F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
PUBLISH
SEP 15 2000
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 99-2315
EDWARD J., a juvenile,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of New Mexico
(D.C. No. CR-99-61-JP)
Jason Bowles (Norman C. Bay, United States Attorney, with him on the brief),
Assistant United States Attorney, Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Plaintiff-
Appellee.
Richard A. Winterbottom (John V. Butcher, Assistant Public Defender, with him
on the briefs), Assistant Public Defender, Albuquerque, New Mexico, for
Defendant-Appellant.
Before BRORBY, ANDERSON and HENRY, Circuit Judges.
BRORBY, Circuit Judge.
This appeal of a juvenile delinquency proceeding involves a single
evidentiary issue concerning Federal Rule of Evidence 803(4), and the more
complicated question of whether the district court erred by receiving closing
arguments and issuing its verdict in written form. We exercise our jurisdiction
under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. While we examine the constitutional arguments
presented, we ultimately affirm the district court because any perceived error was
either harmless or invited.
I. BACKGROUND
Edward J. is a juvenile who lived in his family’s compound on the Navajo
Reservation in New Mexico. Edward’s two young nieces, who we will refer to as
Jane Doe A and Jane Doe B, also lived at the compound. During the summer of
1998, Edward was nearly sixteen years old, Jane Doe A was ten years old, and
Jane Doe B was eight. In June of 1998, Edward’s sister found a note written by
Jane Doe A stating “I don’t want to be here any more, because I hate it when
Edward touches me.” Edward’s sister discussed the accusation with Jane Doe A
and then contacted local social workers, who removed the girls from the family
compound and took them to a medical center for a physical examination.
Two doctors examined and interviewed the girls. Dr. Benjamin Hoffman
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conducted the initial exam, including a medical history interview, and Dr. Gillian
Mair performed a genital exam on each girl. Pursuant to Federal Rule of
Evidence 803(4), 1 the district court allowed Dr. Hoffman to testify regarding
statements the girls made to him during the examinations. Dr. Hoffman, referring
to the medical reports he made the day of the examinations, testified Jane Doe A
told him Edward touched her in her “private,” pointing toward her vagina, and her
“bottom.” Dr. Hoffman went on to describe his entire interview with Jane Doe A,
which included her statements that Edward had forced her to engage in various
sexual acts. In a separate interview, Jane Doe B told Dr. Hoffman the same basic
story, which Dr. Hoffman testified included an accusation that Edward “takes off
my clothes and gets on top of me.” At trial, both girls testified consistently with
their comments to Dr. Hoffman. Edward also testified at trial, admitting he
1
Rule 803 provides certain exceptions to the hearsay rule, and states in
relevant part:
The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even
though the declarant is available as a witness:
....
(4) Statements for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment.
Statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment and
describing medical history, or past or present symptoms, pain, or
sensations, or the inception or general character of the cause or
external source thereof insofar as reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or
treatment.
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occasionally struck his nieces, but denying he ever sexually abused them.
At the close of evidence, the district court asked for additional briefing on
the admissibility of the two medical reports which contained the girls’ statements
to Dr. Hoffman. Edward’s counsel then had the following exchange with the
district court:
COUNSEL: May we also file written closing arguments, Your
Honor, on June 12th or – I don’t mind if you set a page limit, but I
would like an opportunity to –
THE COURT: That’s fine.
COUNSEL: – either orally or written[], do a summation to the
Court.
THE COURT: That’s fine. You may do that in writing.
COUNSEL: Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: By July 12 [1999].
The parties submitted their written arguments on the admissibility of Dr.
Hoffman’s testimony and medical reports on July 16, 1999. The government filed
its written summation on the same day, while Edward’s counsel filed a request for
oral summation instead. In a written order, the district court denied the request
for oral summation and overruled Edward’s objections to Dr. Hoffman’s
testimony. Contemporaneously with this order, the district court, issued its
verdict in written form finding Edward guilty of all five counts listed in the
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indictment. 2 The district court subsequently held a dispositional hearing and
sentenced Edward to probation until his twenty-first birthday. As special
conditions of his probation, the district court ordered Edward to spend at least six
months in a youth detention center, followed by up to a year in a transitional
youth center, prior to his return to the community. The district court also ordered
Edward to pay restitution in the amount of $560.05.
