Court Opinion

ID: 9474701
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:06:09.980847+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:16.637749
License: Public Domain

WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL, Senior District Judge,
dissenting.
With all due respect, I must dissent. I believe a reasonable jury could have rationally reached the conclusions it did. I am disturbed by the way the majority subtly second-guesses the jury’s conclusions. Finally, I believe the alleged errors in law committed at trial were harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
The record is riveted with evidence which substantiates the jury’s verdict. What the jury found, with the added advantage of weighing and observing the credibility and demeanor of the key characters in question, was that defendant Wolf spent an extraordinary amount of time and effort coaxing young Oriental women into his life with a dominant purpose being to engage in sexual activity with them. The majority writes in a style that sanitizes Wolf’s behavior. The impression left is that Wolf quite conceivably could have been trying to help these young, naive Oriental women. The majority emerges with the impression that the evidence is weak as to Wolf’s purpose being immoral and that the jury could have reached a different conclusion if a few things were conducted “properly” at trial. This is incredible to me.
Wolf was no guardian angel for the Cambodian/Hmong culture who simply went astray. The jury found he engaged himself in an incredible scheme to defraud and successfully coaxed young Oriental women to come live near him.1 These young and helpless Oriental women were easy prey for the 67 year-old Wolf. They needed help. Wolf was recommended to them by another Cambodian female, Radina Seng, and Wolf appeared sincere from afar. However, his ultimate intentions were always unveiled and often it did not take long. I have no problem decifering what *1102Wolfs dominant purpose was when he flew to Oklahoma City to meet Chenda Or, a woman young enough to be his granddaughter. His first encounter with her was at his hotel room at the airport. He asked her totally irrelevant and inappropriate questions such as “Do you know about husbands and wives sleeping together?” Then Wolf asked her to skip work and “stay with him.” Later that same day Wolf tried to embrace her. What was Wolfs purpose here? Am I to believe this was a legitimate interview technique?
After this airport episode Wolf coaxed Ms. Or to move to Indiana. Wolf drugged Ms. Or in order to have sex with her and then, that not having worked, forced Ms. Or to have sex with him at gunpoint. It also appears Wolf forced Or to have intercourse with him every night for two weeks thereafter. The majority has little problem placing itself in the position of factfinder in order to doubt the jury’s finding it was physically possible for defendant Wolf, a 67 year-old man, to maintain an erection every night for a two-week period. Yet the majority’s “scholarly factual findings” in this area are unsubstantiated and in need of expert certification. I see no cite from Masters & Johnson, Dr. David Reuben, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, or another authority in support of the majority’s improper self-impeachment of Ms. Or’s testimony; testimony the jury believed.
If one weighs the remainder of the record, the evidence does not support Mr. Wolf’s or the majority’s assertions. The jury verdict appears more than reasonable and based on “easy listening,” juicy facts. Mr. Wolf is seen lewdly caressing one of the women in a public mental health center by neutral witnesses and molesting another woman who is married. Several times he forces himself upon different women, forcibly removes their clothing and fondles their genitals against their will. He forces them to fondle his genitals as well. The idea of drugging the women, breaking into their apartment a few hours later and shredding their clothing — this is not beyond our defendant.
As for Wolf’s attempt to adapt these women to an American life-style, the evidence reveals Wolf strategically told the youngsters not to leave their apartment (except for school) or talk to or see anyone without his permission. Of course, there is no evidence or mention of Wolf seeking out role models or community organizations for these women to attach themselves to. Can one imagine any of these young women developing an acceptable pattern of social dating with men their own age while living under the jurisdiction of Mr. Wolf? Of course not. In sum, the evidence is overwhelming and, in my opinion, sickening.2
Mr. Wolf’s “alternative life-style” appears accepted by the majority. We are told it is quite conceivable Wolf didn’t expect any of the above to happen when he started out. That was not a dominant purpose of his. Despite similar stories from similar women, the majority believes it is quite possible Wolf meant well but had unanticipated, irresistible impulses. Only after the women crossed state lines did Wolf go berserk, unbeknownst to anyone.
“... a jury verdict must be sustained if, taking the view most favorable to the government, there is substantial evidence to support it ... Thus, only when the record contains no evidence, regardless of how it is weighed, from which the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, may an appellate court overturn a verdict.” U.S. v. Hyman, 741 F.2d 906, 908 (7th Cir.1984) citing Glasser v. U.S., 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942). Under this long-standing authori*1103ty3 we have no business debating the jury verdict in this case and I am stunned at the ease in which the majority places itself into the position of factfinder in order to raise its own inferences from the testimony.
I now turn to the errors of law that supposedly require reversal in this case. The issue is whether the sexual seduction of Oriental women was merely one dominant purpose behind Wolfs actions. That is all that’s required to find a violation under the Mann Act. In United States v. Snow, 507 F.2d 22 (7th Cir.1974) Judge (now Justice) Stevens, writing for a panel comprised of himself, Judge Tone and myself, stated:
[W]e pause to explain our understanding of the government’s burden of proof on the intent issue in a Mann Act case.
The government must prove that an intention to have females engage in immoral conduct is a dominant purpose for the interstate trip. As it is often stated, the dominant purpose test is somewhat ambiguous, both with respect to the precise purpose which is relevant and also with respect to how important the illegal purpose must be when additional motives are present. It now appears settled that prostitution or other immoral conduct, need not be the sole reason for the transportation; the Act may be violated if prostitution is a dominant or a compelling and efficient purpose. Despite the contrary implication suggested by the word “dominant,” it need not be the most important of defendant’s reasons when multiple purposes are present. (Emphasis supplied.)
