Roberts v. State

103 A.3d 1031

2014 ME 125

Daniel P. ROBERTS

v.STATE of Maine.

Docket No. And–13–398.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Argued: Sept. 10, 2014.

Decided: Nov. 6, 2014.

Rosemary Curran Scapicchio, Esq. (orally), Boston, Massachusetts, and Verne E. Paradie, Jr., Esq., Paradie Sherman Walker & Worden, Lewiston, for appellant Daniel Roberts.

Janet T. Mills, Attorney General, William R. Stokes, Dep. Atty. Gen., Donald W. Macomber, Asst. Atty. Gen. (orally), Office of the Attorney General, Augusta, for appellee State of Maine.

Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and ALEXANDER, SILVER, MEAD, JABAR, and HJELM, JJ.

Opinion

SILVER, J.

[¶ 1] Daniel P. Roberts appeals from an order of the Superior Court (Androscoggin County, Wheeler, J. ) denying his petition for post-conviction review. Because we conclude that Roberts's Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was not violated during any stage of his 2007 murder trial, we affirm.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

[¶ 2] In December 2005, Roberts was indicted for the murder of Melissa Mendoza, the mother of his child.¹ Roberts pleaded not guilty, and the case proceeded to trial in February 2007. The jury returned a guilty verdict on February 27, 2007. In March 2007, Roberts filed a motion to dismiss the indictment and vacate the conviction based on alleged misconduct by grand jurors; the motion was denied. On June 29, 2007, Roberts was sentenced to fifty-five years in prison and was ordered to pay $4500 as restitution for Mendoza's funeral expenses. In August 2007, Roberts appealed.² We affirmed the conviction on July 8, 2008. See State v. Roberts, 2008 ME 112, 951 A.2d 803.

[¶ 3] Roberts filed a pro se petition for post-conviction review on July 2, 2009, alleging that he received ineffective assistance from trial counsel. He submitted an amended petition through counsel in December 2010, and he filed a supplemental amended petition in March 2011. An evidentiary hearing was held in the Superior Court in December 2011.

A. Jury Selection

[¶ 4] Prior to jury selection, Roberts's defense counsel filed a motion in limine requesting that questioning of individual jurors take place outside of the presence of other jurors. He also asked that several non-attorney consultants, a second attorney, and up to two trial assistants be permitted to attend voir dire. Roberts also requested that he be permitted to personally address prospective jurors during the voir dire process.

[¶ 5] The court addressed the process for conducting voir dire during a motion hearing on January 30, 2007, at which Roberts was present and represented by counsel. The court explained that general voir dire would be conducted in open court and that jurors who had been exposed to information about the case or expressed a possible bias would then be questioned individually. Topics to be explored during individual voir dire included, among other things, jurors' views regarding drugs and alcohol, whether they had any personal experience with domestic violence, and whether they had previous experience in the court system as a party, witness, complaining witness, or victim.

[¶ 6] The court indicated, “[T]he question is whether [the individual voir dire is] done at sidebar or whether it's done in chambers,” to which defense counsel responded, “I would prefer that it be done in chambers, Your Honor.” Defense counsel further stated that Roberts was entitled to be present in chambers during the individual voir dire and said, “I would also ask for other people to be present as well.” The court acknowledged that defense counsel had previously requested that “a number of people” be present during individual voir dire but expressed concern about having enough space in chambers to accommodate them. Further, the court explained, “I don't believe that all of that is necessary. What I will permit is one of your jury selection people to attend with you ... and one co-counsel.” Defense counsel said, “We don't object to obviously having them in chambers, and I don't object to limiting it to my co-counsel[,] one juror counselor and my client.”

[¶ 7] Consequently, during jury selection, individual voir dire was conducted in chambers with no members of the public present; defense counsel was accompanied by co-counsel and one jury-selection consultant. The court advised each of the forty-nine prospective jurors questioned in chambers that everyone present had an obligation to keep confidential any information that was divulged during the individual voir dire. At no time did Roberts object to this procedure.

