Opinion ID: 4123136
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony of Prior Victims

Text: This Court generally reviews evidentiary issues for abuse of discretion but there is an “on-going dispute in this circuit concerning the proper standard of review of Rule 404(b) evidence.” United States v. Carter, 779 F.3d 623, 625 (6th Cir. 2015). Sometimes, this Court will: (1) review for clear error the district court’s determination that prior bad acts took place; (2) apply de novo review to a district court’s determination that the evidence was offered for a permissible purpose; (3) and review for abuse of discretion the determination that the probative value of 404(b) evidence is not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice. See, e.g., United States v. Mack, 729 F.3d 594, 601 (6th Cir. 2013); United States v. Clay, 667 F.3d 689, 693 (6th Cir. 2012); United States v. Geisen, 612 F.3d 471, 495 (6th Cir. 2010). Other times, this Court has applied a single-tier abuse of discretion standard. See, e.g., United States v. Jenkins, 593 F.3d 480, 484 (6th Cir. 2010); United States v. Allen, 619 F.3d 518, 524 n.2 (6th Cir. 2010) (noting that this Circuit has “repudiated the three-tiered standard of review for Rule 404(b) determinations in light of Gen. Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997)); United States v. Haywood, 280 F.3d 715, 720 (6th Cir. 2002).4 We need not resolve this question at the moment because even if we apply the more lenient standard of “three-tiered” review, there are no grounds for reversal. 4 There is also a circuit split on this issue. Compare United States v. Green, 617 F.3d 233, 239 (3d Cir. 2010) (applying de novo review to a district court’s determination of proper purpose under Rule 404(b)), United States v. Akin, 213 F. App’x. 606, 608 (9th Cir. 2006), and United States v. Plumman, 409 F.3d 919, 928 (8th Cir. 2005) (applying de novo review to the district court’s interpretation and application of Rule 404(b)) with United States v. Hite, 364 F.3d 874, 881 n.10 (7th Cir. 2004) vacated other grounds, 543 U.S. 1103 (rejecting de novo review for this same issue), and United States v. Gilbert, 229 F.3d 15, 20–21 (1st Cir. 2000) (holding that, unless the district court “misapprehended the scope of [Rule 404(b) ]” inasmuch as “we review its application of Rule[ ] 404(b) . . . to the proffered evidence only for an abuse of discretion”). No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 15
Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) states, in relevant part: Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) (emphasis added). Admission of evidence under Rule 404(b) is also subject to the requirements of Rule 403 which provides that “relevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.” Fed. R. Evid. 403. Prior to the final pretrial conference, the government filed notice of its intent to offer evidence under Federal Rules of Evidence 404(b) and 413 concerning previous incidents of physical assault toward women. LaVictor filed two motions in limine to preclude the admission of the evidence, consisting of witnesses’ testimony regarding the assaults. The district court conducted a hearing and reserved judgment. Following the testimony of these witnesses, the court found that the other acts occurred and that the evidence was admissible for a proper purpose—to show intent and absence of mistake—and was not unfairly prejudicial. LaVictor concedes that sufficient evidence exists in order to establish that the prior acts transpired. He only challenges the validity of the purpose for which the evidence was introduced and the issue of whether it was overly prejudicial. We address each argument below.
In order to admit prior bad acts evidence, a district court must conclude that the evidence is offered for a legitimate purpose. “To determine whether the proffered evidence is admissible for a proper purpose, the trial court must decide ‘whether that evidence is probative of a material issue other than character.’” United States v. Bell, 516 F.3d 432, 441–42 (6th Cir. 2008) (quoting United States v. Carney, 387 F.3d 436, 451 (6th Cir. 2004)). “Evidence of other acts is probative of a material issue other than character if (1) the evidence is offered for an admissible purpose, (2) the purpose for which the evidence is offered is material or ‘in issue,’ and (3) the No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 16 evidence is probative with regard to the purpose for which it is offered.” United States v. Rayborn, 495 F.3d 328, 342 (6th Cir. 2007). The district court heard testimony from three separate victims5 at trial: R.M., P.T., and B.L. B.L. testified that on one occasion LaVictor, while intoxicated, punched her in the head while she was sleeping. He also struck her with a baseball bat, for which he was arrested. P.T. testified that after she broke up with LaVictor, he repeatedly threatened her. He slashed the tires of her car, broke out the windows, and damaged the engine. R.M. testified that in May 2010, she obtained a personal protection order against LaVictor because he refused to leave her house. Throughout the relationship, he physically assaulted her and made threats to kill her and her