Medina v. United States

61 A.3d 637, 2013 WL 709573, 2013 D.C. App. LEXIS 48
CourtDistrict of Columbia Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 28, 2013
DocketNos. 08-CM-1559, 11-CO-650
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 61 A.3d 637 (Medina v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District of Columbia Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Medina v. United States, 61 A.3d 637, 2013 WL 709573, 2013 D.C. App. LEXIS 48 (D.C. 2013).

Opinion

BLACKBURNE-RIGSBY, Associate Judge:

After a bench trial, appellant Jose Medina was convicted of one count of assault.1 In this consolidated appeal of his conviction and the trial court’s order denying his motion for a new trial, appellant argues three grounds for reversal or remand of his conviction: (1) there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he assaulted the victim; (2) the trial court erred by denying his motion for a new trial without conducting a hearing; and (8) the government failed to disclose Jencks materials created by the prosecutor and several Metropolitan Police Department employees. We conclude that there was sufficient evidence to support appellant’s conviction and that the trial court did not err by denying appellant’s motion for a new trial without conducting a hearing. However, we remand this case to the trial court to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the discrete issue of whether the government complied with the Jencks Act with respect to notes taken by Sergeant Mercier during his meetings with the prosecutor and the government’s key witness, Officer Gallagher.

I.

In the early morning of October 14, 2006, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Officers Edward Shymansky and Delmar Gallagher arrested Buony Roum and brought him to the Third District Police Station for processing. At the station, appellant, an MPD detective, briefly interviewed Roum. After the interview, Officers Shymansky and Gallagher put Roum in handcuffs and brought him into the hallway, where they left him standing while they collected his personal property.

At this point, appellant walked by Roum and became involved in a verbal exchange with him, during which Roum referred to appellant with a racial slur.2 Officer Gallagher, who observed the encounter while [641]*641standing several feet away, testified that appellant became angry and spoke loudly, while he stood toe to toe with Roum, who remained in handcuffs. A videotape of the encounter, which included the sound recording but no corresponding visual depiction, established that in response to Roum, appellant stated repeatedly “What did you say to me?” as he became progressively louder. Roum eventually muttered, “I didn’t say nothing.” Officers Shyman-sky and Gallagher testified that they saw appellant strike Roum in the forehead with his forearm three or four times, which caused Roum to fall to the ground. Both officers testified that their attention was focused on appellant and Roum when appellant struck Roum and that their view was unobstructed.3 At trial, appellant testified that, in accordance with MPD operating procedures, he used his forearm to subdue Roum because Roum attempted to headbutt him.4 However, Officer Gallagher testified that he did not see Roum attempt to headbutt appellant before appellant struck Roum.5 Officer Shymansky also testified that he did not see Roum make an aggressive movement before appellant struck him. After the incident, police officers brought Roum to the hospital. Officer Shymansky testified that later that night, when he asked appellant why he struck Roum, appellant responded something akin to “yeah, whatever, I’m sorry.”

Following a bench trial, Judge Wynn orally issued her judgment, finding appellant guilty of one count of assault. She sentenced appellant to thirty days, with execution of sentence suspended, followed by a period of three years supervised probation to monitor the defendant’s performance of five hundred hours of community service. Appellant filed a Motion to Overturn Conviction or for a New Trial, which the trial court denied without a hearing. Appellant filed timely appeals of the denial of the motion and of his conviction.

II.

A.

We first address appellant’s contention that there was insufficient evidence to support his assault conviction. “In a sufficiency challenge we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, draw all reasonable inferences in the government’s favor, and defer to the fact-finder’s credibility determinations.” Dunn v. United States, 976 A.2d 217, 221 (D.C.2009) (citation omitted); see also Rivas v. United States, 783 A.2d 125, 134 (D.C.2001) (en banc) (“A court must deem the proof of guilt sufficient if, 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.” (internal quotation marks and citations omitted)). Consequently, “[t]his standard of [642]*642review places a heavy burden on appellant.” Watson v. United States, 979 A.2d 1254, 1256 (D.C.2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

To prove assault, the government must prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) an act by the defendant; (2) “at the time the defendant commits the act, the defendant must have the apparent present ability to injure the victim”; and (8) “at the time the act is committed, the defendant must have the intent to perform the acts which constitute the assault.” Dunn, supra, 976 A.2d at 219-20 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Here, only the third element is in dispute: whether the evidence established that appellant harbored the intent to assault Roum. The resolution of this issue is primarily contingent upon a credibility contest between appellant and Officer Gallagher, and the probative value of the videotape.6 Appellant argues that the trial court erred by crediting Officer Gallagher’s testimony over appellant’s testimony because Officer Gallagher’s testimony was unreliable and inconsistent. Appellant also argues that the video recording cannot establish the assault occurred because “mere words do not constitute an assault.” Dunn, supra, 976 A.2d at 219 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

Whereas appellant testified that he struck Roum in response to an attempted headbutt, Officer Gallagher testified that he observed, from close proximity, appellant strike Roum several times without provocation. While Officer Gallagher acknowledged that he might have glanced away momentarily, he was “very certain” that Roum did not provoke the assault. This “[c]onflicting trial testimony is, of course, nothing new and it is the duty of the finder of fact to reconcile such inconsistencies.” Lazo v. United States, 54 A.3d 1221, 1230 (D.C.2012). In turn, “[w]e have long held that the trial court is in the best position to observe and assess the demeanor of the witnesses.” Poole v. United States, 929 A.2d 413, 415 (D.C.2007) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). We decline to “redetermine the credibility” of either witness because the trial judge “had the opportunity to observe their demeanor and form a conclusion.” Shepherd v. United States, 905 A.2d 260, 262 (D.C.2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted) (accepting the trial judge’s determination that the version of events described by the government’s witnesses was more credible than that offered by the appellant); see also Hart v. United States, 863 A.2d 866

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Bluebook (online)
61 A.3d 637, 2013 WL 709573, 2013 D.C. App. LEXIS 48, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/medina-v-united-states-dc-2013.