IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Docket No. 32772
STATE OF IDAHO, ) 2008 Opinion No. 76
)
Plaintiff-Respondent, ) Filed: July 24, 2008
)
v. ) Stephen W. Kenyon, Clerk
)
BENNY DALE COFFIN, )
)
Defendant-Appellant. )
)
Appeal from the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Ada
County. Hon. Michael E. Wetherell, District Judge.
Judgment of conviction and unified sentence of ten years, with five years
determinate, for felony domestic violence, affirmed.
Molly J. Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender; Diane M. Walker, Deputy
Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant.
Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Lori A. Fleming, Deputy Attorney
General, Boise, for respondent.
______________________________________________
GUTIERREZ, Chief Judge
Bennie Dale Coffin appeals from the judgment of conviction and sentence entered upon
the jury verdict finding him guilty of felony domestic violence. We affirm.
I.
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
On June 1, 2005, police twice responded to Coffin’s residence to investigate two separate
reports of domestic violence. The first report was made by Coffin’s live-in girlfriend, Kalee
Chandler, who called 911 reporting that she and Coffin had been in an altercation. After arriving
at the residence to investigate, an officer suggested to Coffin, who was “clearly intoxicated,” that
he leave the residence. No arrests were made at the time.
Approximately a half-hour after the officers left the residence, Chandler fled to a nearby
house screaming and told her neighbor that Coffin had hit and kicked her and thrown her to the
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ground. Chandler spoke to a 911 operator, telling her that Coffin had returned to the house
wanting a ring and that Chandler had put the ring in her mouth. She stated that Coffin then put
his fingers in her mouth, she bit them, and he threw her on the ground and kicked her in the head.
When the officers returned to Coffin’s residence, he was not there. They interviewed
Chandler and took photographs of her injuries which included a scratch and bruise on her arm,
bite marks on her forehead, a noticeable bump on the back of her head, and lacerations under her
tongue. The police then left the residence in search of Coffin who they found several blocks
away. He told the officers that when Chandler would not give him the ring, he had pried her
mouth open and attempted to retrieve the ring. She then bit down on his fingers, causing Coffin
to press his teeth against her forehead and to hit the back of her head in an attempt, he claimed,
to have her release her bite. He also admitted to pushing her to the ground to free himself but
denied kicking her in the head as she had claimed.
Coffin was charged with felony domestic violence, Idaho Code §§ 18-903, 18-918(2).
Following a jury trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to ten years, with five years
determinate. The court, however, suspended the sentence, placing Coffin on probation for ten
years. Coffin now appeals.
II.
ANALYSIS
A. Jury Instructions
For the first time on appeal, Coffin contends that the district court committed reversible
error when it instructed the jury with regard to the definition of “willfully” for the purpose of the
“willful infliction of a traumatic injury” element of the domestic violence charge (jury
instruction no. 10).
The question whether the jury has been properly instructed is a question of law over
which we exercise free review. State v. Gleason, 123 Idaho 62, 65, 844 P.2d 691, 694 (1992).
When reviewing jury instructions, we ask whether the instructions as a whole, and not
individually, fairly and accurately reflect applicable law. State v. Bowman, 124 Idaho 936, 942,
866 P.2d 193, 199 (Ct. App. 1993).
Ordinarily, a party may not claim that a jury instruction was erroneous unless the party
objected prior to the jury beginning to deliberate. Idaho Criminal Rule 30(b). However, even
absent a timely objection to the trial court, some claims of instructional error are reviewable for
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the first time on appeal under the fundamental error doctrine. State v. Anderson, 144 Idaho 743,
748, 170 P.3d 886, 891 (2007). Fundamental error has been defined as error that “so profoundly
distorts the trial that it produces manifest injustice and deprives the accused of his fundamental
right to due process.” Anderson, 144 Idaho at 748, 170 P.3d at 891; State v. Lavy, 121 Idaho
842, 844, 828 P.2d 871, 873 (1992).
Coffin contends the instruction given by the court on the “willful” element of infliction of
traumatic injury for domestic violence was an erroneous statement of the law that was prejudicial
to him. Specifically, he argues that the court instructed the jury on “willfulness” by giving “the
less culpable conduct-oriented meaning” of the term and thereby reducing the state’s burden of
proof in regard to the mental element of the offense.
