Opinion ID: 3000033
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admissibility of John Doe’s Felony Drug Con-

Text: victions In an effort to establish his entitlement to compensatory damages, Doe’s expert testified at trial that Doe suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of Smith’s abuse. The defendants-appellees countered that, even if he suffered from PTSD, Doe’s three felony convictions and stint in prison were the life stressors that caused his PTSD. The district court allowed evidence of Doe’s convictions to come in for the limited purpose of informing the jury that “John Doe has been convicted of three felonies, what the felonies are for, what the sentence was for each felony and the length of his incarcerations and probation.” The Does contend that introduction of the felony convictions was inflammatory and therefore improper under the Federal Rules of Evidence. We disagree. We review the district court’s evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion, United States v. Wilson, 437 F.3d 616 (7th Cir. 2006), and conclude that the court was not unreasonable in denying the Does’ motion to exclude evidence of John Doe’s criminal history. First, contrary to the Does’ assertion, the felony convictions were only admitted into evidence because Doe sought compensatory damages. The district court properly “agree[d] with Plaintiffs that John Doe’s criminal history is not relevant to the issue of Defendant’s liability for the civil rights claims in this case.”17 The Does further contend that, even if the convictions were relevant to the issues of damages, they were racially inflammatory and only further confused the jury. When asked at oral argument whether a limiting instruction was sought regarding Doe’s convictions, his counsel indicated that no such request was made. We have stated that 17 Or. Denying Pl.’s Mot. in Limine (June 24, 2003). 16 No. 04-3421 a limiting instruction is most effective in reducing or eliminating possible unfair prejudice from the introduction of evidence of prior bad acts or convictions. See United States v. Puckett, 405 F.3d 589, 599 (7th Cir. 2005). In this case, because John Doe’s convictions were admitted to rebut his claim for compensatory damages and because the Does failed to seek a limiting instruction to minimize any prejudice or confusion the evidence may have caused, we cannot conclude that the district court acted unreasonably when it admitted the evidence. 2. Admissibility of Brady Smith’s 2001 Conviction for Indecent Solicitation of a Child In 2001, five years after Doe was allegedly abused, an African American male student at Franklin reported to authorities that Smith asked him to expose himself while the two were in the dean’s office.18 During a subsequent investigation, another boy wore a police wire and recorded conversations in which Smith asked him for oral sex in exchange for money. Smith was subsequently convicted of indecent solicitation of a child. At trial, the district court granted Smith’s motion in limine to exclude evidence related to the 2001 conviction. The Does argue on appeal that the district court erred because the conviction was admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 415. In reviewing the trial court’s evidentiary decision for abuse of discretion, see United States v. Seals, 419 F.3d 600, 606 (7th Cir. 2005), we agree with the Does that Smith’s 2001 conviction should have been admitted at trial. Congress enacted Rule 415, together with Rules 413 and 414, as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-322, § 320935, 18 Trial Tr. vol 4, 962 (May 10, 2004). No. 04-3421 17 108 Stat. 1796, 2135-38. Particularly in sex offense cases, the rules were designed to supercede the general exclusionary principle set forth in Rule 404(b). United States v. Cunningham, 103 F.3d 553, 556 (7th Cir. 1996). Thus, under Rule 415, in civil cases where a party is alleged to have committed sexual assault or child molestation, “evidence of that party’s commission of another offense or offenses of sexual assault or child molestation is admissible.”19 Fed. R. Evid. 415(a). The operational definition of “sexual assault” is set forth in Federal Rule of Evidence 413(d) and is defined as any conduct proscribed under 18 U.S.C. 109(a) or relevant state law.20 Smith was convicted 19 Federal Rule of Evidence 415(a) provides as follows: In a civil case in which a claim for damages or other relief is predicated on a party’s alleged commission of conduct constituting an offense of sexual assault or child molestation, evidence of that party’s commission of another offense or offenses of sexual assault or child molestation is admissible and may be considered as provided in Rule 413 and Rule 414 of these rules. 