United States v. Charles Porter

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 22-10286

Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 1:21-cr-00042- v. JLT-SKO-

CHARLES PORTER,

OPINION

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California Jennifer L. Thurston, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted August 21, 2024 San Francisco, California

Filed November 15, 2024

Before: Marsha S. Berzon, Daniel A. Bress, and Lawrence VanDyke, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Bress SUMMARY *

Criminal Law

The panel affirmed Charles Porter’s conviction for various sexual assault offenses in Yosemite National Park in a case in which the panel addressed whether Federal Rule of Evidence 413, which allows propensity evidence in federal criminal sexual assault cases, violates the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. Rule 413 provides that “[i]n a criminal case in which a defendant is accused of a sexual assault, the court may admit evidence that the defendant committed any other sexual assault.” In United States v. Lemay, 260 F.3d 1018…