The United States Supreme Court has held that in a criminal trial, “the State must prove
every element of the offense, and a jury instruction violates due process if it fails to give effect to
that requirement.” Middleton v. McNeil, 541 U.S. 433, 437 (2004); Anderson, 144 Idaho at 749,
170 P.3d at 892.
The applicable code section which Coffin was charged with violating, I.C. § 18-
918(2)(a),1 stated that:
Any household member who commits a battery, as defined in section 18-903,
Idaho Code, and willfully and unlawfully inflicts a traumatic injury upon any other
household member is guilty of a felony.
(Emphasis added).
In State v. Sohm, 140 Idaho 458, 95 P.3d 76 (Ct. App. 2004), the lower court used the
definition of “willfully” in Idaho Code § 18-101(1)2 in instructing the jury on a domestic
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The acts in question occurred on June 1, 2005, before the 2005 amendment to the statute
which deleted the words “willfully and unlawfully” from the substantive section at issue in this
appeal. 2005 IDAHO SESS. LAWS ch. 158, § 1, pp. 488-90. As currently in effect, I.C. § 18-
918(2)(a) provides:
Any household member who in committing a battery, as defined in section 18-
903, Idaho Code, inflicts a traumatic injury upon any other household member is
guilty of a felony.
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Idaho Code Section 18-101(1) provides:
The word “willfully,” when applied to the intent with which an act is done
or omitted, implies simply a purpose or willingness to commit the act or make the
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violence charge. The instruction stated that “[a]n act is ‘willful’ or ‘done willfully’ when done
on purpose. One can act willfully without intending to violate the law, to injure another, or to
acquire any advantage.” (Emphasis added). We held that in light of State v. Reyes, 139 Idaho
502, 80 P.3d 1103 (Ct. App. 2003), where this Court had held that to establish a violation of I.C.
§ 18-918(3), the state must prove that the defendant willfully inflicted injury, it was error for the
lower court to instruct the jury on the definition of “willfulness” in I.C. § 18-101(1). The
erroneous instruction would have allowed the jury in Sohm to find the defendant guilty even if he
had not intended to injure the victim with his actions, because the instruction had defined
“willful” as a state of mind not necessarily requiring an intent to injure another. The error was
held to be not harmless because the instruction was confusing and misleading. We concluded,
“[t]here can be no doubt that this error was prejudicial because it diminished the state’s burden of
proof on the mental element of the offense.” Sohm, 140 Idaho at 461, 95 P.3d at 79.
Similarly, in State v. Young, 138 Idaho 370, 64 P.3d 296 (2002), the Idaho Supreme
Court rejected the use of a jury instruction utilizing the I.C. § 18-101(1) definition of “willfully”
in the context of the charge of felony injury to a child. The court held that the error was not
harmless because “[a]t best, [the erroneous instruction] is confusing. At worst, it misstates the
law . . . .” Young, 138 Idaho at 373, 64 P.3d at 299. See also State v. Lilly, 142 Idaho 70, 72-73,
122 P.3d 1170, 1172-73 (Ct. App. 2005) (relying on Sohm to find that the “willful” instruction
was erroneous as given in the context of a felony domestic battery charge).
Here, jury instruction no. 10 regarding willfulness consisted of the first half of I.C. § 18-
101, stating that:
“Willfully” when applied to the intent with which an act is done or
omitted, implies simply a purpose or willingness to commit the act or make the
omission referred to.
The state argues that the court’s deletion of the last sentence of the “willfulness” definition as
articulated in I.C. § 18-101(1) was sufficient to distinguish the case from Sohm and Young.
Specifically, the state argues that unlike in Sohm, instruction no. 10 in this case did not define the
term “willfully” in such a manner that the jury could find Coffin guilty of domestic violence
omission referred to. It does not require any intent to violate law, or to injure
another, or to acquire any advantage.
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even if he did not intend to injure the victim. The state asserts that when considered together
with instruction no. 7, which instructed the jury that Coffin must have “willfully” inflicted a
traumatic injury, the effect of instruction no. 10 was “simply to convey to the jury that Coffin
must have purposely inflicted a traumatic injury, i.e., that he intentionally injured the victim.”
Coffin, however, argues that despite the fact the instruction consisted of only the first sentence of
the instructions at issue in the cases discussed above, it still operated to reduce the state’s burden
of proof in regard to the mental element of the offense.
