State v. Williams

• Citation: 574 N.W.2d 293
• Decision Date: 21 January 1998
• Docket Number: No. 96-1977,96-1977
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Clarence WILLIAMS, Appellant.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Iowa

Page 293

574 N.W.2d 293

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Clarence WILLIAMS, Appellant.

No. 96-1977.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Jan. 21, 1998.

Amy L. Evenson of Larson, Mowry & Evenson, Iowa City, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Julie H. Brown, Assistant Attorney General, Thomas J. Ferguson, County Attorney, and D. Raymond Walton, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

Considered by McGIVERIN, C.J., and CARTER, LAVORATO, ANDREASEN, and TERNUS, JJ.

ANDREASEN, Justice.

This case involves the sexual abuse of a minor by four individuals. The defendant, Clarence Evon Williams, Jr., appeals from a conviction and sentence on a charge of sexual abuse in the second degree in violation of Iowa Code sections 709.1, .3(3) (1995). Williams claims: (1) there was insufficient evidence in the record for a rational jury to find he committed the charged offense; (2) it was error to admit evidence of a DNA match without also requiring evidence of the statistical significance of the match and to admit blood serology evidence; (3) it was error to exclude evidence that the victim had consensual sexual intercourse the evening prior to the offense; (4) the twenty-five month delay between the incident and the filing of charges against him was a denial of his due process rights; (5) he was provided ineffective assistance of counsel; and (6) the trials of the co-defendants should have been severed. We affirm.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Early in the afternoon on November 23, 1993, L.H., a minor, her twin sister Lindie, and her friend Jamie Weise rendezvoused with George Epps, Byron Griffin, Matt Washburn, and Eric Wehr. They all went to Griffin's home in Epps' car where they stayed for approximately one hour. The four men then brought the three girls back to East High School where the girls took a bus home.

Later that afternoon the girls walked to a bowling alley. Weise telephoned Griffin and shortly thereafter Griffin, Washburn, and Wehr picked up the girls at the bowling alley and they all went back to Griffin's house. Sometime during the evening Washburn, Weise, and L.H. drove Lindie back to the bowling alley, left her there and returned to Griffin's home. At this point Epps, Griffin, L.H., Washburn, Wehr, and Weise were present at Griffin's home.

While testimony differs as to the exact time, sometime between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., Lincoln Dixon, Dante Hunter, and Williams arrived at Griffin's house. Because it is relevant to the testimony, we mention that Dixon, Epps, Griffin, Hunter, and Williams are African-American. There is conflicting testimony as to whether Williams remained at Griffin's house. L.H. and Weise decided to leave Griffin's house and go to a roller-skating rink. Epps initially agreed to give the girls a ride to the skating rink. The other men present convinced Epps not to give them a ride. L.H. and Weise began walking to the skating rink. Griffin and Washburn went after the girls. When they caught up to them, the men each picked up one girl and began to carry them back to the house. The evidence suggests this was done in good nature. The men put the girls down before reaching the house and the girls walked the rest of the way back to the house. About the time the girls returned to the house Epps and Wehr left.

Upon returning to the house, Weise tried to telephone a friend to give her and L.H. a ride to the skating rink. After talking briefly with her friend the telephone went dead. L.H. went into the bedroom where the telephone jack was located to see if the cord was disconnected. Weise testified that Hunter followed L.H. into the bedroom and shut the door. She testified that she heard L.H. saying "no" and went to the bedroom to see what was happening. Upon opening the door Weise saw Hunter on top of L.H. on the bed. Weise stated L.H. was fighting Hunter. She testified Hunter slammed the door in her face. Weise then went to the living room to talk to Washburn. Weise and Washburn went into the kitchen and saw Williams enter the house through the kitchen door. Weise and Washburn left the house through the kitchen door and ran to Wehr's house.

Wehr testified that when Weise and Washburn arrived at his home Weise was crying and Washburn looked scared. Wehr further testified that Washburn said "they" were raping L.H. and that he feared they would come looking for him since he had left. Weise and Washburn hid in the basement of Wehr's house. Wehr testified that later Dixon, Griffin, Hunter, and Williams came to his house looking for Washburn.

