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AMERICAN FORK CITY, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Jessica THAYNE, Defendant and Appellant

Utah Court of Appeals2012-05-03No. No. 20120095-CA
279 P.3d 8402012 UT App 130

Summary

Holding. The appellate court affirmed the disorderly conduct conviction, deferring to the trial court's credibility determinations that Thayne's testimony was not credible and the other driver's testimony was credible and consistent with corroborating evidence.

Following a minor traffic accident at a traffic light, Jessica Thayne was charged with disorderly conduct after an altercation with the other driver. The district court held a bench trial in which the other driver testified that both Thayne and her mother approached the other driver's vehicle, used profanity, and caused the driver to fear for her safety. Thayne denied approaching or speaking to the other driver, claiming she only examined damage and called 911. The district court found Thayne's account not credible, noting inconsistencies with her own 911 recording and the officer's testimony, while finding the other driver's account credible and consistent with the available evidence.

On appeal, Thayne challenged whether sufficient evidence supported the conviction but provided no specific issues for review. The appellate court applied the deferential standard of review for bench trials, which requires sustaining the trial court's judgment unless it is clearly against the weight of the evidence or demonstrates clear error. Because the trial court had the opportunity to assess witness credibility and demeanor firsthand, and Thayne offered no reason to depart from deference to those credibility determinations, the appellate court found no basis to overturn the conviction.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Sufficiency of evidence to support disorderly conduct conviction
  • Credibility determinations in bench trials and standard of appellate review
  • Whether trial court's findings were against the clear weight of evidence

Procedural posture

Jessica Thayne appealed her disorderly conduct conviction from a district court bench trial, with the appellate court reviewing the sufficiency of evidence supporting the trial court's judgment.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

DECISION

PER CURIAM:

11 Jessica Thayne appeals her conviction of disorderly conduct, an infraction. This case is before the court on American Forks motion for summary disposition. We affirm.

T2 This case arose in the aftermath of a minor traffic accident in which another driver allowed her vehicle to roll into the rear of a vehicle occupied by Jessica Thayne, and her mother and co-defendant, Susan Thayne, while both vehicles were stopped at a stop light. The other driver, the investigating officer, and both Susan and Jessica Thayne testified at the bench trial. A recording of a 911 call made by Jessica Thayne and a 911 call made by the other driver was admitted into evidence. The other driver testified that both Susan and Jessica Thayne approached her vehicle, yelled at her using expletives, and caused her to be frightened for her safety. Although Jessica Thayne denied that she approached or spoke to the driver of the other vehicle, the district court found that Jessica Thaynes characterization of her own behavior was inconsistent with the other evidence, including her 911 call. The district court also found that the defendants allegation that the 911 recording had been tampered with was not credible. Finally, the district court found that neither defendants testimony was credible, but that the other drivers testimony was credible because it converges with the testimony of the officer and also the [911] recording thats been played here in court today.

T3 In her docketing statement, Jessica Thayne stated no issue for review, but she denied that she spoke to the person that hit us and stated, I only went to the back of [the] car to see the damage if any [and then] called 911. We construe this as a claim that the district courts findings and decision were not supported by sufficient evidence.

14 When reviewing a bench trial for sufficiency of [the] evidence, we must sustain the trial courts judgment unless it is against the clear weight of the evidence, or if the appellate court otherwise reaches a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. State v. Larsen, 2000 UT App 106, ¶ 10, 999 P.2d 1252 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). We defer to the trial courts ability and opportunity to evaluate credibility and demeanor. State v. Goodman, 763 P.2d 786, 787 (Utah 1988). the trial court had the opportunity to view these witnesses and weigh their credibility, we defer to its findings unless the record demonstrates clear error. State v. Nichols, 2003 UT App 287, ¶ 27, 76 P.3d 1173 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, a challenge to the district courts credibility determination fails if a defendant has provided no reason for this court to depart from the deference we grant the trial court to make credibility determinations." State v. Davie, 2011 UT App 380, ¶ 25, 264 P.3d 770 (mem.).

T5 The district court found that Jessica Thaynes testimony was not credible and was inconsistent with the other evidence before the court. In contrast, the court found the testimony of the other driver to be credible and consistent with the other evidence before it. We defer to the district courts credibility determinations in this case. Jessica Thayne has identified no other issues for review and failed to respond to American Forks motion. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment and sentence.