Summary
This Wyoming Supreme Court opinion affirms the appellant's felony conviction for taking indecent liberties with a sixteen-year-old girl. The court addresses challenges to the facial and as-applied constitutionality of the indecent liberties statute under due process and equal protection grounds, finding it sufficiently clear and not unconstitutionally vague. Additionally, the court reviews evidentiary rulings regarding the exclusion of hearsay statements from an unavailable defense witness and allegations of prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments, concluding that no reversible error occurred.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether W.S. § 14‑3‑105 is facially unconstitutional.
- Whether W.S. § 14‑3‑105 is unconstitutional as applied to Moe's conduct.
- Whether the trial court erred in refusing to admit statements of an unavailable witness, violating Moe's right to present a defense and confront witnesses.
- Whether the prosecutor committed misconduct in closing argument.
Holdings
- The statute is not facially unconstitutional; it provides sufficient notice of prohibited conduct.
- The statute is not unconstitutional as applied; the conduct falls within the scope of indecent liberties.
- The trial court did not err in excluding Studie’s statements; the statements did not satisfy the catch‑all hearsay exception and lacked guarantees of trustworthiness.
- No prosecutorial misconduct occurred; the prosecutor’s statements were within permissible argument.
Key quotations
“Clearly, I think there is tons of evidence that an indecent liberty occurred here. Everybody agrees that it's an indecent liberty. ... It is not a big deal that I'm pregnant. It is not a big deal I'm going to have a kid. I'm going to live with my parents.” (¶18)
Factual background
In October 2002, 34‑year‑old Derald Moe engaged in sexual intercourse with 16‑year‑old AB in Moe's trailer while other minors were present. AB later reported the intercourse as non‑consensual. A witness for the defense, Dakota Studie, was unavailable; the trial court excluded his statements as hearsay. Moe was convicted of indecent liberties and sentenced to two to five years.
Procedural history
Moe was convicted of one count of taking immodest, immoral or indecent liberties with a sixteen‑year‑old girl under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14‑3‑105(a). He appealed asserting the statute was facially and as‑applied unconstitutional, that the trial court erred in excluding hearsay statements of an unavailable witness, and that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during closing argument.