family. The district court found that the evidence was offered for two proper purposes: (1) to show LaVictor’s intent to commit the act; and (2) that the assault was not an accident or mistake. Arguing that the jury impermissibly concluded from the evidence that he had a violent propensity and acted in conformity therewith, LaVictor urges this Court to reverse. We decline to do so. Rule 404(b) is “a rule of inclusion rather than exclusion.” Carney, 387 F.3d at 450 n.11. Contrary to LaVictor’s argument, absence of mistake and intent are permissible purposes listed under Rule 404(b). This Court has held that in introducing evidence of mistake, the government’s purpose “must be to prove a fact that the defendant has placed, or conceivably will place, in issue, or a fact that the statutory elements obligate the government to prove.” Bell, 516 F.3d at 442 (quoting United States v. Merriweather, 78 F.3d 1070, 1076 (6th Cir. 1996) (emphasis added). Here, while LaVictor ultimately did not assert a defense based on mistake, it was certainly conceivable at the time that the government sought to introduce the evidence that he would make an argument, however tenuous or unconvincing, that the assault was accidental or caused by a mistaken understanding that C.B. had consented to “rough sex.” We therefore see no fault in the district court admitting the evidence for this purpose. Additionally, intent is a legitimate reason for the government to offer such evidence. This Court has previously held that the admission of other acts evidence is permitted to show 5 The testimony of two victims became unnecessary at trial because the defense stipulated to LaVictor’s prior domestic assault convictions, an element of the domestic assault habitual offender statute. No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 17 intent when the defendant is charged with a crime containing a specific intent element. See Clay, 667 F.3d at 695; United States v. Johnson, 27 F.3d 1186, 1192 (6th Cir. 1994) (holding that “where there is thrust upon the government . . . by virtue of the elements of the crime charged, the affirmative duty to prove that the underlying prohibited act was done with a specific criminal intent, other acts evidence may be introduced under Rule 404(b)”). The prosecutor may use 404(b) evidence to prove that the defendant acted with specific intent even if a defendant does not raise a lack of intent defense. See United States v. Bilderbeck, 163 F.3d 971, 977 (6th Cir. 1999). The majority of charges brought against LaVictor included a specific intent element. With that said, other acts evidence “can still be completely irrelevant to [the issue of intent], or relevant only in an impermissible way.” Clay, 667 F.3d at 696. We must therefore still decide whether the evidence actually is probative on the issue of intent. Relying on Clay, LaVictor argues that the testimony of previous victims does not speak to whether C.B. consented in this case. Recognizing this to be a close question, we nonetheless disagree with LaVictor. Evidence of intent is probative when the evidence “relates to conduct that is ‘substantially similar and reasonably near in time’ to the specific intent offense at issue.” Carter, 779 F.3d at 625 (quoting Haywood, 280 F.3d at 721). Otherwise, as we held in Bell, Rule 404(b) evidence is probative of intent “when the prior [acts] were part of the same scheme or involved a similar modus operandi as the present offense.” 516 F.3d at 443. Resting our conclusion on similar principles in Clay, we refused to admit prior bad acts evidence because we found that evidence of a 2006 assault did not show intent to assault an unrelated individual in a 2007 carjacking. “The two offenses at issue—assault and carjacking—are too unrelated and too far apart in time to be probative of whether Clay had the specific intent to do harm to [the victim].” 667 F.3d at 696. Despite LaVictor’s reliance upon Clay, however, LaVictor’s previous acts of violence against women are virtually identical to his conduct toward C.B. Similar to the cases involving the previous women, LaVictor was involved in a lengthy romantic relationship with C.B. that contained similar allegations of abuse triggered by very comparable circumstances. To the extent that there are any differences in the facts, we have held that there is no requirement that the prior act must be “identical in every detail to the charged offense.” United States v. Alkufi, 636 F. App’x 323, 332 (6th Cir. 2016). Similarly, there is “no absolute maximum number of years that may separate a prior act and the offense charged.” United States No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 18 v. Love, 254 F. App’x 511, 516–17 (6th Cir. 2007), aff’d, 550 F. App’x 286 (6th Cir. 2014). It appears to this Court that prior acts of violence against several different women, all of whom LaVictor had a romantic relationship with, are indicative of LaVictor’s specific intent to commit sexual assault against C.B.6
