FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MAY 11 2016
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 15-30122
Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 4:14-cr-00072-BMM-1
v.
DALLAS LAWRENCE, MEMORANDUM*
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Montana
Brian M. Morris, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted April 12, 2016**
Portland, Oregon
Before: TALLMAN, Circuit Judge, HURWITZ, Circuit Judge, and
BATTAGLIA,*** District Judge.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
*** The Honorable Anthony J. Battaglia, District Judge for the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of California, sitting by designation.
Dallas Lawrence appeals his jury conviction for two counts of strangulation
in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153(a) and 113(a)(8), two counts of assault with
intent to commit murder in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153(a) and 113(a)(1), one
count of assault with a dangerous weapon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153(a) and
113(a)(3), and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§
1153(a) and 2241(a)(1). On appeal, Lawrence argues the evidence presented at trial
was insufficient to sustain his conviction. We review de novo the denial of a Rule
29 motion for acquittal. United States v. James, 810 F.3d 674, 678 (9th Cir. 2016).
The evidence presented at trial permitted a rational jury to find Lawrence guilty of
the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore we affirm.
Evidence is sufficient to support a conviction if, viewing all “the evidence in
the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have
found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v.
Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979). In making this sufficiency determination, a
court of appeal “must respect the province of the jury to determine the credibility
of witnesses, resolve evidentiary conflicts, and draw reasonable inferences from
proven facts by assuming that the jury resolved all conflicts in a manner that
supports the verdict.” Walters v. Maass, 45 F.3d 1355, 1358 (9th Cir. 1995).
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Lawrence’s sufficiency of the evidence argument amounts simply to an
attack on the credibility of the victim, who served as the Government’s primary
witness. The credibility afforded to witness testimony is a jury determination not
reviewable on appeal. United States v. Yossunthorn, 167 F.3d 1267, 1270 (9th Cir.
1999).
Assuming the victim’s testimony to be true, as required on appeal, a
reasonable jury could have found the elements of the crimes beyond a reasonable
doubt. The victim offered specific testimony regarding each instance charged in the
superseding indictment. “It is well established that the uncorroborated testimony of
a single witness may be sufficient to sustain a conviction.” United States v.
Katakis, 800 F.3d 1017, 1028 (9th Cir. 2015) (quoting United States v. Dodge, 538
F.2d 770, 783 (8th Cir. 1976)). Accordingly, the district court properly denied
Lawrence’s Rule 29 motions.
To the extent Lawrence challenges the sufficiency of the superseding
indictment, that challenge is improper because it was not raised before the district
court or supported by argument in Lawrence’s opening brief.
Moreover, a tardy challenge to an indictment, such as Lawrence’s, “is
reviewed for plain error” and “liberally construed in favor of validity.”
Echavarria-Olarte v. Reno, 35 F.3d 395, 397 (9th Cir. 1994) (quoting United
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States v. Rodriguez-Ramirez, 777 F.2d 454, 459 (9th Cir. 1985)); see also United
States v. Spangler, 810 F.3d 702, 711 (9th Cir. 2016). Here, the superseding
indictment was sufficient because it contained the month each instance of abuse
occurred and sufficiently apprised Lawrence of the charges against him.
AFFIRMED.
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