Court Opinion

ID: 9447253
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 22:29:52.726552+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:30:57.632206
License: Public Domain

WILBUR K. MILLER, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
Farrar was tried and found guilty by Judge Schweinhaut, sitting without a jury. The appellant first denied and then admitted having had intercourse with the complaining witness, but said she had submitted voluntarily. So the issue at the trial was whether the victim had consented.
She testified Farrar met her on the street at night and, at what she thought was the point of a knife in her back, marched her to his apartment where, under threats of bodily injury, he forced her to yield to him. As soon as she escaped from the scene, the girl ran to a nearby fire house and reported the attack, whereupon the police were called.
It was argued strongly that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction because the girl never saw a knife and Farrar had none when he was arrested at the apartment soon after the event. The majority adopt that view. They also say that in other respects the testimony of the complaining witness was incredible; but in so doing they substitute their opinion concerning the credibility of witnesses for that of the trial judge.
Before discussing the law as to whether an appellate court may make that substitution, I think it well to point out what I regard as infirmities in the majority’s statement of the case1 which seem to me to make it fall short of being an objective narrative. When the testimony is viewed objectively, it becomes apparent that the case turns on the credibility of the witnesses and not on the sufficiency of the evidence; that there was evidence sufficient to convict if the prosecution’s witnesses were credited.
At the outset, the majority say, “The complaining witness was an 18-year old girl to whom intercourse was not a new experience.” This seemingly implies she was therefore unchaste, but there was no evidence that she had never been married. Anyway, the unchastity of the victim is not a defense to a charge of rape unless it is made so by statute, which has not been done in this jurisdiction.
The majority opinion says Farrar “brought her a drink of water at her request and poured some whiskey.” This intimates that the victim shared Farrar’s whiskey with him. In fact, however, the undisputed testimony is that she refused to partake of the whiskey.
My brothers also say:
*871“ * * * Finally she partly dressed, went to a bathroom, ‘turned both spigots on’, left the building, went to a fire station, and said she had been raped. Police were called and took her back to appellant’s room. He at first said he did not know her, but presently admitted he had intercourse with her. So much is undisputed.”
While this terse statement is true, it is so incomplete that it does not reveal the full truth. It does not say why or how she was partly dressed, nor why she “turned both spigots on” in the bathroom. It mildly says she “went” to a fire station and inadequately states she “said she had been raped.” I reproduce in the margin the victim’s testimony as to how she was clothed, why she “turned both spigots on,” that she ran to the fire house at about 3:00 o’clock on a February morning, clad only in a skirt and sweater, and there tearfully told her story.2
No witness said she merely “went to a fire station, and said she had been raped.” The girl said, “When I got outside I screamed — I went to crying. I left and ran all the way * * A fireman said he heard “loud crying on the outside” and, when he admitted her, “she was crying and it seemed like she was upset and nervous.” I suggest there is *872a vast difference between the majority’s statement that she “went to a fire station, and said she had been raped” and the actual facts shown by the undisputed testimony of two witnesses.
Again, the majority write as follows:
“The girl testified at appellant’s trial that she walked with him to his room, and undressed, because he threatened to kill her if she refused to do so. But she did not testify that her taking part in intercourse was induced by those threats, or by words of any sort. She testified to the contrary. * * * ”
Her testimony “to the contrary,” then quoted in the majority opinion, was that she submitted to him because he menaced her with a knife. So, about all the majority are saying here is that the verbal threat which caused her to undress did not cause her to submit to intercourse, but that submission was due to a physical threat. This distinction is incomprehensible, except that the majority then demonstrate to their own satisfaction that Farrar had no knife; ergo, their conclusion is that she yielded to the menace of a knife when there was no knife.
Farrar testified he did not have a knife, and the girl said she did not see one. On that basis, the majority state there was no knife. In this connection, it is interesting to note the testimony of Mrs. Irma Smith, a policewoman who was called as a witness by the appellant, concerning statements made by Farrar in her presence at the police station. She said Farrar stated that, when the girl refused to undress and get in bed, “he might have held the knife against her neck at the time.” I suggest that the fact the police found no knife and that the girl actually saw none is not conclusive that Farrar was not so armed. He might easily have disposed of his knife before the police arrived.
