United States v. James Scott

MEMORANDUM

James Scott appeals his conviction on two counts of Assault of an Employee of the United States Government While Engaged in the Performance of Official Duties in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111 (a)-(b). The charges arose out of his assault of two nurses at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (“VAMC”) in Spokane, Washington.

The district court did not err in quashing Scott’s subpoenas for hospital policies and procedure manuals, and personnel files. The requested documents were not relevant to any plausible theory of the defense. The district court also did not err in denying a jury instruction on self-defense because there was no basis in the evidence to support such an instruction. An attacker cannot claim self-defense as a justification for an assault that was prompted by nonviolent behavior. United States v. Acosta-Sierra, No. 10-50575, 2012 WL 3326623, at *12 (9th Cir. Aug. 15, 2012); United States v. Urena, 659 F.3d 903, 907 (9th Cir.2011).

There was no abuse of discretion in the district court’s exclusion of a sociologist’s expert testimony on “total military institution.” The court held a hearing before concluding that the witness’s expertise did not relate to…