Examining the instructions as a whole, we conclude that instruction no. 10 was not an
erroneous statement of the law. In Sohm and Young it was the second sentence of the
instructions which the courts focused on as operating to reduce the state’s burden of proof in
regard to a mental element of the offense. We agree with the state that without the second
sentence, the instruction merely conveys that an act is done “willfully” when it is done on
purpose. Read in concert with instruction no. 7, that the defendant must have “willfully . . .
inflicted[ed] a traumatic injury upon [the victim],” instruction no. 10 was sufficient to convey the
requirement Coffin must have intended to injure the victim when he struck her. Thus, we
conclude the court did not err in giving instruction no. 10.
Coffin also contends the district court erred in its actions taken to correct instruction no. 7
after it was read to the jury. After the prosecutor alerted the court to an error, the court instructed
that each juror take out their writing instruments and make the corrections on their individual
copies of the instruction. Coffin argues that the court’s failure to give the jurors a clear,
corrected version of the instruction was apt to mislead and confuse them. However, Coffin cites
no authority for the proposition that each juror is required to have a “clean” copy of an
instruction, and we note that the judge read the corrected version of the instruction to the jury in
its entirety prior to releasing them for deliberations. The trial judge instructed that:
I will repeat instruction number 7. In order for the defendant to be guilty of
domestic violence, the State must prove each of the following:
(1) on or about June 1, 2002;
(2) in the State of Idaho;
(3) the defendant, Benny Dale Coffin;
(3)(a) did commit a battery upon Kalee Chandler;
(4) did willfully and unlawfully inflict a traumatic injury upon
Kalee Chandler;
(5) while the defendant and Kalee Chandler were household
members.
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If each of the above elements have been proved beyond a reasonable
doubt, you must find the defendant guilty of domestic violence. If any of the
above elements has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must
find the defendant not guilty of domestic violence.
Under the circumstances we find no error in the procedure.
B. Prosecutorial Misconduct
Coffin also argues that his right to a fair trial was violated when the prosecutor
committed misconduct by misstating the law during his closing arguments. He contends that the
prosecutor’s statement of the law was erroneous in that it lowered the state’s burden of proof
regarding the willfulness of Coffin’s conduct. Specifically, the prosecutor stated that:
I want you to flip to . . . instruction number 10; willfully. It’s important to
understand the meaning of the word willful because it is employed in instruction
number 7.
[Instruction number 10] states: “Willfully, when applied to the intent with
which an act is done or omitted, implies simply a purpose or willingness to
commit the act or omission referred to.”
So when [Coffin] put his hands into [Chandler’s] mouth, his intention was
probably to get the ring. What resulted from the act, there were some cuts in her
mouth.
Even if you assume, as was suggested, that perhaps the ring sitting in her
mouth by itself caused the harm, we know that [Coffin’s] hand went into that
mouth. And perhaps he didn’t intend to cut her mouth, but his act was to get his
hand in there and get that ring. So the act was willful, although he may not have
intended the specific result. . . .
(Emphasis added). No objection was stated by the defense or ruling made at the time the
challenged statements were made by the prosecutor.
It is prosecutorial misconduct for a prosecutor to misstate the law in closing arguments.
State v. Phillips, 144 Idaho 82, 86, 156 P.3d 583, 587 (Ct. App. 2007). However, where there is
no contemporaneous objection, a conviction will be reversed for prosecutorial misconduct only if
the conduct is sufficiently egregious to result in fundamental error. State v. Field, 144 Idaho
559, 571, 165 P.3d 273, 285 (2007); State v. Sheahan, 139 Idaho 267, 280, 77 P.3d 956, 969
(2003); State v. Hairston, 133 Idaho 496, 507, 988 P.2d 1170, 1181 (1999). Prosecutorial
misconduct during closing arguments will constitute fundamental error only if the comments
were so egregious or inflammatory that any consequent prejudice could not have been remedied
by a ruling from the trial court informing the jury that the comments should be disregarded.
Sheahan, 139 Idaho at 280, 77 P.3d at 969; State v. Cortez, 135 Idaho 561, 565, 21 P.3d 498, 502
(Ct. App. 2001).