The third step in the analysis requires us to evaluate whether the 404(b) evidence was overly prejudicial. We review this issue under an abuse of discretion standard. Broad discretion is given to district courts in considerations of relevance and prejudice, and those decisions will not be lightly overruled. See United States v. Chambers, 441 F.3d 438, 455 (6th Cir. 2006). In reviewing the district court’s balancing of the evidence, this Court “look[s] at the evidence in the light most favorable to its proponent, maximizing its probative value and minimizing its prejudicial effect.” Id. Recognizing the potentially prejudicial nature of the evidence, we nonetheless find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting such evidence. LaVictor argues that the testimony of the three victims was minimally relevant and outweighed by its prejudicial value and was overly cumulative. We disagree. In the instant case, the government had minimal evidence of LaVictor’s intent or absence of mistake outside of C.B.’s statement. Given C.B.’s recantation, the other assaults evidence became especially important to the government’s case in order to establish intent. Therefore, the evidence was highly probative. Accordingly, we cannot find that it was an abuse of discretion for the district court to conclude that such evidence’s probative value outweighed its prejudicial impact. Nor do we find the admission of the evidence overly cumulative. The mere fact that other witnesses may testify to a particular fact does not necessarily render the testimony on the point cumulative or prejudicial. See Ayers v. City of Cleveland, 773 F.3d 161, 169 (6th Cir. 2014). We see 6 Other circuits appear somewhat divided on whether it is appropriate to admit evidence of past sexual assault in order to show intent to commit sexual assault under 404(b). Compare United States v. Sumner, 119 F.3d 658, 661 (8th Cir. 1997) (holding that prior abuse of the two other children is not sufficiently similar to the defendant’s alleged abuse of the victim to be relevant for showing opportunity, planning, or preparation) with United States v. Breitweiser, 357 F.3d 1249, 1254 (11th Cir. 2004) (concluding that testimony of defendant’s prior sexual conduct with minors was admissible under Rule 404(b) “to show [the defendant’s] motive, intent, knowledge, plan and preparation, and lack of mistake when he touched [the victim]” and that such evidence was more probative that prejudicial). No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 19 nothing unreasonable in the fact that the district court allowed three similarly-situated separate females to testify about instances of physical abuse. Furthermore, a limiting instruction was given informing the jury on the proper use of the evidence, which ameliorated the risk of unfair prejudice. See, e.g., United States v. Perry, 438 F.3d 642, 648 (6th Cir. 2006). Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion.
Even if we assume that the district court’s admission of the testimony was erroneous, LaVictor, nonetheless, is not entitled to a new trial unless “it is more probable than not that the error materially affected the verdict.” United States v. Mack, 729 F.3d 594, 603 (6th Cir. 2013). Admission of other acts evidence constitutes harmless error “if the record evidence of guilt is overwhelming, eliminating any fair assurance that the conviction was substantially swayed by the error.” United States v. Hardy, 643 F.3d 143, 153 (6th Cir. 2011). In reaching this determination, this Court must take into account what the error meant to the jury, “not singled out and standing alone” but in relation to all that happened. United States v. Murphy, 241 F.3d 447, 453 (6th Cir. 2001). Although there is an understanding that testimony concerning previous episodes of sexual assault can be particularly prejudicial to the jury, we believe that here, even if there was such an error, the error was harmless. “When the government presents other convincing evidence, [this Court] may deem the admission of 404(b) evidence mere harmless error.” United States v. Layne, 192 F.3d 556, 573 (6th Cir. 1999). In this particular case, we are not convinced that the admission of the prior bad acts swayed the jury. Aside from the evidence already contained in the record speaking to LaVictor’s guilt, we also note that testimony covering this very specific subject—LaVictor’s prior conduct toward woman—was properly put before the jury. First, LaVictor stipulated to prior convictions of physical assault so the jury was informed of his violent tendencies. Second, under Federal Rule of Evidence 413, the government sought, and successfully introduced very similar testimony concerning his violent tendencies toward sexual partners. So while we recognize the potential prejudice of such prior act testimony, we cannot say that the error undermined the integrity of LaVictor’s conviction. No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 20

This Court reviews the admission of evidence under Rule 413 for abuse of discretion. United States v. Seymour, 468 F.3d 378, 386 (6th Cir. 2006). “Generally, an abuse of discretion is evident when the reviewing court is firmly convinced that a mistake has been made. A district court abuses its discretion when it relies on clearly erroneous findings of fact, or when it improperly applies the law or uses an erroneous legal standard.” United States v. Allen, 619 F.3d 518, 523–24 (6th Cir. 2010).
