United States v. Chapman

839 F.3d 1232, 101 Fed. R. Serv. 1058, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 19217, 2016 WL 6205744
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedOctober 24, 2016
Docket15-2143 & 15-2173
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 839 F.3d 1232 (United States v. Chapman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Chapman, 839 F.3d 1232, 101 Fed. R. Serv. 1058, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 19217, 2016 WL 6205744 (10th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

EBEL, Circuit Judge.

These direct criminal cross-appeals stem from a physical altercation between Defendant Leslie Chapman (“Chapman”) and his then-wife, D.V. The altercation occurred in Veterans Administration (“VA”) housing where the couple was staying while Chapman recuperated from surgery. As a result of the altercation, the United States charged Chapman, under the federal Assi-milative Crimes Act (“ACA”), 18 U.S.C. § 13, with committing the New Mexico offense of aggravated assault on a household member, and a jury convicted him of that offense.

In appeal No. 15-2143, Chapman challenges the district court’s decision to permit the Government’s expert witness, Gail Starr, a certified sexual assault nurse examiner, to testify at trial that D.V.’s conduct in scratching herself across the chest after the altercation was consistent with conduct exhibited by sexual assault and domestic abuse victims to cope with the trauma they have experienced. The Government presented Starr’s testimony to counter Chapman’s argument that D.V. scratched herself instead to fabricate evidence against him. We conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Starr’s testimony.

*1235 In appeal No. 15-2173, the Government challenges Chapman’s sentence. Under the ACA, a federal court is to impose a punishment “like” that available under state law. Consistent with this ACA directive, the district court properly imposed the statutory maximum term of probation and maximum fine available under New Mexico law, rather than the greater terms of probation and fines available under federal law. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 8742(b), therefore, we AFFIRM Chapman’s conviction and sentence.

I. BACKGROUND

Viewed in the light most favorable to thé jury’s verdict, see United States v. Jim, 786 F.3d 802, 804-05 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 348, 193 L.Ed.2d 249 (2015), the evidence presented at trial established the following: Chapman, now a civilian, had surgery to correct injuries to his nasal cavities suffered during his service in the Air Force. After the surgery, Chapman and D.V. stayed in VA housing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for several days while Chapman recuperated before returning home to Abilene, Texas.

Three days after surgery, a physical altercation occurred between Chapman and D.V. Each accused the other of being the aggressor. According to Chapman, D.V. sucker-punched him with a closed -fist to his surgically repaired face, punched him in the ribs, where surgeons had removéd cartilage to implant into his nose, and then kicked him in the groin. D.V., on'the other hand, testified that Chapman refused to allow her to leave their quarters by grabbing and holding her against her will. He also hit her several times. Although D.V. stated that she took a swing at Chapman to get away from him, he ducked and she did not land the punch.

After the altercation, Chapman had a scratch on his cheek. D.V. had a broken index finger on her right hand and a small cut on her right palm, as well as bruises on her arm, back, sides, and foot. Photographs of D.V. taken by VA police officers right after the altercation revealed no scratches on her chest. But photographs taken four hours later showed obvious scratches. D.V. told .police that Chapman had inflicted those scratches.

The United States initially charged Chapman under the ACA with two state misdemeanor offenses—aggravated battery against a household member, in violation of N.M. Stat. §§ 30-3-16(B) and 31-19-1 (A), and interference with communications, in violation of N.M. Stat. §§ 30-12-1(D) and 31-19-1(A)—as well as the federal offense of possessing a firearm on VA property, in violation of 38 C.F.R. § 1.218(a)(13). The two New Mexico misdemeanor charges were offenses assimilated into the federal code because they occurred on VA property. See 18 U.S.C. § 13. The Government later dismissed the third count, and tried the remaining two assimilated charges to a jury. The jury convicted' Chapman of aggravated battery of a household member, but acquitted him of the interferende-with-communications offense. The district court determined that its sentencing options for the aggravated battery conviction were limited to those provided by state law and sentenced Chapman to the'maximum one-year term óf probation provided by New Mexico law and the state’s maximum fine of $1,000. 1

*1236 II. DISCUSSION

A. The district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Nurse Starr’s expert testimony

Prior to trial, the defense pointed out to the Government that in the photos taken of D.V. right after the altercation, there were no ■ scratches on her chest, but in photos taken four hours later, there were obvious scratches. When prosecutors asked D.V. about the scratches, she stated that she must'have caused them.

Nine days before trial was set to begin, the Government notified Chapman, see Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(G), that it intended to offer expert testimony from Gail Starr, a certified sexual assault nurse examiner, that, in her experience, victims of sexual assault or domestic violence often injure themselves as a mechanism to cope with trauma when the victim’s usual coping mechanisms are unavailable. Chapman objected to Starr giving this testimony and asked for a Daubert 2 hearing. The court held a hearing the next day (one week before trial was scheduled to begin); during that hearing the district court heard the Government’s proffer as to what Nurse Starr’s testimony would be (Starr herself was not available at that time).

The court then ruled that Nurse Starr could not testify about a condition called non-suicidal self-injury, because that condition applies only when an individual has self-inflicted injuries on at least five occasions during a year’s time and there was no indication that D.V. had ever previously injured herself. But the court held that Nurse Starr could testify that a single trauma could be so severe that a person could injure .herself once, as a coping mechanism to deal with that trauma. The court then granted Chapman’s request for a thirty-day continuance so that the defense could obtain its own expert to challenge or rebut Starr’s testimony. The defense obtained an expert, but did not present his testimony at trial.. Chapman renewed his objection to Starr’s testimony, both just prior to and at trial. The court overruled each of those objections.

During trial, D.V. testified that originally she thought that Chapman had scratched her chest during the altercation but acknowledged that, because the scratches were present only in the later photos, “they had to be self-inflicted.” (IV R.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
839 F.3d 1232, 101 Fed. R. Serv. 1058, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 19217, 2016 WL 6205744, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-chapman-ca10-2016.