20 Precisely, Rule 413(d) provides: For purposes of this rule and Rule 415, “offense of sexual assault” means a crime under Federal law or the law of a State (as defined in section 513 of title 18, United States Code) that involved— (1) any conduct proscribed by chapter 109A of title 18, United States Code; (2) contact, without consent, between any part of the defendant’s body or an object and the geni- tals or anus of another person; (3) contact, without consent, between the genitals or anus of the defendant and any part of another person’s body; (4) deriving sexual pleasure or gratification from the infliction of death, bodily injury, or physical (continued...) 18 No. 04-3421 of violating 720 ILCS 5/11-6 of the Illinois Code, which proscribes soliciting a minor for sex.21 The question is whether, under Rule 413(d)(5), Smith’s solicitation amounted to an attempt to engage in the proscribed conduct.22 The district court answered this question in the 20 (...continued) pain on another person; or (5) an attempt or conspiracy to engage in conduct described in paragraphs (1)-(4). By cross-reference, Chapter 109A of title 18 forbids both “sexual acts” and “sexual contact” with a minor, as well as attempts to do either of these things. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 2241(c), 2243(a), 2244(a)(1), (a)(3). A “sexual act” consists of vaginal, anal, or oral sex, as well as touching the genitalia of another for various purposes, including sexual gratification. See 18 U.S.C. § 2246(2). “Sexual contact” consists of the intentional touching (directly or through clothing) of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of another for various purposes, including sexual gratification. See 18 U.S.C. § 2246(3). 21 720 ILCS 5/11-6(a) provides: A person of the age of 17 years and upwards commits the offense of indecent solicitation of a child if the person, with the intent that the offense of aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, or aggravated criminal sexual abuse be committed, knowingly solicits a child or one whom he or she believes to be a child to perform an act of sexual penetration or sexual conduct as defined in Section 12-12 of this Code. “Solicit” means to command, authorize, urge, incite, request, or advise another to perform an act by any means including, but not limited to, in person, over the phone, in writing, by computer, or by advertisement of any kind. 22 For purposes of introducing evidence of child molestation under Rule 415, a “child” is defined as a minor under the age of 14. Fed. (continued...) No. 04-3421 19 negative, concluding that soliciting a minor for a sex act does not constitute an attempt to commit an offense of sexual assault. We review the district court’s conclusions of law de novo. Dunlap v. Hepp, 436 F.3d 739, 741 (7th Cir. 2006). The Does argue that soliciting a minor for sex necessarily constitutes a substantial step toward committing sexual assault. There is forceful support in our case law for the Does’ argument. For instance, in Gattem v. Gonzales, 412 F.3d 758 (7th Cir. 2005), the petitioner was convicted of indecent solicitation under Illinois law for offering a minor cigarettes if she would engage in oral sex with him. We affirmed the Board of Immigration Appeals’s decision that the petitioner’s solicitation conviction amounted to (not merely attempt but) an act of sexual abuse because the petitioner used persuasion or inducement in an effort to convince the minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Id. at 765. Our holding in Gattem was based upon the following principle: [T]here is an inherent risk of exploitation, if not coercion, when an adult solicits a minor to engage in sexual activity. Minors as a group have a less well-developed sense of judgment than adults, and thus are at greater peril of making choices that are not in their own best interests. Id. at 765. 22 (...continued) R. Evid. 414(d). The Illinois statute under which Smith was convicted indicates “child” means a person under 17 years of age. It is unclear from the record in this case whether the boy Smith solicited in 2001 was under the age of 14. Plausibly, the minor Smith solicited was over the age of 14 but under the age of 17. In light of this ambiguity in the record, we discuss the admissibility of Smith’s 2001 conviction under Rule 415’s parallel provision pertaining to offenses of sexual assault, which does not include a limitation on the age of the victim. 