Opinion ID: 62340
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Color of Law

Text: Dillon argues on appeal that the government did not present sufficient evidence to carry its burden of showing that the sexual assaults attributed to him respecting Carter and Carraby occurred under color of law. He does not otherwise contest the sufficiency of the evidence on either count. A. Standard of Review The standard for evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Williams, 132 F.3d 1055, 1059 (5th Cir.1998). This court reviews all the evidence, and the reasonable inferences that may be drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the verdict. United States v. Sanchez, 961 F.2d 1169, 1173 (5th Cir.1992). We may not substitute our own credibility judgment for that of the jury, which is solely responsible for determining the weight and credibility of the evidence. United States v. Martinez, 975 F.2d 159, 161 (5th Cir.1992). B. Did Dillon Act Under the Color of Law? To support the civil rights convictions in this case the government had the burden of proving that Dillon acted under color of any law. 18 U.S.C. § 242. An action occurs under color of law when there is [m]isuse of power, possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law. United States v. Classic, 313 U.S. 299, 61 S.Ct. 1031, 1043, 85 L.Ed. 1368 (1941). The Supreme Court later simplified this formula and stated that under `color' of law means under `pretense' of law. Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 65 S.Ct. 1031, 1040, 89 L.Ed. 1495 (1945). This court has had the opportunity to interpret the color of law requirement a number of times. In United States v. Tarpley, this court held that defendant, a sheriff, acted under color of law when he had his wife lure the man with whom she was having an affair to their house so that he could assault him. 945 F.2d 806, 807-08 (5th Cir.1991). Central to the outcome of the case was that Tarpley claimed to have special authority because he was an officer of the law, used his service weapon, was aided by a fellow officer, and ran the victim out of town in his squad car. Id. at 809. Because of these actions this court held that an air of official authority pervaded the entire incident. Id. [4] In Bennett v. Pippin, this court held that defendant, a sheriff, acted under color of law when he raped a woman whom he had just finished questioning about a shooting he was investigating. 74 F.3d 578, 589 (5th Cir.1996). The sheriff responded to the victim's refusal of his advances by saying, `I can do what I want, I'm the Sheriff.' Id. Additionally, the sheriff admitted that he used his authority to discover that the victim's husband would not be home and had entered her property by virtue of his authority as sheriff, and it was established that the victim needed the sheriff's permission to retrieve her pickup truck. Id. These actions were held to have a `real nexus' with the sheriff's authority. Id. In United States v. Causey, this court held that defendant, police officer Davis, was acting under color of law when he conspired to murder an individual who had filed an internal affairs complaint against him. 185 F.3d 407, 415-16 (5th Cir.1999). In order to carry out the murder, officer Davis held a meeting with his co-conspirators at the police station, used his police car to show the co-conspirators where to find the victim, communicated with the co-conspirators via his police radio, secured the cooperation of his accomplices by assurance of police protection, and planned to use his official authority to cover up the murder at the crime scene. Id. at 415. The court held that Davis was uniquely able to do these things because of his position as a police officer, so there was a sufficient nexus between his use and abuse of the power conferred on him by law and the murder to satisfy the color of law requirement. Id. at 415-16. Finally in Townsend v. Moya, this court held that defendant, Hill, a prison guard, did not act under the color of law when he stabbed Townsend, an inmate, after the two men entered into a game of `come on' in which they took turns referring to each other as `my bitch' or `whore'. 291 F.3d 859, 860 (5th Cir.2002). In reaching this decision, this court held that the two men were engaging in horseplay, a purely private action, so Hill was not acting under color of law when he stabbed Townsend, even though he used a knife he possessed by virtue of his position and authority. Id. at 862. See also, e.g., Delcambre v. Delcambre, 635 F.2d 407 (5th Cir.1981) (chief of police on duty at police station assaults sister-in-law there in purely private family dispute, victim not arrested or threatened with arrest; not under color of law). In these cases, the determining factor of whether a government official was acting under color of law generally was whether there [was] a nexus between the victim, the improper conduct and [the defendant's] performance of official duties. Causey, 185 F.3d at 415. While Dillon did not use equipment obtained through his official position to commit the sexual assaults, like the police officer in Causey, his attacks were not disconnected from his position of authority, as the prison guard's were in Townsend. During trial the government presented evidence that both Carter and Carraby initially met Dillon through his position as an ACA. They came to his office because they believed that his position as a ACA enabled him to help them with their legal problems: Carter sought his fixing her tickets and help in having her son released from jail and Carraby thought he was going to give her a drug test so she could have her pending marijuana charge dismissed. These actions are similar to the sheriff's use of his position to gain access to his victim's house under the pretense of having to interview her about a shooting he was investigating. See Bennett, 74 F.3d at 589. The defense argues that Dillon was not acting under color of law because Carter and Carraby were seeking Dillon's help with matters that were not directly related to his position as an ACA. However, Dillon did have authority as to Carter's tickets, and his position enabled him to procure her son's release from jail. And, Dillon misled Carraby into believing her marijuana charge was pending and that he could have it dismissed. The testimony of Carter and Carraby indicates that they thought that Dillon's position as an ACA put him in a position to help them. Nevertheless, the fact that Dillon took advantage of his position to initially become acquainted with his victims does not alone suffice to find that his subsequent assaults were under color of law. There needs to have been a more meaningful nexus between the defendant's use or abuse of his position of actual or ostensible authority and the actual commission of the offense. Dillon created this nexus when he verbally invoked his power before, during and after he sexually assaulted Carter and Carraby. As to Carter, after he placed a call to the judge who ultimately paroled Carter's son, Dillon boasted that he told her he could make it happen. He then proceeded to kiss her and when she resisted he told her that he knew a lot of police officers and he [could] have anybody arrested and that Carter should [q]uit acting like a baby if she wanted her son out of jail. Dillon, by his statements, also left Carter the impression that he could have her son re-arrested at any time, in his effort to keep her from reporting him. As to Carraby, Dillon told her that to get her marijuana charge dismissed, which he in effect had led her to believe he could and would do as an ACA, she would have to come to his other office for a (completely bogus) marijuana test. Then, before sexually assaulting her there, Dillon told her that nobody would believe her if she reported him because she had a lewd conduct charge on her record. Carraby also testified that Dillon warned her not to tell anyone about the assault or he would come after [her] and [her] family. These remarks are similar to those made in Bennett and Tarpley. The sheriff told his victim, while beating him and holding a gun in his mouth, that he could kill him because he was a police officer. Tarpley, 945 F.2d at 808. The sheriff told his victim before he raped her that he was the sheriff so he could do what he pleased. Bennett, 74 F.3d at 589. The predominant distinguishing factor between these statements and Dillon's are that Dillon never explicitly mentioned his position as an ACA. To hold that this distinction was sufficient to remove Dillon's conduct from being under color of law, however, would be to elevate form over substance. The substance of his statements clearly invoked his actual or perceived power as a city prosecutor, as it was only in that capacity that he and the victims were then relating to each other. The statements carried with them an air of official authority that this court held to be decisive in Tarpley, and a reasonable jury could have found, considering the totality of the circumstances, that these statements were invocations of his authority intended to compel Carter and Carraby to comply with his sexual demands and not to report the rapes.