Robert Lee Williams, Jr. v. State of Arkansas
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DIVISION I
CACR06-129
September 13, 2006
ROBERT LEE WILLIAMS, JR.
APPELLANT
V.
APPEAL FROM THE CLARK
COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
[CR-04-171]
HON. JOHN A. THOMAS,
CIRCUIT JUDGE
STATE OF ARKANSAS
APPELLEE
AFFIRMED
L ARRY D. V AUGHT, Judge
Appellant Robert Lee Williams Jr. was charged with capital murder, aggravated
robbery, and residential burglary. These crimes were allegedly committed on August 5, 2004,
when Robert was sixteen years old. After being criminally charged as an adult in circuit
court, he filed a motion to transfer the case to the juvenile division of circuit court. Following
a hearing on the matter, the circuit court denied the motion. Williams now appeals, arguing
that the circuit court erred in denying his motion to transfer. We affirm.
Testimony at the hearing established that Williams (along with Kevin Barton) entered
the home of Alena Tate—a seventy-four-year-old woman with Alzheimer disease—with the
intention of stealing her Cadillac. During the robbery, Tate was struck in the face and then
fatally shot in the neck area. Williams and Barton waited and watched Tate for about five
minutes after they shot her. Williams admitted to being involved but claimed that Barton was
the one who actually shot Tate. Conversely, Barton claimed that Williams was the one who
shot Tate.
Williams was born July 21, 1988, and—at the time the crime was committed—he had
a ninth-grade education. After testing by Dr. Paul Deyoub, it was determined that Williams’s
I.Q. was somewhere between sixty-five and seventy, but possibly into the seventies.1 Dr.
Deyoub concluded that Williams had no mental disease or defect, was competent to proceed
to trial, had no problems understanding the criminality of his actions, and had the ability to
conform his conduct to the law. Even though Dr. Deyoub found that Williams had no mental
defect, Dr. Deyoub did testify that Williams’s I.Q. was “borderline,” meaning that Williams
was functioning intellectually at a lower-than-average range. Although Williams had no
juvenile record in Clark County and his parents both testified that he had been a sweet child
and mostly stayed out of trouble, Williams confessed to committing a second robbery-related
homicide in Nevada County just prior to the crimes at issue in this appeal.
In its consideration of Williams’s motion to transfer, the circuit court found that
Williams’s offenses were serious; that they were committed in an aggressive, violent, and
premeditated manner; and that the protection of society required prosecution in the criminal
division of circuit court. The court noted that personal injury and death resulted from the
Dr. Deyoub originally found that Williams’s I.Q. score was fifty-nine, but after
further researching Williams’s school records and prior I.Q. scores, Dr. Deyoub
raised Williams’s estimated I.Q. The wide range in the I.Q. estimate is due to Dr.
Deyoub’s conclusion that Williams was malingering and faking ignorance while
taking the examinations.
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crime and that the level of Williams’s culpability was great. The court also considered the
fact that Williams had committed another capital murder only a few weeks prior to the instant
offense. Finally, the court concluded—based on Dr. Deyoub’s examination—that at the time
of the offense Williams did not suffer from a mental disease or defect, had the capacity to
form the culpable mental state required of the crime charged, and had the ability to appreciate
the criminality of his conduct and also the capacity to conform his conduct “with the
requirements of the law.”
A defendant bears the burden of proving the necessity of a transfer from circuit court
to juvenile court. Jongewaard v. State, 71 Ark. App. 269, 29 S.W.3d 758 (2000). Once the
defendant meets this burden, the State must show countervailing evidence that warrants the
circuit court retaining the case. Id. A circuit court’s decision to retain jurisdiction of criminal
charges against a juvenile must be supported by clear and convincing evidence. Ark. Code
Ann. § 9-27-318(h) (Supp. 2005); Wright v. State, 331 Ark. 173, 959 S.W.2d 50 (1998).
Clear and convincing evidence is that degree of proof that will produce in the trier of fact a
firm conviction as to the allegation sought to be established. McClure v. State, 328 Ark. 35,
942 S.W.2d 243 (1997). When reviewing the denial of a motion to transfer a case to juvenile
court, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and do not reverse unless
the circuit court’s decision is clearly erroneous. Id.
When determining whether a case should be transferred to the Juvenile Division the
circuit court is compelled to consider and “make written findings on all of” the following
factors:
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(1) The seriousness of the alleged offense and whether the protection of society
requires prosecution as an extended juvenile jurisdiction offender or in the criminal
division of circuit court;
(2) Whether the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive, violent,
premeditated, or willful manner;
(3) Whether the offense was against a person or property, with greater weight being
given to offenses against persons, especially if personal injury resulted;
(4) The culpability of the juvenile, including the level of planning and participation
in the alleged offense;
(5) The previous history of the juvenile, including whether the juvenile had been
adjudicated a juvenile offender and, if so, whether the offenses were against person
or property, and any other previous history of antisocial behavior or patterns of
physical violence;
(6) The sophistication or maturity of the juvenile as determined by consideration of
the juvenile's home, environment, emotional attitude, pattern of living, or desire to be
treated as an adult;
(7) Whether there are facilities or programs available to the judge of the juvenile
division of circuit court that are likely to rehabilitate the juvenile prior to the
expiration of the juvenile division of circuit court’s jurisdiction;
(8) Whether the juvenile acted alone or was part of a group in the commission of the
alleged offense;
(9) Written reports and other materials relating to the juvenile’s mental, physical,
educational, and social history; and
(10) Any other factors deemed relevant by the judge.