20 No. 04-3421 Similarly, in Hernandez-Alvarez v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 763, 766 (7th Cir. 2005), the petitioner entered an Internet chat-room and conversed with an adult undercover investigator, whom he believed to be a fifteen year-old girl. The petitioner made plans to meet the “minor” for sex, but was arrested en route to the address the investigator supplied. In that case, we stated that “solicitation, a partially completed offense similar to an attempt constitutes sexual abuse of a minor under [8 U.S.C.] § 101(a)(43)(A).” Id. at 766 (internal citation omitted). It is true that Gattem and Hernandez-Alvarez were immigration cases involving the definition of a sexual offense for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act, whereas this case requires us to interpret what constitutes a sexual offense for purposes of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Beyond the immigration context, whether soliciting a minor for sex constitutes an attempt to commit sexual assault (or child molestation for that matter) is a question of first impression for this Court. We begin our analysis with the definition of attempt: “the crime of attempt requires the specific intent to commit a crime and a substantial step towards the commission of that crime.” United States v. Johnson, 376 F.3d 689, 693 (7th Cir. 2004). “A substantial step is something more than mere preparation, but less than the last act necessary before the actual commission of the substantive crime.” United States v. Barnes, 230 F.3d 311, 315 (7th Cir. 2000); see Doe v. City of Lafayette, 377 F.3d 757, 783 (7th Cir. 2004) (merely thinking sexual thoughts about children does not constitute a substantial step toward sexual abuse). Our dissenting colleague contends that the act of solicitation cannot constitute an attempt, and that our opinion will have a deleterious effect on well-settled criminal and civil law. To the contrary, our decision today is consistent with our circuit’s precedent as set forth in United States v. Rovetuso, 768 F.2d 809 (7th Cir. 1985). In Rovetuso, the No. 04-3421 21 defendants were charged with attempting to interfere with the testimony of a government witness based upon evidence that they solicited an FBI informant to murder the witness. At trial, the court instructed the jury that solicitation may constitute an attempt to commit the target offense. On appeal, the defendants attacked the jury instruction and argued that their convictions “should be reversed since solicitation alone can never constitute the required substantial step necessary to establish attempt.” Rovetuso, 768 F.2d at 822. Holding that the jury instruction was a correct statement of law, we affirmed and reasoned as follows: The Federal courts have generally rejected a rigid formalistic approach to the attempt offense. Instead they commonly recognize that the determination by their particular conduct [of what] constitutes . . . [an attempt] is so dependent on the particular facts of each case that, of necessity, there can be no litmus test to guide the reviewing courts. Following this analysis, which we consider the better rea- soned approach, several federal courts have con- cluded that a solicitation accompanied by the requisite intent may constitute an attempt. Rovetuso, 768 F.2d at 823 (7th Cir. 1985) (quoting United States v. American Airlines, Inc., 743 F.2d 1114, 1121 (5th Cir. 1984)) (emphasis added). Thus, as we recognized in Rovetuso, solicitation may constitute a substantial step toward the target offense where the solicitation is “strongly corroborative of the intent to [commit the crime], in other words, if it went beyond mere asking.” Rovetuso, 768 F.2d at 823. Whether, given the facts of this case, Smith’s solicitation amounted to attempt is a question we turn to next. Circuits that have addressed whether soliciting a child is a substantial step toward committing a sexual offense have reached varying conclusions. For example, in United States 22 No. 04-3421 v. Hayward, 359 F.3d 631 (3rd Cir. 2004), the Third Circuit held that the defendant’s act of lying on a bed with a fourteen year-old girl and repeatedly pushing her head toward his fully clothed penis did not constitute a “substantial step” toward oral sex and was therefore not an attempted “sexual act.” But see Hayward, 359 F.3d at 644-45 (Fuentes, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (stating “the majority’s repeated emphasis on Hayward’s state of undress is misplaced and misleading” and reasoning that a substantial step occurred when “the only thing standing in the way