United States v. Louella G. Solomon, United States of America v. John Elias Wesley

753 F.2d 1522, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 779, 1985 U.S. App. LEXIS 29064
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 22, 1985
Docket84-3069, 84-3070
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 753 F.2d 1522 (United States v. Louella G. Solomon, United States of America v. John Elias Wesley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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. Louella G. Solomon, United States of America v. John Elias Wesley, 753 F.2d 1522, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 779, 1985 U.S. App. LEXIS 29064 (9th Cir. 1985).

Opinion

EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:

The defendants appeal their convictions arising from the robbery and murder by *1524 arson of a woman on the Yakima Indian Reservation. We have reviewed the evi-dentiary rulings and constitutional arguments raised on appeal and we affirm the convictions.

FACTS

While drinking at a tavern on the night of July 25, 1983, defendants Louella Solomon and her brother, John Wesley, met Katherine Piel Heath and offered her a ride. At 2:00 on the morning of the 26th, the three joined Peter George, defendants’ 17-year-old nephew, who was waiting in a car. Solomon eventually drove them all to a residence on Progressive Road. All the actors were Yakima Indians and the house was on Indian National Tribal trust land on the Yakima Indian Reservation.

The three surviving participants gave conflicting testimony as to the events preceding the fire. Wesley and George each changed his account of the events during the course of investigation and trial. The following account of that night’s events is presented in the light most favorable to the government.

Solomon suggested that Wesley and George obtain Heath’s purse. Inside the house Wesley either struck Heath or held her while George struck her, knocking her unconscious. Her purse was taken outside to Solomon who took money from it (at least $2.00). At Solomon’s suggestion, the purse was burned in a wood stove inside the house.

At some point Solomon stated that Heath had to be killed. Wesley and George returned inside and one of them started a fire in some curtains. Solomon had agreed to the burning of the house. The defendants and George left the house and drove away, leaving Heath inside.

The fire was discovered at 4:00 a.m. and allowed to burn itself out. Heath’s remains were found later during a check of the scene by a firefighter. An autopsy identified carbon monoxide poisoning as the probable cause of death.

Wesley was arrested and detained by Tribal authorities on July 28th. He was federally indicted on October 24th and remained in custody until trial. George was granted complete immunity by federal and state authorities in return for his cooperation.

On December 22, 1983, at Wesley’s request, a psychiatrist administered sodium amytal and interviewed him under its influence. On January 20, 1984, at the government’s request, George was interviewed while under the influence of sodium amy-tal. A new indictment was returned, charging Solomon also.

A jury trial resulted in Solomon’s conviction for first degree murder and robbery and Wesley’s conviction for first degree murder and arson endangering life. Both were sentenced on the murder count to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole and each received a concurrent sentence on the other charge.

ANALYSIS

I. Evidentiary Challenges

The district court’s evidentiary rulings will be upheld on appeal unless the court abused its discretion, United States v. Merrill, 746 F.2d 458, 465 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, — U.S.—, 105 S.Ct. 926, 83 L.Ed.2d 938 (1985), or committed “manifest error.” United States v. Marabelles, 724 F.2d 1374, 1381 (9th Cir.1984).

Dr. Frederick Montgomery, a psychiatrist, conducted the separate interviews of Wesley and the witness George while they were under the influence of sodium amytal, administered intravenously. Such interviews are referred to as “narcoanalysis.” See McCormick on Evidence, 632 (3d ed. 1984). Both interviews were attended by an Assistant United States Attorney and Wesley’s attorney. George’s attorney also witnessed his interview. 1

A. Taint of Witness George

Solomon contends that George’s testimony should have been excluded from the *1525 trial because his testimony could not be reliable after he underwent a sodium amy-tal interview. In response, the government asserts that the trial court scrutinized George’s sodium amytal interview and carefully applied the teachings of the hypnosis cases in this circuit. Moreover, Solomon was not precluded from presenting evidence to the jury that George’s testimony was enhanced by the use of sodium amytal.

The only Ninth Circuit case addressing narcoanalysis excluded a recording of and psychiatric" testimony supporting an interview conducted under the influence of sodium pentathol, a precursor of sodium amy-tal. Lindsey v. United States, 16 Alaska 268, 237 F.2d 893 (9th Cir.1956). The case at bar is distinguishable because no testimony concerning the narcoanalysis was offered at trial. Only George’s current recollection of events was presented.

In an analogous situation, this circuit has held that the current recollections of witnesses whose memories have been refreshed by hypnosis are admissible, with the fact of hypnosis relevant to credibility only. United States v. Adams, 581 F.2d 193, 198-99 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1006, 99 S.Ct. 621, 58 L.Ed.2d 683 (1978). We have cautioned, however, that “[gjreat care must be exercised to insure” that statements after hypnosis are not the product of hypnotic suggestion. Id.

We find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s ruling to admit the testimony of the witness. George. The court’s order denying Solomon’s Motion to Suppress reflects a careful balancing of reliability against prejudicial dangers:

The sodium amytal examination of George was performed at a Yakima hospital by Dr. Fred Montgomery, a board certified psychiatrist with training and experience in narco-analysis and hypnosis. Dr. Montgomery had completed a residency in psychiatry and had used sodium amytal on at least fifteen to twenty occasions in civil and criminal cases during his fifteen years of practice. Also present at the George examination were his attorney, William Murphy, Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Linnell, and defendant Wesley’s attorney Adam Moore____
There is no evidence to support an inference that George’s examination was in any way suggestive or leading. The evidence establishes the contrary. All questions were propounded by Dr. Montgomery in a hospital setting pursuant to medically accepted standards. Questions from attorneys during the examination were written and then forwarded to Dr. Montgomery. 2

The trial court did not err in refusing to exclude George’s testimony. Solomon’s conviction is affirmed.

B. Wesley’s Statements During Nar-coanalysis

Wesley wanted to introduce expert testimony by Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
753 F.2d 1522, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 779, 1985 U.S. App. LEXIS 29064, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-louella-g-solomon-united-states-of-america-v-john-elias-ca9-1985.