Ark. Code. Ann. § 9-27-318(g). Although the court must consider each of these ten factors,
it is not required to give all ten factors equal weight. Walker v. State, 317 Ark. 274, 878
S.W.2d 374 (1994). However, following the 2003 amendments to the juvenile-transfer
statute, a trial court is now required to make written findings on each of the ten factors set
forth above. See Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-318(h) (stating that the “court shall make written
findings on all of the factors set forth in subsection (g) of this section”).
At the outset we note that the trial court made written findings addressing each of the
enumerated factors, save one. The trial court failed to make a written finding on factor seven,
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which requires the court to consider “whether there are facilities or programs available to the
judge of the juvenile division of circuit court that are likely to rehabilitate the juvenile prior
to the expiration of the juvenile division of circuit court’s jurisdiction.” However, the issue
has not been raised—either below or on appeal. In reconciling the clear violation of the
statutory mandate with Williams’s failure to bring to the court’s attention the technical
inadequacy of its written order, we look to Box v. State, 71 Ark. App. 403, 30 S.W.3d 754
(2000). In Box, the appellant argued that a 1999 amendment to the juvenile-transfer statute
requiring that the court “shall make written findings” in decisions either to retain jurisdiction
or transfer the case to juvenile court applied to his case and that the trial court’s failure to
make such a written finding amounted to reversible error. Id. at 406, 30 S.W.3d at 756. Our
court reasoned:
In our view, this provision can be likened to Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-310(b)(5) (Repl.
1997), which requires that a court “shall furnish a written statement of the evidence
relied upon and the reasons for revoking suspension or probation.” It has been held
that this right, like any other procedural right, can be waived by the failure to object.
Brandon v. State, 300 Ark. 32, 776 S.W.2d 345 (1989); Lockett v. State, 271 Ark. 860,
611 S.W.2d 500 (1981); Hawkins v. State, 270 Ark. 1016, 607 S.W.2d 400 (Ark. App.
1980). We see no reason to apply a different rule here. A timely request or objection
would have enabled the trial court to rule on the issue of whether the amendment
applied and to correct whatever deficiency there may have been in the order. See
Hawkins v. State, supra. Additionally, in Butler v. State, 324 Ark. 476, 922 S.W.2d
685 (1996), the appellant argued that the trial court was required to make written
findings of fact to support its decision to deny a transfer to juvenile court as a matter
of due process, based on the decision in Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 86 S.Ct.
1045, 16 L.Ed.2d 84 (1966). The supreme court declined to address the issue because
there had been no objection made below, noting that even constitutional issues will
not be heard for the first time on appeal. Thus, we conclude that appellant’s failure
to object precludes consideration of this point on appeal.
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Following the sound logic of Box, we will not address the technical, statutory noncompliance of the trial court’s order in this appeal because Williams’s failure to object below
precludes consideration of the issue on appeal.
On appeal Williams argues that the circuit court erred in its denial of his transfer
motion because the court failed to properly weigh and consider the factors outlined in section
9-27-318(g). Specifically, Williams claims that because of his age, I.Q., immaturity and lack
of sophistication, mental retardation, and ability to be rehabilitated, the circuit court’s
decision to refuse transfer was clearly erroneous.
Here, the court’s ultimate conclusion to deny transfer was supported by evidence
showing that Williams had great culpability in a serious crime—homicide—and had recently
committed a second homicide. Additionally, there was medical testimony that placed
Williams’s I.Q. in the range of sixty-five to seventy, if not higher into the seventies. Dr.
Deyoub testified that Williams was competent to stand trial, had the ability to appreciate the
criminality of his conduct, and possessed the capacity to conform to the requirements of the
law. See Otis v. State, 355 Ark. 590, 142 S.W.3d 615, 598 (2004)(affirming the circuit
court’s denial of Otis’s motion to transfer despite evidence that defendant suffered from
borderline intellectual functioning and an I.Q. of sixty-eight based on seriousness of the
crime and medical testimony establishing capacity to understand and conform conduct).
Finally, the fact that Williams was sixteen years old when the crime was committed, coupled
with the fact that he could not remain in the juvenile division past his twenty-first birthday,
would result in an extraordinarily short time period for any sort of meaningful rehabilitation.
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Therefore, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, the circuit
court was not clearly erroneous in denying Williams’s motion to transfer to juvenile division.
Affirmed.
H ART and N EAL, JJ., agree.
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