of successful completion of a sexual act was a layer of fabric”). Similarly, in United States v. Blue Bird, 372 F.3d 989 (8th Cir. 2004), a fourteen year old girl testified that the defendant kissed her and fondled her breasts. Relying on the Third Circuit’s decision in Hayward, the Eighth Circuit concluded that the evidence was inadmissible under Rule 413, the rule of evidence pertaining to criminal cases involving allegations of sexual assault. The court reasoned that “the fact that he desisted and withdrew when [the victim] said that she was not interested, indicates that Mr. Blue Bird at most merely solicited some kind of sexual contact. Without some more substantial step, we hold that this conduct cannot constitute an attempted sexual act or an attempt to engage in sexual contact.” Id. at 993 (internal quotation marks omitted). Oddly, courts have more liberally defined what constitutes a substantial step to commit a sex offense against a child in so-called cyber-molester cases. In United States v. Bailey, 228 F.3d 637 (6th Cir. 2000), the Sixth Circuit upheld a defendant’s conviction for attempting to engage in sex with a minor where the defendant emailed his telephone number to underage girls and tried to convince them to meet him for sex. The court reasoned that the substantial step that strongly corroborated the defendant’s intent to persuade the minor victims was simply the solicitous emails he sent to his putative victims. Id. at 640. Likewise, in No. 04-3421 23 another cyber-molester case, United States v. Murrell, 368 F.3d 1283 (11th Cir. 2004), the Eleventh Circuit held that a defendant’s electronic solicitation of a government agent, who the defendant believed to be a minor, constituted a substantial step to commit a sex act against a child. See also United States v. Thomas, 410 F.3d 1235, 1246 (10th Cir. 2005) (finding defendant took a substantial step toward child molestation by sending solicitous emails to an undercover officer posing as a twelve year-old girl). Applying the principles set forth in Gattem and Hernandez-Alvarez, we recognize that there is an inherent risk of exploitation when an adult solicits sex from a minor who, due to his or her under-developed sense of judgment and susceptibility to coercion, lacks the capacity to consent. Therefore, we hold that a defendant attempts to sexually assault a minor—that is, takes a substantial step toward committing the crime—when he solicits the child’s complacency in a sex act. In this case, Smith’s solicitous conduct occurred both when he called a middle school student to his office and offered the boy $10 to expose himself, and during subsequent recorded telephone conversations. Although it is unclear from the record precisely what solicitous conduct ultimately formed the basis of Smith’s guilty plea, in either instance, his conduct went beyond thinking about or planning to have sex with a minor. Unquestionably, calling the minor to the dean’s office and telling him to expose himself for money evinces Smith’s intent and substantial step toward sexual assault.23 The wiretapped conversations 23 The dissent distinguishes the cyber-molester cases, reasoning that, in those cases, the defendants engaged in substantial travel to meet their putative victims, whereas Smith did not. We agree that a defendant’s travel may evince a substantial step; but we disagree that the defendant’s travel is necessary to establish a substantial step. Such a bright-line rule would be (continued...) 24 No. 04-3421 between Smith and a minor also satisfy our attempt inquiry. Smith’s coded references to sex as “therapy” corroborate his intent. Further still, Smith made a substantial step toward completing the offense when he identified his home as the place where the sex would occur and stated that money would be the form of payment. Smith’s conduct is analogous to the defendants’ conduct in cyber-molester cases like Bailey and Murrell. There is no appreciable difference between attempted child sexual assault using telephonic means, as in this case, and electronic means, as in the cyber-molester cases. We therefore conclude that Smith’s solicitation of a child in 2001 constituted an attempt to commit a sexual offense against a minor. The final question in our Rule 415 inquiry is whether the probative value of admitting Smith’s conviction outweighs the prejudicial effect. We believe that it does. As Representative Susan Molinari, the principal House sponsor for Rules 413-415, commented in her floor statements, “In child molestation cases . . . a history of similar acts tends to be exceptionally probative because