This opinion will be unpublished and
may not be cited except as provided by
Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2014).
STATE OF MINNESOTA
IN COURT OF APPEALS
A15-0991
State of Minnesota,
Respondent,
vs.
David Charles Adams,
Appellant.
Filed May 9, 2016
Affirmed
Johnson, Judge
Becker County District Court
File Nos. 03-CR-14-939, 03-CR-14-133
Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and
Gretchen D. Thilmony, Becker County Attorney, Tammy L. Merkins, Assistant County
Attorney, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota (for respondent)
Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Amy Lawler, Assistant Public
Defender, St. Paul, Minnesota (for appellant)
Considered and decided by Schellhas, Presiding Judge; Worke, Judge; and Johnson,
Judge.
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
JOHNSON, Judge
David Charles Adams pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct after
he admitted that he engaged in sexual conduct toward a minor, which caused her to give
birth to a child. The district court sentenced Adams to 150 months of imprisonment, with
436 days of jail credit based on the date that Adams confessed to a law-enforcement officer.
Adams argues that the district court should have awarded him 865 days of jail credit based
on the date on which the girl gave birth. We affirm.
FACTS
On October 30, 2013, the White Earth Police Department received a report that a
girl, A.C., might be a victim of criminal sexual conduct. On November 5, 2013, a police
investigator interviewed A.C. According to the complaint, A.C. informed the investigator
that Adams had “had sexual intercourse with her on multiple occasions,” beginning on
December 31, 2010, when she was 12 years old, and continuing until at least July 2012.
During that time period, Adams was between 23 and 25 years old. A.C. also informed the
investigator that she had given birth to a child in July 2012.
At the time of the investigator’s interview of A.C., Adams was in custody on an
unrelated charge. On December 16, 2013, the police investigator obtained a DNA sample
from Adams. At approximately the same time, the police investigator obtained a DNA
sample from A.C.’s child.
On January 8, 2014, Adams was released from detention. On the day of his release,
an investigator questioned him at the county jail about A.C. Adams admitted to engaging
in sexual conduct toward A.C. and stated that he may be the biological father of A.C.’s
child. On January 28, 2014, law enforcement received the results of DNA tests, which
confirmed that Adams is the biological father of A.C.’s child.
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On May 7, 2014, the state charged Adams with one count of first-degree criminal
sexual conduct, in violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.342, subd. 1(a) (2010), and one count of
third-degree criminal sexual conduct, in violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.344, subd. 1(b)
(2010). On September 23, 2014, the state amended the complaint by adding one count of
second-degree criminal sexual conduct, in violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.343,
subd. 1(h)(iii) (2010). On that same day, Adams pleaded guilty to the second-degree
charge, and the state dismissed the other two charges.
In early November 2014, while awaiting sentencing, Adams sent a pro se letter to
the district court in which he stated that he should be given jail credit dating back to when
the child was conceived in November 2011. In late November 2014, the state filed a
memorandum of law in which it argued that jail credit should be based on January 8, 2014,
the date on which Adams confessed to a police investigator. In December 2014, Adams,
through his appointed counsel, filed a memorandum of law in which he argued that jail
credit should be based on a date before January 8, 2014, without specifying any particular
date.
At a March 19, 2015 sentencing hearing, Adams argued that he is entitled to 865
days of jail credit on the ground that the state “would have or should have” had probable
cause to charge him when A.C. gave birth on July 25, 2012. The district court awarded
him 436 days of jail credit based on the time he spent in custody since January 8, 2014, the
date of his confession. Adams appeals.
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DECISION
Adams argues that the district court erred by awarding him only 436 days of jail
credit based on the date of his confession rather than 865 days of jail credit based on the
date on which A.C. gave birth.
“A criminal defendant is entitled to jail credit for time spent in custody ‘in
connection with the offense or behavior incident being sentenced.’” State v. Clarkin, 817
N.W.2d 678, 687 (Minn. 2012) (quoting Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.03, subd. 4(B)). A defendant
also is entitled to credit for time spent in custody on another offense before being charged
with the offense of conviction. State v. Folley, 438 N.W.2d 372, 374 (Minn. 1989). In
such a case, a defendant is entitled to credit as of the date when
(1) the State has completed its investigation in a manner that
does not suggest manipulation by the State, and (2) the State
has probable cause and sufficient evidence to prosecute its case
against the defendant with a reasonable likelihood of actually
convicting the defendant of the offense for which he is charged.
Clarkin, 817 N.W.2d at 689. “The defendant has the burden of establishing that he is
entitled to jail credit for any specific period of time.” Id. at 687. Whether a defendant is
entitled to custody credit is “a mixed question of fact and law.” Id. (quotation omitted).
