United States v. Thompson

178 F. Supp. 3d 86, 100 Fed. R. Serv. 69, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55385, 2016 WL 1584382
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedApril 6, 2016
Docket14-CR-228A
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 178 F. Supp. 3d 86 (United States v. Thompson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Thompson, 178 F. Supp. 3d 86, 100 Fed. R. Serv. 69, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55385, 2016 WL 1584382 (W.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER RE: GOVERNMENT’S MOTIONS IN LIMINE

HONORABLE RICHARD J. ARCARA, UNITED. STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

The Defendant has been charged in a four-count superseding indictment alleging violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a) (sex trafficking either of minors or by force, fraud, or coercion) and § 1591(d) (obstruction or interference with enforcement of § 1591). The Government alleges that the Defendant “operated a commercial sex business in the Western New York area” and that, as part of that business, he “recruited women” — including the three victims1 in this case — “to work as prostitutes under his direction and control.” Docket 56 at 5 (Gov’t’s Trial Memo.) The Government further alleges that the Defendant “used physical and/or psychological coercion to force the victims to engage in commercial sex acts and to give him the money they earned.” Id, Jury selection is scheduled to begin on April 6, 2016.

The Government has filed a motion in limine requesting five forms of relief. See Docket 44. The Government first asks for an order prohibiting the Defendant “from eliciting or presenting any evidence concerning [the] victims’ sexual behavior, including prostitution, prior to and subsequent to the time period ” at issue in the superseding indictment. Id. at 2 (emphasis in original). The Government’s second motion is related to its first: the Government asks for permission “to introduce evidence of sexual behavior and prostitu[90]*90tion by the victims, including sexual relations with the defendant, during the time period charged” in the superseding indictment. Id. (emphasis in original). Third, the Government seeks to introduce evidence of uncharged criminal activity (described more fully below) in which the Defendant allegedly engaged. In the Government’s view, this evidence “explains the ‘climate of fear’ created by the defendant” and it “provides the jury with the background and history” of the Defendant’s relationship with the victims. Id. Fourth, the Government seeks a protective order prohibiting either party from disclosing the victims’ full names. Finally, the Government moves to allow Victim 3, who is under 18 years old, to testify via closed-circuit television.

The Court grants the Government’s first two motions. The Defendant is prohibited from introducing or eliciting evidence of the victims’ pre- and post-indictment sexual behavior, including prostitution. The Government is permitted to introduce evidence of the victims’ sexual behavior, including sexual relations with the Defendant, during the time period at issue in the superseding indictment.

The Court next preliminarily grants the Government’s motion to introduce evidence of uncharged criminal activity subject to the Defendant’s right to renew his objections at trial. Further, because the Defendant does not object to the Government’s motion for a protective order, the Court grants the same.

Finally, based on the Government’s representations (Docket 63 at 5), the Court holds in abeyance the Government’s request for Victim 3 to testify via closed-circuit television until the Government calls Victim 3 as a witness. The Government is reminded, however, that if it renews its request, it should be prepared to provide the Court with evidence that would allow the Court to make “findings on the record,” 18 U.S.C. § 3509(b)(1)(C), of Victim 3’s inability to testify for any of the reasons listed in § 3509(b)(1)(B).

A. Evidence concerning the victims’ sexual activity

As noted, the Government makes two related motions concerning the victims’ sexual activity: one motion requesting that the Court prohibit the Defendant from introducing evidence of the victims’ sexual behavior, including prostitution, before and after the time period at issue in the superseding indictment; and another requesting permission to introduce evidence of the victims’ sexual behavior, including prostitution and sexual relations with the Defendant, during the time period at issue in the superseding indictment.

Federal Rule of Evidence 412 governs both motions. In a “criminal proceeding involving alleged sexual misconduct,” Rule 412(a) prohibits evidence offered “to prove that a victim engaged in other sexual behavior,” as well as evidence offered “to prove a victim’s sexual predisposition.” The Rule’s purpose is straightforward: it is intended “to safeguard the alleged victim against the invasion of privacy, potential embarrassment and sexual stereotyping that is associated with public disclosure of intimate sexual details and the infusion of sexual innuen.do into the factfinding process.” 1994 Advisory Committee Note to Rule 412 (1994 ACN). Rule 412’s purpose helps inform its application in this case.

1. Whether the Defendant may introduce evidence of the victims’ pre- and post-indictment sexual behavior

As an initial matter, Rule 412(a) prohibits the Defendant from introducing or eliciting evidence concerning the victims’ sexual behavior (including prostitu[91]*91tion) that occurred prior and subsequent to the time periods at issue in the superseding indictment. This is, without question, a case involving alleged “sexual misconduct.” Rule 412(a). It is also a case in which Rule 412’s purpose would be served by prohibiting evidence of the victims’ “other sexual behavior.”2 Finally, evidence of the victims’ pre- and post-indictment sexual behavior would be evidence of “other sexual behavior” — that is, it would be evidence of the victims’ “sexual behavior” other than the sexual behavior at issue in the superseding indictment. Rule 412(a)(1). Rule 412(a) bars such evidence.

There are, however, several exceptions to Rule 412(a)’s general prohibition. The only exception relevant here is Rule 412(b)(1)(C), which allows a criminal defendant to introduce otherwise-inadmissible evidence of a victim’s “other sexual behavior” if “exclusion would violate the defendant’s constitutional rights.” The Defendant identifies two constitutional rights that, in his view, would be violated by excluding such evidence: his Fifth Amendment right to present a defense, and his Sixth Amendment right under the Confrontation Clause. Docket 60 at 3. The Court addresses each right in turn.

i. The Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause

First, applying Rule 412(a) in this case does not violate the Defendant’s Fifth Amendment right to defend himself. Among its protections, the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause guarantees “the right to present the defendant’s version of the facts ... to the jury so it may decide where the truth lies.” Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 19, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967). It does not follow, however, that a criminal defendant has a right to offer evidence that is irrelevant to the Government’s charges. See Taylor v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 400, 410, 108 S.Ct.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
178 F. Supp. 3d 86, 100 Fed. R. Serv. 69, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55385, 2016 WL 1584382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-thompson-nywd-2016.