Testimony from two of LaVictor’s previous girlfriends, T.F. and B.L., was admitted by the trial court under Federal Rule of Evidence 413. T.F. testified that she dated LaVictor for approximately one year, ending the relationship in 2004. After concluding the relationship, T.F. described an incident when she returned home to find her window open. After turning on the light to her apartment, LaVictor “came out of nowhere, and he got me on the—on the bathroom floor, and he raped me.” (R. 153, Tr., PageID # 2024). The rape went unreported. B.L. also dated LaVictor for several years and described a similar incident of rape where he forced her to get on her knees, perform oral sex on him, and then proceeded to take her clothes off and force objects into her vagina. LaVictor argues that the district court abused its discretion by admitting the aforementioned Rule 413 testimony. According to him, the alleged sexual assaults involving T.F. and B.L. were not sufficiently similar to the incident involving C.B, are uncorroborated, and are too remote in time to have been sufficiently probative. Furthermore, he contends, the evidence should be rejected on Rule 403 grounds as overly prejudicial. We disagree, finding the evidence properly admitted. Federal Rule of Evidence 413 provides that “[i]n a criminal case in which the defendant is accused of an offense of sexual assault, evidence of the defendant’s commission of another offense or offenses of sexual assault is admissible, and may be considered for its bearing on any matter to which it is relevant.” Sexual assault is defined in Rule 413(d) as “contact, without consent, between any part of the defendant’s body—or an object—and another person’s genitals No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 21 or anus.” Evidence otherwise admissible under Rule 413 is still subject to Rule 403 balancing. Seymour, 468 F.3d at 386. On review, this Court must give “the evidence its maximum reasonable probative force and its minimum reasonable prejudicial value.” Id.. Foremost, the testimony of the witnesses need not be explicitly corroborated. See United States v. Dillon, 532 F.3d 379, 391 (5th Cir. 2008). In fact, such a requirement would run counter to the flexible nature of Rule 104(b), which governs the admissibility of testimony that is conditionally relevant. The rule only mandates that evidence be supported. See Fed. R. Evid. 104(b). In other words, a district court must determine “that a reasonable jury could find by a preponderance of the evidence that these acts were sexual assaults committed by the defendant.” Dillon, 532 F.3d at 391; see also United States v. Enjady, 134 F.3d 1427, 1433 (10th Cir. 1998) (holding that a district court must make a preliminary finding that the other acts occurred). The district court held a hearing, listened to the testimony of the witnesses, observed them, and found their narratives truthful. We see no abuse of discretion. Similarly, we see no error in the district court’s weighing of the probative value of the testimony. During the hearing, the district court explicitly considered the similarity of the prior acts and stated that: all of these involved girlfriends of the defendant . . . . [T]he defendant acted in a rage in [B.L’s] situation. Obviously, I think he did also in connection with [T.F], because he stuffed the toilet and caused overflow there, broke into her apartment. And both victims were overcome by force, violence[.]” (R. 154, Tr., PageID # 2220). Proceeding, the court noted the “time factor here is—is several years, but other courts have held much older sexual assaults have been admitted under . . . Rule 413.” (Id.). We agree with both of the district court’s conclusions. The facts of the previous sexual assaults are quite similar to those in question here toward C.B.7 Nor is the age of the events a reason to disqualify the evidence because other courts have admitted testimony of considerably older sexual assaults. See, e.g., United States v. Gabe, 237 F.3d 945, 960 (8th Cir. 2001) (twenty year old allegations); United States v. Meacham, 115 F.3d 1148, 1496 (10th Cir. 7 LaVictor relies upon Johnson v. Elk Lake Sch. Dist., 283 F.3d 138 (3d Cir. 2002) to show that there is a lack of specificity and similarity of past acts, but Johnson was a civil case under Rule 415 and the Third Circuit affirmed the trial court’s decision to exclude the evidence under an abuse of discretion standard. Accordingly, the case is inapposite. No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 22 1997) (child molestation was admissible under Rule 414 that occurred twenty-five to thirty years prior. LaVictor’s final argument rests upon exclusion under Rule 403. Evidence otherwise admissible under Rule 413 is subject to Rule 403 balancing, allowing the exclusion of relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. See, e.g., United States v. Morris, 494 F. App’x 574, 584 (6th Cir. 2012); Seymour, 468 F.3d at 386. We recognize that Rule 413 evidence can be inherently prejudicial. By describing violent and sexual conduct, the evidence may have a strong propensity to evoke a visceral reaction from a lay jury. While we are sympathetic to LaVictor’s argument, Congress’s decision to codify Rule 413 reflects its belief of the probative nature of such testimony. As this Court explained in United States v. Stout, 509 F.3d 796, 801–02 (6th Cir. 2007), the codification of Rule 413, 414, and 415 represent an understanding that sexual assault is different from regular prior bad acts. This difference is either that “propensity evidence has special value in certain violent sexual misconduct cases or that the difficulty of and need for convictions for these crimes warrants a decrease in the usual protections against propensity and character evidence.” Id. In cases where the defendant argues that a victim consented, such testimony is especially important. See Morris, 494 F. App’x at 583–84 (describing Congress’s understanding that prior sexual assault evidence can be one of the few probative pieces of evidence to overcome a defendant’s argument that the victim consented); see also Enjady, 134 F.3d 1427, 1433 (10th Cir. 1998) (“one of Congress’ expressed rationales for Rule 413[ ] [is] the need for corroborating evidence when the alleged rapist claims consent, and there are no witnesses other than the defendant and the alleged victim.”). In the matter before us, the primary question weighing upon the guilt or innocence of LaVictor is that of consent. This scenario falls precisely into the category of cases that Congress envisioned when it enacted Rule 413. Accordingly, we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion. No. 15-1580 United States v. LaVictor Page 23