In reaching this conclusion in Snow we hardly deviated from legal precedent. Snow follows the 1971 Seventh Circuit case, U.S. v. Kotakes, 440 F.2d 342 (7th Cir.1971). I see no other law changing the “a dominant purpose” test enunciated in Snow. Other circuits follow the test as well. (See U.S. v. Drury, 582 F.2d 1181, 1185 (8th Cir.1978)). The majority pays lipservice to this test yet then gets involved in a hair-splitting analysis that causes it to lose its perspective as to what we stated was necessary for conviction here under the Mann Act.
The majority claims the trial court committed plain error in instructing the jury it must find Wolf had “at the time of such transportation, ... knowingly intended to cause the said female to engage in one or more acts of immoral sexual conduct ... the necessary intent must exist at the time of transportation.” The majority claims this instruction was plain error because it allowed the jury to convict Wolf merely if he was harboring immoral designs, even if those designs played no causal role in the transportation. This is simply untrue. The instruction clearly requires a mens rea and actus reus (using forms of the words intent, act and cause). The instruction verbiage does not mandate a conviction if Wolf’s immoral design had no causal role in the transportation as the majority suggests. The majority also claims “the jury was not even told that it had to find that immoral activity was a purpose of the transportation.” The instruction verbiage clearly does not suggest that. Finally, as a practical matter, I do not believe the jury in this case convicted the defendant due to an “incidental” intention to engage in immoral activity. The idea that the jury could have found differently on the facts of this case if instructed as the majority suggests rests on farfetched speculation. I believe the jury convicted Wolf because it saw evidence Wolf tried to seduce one of the women on their first encounter in a strange hotel in a strange city (before he coaxed her to cross state lines), forced a woman at gunpoint to have sex with him, drugged the same woman to have sex with him, molested a married woman, she being the latest in a long line of molestations, etc., etc. The instruction is not a model of perfection, but *1104I do not believe if the jury had been instructed “properly” as the majority vaguely puts it (I assume they mean using the verbiage “a dominant purpose”) the outcome as to any of the courts would be different.4 In this case I believe any error in the instruction was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Indeed, the majority’s assertion this instruction constitutes plain error (defense counsel failed to object at trial) sets dangerous precedent.
As for the other alleged errors at trial, none require reversal of the verdict under the circumstances of this case. I do not believe the several inappropriate questions asked by the prosecution and seized upon by the majority had the cumulative effect of demeaning Wolf to such an extent they prejudiced the outcome of the trial. Again, I believe the abundant evidence, not these isolated questions, convicted Wolf. The majority objects to the prosecution’s question “When you returned (to Thailand) in October 1983, did you not get gonorrhea?” because it unfairly demeaned Wolf. Yet, Wolf’s sexual activities during this time period were relevant; his conduct with the Oriental women who testified at trial was documented as having ended in October of 1983, when the Viravongs moved out of his New Albany apartment. The question was probative as to how Wolf spent his time during this time period in general and not completely unrelated to his intentions during the past year (i.e., maybe Wolf was thinking of sex with multiple partners). Wolf’s intentions did not necessarily change all that quickly.5
Concerning the questions of whether the American Embassy considered Wolf an inappropriate sponsor and whether Wolf recommended Ms. Viravong have an abortion, I do not believe their effect had a material influence on the jury considering the other abundant evidence presented. Indeed, if the questions were as off-base and fabricated as the majority suggests, they could also have had a negative impact on the prosecution’s image in the eyes of the jury. The questions could have served to put the jury on the alert as to future prosecutorial allegations and stiffened the prosecution’s burden of proving subsequent allegations. More importantly, the jury hardly needed these questions to find Wolf a man of dubious morals. I refuse to view the jury in this case as a naive and vulnerable group led to believe the baseless due to inappropriate prosecutorial scheming. There was sufficient credible and reliable evidence to convict and I do not believe the cumulative effect theory of the majority is applicable under the circumstances of this case.
I do not feel compelled to spend much time on the majority’s assertion defendant’s counsel lacked the requisite minimal professional competence. In Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), the Supreme Court stated:
Conflict in interest claims' aside, actual ineffectiveness claims alleging a deficiency in attorney performance are subject to a general requirement that the defendant affirmatively prove prejudice____ The defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Id. [104 S.Ct.] at 2067-2068.
*1105The majority suggests the defense counsel’s failure to object to the jury instruction discussed above or offer a “dominant purpose” instruction is incomprehensible. I do not believe counsel’s failure to object to the instruction reached “incomprehensible” proportions. The instruction asked for a finding of cause and intent while transporting.' While other verbiage may have been more desirable, the instruction was hardly as off-base and prejudicial as the majority claims. The majority also asserts defense counsel’s failure to object to hearsay testimony and a number of the government’s questions on cross-examination constitutes rather obvious reversible error. Yet this case would not represent the first time this court affirmed a conviction even though defense counsel failed to object to elementary hearsay. The Strickland criteria above is quite stiff. After reviewing the areas highlighted by the majority, I cannot so confidently conclude there is a reasonable probability these tactical errors cost defendant the trial as Strickland requires.
I conclude by saying that after all the high-level hair-splitting analysis of the majority is sifted through, I get the gut feeling the jury heard much more than enough admissible evidence against Mr. Wolf than needed to convict. More objections by defense counsel and a slightly, immaterially-altered instruction would not have made the difference. I have no problem concluding, as the jury did, that a dominant purpose behind defendant’s actions was to have these women have sexual relations with him. I see little evidence defendant did anything positive on any consistent basis for these women. Many of defendant’s actions are just outright shocking and disgusting and are well-documented. This court has had little problem recently employing the harmless error doctrine to uphold reasonable jury verdicts. In recent years the court has become offended by what it sees as the success of highly technical defense counsel arguments which are used to excite the intellectual juices of the judiciary and secure reversals despite reasonable jury verdicts. This decision, unfortunately in my judgment, represents that problem.

