Opinion ID: 165241
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 29 Webber claims the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction on Counts 19-27 which involved sexual battery, lewd molestation, and attempted lewd molestation. 30 This court has never decided whether sufficiency of the evidence claims are questions of law or fact for AEDPA purposes. Dockins v. Hines, 374 F.3d 935, 939 (10th Cir.2004); see also Moore v. Gibson, 195 F.3d 1152, 1176-77 (10th Cir.1999). But see Spears v. Mullin, 343 F.3d 1215, 1238 (10th Cir.2003) (stating that sufficiency of the evidence involves a legal question). In evaluating sufficiency of the evidence claims, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). If sufficiency of the evidence is treated as a legal claim, under § 2254(d)(1), the court must evaluate whether the OCCA unreasonably applied the standard from Jackson. If sufficiency of the evidence is treated as a factual finding then the analysis falls under § 2254(d)(2) which asks whether the OCCA's decision was an unreasonable determination of the facts. We need not decide which standard applies here because Webber's claim fails under either standard. See Dockins, 374 F.3d at 939. 31 In Oklahoma, sexual battery requires intentional touching, mauling, or feeling of the body or private parts of any person sixteen (16) years of age or older, in a lewd and lascivious manner and without the consent of that person. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1123(B) (1991). To convict one of lewd molestation, the state must prove that the defendant, knowingly and intentionally, looked upon, touched, mauled, or felt the body or private parts of any child under sixteen years of age in any lewd or lascivious manner. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1123(A) (1991). Additionally, the accused must be at least three years older than the victim. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1123(A)(5) (1991). Lewdness is defined as: 32
33 b. the giving or receiving of the body for indiscriminate sexual intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, masturbation, anal intercourse, or lascivious, lustful or licentious conduct with any person not his or her spouse, or 34 c. any act in furtherance of such conduct or any appointment or engagement for prostitution. 35 Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1030(6) (1991). The words lewd and lascivious, when used in a statute to define an offense, usually have the same meaning, to wit, an unlawful indulgence in lust; eager for sexual indulgence. Rich v. State, 266 P.2d 476, 479 (Okla.Crim.App.1954) (quotation omitted). Finally, to support an attempt conviction, the state must prove (1) intent to commit a specific crime; (2) performance of an overt act toward the commission of that crime; and (3) failure to consummate that crime. James v. State, 711 P.2d 111, 113 (Okla.Crim.App.1985). 36 After an independent review of the record and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, it is clear that a rational factfinder could have found Webber guilty of sexual battery, lewd molestation, and attempted lewd molestation based on the evidence presented. In addition, the OCCA's rejection of Webber's claim was not an unreasonable determination of the facts. Each of the seven victims of Webber's alleged sexual molestation testified at length regarding their age at the time of the incident(s) and provided detailed descriptions of Webber's conduct making up the elements of the charges. 37 Webber, however, argues that the evidence failed to show the requisite unlawful sexual indulgence, and that the testimony described conduct that amounted only to horseplay. Contrary to Webber's suggestion, the testimony was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find that Webber acted in a lewd and lascivious manner. The witnesses testified that Webber's behavior went beyond giving a snuggie or horseplay and described how uncomfortable Webber's behavior made them feel. Moreover, the testimony demonstrated a pattern of behavior from which a rational factfinder could infer an eagerness for sexual indulgence. Webber is not entitled to habeas relief on his sufficiency of the evidence claim because the OCCA's rejection of Webber's claim was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of Jackson, nor was it an unreasonable determination of the facts.