it shows an unusual disposition of the defendant—a sexual or sadosexual interest in children—that simply does not exist in ordinary people.” Cong. Rec. H8991-92 (Aug. 21, 1994). The school district contends that, notwithstanding the admissibility of the conviction against Smith, his conviction does not tend to establish any of the Does’ claims against it. We disagree. Smith’s pedophilic conduct is a fact of consequence that is intertwined with the school district’s potential civil liability. As we noted in our discussion of their section 1983 claims against the school district, in order to establish liability, the Does must prove that some Champaign school official who 23 (...continued) inapplicable in cases such as here where the defendant’s modus operandi was to have his minor victims come to him by inviting them to his home or office for sex. No. 04-3421 25 at a minimum had authority to institute corrective measures had actual notice of, and was deliberately indifferent to, Smith’s misconduct. Simply stated, if Smith did not do anything wrong, then necessarily the school district cannot be liable for deliberate indifference. Smith’s conviction was highly probative of whether Smith’s position as dean provided him with an opportunity to cultivate the boys’ trust and, also, the conviction tends to discredit the defendants-appellees’ theory that Smith was merely a benevolent educator. We therefore conclude that the prejudicial effect of Smith’s conviction does not outweigh the probative value to the Does’ case that he was convicted in 2001 of soliciting sex from another Franklin middle schooler.24 3. Admissibility of Tyrone B’s testimony After learning of the Does’ case in the media, Tyrone B, another putative Smith victim, went to the police and reported that Smith abused him in the late 1970’s. Tyrone B described himself as an isolated child from a singleparent family. According to Tyrone B (who was 10 or 11 years old at the time), Smith (who was then 19 or 20 years old) cultivated Tyrone B’s trust and friendship by giving him tennis shoes and appealing to his love of sports. Eventually, Tyrone B started spending nights at Smith’s home and in Smith’s bed; more than once Tyrone B would awake to Smith performing oral sex, attempting to perform anal sex, or masturbating. 24 This opinion was circulated in advance of publication to all judges of this court in regular active service pursuant to Seventh Circuit Rule 40(e). A majority did not favor a rehearing en banc on the question of the admissibility of Smith’s conviction for indecent solicitation of a child. 26 No. 04-3421 The Does learned of Tyrone B’s statement to police on June 6, 2003, ten days before trial was originally set to begin on June 16. Because the period for discovery had closed, the Does filed an emergency motion to admit Tyrone B’s statement to police under Federal Rule of Evidence 415. The trial court sua sponte continued the trial to November 10, 2003; then the court denied the Does’ emergency motion to admit Tyrone B’s testimony. In November, the trial was again delayed, this time at Smith’s request. On November 28, the Does asked the court to reconsider its earlier ruling excluding Tyrone B’s testimony. On December 16, the district court, without explanation, denied the motion to reconsider. The trial ultimately occurred in May 2004, nearly a year after the Does initially sought to introduce Tyrone B’s testimony. We conclude that the trial court erred when it excluded Tyrone B’s testimony from trial. The admissibility of eleventh-hour witness testimony presents competing interests of the parties. On the one hand, the discovery of potential witnesses in a timely fashion is an important principle of litigation. “The central aim of such rules is to minimize surprise at trial by requiring disclosure of witnesses in advance of trial.” Tyson v. Trigg, 50 F.3d 436, 445 (7th Cir. 1995). A party against whom an eleventh-hour witness is offered is undoubtedly disadvantaged to some degree by the late disclosure. On the other hand, through no fault of its own, a party may learn of a critical witness only days prior to trial. Given the competing interests at stake and given that the trial judge is in the best position to weigh such interests as they unfold, we have declined to fashion a hard-and-fast rule regarding the admissibility of newly discovered witness testimony. Id. Instead, we review a trial court’s decision to exclude newly discovered testimony for an abuse of discretion and will reverse only if the court’s ruling was unreasonable. Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Flanders Elec. Motor Service, Inc., 131 F.3d 625, 628 (7th Cir. 1997). No. 04-3421 27 Federal Rule of Evidence 415(b) states: “A party who intends to offer evidence under this rule shall disclose the evidence to the party against whom it will be offered . . . at least fifteen days before the scheduled date of trial or at such later time as the court may allow for good cause.” Notwithstanding our deferential standard of review, there is a strong argument that, in ruling on the Does’ emergency motion, the court should have allowed in Tyrone B’s testimony for good cause. The denial of the emergency motion to admit is not the sole basis of the Does’ appellate argument, however; after the trial was delayed for five months, the Does filed a motion to reconsider the exclusion of Tyrone B’s testimony. The trial court denied the motion to reconsider and it is that ruling that we find unreasonable. The Does contended that Tyrone B was a crucial witness because his story bore striking similarities to Smith’s other victims but, unlike Doe, who was a convicted felon, Tyrone B was more credible because he held a steady job and went to the police on his own initiative. Moreover, Tyrone B’s testimony, dating Smith’s pedophilia as far back as the late 1970’s, provided an important temporal context for this case. We agree that the evidentiary value of Tyrone B’s testimony is apparent, and there was good cause for the Does’ filing delay. As the district court noted, “through no fault of their own, Plaintiffs did not become aware of this witness until June 2003.”25 The court nonetheless reasoned that the testimony should be excluded because the delay was a violation of its discovery order. To call the Does’ discovery of Tyrone B an eleventh-hour disclosure is somewhat misleading, however, given the eleven-month delay between when Tyrone B was disclosed and when trial eventually took place. Any prejudice to the defendants 25 Or. Denying Pl.’s Mot. to Admit Testimony (September 16, 2003). 28 No. 04-3421 caused by the late disclosure could have been mitigated by affording the defendants an opportunity to depose Tyrone B during the eleven-month delay. Therefore, we conclude that the district court’s denial of the Does’ motion to reconsider exclusion of Tyrone’s testimony was an abuse of the court’s discretion. To be sure, the jury’s verdict would stand if the court’s evidentiary errors were harmless. United States v. Sutton, 337 F.3d 792, 797 (7th Cir. 2003). “An error will be found harmful only if it had a substantial and injurious effect or influence on the jury’s verdict.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). We cannot conclude on this record that the trial court’s evidentiary rulings were harmless error, however. The Does’ argument that they are entitled to a new trial implies that the district court’s exclusion of Smith’s 2001 conviction and Tyrone B’s testimony prejudiced their ability to establish their Titles VI and IX claims. In other words, the Does assume their claims against the school district failed because the jury did not believe Smith molested Doe, and they would have successfully carried their burden of proof had the excluded evidence come in at trial. However, this assumption is not crystal clear from the record. There are other elements necessary to establish the district’s liability (i.e., whether Smith’s molestation adversely affected Doe; whether the district knew of, but was deliberately indifferent to the abuse; whether Doe was damaged as a result; and whether the district proximately caused the damages). Plausibly, their claims may have failed on one of those elements. For example, the jury may have believed the district was not aware of the abuse or that Doe, a convicted felon, did not suffer damages proximately caused by the district’s indifference. Unfortunately, the jury was given only a general verdict form, leaving us without the benefit of its answers to interrogatories about the case. Two scenarios that would have made the record clearer for our review are: (1) Doe’s section 1983 claim No. 04-3421 29 against Smith would have survived summary judgment, thus requiring the jury to determine implicitly whether Smith molested Doe; or (2) the verdict form would have required the jury to determine explicitly whether the sexual abuse occurred. Neither of these scenarios is what we have here, and thus we do not know which element(s) of their Titles VI and IX claims the Does failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence. In light of this ambiguity in the record, we cannot say the district court’s errors were harmless.