Whether there was a knife or not, I regard as immaterial. Some sharp instrument which she thought was a knife was pressed against her back and upon her neck; it was sufficient to inculcate the fear which she expressed.
Later in the majority’s statement of facts, they say: “She [the complaining witness] afterwards accepted $15 from a girl friend of appellant.” This is stated as a fact, although the majority later say she “denied that she got the money.” But they omit to say that appellant’s “girl friend,” Mrs. McDaniels, had an interest which may well have shaped her story: she was living with Farrar while he was on bond, she had lived with him for some years and had had a child by him, although she was not married to him. Mrs. McDaniels also admitted she had tried to bribe the prosecuting witness by telling her “if she would drop the case” she would give her money. These undisputed facts were to be considered in determining her credibility.
Farrar’s interest, which could have been thought to color his testimony, is of course apparent. Other phases of Farrar’s testimony go to his credibility and serve to show why the trial judge, who observed his demeanor as he testified, refused to believe his testimony. For example, an officer said Farrar stated he had paid the girl $5.60 by placing it in her shoe. When a search revealed she had only 52 cents in her shoe or on her person, Farrar changed his story by saying he had merely promised to pay her $5.60. Another example: the clothing which the girl left in his room, Farrar " said he placed in a trash can in the alley, where it was later recovered. His explanation was that he was “saving” it for her.
In view of the foregoing, I suggest the evidence was insufficient if the testimony of the girl is believed and if that of Farrar is disbelieved. On the other hand, the evidence was insufficient to convict, if Farrar is credited and the victim is discredited. In other words, the stories told by Farrar and the complaining witness were inconsistent — both could not have been telling the truth. In these circumstances, the finding of the trial judge depended upon his decision as to the credibility of the parties.
*873Judge Schweinhaut, the trier of the facts, did not hesitate in giving credence to the complaining witness instead of to the appellant. He had observed the demeanor of the parties as they testified and was in a much better position than we are to form an opinion as to their credibility. In his brief oral opinion he said in part:
“I will say this only: That I believe, on the fundamental issues in this case, the complaining witness did tell the truth and I believe that there is an abundance of evidence in the case which corroborates her testimony, including the testimony of the defendant himself. * * * I not only don’t have a reasonable doubt about the matter; I don’t have any doubt at all. The Court finds the defendant guilty as charged.”
Thus the trial judge decided the case on the credibility issue; he chose to believe the girl instead of the appellant, and so had no doubt of the latter’s guilt. I suggest he decided correctly on the basis of the evidence he found worthy of belief. The majority say, however, that a reasonable mind must necessarily have had a reasonable doubt as to appellant’s guilt. Surely they do not intend to say Judge Schweinhaut was unreasonable in deciding as he did on the basis of the evidence which he believed. The majority statement must mean, then, that they believe Farrar’s testimony and that, giving credence to what he said, a reasonable doubt was inevitable. It follows they are reversing the trial judge’s decision as to the credibility of witnesses.
But the question here is not what we think of the evidence as it appears on printed pages. The issue on this appeal is whether we can properly disturb the determination of guilt made by an experienced trial judge on evidence which, if believed, amply supports it, and which he found so completely convincing. I think it is thoroughly settled that we have no such authority. In Daniels v. Souders, 1952, 90 U.S.App.D.C. 298, 300, 195 F.2d 780, 781, this court said:
“Appellant also contends that the evidence is not sufficient to support the finding that she was guilty of adultery with appellee’s husband. The credibility of the testimony is within the province of the trial court who saw the witnesses and heard them speak. We cannot say that the record did not warrant the inferences and conclusions that were drawn.”