Prior to ending the dispositional hearing, the district court notified Edward
of his right to appeal. Edward timely availed himself of this right, arguing the
district court erred by (1) “admitting into evidence the alleged child victims’
statements to a doctor under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(4) without proof that
each of the statements was made with the children’s understanding of the medical
significance of being truthful,” and (2) “depriving the defendant of his right to be
present at all critical stages of the bench trial when it denied his request for oral
summation and delivered its verdict in writing.”
2
The indictment charged Edward with five separate violations of the
Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 5031 to 5037, by engaging in, or
attempting to engage in, sexual acts with Indian females under the age of twelve.
See 18 U.S.C. § 1153; 18 U.S.C. § 2241(c); 18 U.S.C. §§ 2246(2)(A), (B), (D).
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II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Whether the district court’s refusal to grant oral summation violated
Edward’s due process rights is a legal question we review de novo. See Larson v.
Tansy, 911 F.2d 392, 394 (10th Cir. 1990). However, Edward did not object to,
or otherwise raise the issue of, the district court’s issuance of a written verdict
prior to the current appeal. Therefore, our review of this issue is for plain error,
although we do not rigidly apply the plain error rule in this instance because the
appeal raises constitutional issues. See United States v. Santiago, 977 F.2d 517,
521-22 (10th Cir. 1992). We review evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion,
and “[o]ur review of decisions admitting statements contested as hearsay is
especially deferential.” United States v. Norman T., 129 F.3d 1099, 1105 (10th
Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1031 (1988).
III. DISCUSSION
A. Admission of Statements Made to Dr. Hoffman
Edward argues on appeal the district court abused its discretion in
admitting the testimony of Dr. Hoffman under the medical history hearsay
exception of Fed. R. of Evid. 803(4) because the government failed to “establish
the children understood the medical importance of telling the truth” to Dr.
Hoffman during the examination. Edward argues without such evidence the
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rationale behind the medical history exception is no longer applicable. While he
concedes we have previously rejected this same argument, Edward encourages us
to adopt the reasoning of the Eighth Circuit and establish a presumption that Rule
803(4) does not apply to statements given by young children to their doctors
identifying their abusers unless the physician first explains to the child such
information is important for their treatment. We decline to do so.
“The rationale behind the Rule 803(4) exception is that because a patient's
medical care depends on the accuracy of the information she provides, the patient
has a selfish motive to be truthful; consequently, a patient's statements to her
physician are likely to be particularly reliable.” United States v. Pacheco, 154
F.3d 1236, 1240 (10th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1112 (1999). The Eighth
Circuit has held young children do not necessarily understand the medical
importance of being truthful, and therefore young victims’ statements to their
doctors
are admissible only when the prosecution is able to demonstrate that
the victim’s motive in making the statement was consistent with the
purpose of promoting treatment – that is, “where the physician makes
clear to the victim that the inquiry into the identity of the abuser is
important to diagnosis and treatment, and the victim manifests such
an understanding.”
Olesen v. Class, 164 F.3d 1096, 1098 (8th Cir. 1999) (quoting United States v.
Renville, 779 F.2d 430, 438 (8th Cir. 1985)). We have specifically rejected this
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presumption against admission of hearsay evidence under the Rule 803(4)
exception in the case of children. See Pacheco, 154 F.3d at 1240-42; Norman T.,
129 F.3d at 1105-06. “Under the doctrine of stare decisis, this panel cannot
overturn the decision of another panel of this court” barring en banc
reconsideration, a superseding contrary Supreme Court decision, or authorization
of all currently active judges on the court. United States v. Meyers, 200 F.3d 715,
720-21 (10th Cir. 2000). Because none of the aforementioned events has come to
fruition, we reject Edward’s argument and hold the testimony of Dr. Hoffman
properly admitted. 3
3
Because we decline to accept the Eighth Circuit’s presumptions, the
government had no burden here to show the girls understood the medical
importance of telling the truth. Moreover, Edward fails to point to any evidence
in the record tending to show the girls did not understand they were seeking
medical treatment, or the importance of being truthful when talking to a doctor.
In fact, the evidence in the record is to the contrary. The girls were eight and ten
years old at the time of the examination, and both had been to the medical clinic
on numerous occasions. As the district court noted, both girls were significantly
older and more likely to understand the import of their statements than the five-
year-old victim in Norman. 129 F.3d at 1105. Both girls were mature enough to
request that a female doctor perform the genital exam. Furthermore, the girls
testified at trial and Edward’s counsel had a full opportunity to subject them to
cross-examination. Even if we adopted the Eighth Circuit’s reasoning, we would
hold admission of Dr. Hoffman’s testimony harmless given the nature of the girls’
trial testimony and the district court’s specific statement he found both girls “very
credible.” See Norman T., 129 F.3d at 1106 n.3.
