Summers v. Hannigan

47 F. Supp. 2d 1291, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6814, 1999 WL 285548
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedApril 15, 1999
DocketNo. 96-3506-DES
StatusPublished

This text of 47 F. Supp. 2d 1291 (Summers v. Hannigan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Summers v. Hannigan, 47 F. Supp. 2d 1291, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6814, 1999 WL 285548 (D. Kan. 1999).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SAFFELS, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on a petition for habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner challenges the legality of his convictions of aggravated kidnapping, rape, and battery and alleges there was insufficient evidence of the crime of aggravated kidnapping, that the trial court erred in refusing to admit certain evidence seized from the victim’s car, and that the trial court erred in rejecting a challenge for cause to a potential juror.

Respondent has filed an Answer and Return (Doc. 14), and the court, having examined the record, enters the following findings and order.

Factual Background

On June 9, 1990, the Wichita Police Department was notified of a nude woman sitting in the roadway near Interstate 135. The responding officer located the woman sitting in the center median. She was bloody and clothed only in a halter top and towels. The woman, who was agitated and had a strong odor of alcohol, told the officer she had jumped from a moving car due to her belief that her life was in danger. She described being raped and battered by two men for over an hour prior to her escape and advised the officer that one of the men had a gun.

The woman told the officer that she had been at a Wichita convenience store with another woman when she was forced into the backseat of her vehicle by two men, driven away from the area, and beaten with a handgun and fists. The woman was transported to a local hospital by ambulance.

At the hospital, the woman told a nurse that she had jumped from a moving vehicle, that she had been raped by two black males, and that she was pregnant. The physical examination revealed blood on the woman’s face and numerous abrasions to her face and body, and a tear on the bottom of one foot. A rape kit was performed.

Shortly afterwards, Wichita police located the woman’s car and suspects matching the description given by the woman. Both men were taken to the hospital for possible identification by the victim, who positively identified each man. Petitioner and Dennis Richards, both aged 17, were charged with the crimes at issue here in July 1990, and were certified for trial as adults.

The testimony at trial varied considerably. The woman testified she had come to Wichita from Pratt, Kansas, on June 9, 1990, to celebrate her birthday. Upon arrival, she stopped at a convenience store and ran into an old friend, who was with a black female. The latter invited the woman to a party, and after stopping at a liquor store, the woman and the black woman went to the party. After spending approximately two hours at the party, the woman saw others smoking cocaine and decided to leave. When she retrieved her purse, she found her money had been taken. She testified she became lost while trying to find the highway and pulled into a parking lot to ask petitioner and his friend for directions. She testified she became frightened when Richards got into her car and that petitioner then forced his way into the drivers seat and struck her in the face with his fist.

The woman testified petitioner drove the car from the parking lot, and that she was struck by both men, forced to perform oral sex on both, and was raped by both men. [1293]*1293When she attempted to escape from the vehicle, she was pulled back by her hair and beaten. Finally, in fear for her life, the woman was able to open a rear door of the car and jump out, being rolled into a ditch by the impact. Although her assailants stopped the car and pursued her, they fled in the victim’s car when other traffic approached. The woman ran into the road seeking help. One motorist declined to stop but agreed to call for help, and a second motorist gave the woman a blanket. The police arrived shortly afterward.

Other trial testimony established that blood found on petitioner was consistent with that of the woman, and that semen detected from the rape examination was consistent with petitioner as the donor.

Petitioner and Richards testified at trial that the woman approached petitioner seeking narcotics to celebrate her birthday, and that Richards showed her four rocks of crack cocaine. The woman stated that she had no money but would have sex with them in lieu of payment. Petitioner admitted he had consensual vaginal intercourse with the woman but denied having anal intercourse with her. He testified that the woman had a nosebleed while they were in the car but maintained that the victim’s presence and all sexual activity were voluntary and consensual.

According to petitioner, the woman smoked approximately $70 to $80 worth of cocaine during the evening, made sexual advances toward him, and did not appear to be upset during the evening. He stated he was unable to prevent her from falling when she got out of the car.

Other defense witnesses described obtaining a crack pipe for the woman and seeing.the woman with the petitioner and Richards. There was testimony that the woman had offered to trade a defense witness sex for drugs on a prior occasion.

Discussion

Petitioner fust contends there was insufficient evidence at trial to establish the crime of aggravated kidnapping. Review of this claim is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), which provides, in relevant part, as follows:

An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim—
[•••]
(2) resulted in a decision that'was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.

The Kansas Supreme Court analyzed this claim by noting first, that the identity of the petitioner was not disputed, nor was the occurrence of sexual intercourse between petitioner and the woman. The core issue raised by'petitioner’s evi-dentiary challenge, then, is whether the state provided sufficient evidence that petitioner detained the woman by force or threat. The state court concluded, after a review of the evidence presented at trial, that there was sufficient evidence before the jury to support the conviction of aggravated kidnapping, and this court agrees. The testimony of the victim, if believed by the jury, was sufficient to establish that she was held in her car, subjected to repeated sexual assault, and beaten; This is sufficient to establish the crime of aggravated kidnapping, and petitioner is not entitled to relief on this claim.

Petitioner next claims the trial court erred in refusing to admit into evidence a syringe found in the woman’s, car. At trial, the prosecution offered the testimony of a Wichita police investigator who had examined the interior of the woman’s car. He described blood stains found in the vehicle and items found there, including a cigarette, clothing, and other items. On cross-examination, counsel for defendant Richards sought to introduce into evidence the fact that an empty syringe was found in the car to refute expected testimony by the woman that she did not use drugs.

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Related

Ross v. Oklahoma
487 U.S. 81 (Supreme Court, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
47 F. Supp. 2d 1291, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6814, 1999 WL 285548, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/summers-v-hannigan-ksd-1999.