The opinion of this court in Morfessis v. Morfessis, 1950, 87 U.S.App.D.C. 292, 184 F.2d 468, stated:
“The findings of the District Court, sitting without a jury, ‘shall not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge of the credibility of the witnesses.’ * As the trier of the facts, it is in the best position to consider the demeanor of the witnesses and to weigh their testimony. * -x- * >>
'"“Rule 52(a), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”
Repeating what it had said in Davis v. Schwartz, 1895, 155 U.S. 631, 636, 15 S.Ct. 237, 39 L.Ed. 289, the Supreme Court said in Adamson v. Gilliland, 1917, 242 U.S. 350, 353, 37 S.Ct. 169, 170, 61 L.Ed. 356: “* * * [S]o far as the finding of the * * * judge who saw the witnesses ‘depends upon conflicting testimony or upon the credibility of witnesses * * * it must be treated as unassailable.’ ” The case of United States v. Oregon State Medical Society, 1952, 343 U.S. 326, 72 S.Ct. 690, 96 L.Ed. 978, is to the same effect. There the Supreme Court said, 343 U.S. at page 339, 72 S.Ct. at page 698:
“As was aptly stated by the New York Court of Appeals * * * : ‘Face to face with living witnesses the original trier of the facts holds a position of advantage from which appellate judges are excluded. In doubtful cases the exercise of his *874power of observation often proves the most accurate method of ascertaining the truth. * * * How can we say the judge is wrong ? We never saw the witnesses. * * * To the sophistication and sagacity of the trial judge the law confides the duty of appraisal.’ Boyd v. Boyd, 252 N.Y. 422, 429, 169 N.E. 632, 634.”
As Judge Prank put it (writing for himself and Judges Learned Hand and Augustus N. Hand) in Broadcast Music v. Havana Madrid Restaurant Corp., 2 Cir., 1949, 175 F.2d 77, 80:
“ * * * For the demeanor of an orally-testifying witness is ‘always assumed to be in evidence.’ It is ‘wordless language.’ The liar’s story may seem uncontradicted to one who merely reads it, yet it may be ‘contradicted’ in the trial court by his manner, his intonations, his grimaces, his gestures, and the like —all matters which ‘cold print does not preserve’ and which constitute ‘lost evidence’ so far as an upper court is concerned. For such a court, it has been said, even if it were called a ‘rehearing court,’ is not a ‘reseeing court.’ Only were we to have ‘talking movies’ of trials could it be otherwise. A ‘stenographic transcript correct in every detail fails to reproduce tones of voice and hesitations of speech that often make a sentence mean the reverse of what the words signify. The best and most accurate record is like a dehydrated peach; it has neither the substance nor the flavor of the fruit before it was dried.’ It resembles a pressed flower. The witness’ demeanor, not apparent in the record, may alone have ‘impeached’ him. * * *
“Without doubt, the result of our procedure is to vest the trial judge with immense power not subject to correction even if misused: His estimate of an orally testifying witness’ credibility may stem from the trial judge’s application of an absurd rule-of-thumb, such as that when a witness wipes his hands during his testimony, unquestionably he is lying; but, unless the judge reveals of record that he used such an irrational test of credibility, an upper court can do nothing to correct his error. * * * ”
It was said in Creamer v. Bivert, 1908, 214 Mo. 473, 113 S.W. 1118, 1120-1121:
“ * * * In short, one witness may give testimony that reads in print, here, as if falling from the lips of an angel of light, and yet not a soul who heard it, nisi, believed a word of it; and another witness may testify so that it reads brokenly and obscurely in print, and yet there was that about the witness that carried conviction of truth to every soul who heard him testify. * * * ”
The rule that the determination of credibility of witnesses at the trial level will not be disturbed on appeal applies also to criminal cases. The Supreme Court said in Glasser v. United States, 1942, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680, “It is not for us to weigh the evidence or to determine the credibility of witnesses. The verdict of a jury must be sustained if there is substantial evidence, taking the view most favorable to the Government, to support it. United States v. Manton, 2 Cir., 107 F.2d 834, 839, and cases there cited.”
This court said in Wigfall v. United States, 1956, 97 U.S.App.D.C. 252, 230 F.2d 220, 221, “In our jurisprudence the credibility of witnesses and the derivation of the truth from oral testimony are reposed in the hearer of the witnesses. Demeanor, inflection and gesture, both on direct examination and under cross examination, are elements in those determinations.” And in Hardeman v. United States, 1947, 82 U.S.App.D.C. 194, 163 F.2d 21, we said, “The jury heard the witnesses testify and reached the conclusion that appellant was the thief, and in the circumstances it was for them and not for us to decide that question.”