This court applies a clear-error standard of review to a district court’s findings of fact
relevant to custody credit and a de novo standard of review to a district court’s legal
analysis. Id.
Adam’s argument is concerned solely with the first part of the Clarkin test, which
is concerned primarily with when “the State has completed its investigation.” See id. at
689. The district court, by awarding Adams 436 days of credit, impliedly found that the
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state had completed its investigation on January 8, 2014, the date on which Adams admitted
to a police investigator that he had engaged in sexual conduct toward A.C. That implied
finding is somewhat generous toward Adams. The police department had begun the DNA-
testing process in December 2013, before Adams’s confession, and did not receive the
results of the DNA testing until January 28, 2014. The district court’s implied finding,
however, is consistent with the state’s argument to the district court.
Adams’s argument is focused not so much on when the state actually completed its
investigation but, rather, on when the state could have or should have completed its
investigation. Adams bases his argument on the qualifier in the first part of the two-part
Clarkin test, which is highlighted here: when “the State has completed its investigation in
a manner that does not suggest manipulation by the State.” Clarkin, 817 N.W.2d at 689
(emphasis added). The qualifier derives from Folley, in which the supreme court stated
that “‘the total amount of time a defendant is incarcerated should not turn on matters that
are subject to manipulation by the prosecutor.’” Id. at 688 (quoting Folley, 438 N.W.2d at
374). Adams contends that a broad view of the facts that led to the charges against him
suggest manipulation by the state, for the following reasons:
Here, a 14-year-old girl gave birth on July 25, 2012, in
the presence of a social worker, to a baby that was placed in
foster care before the end of that year. A 14-year-old girl is
below the age of consent, and her pregnancy would certainly
be subject to an investigation under Minn. Stat. § 626.556.
State social service agencies are also involved in the
supervision of the living arrangements of underage mothers,
under Minn. Stat. § 256J.14. And under Minn. Stat. § 257.33,
a hospital must report the birth of a child to a minor mother
within three days to the county social services agency, which
must work with the mother to develop a plan. This plan “must
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consider . . . the involvement of the father of the minor’s child
including steps being taken to establish paternity, if
appropriate.” Minn. Stat. § 257.33, subd. 2(a)(3). If a minor
mother refuses to make or follow through with the plan, “the
county social services agency may file a petition under section
260C.141 seeking an order for protective supervision.” Minn.
Stat. § 257.33, subd. 2(c). When a child is placed in foster care,
under Minn. Stat. § 260C.150, subd. 3, the responsible social
service agency must “make diligent efforts to identify and
locate” the child’s father.
The fact that here the infant was placed in foster care
indicates a certain level of government involvement, and the
infant’s DNA was irrefutable proof of Adams’ sexual
relationship with the 14-year-old A.C. Neither A.C. nor
Adams have ever denied the existence of their relationship, but
the birth of their child in 2012 provides a clear date on which
proof was made available to the state. Their relationship
continued after the child was born, and around September of
2012 A.C. ran away from home, was found with Adams, and
was placed in a juvenile detention center. The state was then
further involved when it placed the infant in foster care. The
state does not claim that A.C. or Adams ever denied the
infant’s paternity, or that the infant was placed into foster care
without any identification of his father. Yet the state did
nothing to bring its investigation of Adams to a close until after
Adams was released from prison. Despite having all of the
necessary evidence of his offense, and despite knowing the
whereabouts of Adams while he was on probation and then
incarcerated, the state waited until after his release from prison
to meet with him and obtain a confession.
Adams contends that, in light of the various laws implicated by A.C.’s giving birth, he
“need not allege or prove that there was any intentional prosecutorial manipulation.”
Rather, he contends that “the record is clear that this is a matter that was inherently subject
to manipulation.”