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We conclude the prosecutor did commit misconduct as his argument during closing was a
misstatement of the law. While the state attempts to provide another interpretation, the only
plausible reasoning is that the prosecutor was arguing that the jury could convict Coffin for
injuring Chandler’s mouth even if it only found that he willfully put his hand in Chandler’s
mouth without intending to injure her. In other words, the prosecutor was arguing that Coffin
could be found guilty even if the jury found that he put his hand in her mouth out of his own free
will, but his intention was to retrieve the ring and not to cause injury. This is in direct
contravention to jury instructions no. 10 and 7 as well as the requirement of the domestic
violence statute.
A reversal of Coffin’s conviction, however, is not warranted, as we conclude that the
error was not so egregious that a curative admonition from the court at the time could not have
remedied any consequent prejudice. Therefore, although the prosecutor’s comments were a
misstatement of the law, they do not constitute fundamental error necessitating a reversal of
Coffin’s conviction.
C. Sentence Review
Upon Coffin’s conviction for domestic violence, the court sentenced him to a unified
term of ten years with five years determinate, but suspended the sentence and placed him on
probation. Coffin argues that given any view of the facts, this sentence is excessive.
An appellate review of a sentence is based on an abuse of discretion standard. State v.
Burdett, 134 Idaho 271, 276, 1 P.3d 299, 304 (Ct. App. 2000). Where a sentence is not illegal,
the appellant has the burden to show that it is unreasonable, and thus a clear abuse of discretion.
State v. Brown, 121 Idaho 385, 393, 825 P.2d 482, 490 (1992). A sentence may represent such
an abuse of discretion if it is shown to be unreasonable upon the facts of the case. State v. Nice,
103 Idaho 89, 90, 645 P.2d 323, 324 (1982). A sentence of confinement is reasonable if it
appears at the time of sentencing that confinement is necessary “to accomplish the primary
objective of protecting society and to achieve any or all of the related goals of deterrence,
rehabilitation or retribution applicable to a given case.” State v. Toohill, 103 Idaho 565, 568, 650
P.2d 707, 710 (Ct. App. 1982). Where an appellant contends that the sentencing court imposed
an excessively harsh sentence, we conduct an independent review of the record, having regard
for the nature of the offense, the character of the offender and the protection of the public
interest. State v. Reinke, 103 Idaho 771, 772, 653 P.2d 1183, 1184 (Ct. App. 1982). When
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reviewing the length of a sentence, we consider the defendant’s entire sentence. State v. Oliver,
144 Idaho 722, 170 P.3d 387 (2007).
Coffin points to several mitigating circumstances that he contends rendered his sentence
unreasonably long. These include his expression of remorse for his conduct, the family support
that he still retains, the part that his being under the influence of alcohol played in the incident,
and his willingness to seek treatment for an alcohol problem. He also contends the sentencing
court failed to give sufficient weight to the “nature of the offense” which he characterizes as
merely “a physical dispute about an engagement ring that resulted in scratch[es] to the mouth
. . . .”
Upon a review of the record, we conclude the court took the “mitigating circumstances”
that Coffin asserts into account and that the sentence imposed is not excessive. In sentencing
Coffin, the court specifically noted that it had reviewed the presentence report and its addendum
and an evaluation of Coffin for substance abuse and anger issues, and had considered the nature
of the offense, the character of the offender, the mitigating and aggravating factors present, and
the objectives of sentencing. The court explicitly noted that a rider was not appropriate because
the rider program did not offer the type of programs (including anger management) that the
defendant required and that given his history of alcohol abuse and resulting domestic violence
towards his “female relationships,” a significant underlying sentence and period of probation was
necessary. Despite Coffin’s attempt to minimize the seriousness of the altercation, it is
undisputed that he was intoxicated at the time and that his victim suffered various physical
injuries. Under these circumstances, we cannot say the sentence imposed was excessive.
III.
CONCLUSION
Jury instruction no. 10 was not an erroneous statement of the law in regard to the
“willfulness” element of the domestic violence statute. And while the prosecutor did commit
misconduct by misstating the law in closing arguments, Coffin did not object at the time, and we
conclude that the misconduct does not rise to the level of fundamental error. Finally, the
sentence imposed by the district court is not excessive. Accordingly, we affirm Coffin’s
judgment of conviction and sentence for felony domestic violence.
Judge LANSING and Judge PERRY CONCUR.
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