United States v. Simmons

In 2005, a federal jury convicted Maceo Simmons (defendant) of sexual assault. Simmons, a police officer, detained S. R. during a traffic stop for marijuana possession, drove S. R. to a deserted area, and sexually assaulted her in his patrol car. Simmons’s partner, Thomas Catchings, acted as a lookout from his own patrol car and then drove S. R. home and warned her not to tell anyone about what happened. S. R. told others about the sexual assault soon after she returned home and went to a rape-crisis center, but S. R. did not report the sexual assault for nearly a year because she feared police retaliation. At trial, the prosecution (plaintiff) introduced expert witness Dr. Louise Fitzgerald, a licensed psychologist and university psychology professor who specialized in sexual violence and sexual victimization. Fitzgerald testified about common rape-victim behavior and opined that S. R.’s behavior following the incident and S. R.’s trial testimony was consistent with that of rape victims. Fitzgerald also stated that she would never provide an opinion about whether a rape occurred. The district court instructed the jury that it could credit or discredit an expert’s testimony. Simmons appealed from his conviction, arguing that Fitzgerald’s expert testimony failed to meet the Daubert standard because Fitzgerald’s research was founded on unreliable data and methodology that was biased in favor of believing sexual-assault victims. Simmons also argued that Fitzgerald’s expert testimony inappropriately opined about whether S. R. was assaulted, which was an issue that only the jury could determine.