Jeffries v. Nix

• Decision Date: 03 October 1990
• Docket Number: No. 89-2358,89-2358
• Citation: 912 F.2d 982
• Parties: 30 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1260 Willie James JEFFRIES, Jr., Appellant, v. Crispus C. NIX, Warden, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 982

912 F.2d 982

30 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1260

Willie James JEFFRIES, Jr., Appellant, v. Crispus C. NIX, Warden, Appellee.

No. 89-2358.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted June 15, 1990.

Decided Aug. 30, 1990.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc

Denied Oct. 3, 1990.

Randall C. Wilson, Des Moines, Iowa, for appellant.

Thomas D. McGrane, Des Moines, Iowa, for appellee.

Before BEAM, Circuit Judge, ROSS, Senior Circuit Judge, and RENNER, ^* District Judge.

BEAM, Circuit Judge.

Willie James Jeffries, Jr. appeals from the district court's ¹ denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254 (1988). In 1986, Jeffries was convicted by a jury of sexual abuse in the first degree. On appeal, Jeffries argues that: the district court erred in denying his petition because the trial court should have allowed Jeffries to present evidence of his victim's prior sexual conduct, and of her alleged drug-induced delusions of sexual abuse. Because the Iowa rape shield law, Iowa R.Evid. 412, prohibits Jeffries from introducing evidence of his victim's prior consensual relationships, we affirm the district court. We also find that the victim's prior sexual delusions are not "past sexual behavior" as defined by Iowa's rape shield law and, thus, evidence of these delusions could have been presented to the jury. However, the exclusion of this evidence was harmless error in light of the victim's testimony about her hallucinations resulting from her drug use, and the overwhelming evidence against Jeffries.

I. BACKGROUND

In October of 1985, Freda Crawford entered the Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. She was admitted to the drug rehabilitation center for teenagers. See Appellant's Add. at 4, 7 (direct examination of Crawford). Approximately one year earlier, Crawford had been admitted to the same rehabilitation center. Id. at 8. Crawford testified at trial that during her stay in 1985, she heard rumors that she was going to be transferred to the mental unit. Id. at 9. Thus, Crawford decided to run away and get high on drugs. She left the hospital at approximately 10:30 p.m., and hitched a ride to the intersection of 10th and Locust streets in downtown Des Moines. Crawford could not remember the date of her departure. Id. at 9-11, 55. Recognizing an individual from her previous visits in the downtown area, Crawford asked where she could obtain drugs. As she was conversing with this individual, three men in a black El Camino stopped at the intersection. Crawford recognized one of the men as "Larry," but she did not know the white male, or the black male identified at trial as Jeffries. Id. at 12-14. The men informed Crawford that they had "stuff," meaning drugs, and coaxed her to get into the El Camino with them. Id. at 15.

The men subsequently bought orange Mad Dog wine, drove to a wooded area near the Des Moines river, and everyone smoked marijuana and drank the wine. Id. at 15-18. Jeffries then said to the white male, "I get her first," and the unidentified white male got out of the car and disappeared. ² Id. at 18. Jeffries unbuttoned his jeans, grabbed Crawford's head, and attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him. Id. at 18-20. Crawford refused and Jeffries hit her in the face and pushed her head down. Crawford bit Jeffries's penis, and while she was biting him, she started the car with her left hand and stepped on the accelerator with her left foot. At that point, Jeffries bit Crawford's left hand. Id. at 20-21. The white male reappeared, pulled Crawford out of the El Camino, removed Crawford's shoes and jeans, and then he and Jeffries dragged Crawford behind the car and removed her underwear. Id. at 21, 29-30. Jeffries engaged in both anal and vaginal intercourse with Crawford, and she began hitting him with a stick. Jeffries muttered that Crawford did not satisfy him, returned to the car, took off his underwear, and offered it to Crawford to wear. Id. at 29-31. Crawford donned the underwear and ran into a mud puddle near some trees. Jeffries sighted her and Crawford jumped into the Des Moines River. Jeffries told Crawford to get out of the water so Crawford crawled out and attempted to run. After falling several times, she walked along the road with Jeffries following her. Jeffries again forced Crawford to engage in anal and vaginal intercourse and then asked her if she planned to report the incident to the police. Crawford responded that she loved him and would not report the rape. Id. at 32-35. The two returned to the car but the El Camino was gone, so they both went their own way. Crawford telephoned the police, who picked her up at the scene and rushed her to Lutheran Hospital. Id. at 35-37. The hospital personnel examined her in the emergency room and then placed her in the mental unit. Five days later, hospital personnel discovered that Crawford had a broken jaw, black eye, cuts on her shoulders and legs, and teeth marks on her hand. Id. at 39-43.

