State of Oklahoma v. Lawrence C. Stadler

Tulsa, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with first degree rape in violation of 21 O.S. 1114.

Reported by: Kent Morlan

Appellant contends that the fact the victim was unconscious at the time of the attack due to intoxication does not satisfy the element of "unsoundness of mind." Rather, Appellant submits that if any rape occurred at all in this case, the act would amount to second degree rape.

Upon review of the rape statutes, it is clear the Legislature did not intend the term "unsoundness of mind" to cover those situations in which a victim is simply unconscious. Title 21, Section 1111(A) lists seven separate circumstances under which intercourse with [919 P.2d 441] another is classified as rape. Section 1111(A)(2) specifically covers those situations in which "the victim is incapable through mental illness or any other unsoundness of mind, whether temporary or permanent, of giving legal consent." Section 1111(A)(5) deals directly with those instances in which the "victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act and this is known to the accused." Thus, it appears the Legislature intended to make a distinction between intercourse with a victim who is of unsound mind and a victim who is unconscious.

While intercourse under both the above circumstances amounts to rape, rape committed on a person of unsound mind is the only one specifically enumerated as first degree rape. 21 O.S.1991, § 1114(A)(2).1 The rape of an unconscious individual is classified as second degree rape. 21 O.S.1991, § 1114(B) (provides that in all other cases, rape or rape by instrumentation is second degree rape).2

Furthermore, a review of the Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions — Criminal (OUJI-CR) supports the above conclusion. OUJI-CR 479 lists the elements of Rape in the First Degree. This list covers those instances in which the victim is incapable of consenting to an act of intercourse due to "mental unsoundness." OUJI-CR 481 defines "mental unsoundness" as follows:

A PERSON IS INCAPABLE OF CONSENT DUE TO MENTAL UNSOUNDNESS IF THAT PERSON IS [A MENTALLY ILL PERSON. A "MENTALLY ILL PERSON" MEANS ANY PERSON AFFLICTED WITH A SUBSTANTIAL DISORDER OF THOUGHT, MOOD, PERCEPTION, PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIENTATION OR MEMORY THAT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPAIRS JUDGMENT, BEHAVIOR, CAPACITY TO RECOGNIZE REALITY OR ABILITY TO MEET THE ORDINARY DEMANDS OF LIFE] [A MENTALLY DEFICIENT PERSON. A MENTALLY DEFICIENT PERSON MEANS A PERSON AFFLICTED WITH MENTAL DEFECTIVENESS FROM BIRTH OR FROM AN EARLY AGE TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT HE/SHE IS INCAPABLE OF MANAGING HIMSELF/HERSELF AND HIS/HER AFFAIRS; WHO, FOR HIS/HER OWN WELFARE OR THE WELFARE OF OTHERS OF THE COMMUNITY, REQUIRES SUPERVISION, CONTROL OR CARE; AND WHO IS NOT MENTALLY ILL OR OF UNSOUND MIND TO SUCH AN EXTENT AS TO REQUIRE HIS/HER CERTIFICATION TO A FACILITY FOR THE MENTALLY ILL AS PROVIDED BY LAW.].

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Appellant's conviction for first degree rape should be modified to second degree rape. See 22 O.S.1991, §§ 1066, 1067. Appellant's seventeen (17) year sentence is modified to ten (10) years.