Dixon, who pled guilty to a lesser offense in exchange for testifying against the other individuals alleged to have participated in the sexual abuse of L.H., testified that after Weise and the "white dude" left the house he, Griffin, and Williams went to the bedroom. He testified that he saw Hunter on top of L.H. having sexual intercourse with her and she was saying "stop." He also testified Williams was the second person to have sexual intercourse with L.H. While Williams had sexual intercourse with L.H., Hunter held her down. Then Williams held L.H. down while Griffin had sexual intercourse with her. Finally, somebody held L.H. down while Dixon had sexual intercourse with her.

L.H. testified four men in succession had sexual intercourse with her against her will. She testified that one person held her down while another was on top of her. She stated that the first two men in the room were Hunter and Williams. L.H. said she was not sure as to the order of the men having sexual intercourse with her. After the men left, L.H. put her clothes on and left the house.

After leaving the house L.H. walked to a pay phone and called a friend to come and get her. L.H. was taken to the hospital where she was examined by a doctor and evidence was collected. While she was at the hospital L.H. told a nurse she was sexually abused by "three or four black dudes." After she was examined at the hospital, L.H. went to the police station where she reported what had transpired that evening.

At the hospital blood and semen evidence was collected. A vaginal swab was done and L.H.'s clothes were preserved. On L.H.'s underpants dried semen was found in three locations: the crotch, the lower back portion, and the center back portion. During the investigation of the assault, blood serology tests were conducted on the evidence by Marie Sides, a criminalist with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The tests indicated Williams was a possible source of the semen stains on the victim's underpants.

A DNA analysis of the evidence gathered from the victim and blood samples taken from the alleged participants in the sexual abuse was conducted by Supervisory Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation John Quill. The evidence samples arrived at the FBI laboratory on January 31, 1994. Due to an error in the process, the results of the first DNA analysis were not clear enough to be reliably interpreted. Quill requested additional blood samples for a new DNA analysis. On October 3, the second set of blood samples arrived at the FBI lab. A report detailing the results of the DNA testing was sent to Sides on June 27, 1995. On December 18 a complaint was filed and the next day an arrest warrant was issued against Williams.

II. Sufficiency of the Evidence.

Williams' first assignment of error is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence.

In a sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge we review all the evidence to determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and draw all fair and reasonable inferences from all the evidence. We do not uphold a verdict on evidence that merely raises suspicion, speculation, or conjecture regarding guilt.

State v. Brown, 569 N.W.2d 113, 115 (Iowa 1997) (citations omitted). To convict Williams of sexual abuse in the second degree the State was required to prove: (1) that Williams performed a sex act with L.H.; (2) the act was done by force or against the will of L.H.; and (3) Williams was aided or abetted by one or more persons. Iowa Code §§ 709.1, .3(3). Williams contends the State failed to produce sufficient evidence that he participated in the sexual abuse of L.H. We find the State met its burden.

The testimony of Weise, Wehr, Dixon, and L.H. supports the conclusion that Williams performed a sex act with L.H., that the act was done against L.H.'s will and that Williams was aided or abetted by another. In addition to the testimony by witnesses to the event, testimony from Quill and Sides links Williams via physical evidence to the sexual abuse. We find a reasonable jury could conclude the State proved each element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

III. Admission of DNA and Blood Serology Evidence.

Williams' second assignment of error regards the admission of evidence of a DNA match without requiring statistical probability evidence to interpret the meaning of the DNA match. He also alleges it was error for the court to allow blood serology evidence at trial.

A. Background on DNA Testing.

DNA is an abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid, the active substance of genes. DNA is a long double-helix shaped molecule found in every cell that has a nucleus. Cells having a nucleus include: white blood cells, sperm, cells surrounding hair roots, and cells in saliva. Committee on DNA Tech. in Forensic Science, Nat'l Research Council, DNA Technology in Forensic Science, S-1 (Prepublication Copy 1992) [hereinafter NRC Report]. Every person, with the exception of identical twins, has a unique configuration of DNA. Id. at S-2. Each component strand of the double helix is a chain of nucleotides composed of four chemicals arranged in "base pairs." Of the three billion "base pairs" which constitute the DNA molecule, ninety-nine percent do not vary between individuals of the same species. Any two human...