The State of Iowa filed a Trial Information in Polk County District Court on January 13, 1986, charging Jeffries with sexual abuse in the first degree. Id. at 1 (copy of Trial Information). On March 26, 1986, the jury found Jeffries guilty and the court sentenced him to a term of life imprisonment on May 6, 1986. Id. at 119, 126 (copy of verdict form and sentencing proceedings). On October 28, 1987, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed Jeffries's conviction and sentence. State v. Jeffries, 417 N.W.2d 237 (Iowa Ct.App.1987). In 1988, the Iowa Supreme Court denied Jeffries's petition for further review. See Appellant's Add. at 136 (copy of Supreme Court order). On April 1, 1988, Jeffries filed his petition for writ of habeas corpus which the district court denied. Id. at 137 (copy of Jeffries's petition); Jeffries v. Nix, No. 88-173-A (S.D.Iowa July 6, 1989).

II. DISCUSSION

A. Evidence of prior sexual behavior

Jeffries argues that he should have been allowed to present evidence at trial of Crawford's prior sexual behavior. Upon her admission to the drug rehabilitation unit in October of 1985, Crawford told Dr. J. Schoon about her sexual experiences. In his written report, Dr. Schoon indicated that Crawford told him that she had been "voluntarily sexually active for the last year." See State v. Jeffries, 417 N.W.2d at 238. Crawford told Dr. Schoon that she did not like sex because it hurt and was very uncomfortable. She also reported that she engaged in sex to get drugs, and that on a few occasions she had sex with strangers for money. Id.

At trial, Jeffries attempted to question Crawford about her statements to Dr. Schoon. The prosecutor objected on the basis that the line of questioning violated Iowa's rape shield law. ³ Appellant's Add at 61-62 (record made out of jury's presence). The court sustained the objection. Id. at 63-64. Jeffries also attempted to have Dr. Donna Edison, Crawford's treating physician at the drug rehabilitation center, testify at trial. Jeffries indicated that Dr. Edison would testify that she believed that Crawford was delusional, because Crawford had told her that she thought that an individual in group therapy was going to rape her. Dr. Edison believed that Crawford's delusions stemmed from drug and alcohol abuse, along with her experiences of being sexually abused by two brothers, one being a stepbrother. Id. at 87-88. The court sustained the prosecutor's objection to this testimony on the basis that it also violated Iowa's rape shield law. Id. 90-91.

During his testimony, Jeffries stated that Crawford offered to have sex in order to reimburse the men for the marijuana and wine. Jeffries attempted to offer Dr. Schoon's report to corroborate his testimony. The court again refused to allow this evidence into the record. Id. at 101, 107-110. Jeffries then requested that he be allowed to call Crawford as a witness so that she could testify regarding whether she previously engaged in sex to obtain drugs. The court denied this request. Id. at 109-110. Jeffries renewed all of his requests to present the report and testimony. The court overruled his requests, but did receive Dr. Schoon's report and Dr. Edison's proposed testimony as offers of proof. Id. at 111.

Jeffries argues that the evidence he offered at trial was admissible pursuant to Iowa's rape shield law. As indicated, Iowa R.Evid. 412(b)(1) provides that:

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in a criminal case in which a person is accused of sexual abuse, evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior other than reputation or opinion evidence is also not admissible, unless such evidence other than reputation or opinion evidence is:

(1) admitted in accordance with subdivisions "c"(1) and "c"(2) and is constitutionally required to be admitted.

Jeffries asserts that his evidence was "constitutionally required to be admitted" because without the evidence he was denied his constitutional sixth amendment right of confrontation and fourteenth amendment due process right to a fair trial. See U.S. Const. amends. VI, XIV. Jeffries contends that his state constitutional rights to confrontation and due process were also violated. See Iowa Const. art. I, Secs. 9, 10. In addition, Jeffries claims a violation of his right to compulsory process to obtain and preserve witnesses to testify on his behalf. See U.S. Const. amends. VI, XIV; Iowa Const. art. I, Sec. 10.

The rape shield law is an exception to the general rule that evidence with some relevance is generally admissible. See State v. Clarke, 343 N.W.2d 158, 160-61 (Iowa 1984). The purpose behind the rule is to protect the victim's privacy, to encourage reporting of sexual assaults, and to prevent wasting time on distractive collateral matters. See State v. Ogilvie, 310 N.W.2d 192, 195 (Iowa 1981). "[E]vidence of a victim's past sexual behavior is, except for very narrowly defined purposes, irrelevant to the charge of rape." Cruz-Sanchez v. Rivera-Cordero, 835...