. Of course, there is no evidence Wolf ever attempted to help a young Hmong male.

. The majority infers the evidence against Wolf transporting the married Viravong over state lines with the requisite intent is weak because the attempted seduction did not occur until months after the transportation. Yet considering Ms. Viravong was living with a husband and three children, seduction could not be that easy. Further, why hurry? Where were the Viravongs going anyway? Ultimately, the issue for us is: Was the inference the jury drew unreasonable beyond doubt? I have no problem here that it was not.

. U.S. v. Thomas, 768 F.2d 611, 614 (5th Cir. 1985); U.S. v. Tuchow, 768 F.2d 855, 870 (7th Cir.1985); U.S. v. Davis, 767 F.2d 1025, 1040 (2nd Cir.1985); Glosser v. U.S., 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680; Burks v. U.S., 437 U.S. 1, 98 S.Ct. 2141, 57 L.Ed.2d 1; U.S. v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 105 S.Ct. 471, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984).

. The majority acknowledges there was evidence Wolf's interest in settling Southeast Asian refugees was "strongly colored by lust” — i.e., a dominant purpose.

. The majority also objects to the prosecution asking the question, “Did you pay her parents for her?” referring to Wolfs relationship with a 14 year-old Thai girl. The majority suggests the question misleading since while Wolf gave the girl’s parents money, it apparently was for medical treatment and there is no evidence the girl was "given” in an exchange. Assuming arguendo this was misleading, it hardly reaches constitutional dimensions under the circumstances of this case. Further, it was revealed Wolf and his wife slept in the same bed with the 14 year-old. Wolf testified this was Tai custom but, arguably, wasn’t the jury entitled to infer what Wolfs intentions were here as well, in light of the other evidence? I'm not as sure as the majority as to what Wolfs intentions were here.