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B. Propriety of Written Summation and Delivery of the Verdict
Edward next requests a new trial, arguing that “[b]y conducting the closing
argument and verdict stage of the trial in writing, the trial court prejudicially
deprived Edward of his right to be present under the Due Process Clause and
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 43.” 4 In support of this argument, Edward
cites cases establishing and applying the well-settled constitutional right of a
criminal defendant to be present during critical stages of trial. We find Edward’s
argument unpersuasive.
We begin with a discussion of the right to be present generally afforded to
criminal defendants and the unique character of juvenile proceedings in contrast
thereto. In previously examining a criminal defendant’s due process right to be
present at trial, we quoted the Supreme Court in holding the right arises
4
Rule 43 is entitled “Presence of the Defendant,” and states:
(a) Presence Required. The defendant shall be present at the
arraignment, at the time of the plea, at every stage of the trial
including the impaneling of the jury and the return of the verdict, and
at the imposition of sentence, except as otherwise provided by this
rule.
Fed. R. Crim. P. 43(a). The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure apply to
juvenile delinquency proceedings unless they are inconsistent with the Federal
Juvenile Delinquency Act. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 54(b)(5).
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“whenever his presence has a relation, reasonably substantial, to the
fulness of his opportunity to defend against the charge.... [T]he
presence of a defendant is a condition of due process to the extent
that a fair and just hearing would be thwarted by his absence, and to
that extent only.” ... [D]ue process does not require the defendant’s
presence “when [his] presence would be useless, or the benefit but a
shadow.”
Larson, 911 F.2d at 394 (quoting Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 105-108
(1934)). Employing this standard, we held a criminal defendant has a
constitutional right to be present for summations delivered at a jury trial. See id.;
Burrell v. Aaron, 560 F.2d 988, 989 (10th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1018
(1978).
However, unlike the situation in Larson, this is not a criminal proceeding,
but a juvenile matter. As Edward’s counsel pointed out at the dispositional
hearing, “[a] successful prosecution under the [Federal Juvenile Delinquency] Act
results in a civil determination of status rather than a felony or misdemeanor
conviction.” United States v. Sealed Appellant, 123 F.3d 232, 233 (5th Cir.
1997). Accord United States v. Brian N., 900 F.2d 218, 220 (10th Cir. 1990).
The Supreme Court has taken a slightly different approach, recognizing “[l]ittle,
indeed, is to be gained by any attempt simplistically to call the juvenile court
proceeding either civil or criminal,” because while the proceeding “has not yet
been held to be a criminal prosecution[] within the meaning and reach of the Sixth
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Amendment,” it is not “devoid of criminal aspects merely because it usually has
been given the civil label.” McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 403 U.S. 528, 541 (1971)
(quotation marks omitted). Precisely because of the unique nature of the juvenile
court proceeding, the Supreme Court has specifically refused to hold “all rights
constitutionally assured to an adult accused of crime also are to be enforced or
made available to the juvenile in his delinquency proceeding.” Id. at 533. “[T]he
Due Process Clause has a role to play,” see In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 13 (1967), in
juvenile trial proceedings, and the standard we use to measure the extent of that
role is one of fundamental fairness. McKeiver, 403 U.S. at 543. Bearing this in
mind, we carefully examine Edward’s two-part argument.
1. Written Statement
Edward first argues he had a right to present oral summation. 5 In support
of his position, he cites several unrelated cases and attempts to tie them together.
Edward first cites Larson for the proposition stated above: a criminal defendant
has a right to be present for summations in a jury trial in order to provide
assistance to counsel and exert psychological influence on the jury. See Larson,
911 F.2d at 396. He then cites Herring v. New York, 422 U.S. 853 (1975), where
5
Edward actually couches his argument in terms of a right to be present at
closing arguments.
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the Supreme Court held a criminal defendant cannot be completely denied the
right to present a closing summation in the context of a bench trial. Id. at 863,
865. Finally, Edward points to a case from the Second Circuit that held the
psychological impact a defendant has on the jury is equally applicable when the
fact finder is the court itself. See United States v. Canady, 126 F.3d 352, 362 (2d
Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1134 (1998). Therefore, Edward reasons, he
had a constitutional right to offer an oral summation at trial.
