United States v. Private E1 DEMETRIUS R. CRUDRUP

65 M.J. 907, 2008 CCA LEXIS 16
CourtArmy Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedJanuary 18, 2008
DocketARMY 20050112
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 65 M.J. 907 (United States v. Private E1 DEMETRIUS R. CRUDRUP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Army Court of Criminal Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Private E1 DEMETRIUS R. CRUDRUP, 65 M.J. 907, 2008 CCA LEXIS 16 (acca 2008).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

ZOLPER, Judge:

A military judge sitting as a general court-martial convicted appellant, pursuant to his pleas, of resisting apprehension and making a false official statement, in violation of Articles 95 and 107, 10 U.S.C. §§ 895 and 907 [hereinafter UCMJ]. Contrary to his pleas, the military judge also found appellant guilty of signing a false official record and assault consummated by battery (three specifications), in violation of Articles 107 and 128, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 907 and 928. The convening authority approved the adjudged sentence to three years confinement and a bad-conduct discharge and directed appellant receive ninety-six days pretrial confinement credit against the sentence to confinement. This case is before the court for review pursuant to Article 66, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866.

Appellant alleges two assignments of error, one of which merits discussion, but no relief. 1 Appellant asserts the military judge erred in allowing out-of-court statements from Porche Crudup, appellant’s wife and victim, regarding appellant’s 28 August 2004 assaults on her and their infant son (Specifications 1 and 4, Charge I). Appellant’s wife did not testify and defense counsel made a timely objection that admission of her statements failed to meet the requirements set forth in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004). We agree with appellant, but find the military judge’s erroneous admission of these statements harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

FACTS

On 28 August 2004, Military Police (MP) Officer Sergeant (SGT) Vasquez was called to investigate allegations by one of appellant’s neighbors, Mrs. F, of a domestic disturbance near appellant’s government quarters on Fort Carson, Colorado, Mrs. F testified she heard “a lot of yelling and screaming” and saw Porche Crudup backing away in a defensive posture from appellant.

Upon arriving at the scene, SGT Vasquez saw appellant sitting outside. When SGT Vasquez got out of the MP vehicle, appellant approached SGT Vasquez, and said he had an altercation with his wife and he was the person for whom SGT Vasquez was looking. Sergeant Vasquez, with appellant’s consent, entered appellant’s quarters. Inside, appellant completed a data sheet and SGT Vasquez’s MP partner soon arrived. When SGT Vasquez asked where appellant’s wife was, appellant said she was at a neighbor’s house down the street.

Approximately fifteen to twenty minutes after arrival at the scene, SGT Vasquez pro *909 ceeded to the neighbor’s house four doors down where he found appellant’s wife with a bruised and swollen face. She appeared to have been crying, was clearly upset, and told SGT Vasquez appellant pushed her to the ground while she was holding their infant son, punched and kicked her, and also kicked their son in the face.

Furthermore, SPC F (appellant’s neighbor and Mrs. F’s husband) testified that he looked out his window and saw appellant standing over Porche Crudup, who was defensively curled up in a ball. He then saw appellant kick Porche and could see the couple’s infant son in her arms. Another neighbor, SGT L, also testified that she saw appellant push Porche to the ground while she held the infant, and then observed appellant kick her and drag her by the hair across the lawn. Sergeant L also saw appellant hit the infant during the altercation. Later that day Mrs. F saw Porche with bruises on her back, and marks on her arms and face. Porche also showed Mrs. F marks on the infant’s face. Later in the week, SPC F saw Porche, who still had braised and puffy eyes.

Appellant later signed a sworn statement admitting to grabbing and pushing his wife onto the floor of their quarters. He also admitted that after she punched him in the head, he went after her — pushing her into the grass and kicking her. Appellant stated his wife was not holding their infant son when he pushed her onto the grass.

The defense, in addition to entering Porche Crudup’s previous state convictions for offenses related to fraud, adopted Ms. R, a government witness, as its own. Ms. R, a friend of both appellant and Porche, testified she saw Porche trip and fall while holding the couple’s infant son and walking backwards away from appellant. Although she saw appellant attempt to kick Porche, she did not actually see him kick either Porche or the infant. Ms. R testified she took the infant from Porche after the fall because she was afraid that appellant and Porche might get into an altercation. She then went into the house to get her brother. She admitted that she did not know whether appellant hit Porche while she was gone.

DISCUSSION

We review de novo whether a military judge admitted evidence in violation of the Sixth Amendment. United States v. Williamson, 65 M.J. 706, 715 (Army Ct.Crim.App.2007). If we determine the military judge admitted evidence in violation of the Sixth Amendment, we must also determine whether the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Othuru, 65 M.J. 875 (C.A.A.F.2007); United States v. Diamond, 65 M.J. 876 (Army Ct.Crim.App.2007); Williamson, 65 M.J. at 715.

In Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S at 53-54, 124 S.Ct. 1354, the Supreme Court ruled “the confrontation clause forbids the admission of testimonial statements of a witness who did not appear at trial unless he was unavailable to testify, and the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination.” In Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813, -, 126 S.Ct. 2266, 2274, 165 L.Ed.2d 224 (2006), the Court clarified that Crawford applies only to testimonial hearsay. As the Davis Court explained:

A critical portion of this holding, and the portion central to resolution of the two cases now before us, is the phrase “testimonial statements.” Only statements of this sort cause the declarant to be a “witness” within the meaning of the Confrontation Clause. See [Crawford, 541 U.S. at 51, 124 S.Ct. 1354]. It is the testimonial character of the statement that separates it from other hearsay that, while subject to traditional limitations upon hearsay evidence, is not subject to the Confrontation Clause.

Id, at -, 126 S.Ct. at 2273.

In determining whether statements are testimonial we must look to “the circumstances and context in which out-of-court statements are generated, and whether the out-of-court statements were made under circumstances that would lead an objective witness reasonably to believe the statements] would be available for use at a later trial by the government.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Crudup
67 M.J. 92 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
65 M.J. 907, 2008 CCA LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-private-e1-demetrius-r-crudrup-acca-2008.