to threaten
or intimidate Tracy, but were made because Kerkman believed her daughter's
friends were part of their problems.
Both arguments erupted over Tracy having friends over to the house when
her mother was not there, which Tracy had been previously told not to do. Since it had occurred over and over again,
we can infer that Kerkman felt the best way to remedy the situation was to say
Tracy's friends could not come to the house.
Since
we fail to see beyond a reasonable doubt how Kerkman's statements were made
knowingly and maliciously with an intent to prevent Tracy from talking to the
police, Kerkman's conviction should be reversed.[4]
Convicting
a parent of intimidation of a victim would have a chilling effect on parental
discipline. In Wisconsin, the parental
discipline defense privilege allows a parent to use reasonable discipline and
force when deemed necessary, and places a limit where a parent intends to cause
or create an unreasonable risk of great bodily harm or death. Section 939.45(5)(b), Stats.
To consider an upset parent's reprimands concerning the extent of a
child's extra-curricular activities as “knowing and malicious intimidation”
creates a ridiculous situation.
The
trial court's interpretation of Kerkman's statements as threats that Tracy
would be unable to enjoy the normal aspects of associating with her friends if
the matter continued was inconsistent with what both Kerkman and Tracy
testified to. Kerkman's response and
comments to Tracy about her friends not coming over appear to have been
motivated by a normal parental reaction to a teenager's failure to abide by
house rules. Tracy had been told
repeatedly by Kerkman not to have her friends over when no one else was home,
but continually disobeyed her mother's request. Since the arguments were based on these occurrences, it is only
natural that Kerkman wanted Tracy to stop having her friends over.
We
conclude that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to prove all
three elements of intimidation of a victim and therefore the trial court
erroneously convicted Kerkman.
By
the Court.—Judgment reversed.
This
opinion will not be published. See
Rule 809.23(1)(b)4, Stats.
[1] Section
940.44(1), Stats., provides in
pertinent part:
Intimidation of victims; misdemeanor.
[Whoever knowingly and maliciously prevents or dissuades ¼ another person who has been the victim of any crime or
who is acting on behalf of the victim from ¼ [m]aking any report of the victimization to
any peace officer or state, local or federal law enforcement or prosecuting
agency¼.
[2] The first
incident occurred in December 1993 when Kerkman and Tracy were arguing while
Tracy's friends were at the house.
Based on testimony given by Tracy at trial, the argument started in the
house but escalated when Tracy proceeded outside and refused to return at
Kerkman's request. Kerkman grabbed
Tracy's shoulder and turned her towards the house, but Tracy pushed Kerkman against
the porch railing. A physical altercation
between the two ensued, and in the midst of hitting one another, Tracy pushed
her hand against her mother's neck to choke her. To escape, Kerkman pulled Tracy's head down by her hair, kneed
her in the head and twisted her neck.
The second incident occurred
in February 1994 during another verbal argument when Kerkman returned home
around 10:30 p.m. and found a group of Tracy's friends leaving the house. Since some of Tracy's friends remained,
Kerkman asked Tracy who had left and proceeded to grab Tracy's arm to speak to
her privately in Kerkman's bathroom.
Tracy claims that her mother had told her she could have people over,
but Kerkman asked why the friends were there.
A hollering match between the two erupted and Kerkman grabbed for
Tracy's arm when she attempted to leave the bathroom. When Tracy pushed Kerkman backward, Kerkman retaliated by
slapping Tracy.
[3] Hunter testified
as to what Tracy reported had happened after her mother found out about the
charges made by Tracy. Tracy told the
officer that the comment made about ruining her life was made by Kerkman with
respect to Tracy's life, meaning that many restrictions would be placed on
Tracy for turning Kerkman in to the police.
Tracy testified that Kerkman was merely
upset and that when Kerkman said if this goes anywhere her life is finished,
Kerkman was referring to herself, and not Tracy. Tracy stated that her mother did not make that statement to
intimidate her. Tracy also claimed that
her mother never explained why the other statement about Tracy not having
friends over was made.
Kerkman testified that she was very upset
at the time and asked Tracy if she was trying to ruin Kerkman's life. The statements made about the friends were
made because, according to Kerkman, Tracy's friends were part of the
problem. Kerkman claims that she had
repeatedly told Tracy she could not have friends over when neither of her
parents were there, but when it continued to occur, Kerkman believed it needed
to stop. However, Kerkman never
followed through with such a threat, and Tracy's friends continued to come to
the house.
[4] Since all three
elements of intimidation of a victim need to be proven beyond a reasonable
doubt in order to convict, and we have determined that the statements made by
Kerkman were not knowingly and maliciously made, we do not need to prove that
the other two elements were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.