*875The Seventh Circuit, in United States v. Marshall, 1959, 266 F.2d 92, considered a rape case somewhat similar to this one. To convict, the jury had to credit the somewhat shaky testimony of the complaining witness that Marshall forced her submission at the point of a knife. The jury chose to believe the girl and rejected Marshall’s testimony as to an alibi in which he was corroborated by 'his mother. Citing Glasser v. United States, supra, the Seventh Circuit said, “It is not for us to determine the credibility of the witnesses who were heard and viewed by the Trial Judge and the jury.” [266 F.2d 94.]
For these reasons, I dissent from the action of the majority.
Before PRETTYMAN, Chief Judge, and EDGERTON, MILLER, BAZELON, FAIIY, WASHINGTON, DANAHER, BASTIAN and BURGER, Circuit Judges, in Chambers.
Order — Filed February 16, 1960 Upon consideration of appellee’s petition for rehearing in banc, it is
Ordered by the court that the petition for rehearing in banc is denied.
Circuit Judges MILLER, DANAHER, BASTIAN and BURGER would grant the petition for rehearing in banc.

. Some of the infirmities in the statement of facts contained in the majority’s original opinion have been corrected by them in their amended opinion, and so are not discussed or mentioned in this amended dissent.

. “The Court: What happened after that ?
“The Witness: I begged him and begged him I wanted to go to the bathroom. I started to cry. I figured that was the only thing T could do to get away. I kept begging him to go to the bathroom. Ho told me, ‘Go in naked.’ I told him, ‘I can’t go out to the bathroom this way.’ So he throwed me my skirt. I took the skirt and put the skirt over mo and I said, ‘What about the top part of my body?’ you know, and so he throwed me his sweater. So when he had his back turned, I slipped one brassiere under the sweater.
“By Mr. Stevas:
“Q. He gave you his sweater to wear to the bathroom? A. Yes. All the rest of my clothes, coat, slip, brassiere, panties, blouse was in his room.
“Q. Did you put his sweater on? A. Yes, and my shoes.
“Q. Then what did you do? A. As I was going around to the bathroom, I turned the spigot on — I turned both spigots on.
“Q. Full force or just a dribble, how much? A. I turned them on all of the way, as far as it would go.
“The Court: Why did you do that?
“The Witness: .1 did it because he told me if I tried to leave, he would kill me. I tipped all the way back to the door and the floor made some noise, so I turned the spigots on so lie couldn’t hear the twitches of the floor. I don’t guess he did. I went all the way back from the bathroom and I tipped all the way down the steps. When I got outside, I screamed — I went to crying. I left and ran all the way down to North Capital Street, turned on S Street. * * * ” (Emphasis supplied.)
Farrar, unconsciously perhaps, corroborated the girl’s testimony in a significant particular: about ten minutes after she had gone to the bathroom, he said he went there looking for her. She was gone, but the water was running.
With respect to her report at the fire house, I quote from the testimony of Edward Logan, a fireman who was on duty when she arrived:
“A. Well, I heard a loud crying on the outside of the house. I started to get up to see what the crying was and I heard some voices, some talking outside and I thought whoever was crying already received aid, so I sat down again.
“Finally, a knock came on the window. I went to the door and opened it.
“Q. When you opened the door, what if anything did you see? A. There was a girl dressed in a sweater and skirt. She came into the house and told me—
“Q. Don’t tell me yet what she said. Have you seen that girl here today? A. Yes.
“Q. Do you know her name? A. Olivia — •
“The Court: Was it Olivia Zolli coffer?
“The Witness: Yes, that is her name.
“By Mr. Stevas:
“Q. Would you describe for His Honor what she was doing? A. Weil, she was crying and it seemed like she was upset and nervous. * * * # *
“The Witness: She said she had been attacked by a man with a knife. She told me she was actually walking home from the movies and a man had put a knife in her back.
“The Court: She said she had been attacked ?
“The Witness: Yes.”