Edward’s reasoning is unavailing for several reasons. First, we do not
accept the Second Circuit’s reasoning in Canady as applied to juvenile
proceedings. While the presence of the defendant during closing arguments may
exert a psychological influence on a jury, we find the likelihood of such an impact
on a district judge in a juvenile proceeding to be minimal. Second, Herring is
distinguishable. The Herring Court confronted a situation where the trial court
completely foreclosed the defendant from presenting a summation, and the
Court’s decision was grounded in the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, not the
Due Process Clause right to be present. Herring, 422 U.S. at 856-57. We find
nothing in Herring which requires the summations be presented orally to the
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court. 6 See United States v. Stenzel, 49 F.3d 658, 662 n.2 (10th Cir.), cert.
denied, 516 U.S. 840 (1995) (noting written summation might have precluded
appeal on issue of whether district court had duty to inquire if counsel desired to
make closing arguments). Proper adjudication of a case often demands careful
reflection on the facts presented, and the application of those facts to the law.
Written summations are a helpful tool for the trial court in accomplishing what
can be a complicated task of sorting through evidence presented at trial. We
would perform a disservice to the interests of fairness and justice if we
completely precluded the use of written summations at the close of a criminal
bench trial, and instead insisted on oral summations. 7 Third, even if we required
oral summations in criminal bench trials, we would need to determine if such a
6
The Court did say, in limiting its holding to the facts presented,
“[n]othing said in this opinion is to be understood as implying the existence of a
constitutional right to oral argument at any other stage of the trial or appellate
process.” Herring, 422 U.S. at 863 n.13.
7
Edward argues oral summation is necessary because “he wanted to be
present to hear the case argued and to object to any improper closing by the
government.” Oral argument is not necessary to accomplish these goals in the
bench trial setting. Edward was present for the one-day trial and was fully aware
of the government’s arguments and theories. In addition, Edward’s counsel
received a copy of the prosecutor’s written summation, so he could determine if
the prosecutor made objectionable statements to the court. He made no objections
in this case, nor did he point to any improper argument on appeal. Finally, the
danger a trial court might be unfairly swayed by an improper argument is
negligible. Judges understand closing arguments are not evidence, and are able to
sort the wheat from the chaff as far as what is proper argument.
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requirement was necessary in a juvenile trial proceeding. However, we do not
need to make that determination here because Edward invited any perceived error.
As recounted earlier, at the close of trial Edward’s counsel asked the trial
court for the opportunity to present a closing argument and actually suggested the
argument be in written form: “May we also file written closing arguments, Your
Honor, ... I don’t mind if you set a page limit, but I would like an opportunity to –
... either orally or written[], do a summation to the Court.” Two weeks later,
when the deadline for the written summations and post-trial motions arrived,
Edward’s counsel filed a request for oral summation instead. 8 However, at this
point the trial court had mulled the case over for days. The government prepared
its written summation and filed it with the trial court the same day Edward filed
his request. The trial court was ready to review the summations and make its
rulings. “The invited error doctrine prevents a party from inducing action by a
court and later seeking reversal on the ground that the requested action was
error.” United States v. Johnson, 183 F.3d 1175, 1178 n.2 (10th Cir. 1999). We
8
In his request for oral summation, Edward’s counsel stated he would
submit a final written summation – a promise that went unfulfilled. We also note
the trial court was fully aware of Edward’s defense theory because the court heard
arguments on Edward’s motions for acquittal and directed verdict at the close of
the government’s case. In addition, Edward did file a written Motion for
Judgment of Acquittal contemporaneously with his request for oral summation.
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hold the district court was under no obligation to rearrange its schedule to
accommodate Edward’s belated motion, having already granted his original
request for written argument.
2. Written Verdict
Whether Edward was entitled to be present at the trial court’s rendering of
the verdict is a more difficult question. Edward again cites Larson and Canady as
supporting his position. In Larson, we held a criminal defendant has a due
process right to be present for the rendition of a jury verdict, citing the same
opportunity to assist counsel and influence the jury as mentioned in the closing
argument context discussed above. See Larson, 911 F.2d at 395-96. The Second
Circuit extended our logic one step further to require physical presence of a
criminal defendant for the rendering of a verdict following a bench trial. See
Canady, 126 F.3d at 361-62. Edward invites us to extend the logic further yet,
and require the presence of juvenile defendants. We decline to do so.
