United States v. Hutchison

55 M.J. 574, 2001 CCA LEXIS 196, 2001 WL 761036
U S Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals·Decided June 27, 2001·No. CGCMG 0132; Docket No. 1090·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinions

BAUM, Chief Judge:

Appellant was tried by a general court-martial before a military judge alone. Contrary to his pleas, he was convicted of the following offenses: one specification of rape and one specification of carnal knowledge in violation of Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. § 920; one specification of sodomy by force and without consent in violation of Article 125, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 925; one specification of adultery, and one specification of indecent acts, in violation of Article 134, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 934. After announcing these findings, the military judge consolidated the specifications of rape and carnal knowledge into one offense of rape of a person who had not attained the age of sixteen years, and for sentencing said that he would consider only the one offense of rape. He also determined that the adultery specification was encompassed within the rape offense for purposes of punishment and dismissed that specification. Thereafter, the judge sentenced Appellant to a bad conduct discharge, confinement for 28 months, and reduction to paygrade E-1, which the Convening Authority approved as adjudged.

Before this Court, Appellant initially assigned fourteen errors, three of which were submitted pursuant to United States v. Grostefon, 12 M.J. 431 (CMA 1982).1 Appellant’s [576]*576first assignment claims that there is insufficient evidence of penetration to sustain the offenses of rape, carnal knowledge, and adultery beyond a reasonable doubt. This assignment is rejected, but will be briefly discussed. Assignment XI, which was orally argued to the Court, asserts that the military judge committed prejudicial error by denying Appellant’s request for expert assistance. It, too, is rejected and will be briefly addressed. The two other assignments that were orally argued were Assignment IV, that the military judge committed reversible error by admitting out-of-court statements from the alleged victim under the medical-treatment exception to the hearsay rule, and Assignment V, that the military judge committed prejudicial error by denying a motion to suppress unwarned statements Appellant made during an interview with a South Carolina social worker and a Coast Guard Family Advocacy Representative. Those assignments are rejected, and we see no need to discuss them, other than to say that the statements that were admitted were harmless beyond a reasonable doubt in light of the overwhelming evidence of Appellant’s guilt from the other evidence of record, which includes Appellant’s own testimony admitting to acts that track closely with those related in the victim’s testimony. In addition to the foregoing assignments, a supplemental assignment of error was submitted, after oral argument, in response to a Court order for information concerning a state court conviction for offenses based on the same acts. That assignment, which asserts that the Government failed to comply with Article 2-B-4 of the then-current Coast Guard Military Justice Manual (MJM), Commandant Instruction M5810.1C (Jan. 15,1991), and, in so doing, violated Rule for Courts-Martial (RCM) 201(d)’s policy against second trials, will be discussed, explaining why the findings and sentence will not be set aside, as requested, but that the sentence will be modified. Appellant’s other assignments are summarily rejected.

Background

All of the offenses relate to acts committed by Appellant with his twelve-year-old stepdaughter on a day when he was taking Prozac, a medication prescribed for his clinically diagnosed depression. Appellant and his wife both testified that the combination of his depression and the medication led to sexual problems within their marriage, which further depressed him, and contributed to his continued use of alcohol in addition to his Prozac medication.

On the day of »the offenses, Appellant’s wife was working and he was home alone with his stepdaughter, (TND). He testified that he took his usual dosage of Prozac and consumed a number of beers during the day. TND testified that in the afternoon, while watching television, Appellant told her that he thought she had a nice body. Sometime thereafter, she left the room and Appellant followed her to her bedroom where he instructed her to take off her clothes. When she did so, she said that Appellant took his own clothes off as well and proceeded to attempt to have intercourse with her, although the issue of whether he successfully penetrated her is contested. At some point, TND complained that “it hurt,” and Appellant stopped. Appellant’s testimony at trial confirms these acts, as well as digital penetration of TND’s vagina, kissing her breasts and the placing of his mouth and tongue on her vagina. He also acknowledged that he caused her to touch his penis with her mouth. After these acts, Appellant expressed guilt and remorse to TND and insisted upon her calling her mother at work and his calling the police. Appellant’s wife came home after she was called and tried to prevent him from calling the police, but was unsuccessful. Appellant left the house and turned himself in to the police when they arrived.

I.

Sufficiency of the Evidence of Penetration

Upon a claim by Appellant that the evidence is legally insufficient to sustain cer[577]*577tain offenses, this Court must review the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution and determine whether, based on that evidence, a reasonable factfinder could have found all the essential elements of those offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Turner, 25 M.J. 324-25 (CMA 1987) (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). Our Court also has an obligation to independently determine whether the findings are factually sufficient, and the test in that regard is whether this Court is convinced of Appellant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, after weighing the evidence of record and making allowances for not having observed the witnesses. Turner, 25 M.J. at 325. Appellant argues that the evidence in the record is deficient in both respects by failing to establish the element of penetration, required of rape, carnal knowledge, and adultery.

Appellant’s testimony confirms that he attempted these acts, leaving as an issue of fact only the question whether or not he succeeded. Medical evidence and expert testimony indicate that TND had suffered an injury consistent with penetration of her vagina by a blunt object. That evidence and the testimony of TND, when considered in a light most favorable to the Government, establish a basis for a reasonable factfinder to find penetration beyond a reasonable doubt, which satisfies the standard for legal sufficiency. Factual sufficiency, as indicated, requires more than that. In fulfillment of our responsibilities under Article 66, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866, we must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence of record.

Much of TND’s testimony indicates only that Appellant “tried” or “attempted” to penetrate her, testifying, for example, that: “He tried to put his penis into me” [R. at 345]; “He was trying to put his penis into me” [R.

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United States v. Hutchison, 55 M.J. 574, 2001 CCA LEXIS 196, 2001 WL 761036 (uscgcoca 2001).

55 M.J. 574 (United States v. Hutchison) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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