B. Courthouse Screening

[¶ 8] During the trial, a sign was posted at the front entrance of the courthouse indicating that anyone wearing colors, logos, or insignia associated with any fraternal organization would not be allowed inside. The purpose of this screening policy was to prevent the jury from being exposed to any suggestion that Roberts was affiliated with the Hell's Angels. Roberts did not object to this procedure; on the contrary, it was implemented with his knowledge and consent. The court informed counsel that it was implementing the process in order to prevent the colors or insignia from being displayed anywhere that the jury could see them, to which defense counsel jokingly responded that he would “strangle anyone [who] did that anyway.”

[¶ 9] One day while the trial was in session a judicial marshal asked a Roberts supporter to remove his T-shirt before entering the courthouse because the shirt displayed a Harley Davidson logo. The supporter removed the shirt, turned it inside out, and put it back on; he was then permitted to enter the courthouse. No members of the public were excluded as a result of the screening policy.

C. Limitations on Entry to the Courtroom During Trial

[¶ 10] Defense counsel requested during a conference in chambers that the victim's family be removed from the courtroom during the presentation of certain evidences—specifically, the playing of a recording of a phone call between the victim and Roberts—because they were holding each other and visibly crying into handkerchiefs, which defense counsel feared could unfairly prejudice Roberts. The court declined to ask them to leave the courtroom but did consider various options, including having a victim advocate ask them to be more aware of their behavior and possibly asking them to move to a less visible location in the courtroom. The court concluded, however, that the best option would be to simply adjourn for the day, noting that Roberts's family and friends had engaged in distracting behavior as well, including tapping other spectators on the shoulder as they got up to leave the courtroom during witnesses' testimony. Once the jury was excused, the court addressed the spectators, saying,

I would like everyone to stay in the courtroom just for a minute so I can give some general instructions about courtroom demeanor, both during sessions and in between sessions. So I'm going to ask that people remember they're in a courtroom, they're in a courthouse. Their behavior should be in accordance with ... the solemnity that should be attached to a courthouse.... I'm asking all of you here who are attending the trial on a daily basis that you treat each other civilly, and I do not want any eruptions or anything else to happen. If that does happen I will have to remove people from the courtroom.... I treat the court with utmost respect, and I expect anyone who is here to do the same.

[¶ 11] Later in the trial, the court again discussed with counsel the problem of distracting activity occurring in the audience during the presentation of evidence. The court addressed both defense counsel and the State at sidebar, saying,

I am concerned, and I could speak to the attorneys or I could speak to the whole audience after the jury leaves, but I would ask each of you to talk to your sort of fan clubs back there. During the tape recording [of the phone call between the victim and Roberts] your victim advocate was not there ... and the [victim's] mother was having a difficult time.... On your side a young blond woman came in and acted sort of like this was a wedding or something.... [S]he gave [Roberts's father] a big hug and then she gave a woman across the front of the bench a big hug and she turned and waved to other people. I think you just need to talk to the principal people who are here and make sure they reign in their behavior.... I'll ask each of you to talk to the people ... about the right of the jury to make a decision ... independent of being affected by what members of the audience are doing.

[¶ 12] At some point during the trial, judicial marshals began requiring spectators to wait until a break in the presentation of evidence before entering the courtroom. Defense counsel was not specifically made aware that this procedure was being implemented. One Roberts supporter explained that she was excluded from the courtroom while “proceedings [were] going on” because “the judge had stated one day in court that too many people were going in and out and it was distracting people.” According to the Roberts supporter, the trial judge made this statement while both Roberts and the jury were absent from the courtroom. Several of Roberts's supporters testified at the post-conviction hearing that they were not permitted to enter the courtroom while witnesses were testifying. Spectators who arrived after the trial had begun for the day were required to wait in a side room until there was a break in the proceedings. Similarly, spectators who left the courtroom during testimony were not permitted to reenter until there was a break. The time they were required to wait varied from only a few minutes to more than twenty minutes.

D. The Return of the Verdict

[¶ 13] On its first day of deliberations, the jury asked for read-backs of several portions of testimony and reviewed videos and recordings that had been offered during the trial. After rehearing certain evidence, the jury resumed deliberations at 4:26 p.m. The record does not...