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Carter v. State5/5/2000
James Carter, Jr. appeals his conviction of first degree burglary, arguing that the trial court erred in (1) denying him the opportunity to cross-examine the victim about her prior acts of aggression, and (2) admitting the out-of-court statement his daughter made to police. We affirm.
FACTS
On January 14, 1998, Carter was arraigned in the Thurston County Superior Court on a charge of fourth degree assault arising from a domestic violence incident that occurred on December 2, 1997. During the arraignment hearing, the court entered a no contact order prohibiting Carter from having any contact with Debra Garvin. That evening, while in Garvin's home, Carter asked for her car keys. When Garvin refused to give him the keys, a scuffle broke out, and Garvin and Carter's 10-year-old daughter Jameshia received minor injuries. As a result, the State charged Carter with one count of first degree burglary, one count of first degree robbery, and one count of third degree assault.
At trial, Garvin testified that she went to court with Carter on January 14th and dropped him off at a friend's house afterward. Later, Carter appeared at her house and asked to borrow her car. She testified that he was in and out of her house all day, continually asking her for the keys to her car, even though she told him that he was not supposed to be in her house. They scuffled after Carter woke her late that evening and asked for the keys. Carter's daughter, Jameshia, was sleeping with Garvin at the time. Garvin testified that Carter hit her in the back with an object that left a mark and scratched her breast. She also testified that he choked and hit her and put her head through the wall.
When the defense asked during cross-examination whether she fought back, the State objected on grounds of relevance. The defense responded that the issue of who was the initial aggressor was relevant, but the court disagreed because Carter had not claimed self-defense. Shortly thereafter, the State asked Garvin on redirect why she was afraid of Carter, and she replied that he had "jumped" on her before. The defense then asked Garvin whether she had initiated some of those prior assaults. When the State again objected, the defense argued that the door had been opened to such testimony, but the court disagreed in light of its previous ruling.
Garvin's sister-in-law, Mary, who lived with her husband in Garvin's home, testified that she heard Garvin ask Carter to leave and sensed that the two were upset. After Mary went to bed, she heard slamming and breaking noises coming from their bedroom. When she got up to investigate, she saw Carter holding Garvin against the wall.
After other witnesses testified regarding Carter's arrest while driving Garvin's car, Thurston County Deputy Sheriff Chris Edin testified that Garvin had given statements consistent with her testimony. He also stated that Garvin's injuries and the hole in the wall were consistent with her version of the incident.
The State called Jameshia Carter to the stand after the court found her competent but reluctant to testify. Jameshia remembered the argument about the keys but did not want to talk about it. She acknowledged hearing Carter and Garvin yelling and that someone threw an ashtray that hit her head. She refused to say whether her father threw the ashtray, she denied that Garvin threw it, and she stated that only the three of them were in the bedroom at the time. She denied seeing her father push or choke Garvin or shove her into the wall, and she refused to acknowledge talking to Deputy Edin following the incident.
The State asked to recall Edin to testify about Jameshia's taped stat
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