Adams’s argument fails for both legal and factual reasons. First, as an initial matter,
it is necessary to consider whether the knowledge and actions of the various public-sector
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employees implicated by Adams’s argument may be deemed to be the knowledge and
actions of the state. We are disinclined “to impute knowledge among personnel from
organizationally distinct entities.” State v. Fox, 868 N.W.2d 206, 218 n.2 (Minn. 2015)
(declining to impute knowledge among staff of county jail, city police department, and
state bureau of criminal apprehension for purposes of waiver of Miranda rights). In this
particular context, we interpret the phrase “the State,” as used in Clarkin, to refer to the
governmental entity that is responsible for prosecuting the case against a defendant. We
do so because the supreme court stated in Clarkin that “the prosecutor is the sole entity in
the criminal justice system with the authority to make charging decisions.” 817 N.W.2d at
689 (citing Johnson v. State, 641 N.W.2d 912, 917 (Minn. 2002)). The supreme court’s
caselaw on custody credit is consistent with that principle because it typically refers with
specificity to “the prosecutor” when describing actions taken on behalf of the state before
a defendant is charged. See, e.g., Clarkin, 817 N.W.2d at 688-89; Folley, 438 N.W.2d at
374-75. If a court were to consider the knowledge and actions (or inaction) of any person
employed by the State of Minnesota or one of its political subdivisions (or a tribal
government), the court’s analysis would be inconsistent with the principle that only a
prosecutor represents the state in a criminal proceeding. Thus, in determining when “the
State has completed its investigation in a manner that does not suggest manipulation by the
State,” Clarkin, 817 N.W.2d at 689, we look to the knowledge, actions, and inaction of the
governmental entity that assumed responsibility for prosecuting the defendant for the
offense of which he was convicted. Viewed through that lens, none of the events in this
case preceding the October 2013 report of a possible crime are relevant because there is no
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indication in the record that the county attorney’s office actually was aware of any of that
information.
Second, even if Adams were permitted to impute to the state the knowledge, actions,
and inaction of the various public-sector entities and employees implicated by his
argument, he has not established facts that “suggest manipulation by the State.” See id. at
689. Adams’s argument that his custody “was inherently subject to manipulation” is based
on the supreme court’s statement in Folley that “the total amount of time a defendant is
incarcerated should not turn on matters that are subject to manipulation by the prosecutor.”
438 N.W.2d at 374. But that statement does not mean that a district court must presume
manipulation as a matter of law if there is any possibility that the state could have
manipulated a defendant’s time in custody. Rather, the manner in which the supreme court
has applied the principle of Folley indicates that a district court should infer manipulation
as a matter of fact if the circumstances suggest that the state actually has manipulated a
defendant’s time in custody, keeping in mind that “[a]ny uncertainty . . . must be resolved
against the prosecutor.” See Folley, 438 N.W.2d at 373-75 (concluding that prosecutor
manipulated process by intentionally waiting to charge defendant for criminal sexual
conduct until he posted bail on DWI charge); see also Clarkin, 817 N.W.2d at 689
(concluding that prosecutor did not manipulate process in light of absence of delay and
investigation involving multiple police departments). The supreme court has not held that
a prosecutor engages in manipulation by not commencing an investigation that conceivably
could have been commenced. The caselaw states that a prosecutor engages in manipulation
only if the prosecutor commences an investigation and refrains from completing the
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investigation and charging the defendant. See Clarkin, 817 N.W.2d at 689; Folley, 438
N.W.2d at 373-75.
Third, even if Adams were to overcome the first and second hurdles described
above, we would not conclude that the district court erred in light of the nature of the factual
record. The facts on which Adams’s argument is based are contained only in a victim-
impact statement, which was submitted by a relative of A.C., who had served as her foster
mother. The purpose of a victim-impact statement is to allow a crime victim to provide
additional information directly to the district court concerning “the harm or trauma suffered
by the victim as a result of the crime” and to allow the victim to express her “reaction to
the proposed sentence or disposition.” Minn. Stat. § 611A.038(a)(1), (3) (2014). In light
of that purpose, this court has held that a victim-impact statement may not serve as the
factual basis of a sentencing departure if the record does not otherwise contain evidence to
support a departure. State v. Yanez, 469 N.W.2d 452, 455 (Minn. App. 1991), review
denied (Minn. June 19, 1991). For essentially the same reason, we would not allow a
victim-impact statement to be the sole factual basis of an award of custody credit.
Furthermore, Adams did not refer to the victim-impact statement when requesting custody
credit at the sentencing hearing.
Fourth, even if we were to fully engage Adams’s argument and the facts on which
it is based, there are additional reasons why the argument would fail. As the state argues,
the fact that a 12- to 14-year-old girl has given birth, by itself, does not necessarily mean
that a crime has been committed. This appears to be true. For example, if a 12- to 14-year-
old girl became pregnant by a boy who was less than 36 months older than she, there would
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not necessarily be a crime of criminal sexual conduct. See Minn. Stat. §§ 609.342,
subd. 1(a), (b), .343, subd. 1(a), (b), .344, subd. 1(a), (b), .345, subd. 1(a), (b).
In sum, the district court did not err by awarding Adams 436 days of jail credit based
on the date on which he confessed to the crime of which he was convicted.
Affirmed.
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