In addition to our earlier-stated reluctance to adopt the Second Circuit’s
reasoning as applied to juvenile proceedings, we have a further reason for not
extending Canady. The Second Circuit in Canady relied in part on the criminal
defendant’s right to an open “public trial” in holding the district court erred by
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issuing its verdict in written form. Id. at 362-63. As support for its position, the
panel stated “[t]here is a distinctly useful purpose in ensuring that the
pronouncement of the defendant's guilt or innocence by the court is both
face-to-face and public. It assures that the trial court is ‘keenly alive to a sense of
its responsibility and to the importance of its functions.’” Id. at 361 (quoting
Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39, 46 (1984)) (alterations omitted). Waller is a case
devoted to the Sixth Amendment right to a “public trial.” Waller, 467 U.S. at 43-
44. In relying on Walker, Edward fails to appreciate the difference between a
criminal trial and a juvenile proceeding.
We have not extended the “public trial” right to juvenile defendants. In
McKeiver, the Supreme Court seemed to express disdain for the idea when it held
the right to a jury trial did not apply to juvenile proceedings. The Court clearly
insinuated the “public trial” right would be incompatible with the traditional
nature of the juvenile proceeding when it stated: “[I]f the jury trial were to be
injected into the juvenile court system as a matter of right, it would bring with it
into that system the traditional delay, the formality, and the clamor of the
adversary system and, possibly, the public trial.” McKeiver, 403 U.S. at 550.
Indeed, in Edward’s case, the district court meticulously guarded the privacy of
the proceedings, presumably to protect Edward’s interests. When deciding
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whether due process requires application of certain constitutional rights to
juvenile proceedings, the Supreme Court has focused on “fundamental fairness”
with an emphasis on fact-finding procedures. See McKeiver, 403 U.S. at 543
(stating emphasis on fact-finding led to applying “[t]he requirements of notice,
counsel, confrontation, cross-examination, and standard of proof” to the juvenile
setting, but rejecting right to jury trial because “one cannot say that in our legal
system the jury is a necessary component of accurate fact-finding”). Given our
view of Canady and the Supreme Court’s emphasis on applying those rights
related to fact-finding to juvenile proceedings, we see no justification for
adopting a constitutional rule requiring the presence of juvenile defendants for the
rendering of the verdict at the close of a bench trial.
Again, however, we point out we would affirm the district court regardless
of our determination of the constitutional question because any perceived error in
not reading the verdict in open court was harmless. In so holding, we note all but
a “limited class of fundamental constitutional errors” are subject to harmless error
analysis. Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1, 7-8 (1999). That limited class
includes a complete denial of counsel, biased trial judge, racial discrimination in
selection of grand juries, denial of self-representation at trial, denial of public
trial, and a defective reasonable doubt instruction. See id. at 8. These errors
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affect “the framework within which the trial proceeds, rather than simply ... the
trial process itself.” Id. (quotation marks and citation omitted). Failing to
announce the verdict in a juvenile court proceeding hardly rises to the level of the
structural errors listed above because it does not necessarily render “the
proceeding fundamentally unfair or an unreliable vehicle for determining guilt or
innocence.” Id. at 9. In addition, we have previously applied harmless error
analysis to the deprivation of a criminal defendant’s right to be present at
rendition of the verdict. See Larson, 911 F.2d at 396.
When we apply harmless error analysis, we require “the beneficiary of a
constitutional error to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained
of did not contribute to the verdict obtained.” Chapman v. California, 386 U.S.
18, 24 (1967), quoted in Neder, 527 U.S. at 15. We are confident the district
court’s verdict was not impacted by the fact it was issued in written form, and not
read in open court in Edward’s presence. First, the district court explicitly
concluded “oral summation would not assist” him in his decision. Second, the
district court carefully reviewed the testimony, made supportable credibility
determinations, and found Edward guilty. The court’s own conclusion and
thorough analysis convinces us the verdict would not have changed with a
theoretical change in method of delivery. Therefore, we find any perceived error
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harmless. 9
Having reviewed the issues raised on appeal, we doubt the sagacity of
Edward’s constitutional and Rule 43 arguments as outlined in our discussion.
However, we dispose of these issues on alternative grounds because any potential
errors were either invited or harmless. In addition, we hold the district court did
not error by admitting the testimony of Dr. Hoffman under Fed. R. Evid. 803(4).
Accordingly, we AFFIRM.
9
Rule 43 is also subject to harmless error analysis. See Rogers v. United
States, 422 U.S. 35, 40 (1975); Santiago, 977 F.2d at 521 n.5. Therefore, we
affirm despite any possible violation of Rule 43 for the same reasons detailed
above.
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