## Facts

- Matthew Evans Dowd and Danna Johnson had a prior intimate relationship and lived together in Montana; Johnson later moved to Colorado and stopped using methamphetamine.
- In May 2002, Johnson reunited with Dowd in Colorado after being told he was sober and working; Dowd soon revealed ongoing drug use.
- After Johnson confronted him, Dowd attempted to force her into a car and later assaulted her in the apartment, including rape and attempted suffocation.
- Dowd announced he would return to Montana and take Johnson with him; when she tried to flee, he physically forced her into the car and threatened to kill her family if she escaped.
- Over the following months, Dowd and Johnson traveled through Colorado, Montana, and Utah while Dowd repeatedly subjected her to physical and psychological abuse, including sexual assaults and threats involving a firearm.
- Johnson did not seek help at public locations because she feared Dowd would carry out threats to kill her grandchildren and sister.
- On at least two trips, Johnson assisted by driving from Montana to Utah to obtain methamphetamine for Dowd while the abuse continued.
- On New Year’s Eve 2002, Johnson tried to seize control of the vehicle; Dowd threw her down an embankment, then left her and the car. Johnson contacted federal agents afterward.
- A federal jury convicted Dowd of interstate domestic violence under 18 U.S.C. § 2261(a)(2), including a finding that he committed sexual assault during the offense.

## Issues

1. Whether sufficient evidence supported the finding that Dowd caused Johnson to cross state lines by “force, coercion, or duress” under 18 U.S.C. § 2261(a)(2), despite asserted opportunities for her to escape or seek help.
2. Whether the district court abused its discretion by imposing the interstate domestic violence sentence consecutive to Dowd’s earlier sentence for drug-related crimes.
3. Whether a statutory sentencing enhancement based on sexual assault violated *Apprendi* when applied after the jury’s verdict.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit affirmed the conviction, holding that a rational jury could find Dowd compelled Johnson’s interstate travel through actual force and credible threats, evaluated in the context of her circumstances.
- The court affirmed the consecutive sentence, finding no abuse of discretion in ordering the domestic violence sentence to run consecutively to the prior drug sentence.
- The court affirmed the sexual-assault-based enhancement, concluding there was no *Apprendi* violation because the jury found the sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.

## Legal Principles

- Under 18 U.S.C. § 2261(a)(2), “force, coercion, or duress” may be shown through a continuing pattern of violence and credible threats that effectively compels interstate travel.
- “Causing” interstate travel may be established by threat-induced compliance and psychological coercion, not only by physical restraint at the border.
- Sufficiency of the evidence is assessed by viewing the trial record in the light most favorable to the government and asking whether any rational trier of fact could find each element beyond a reasonable doubt.
- A victim’s apparent opportunities to escape do not negate coercion or duress where the evidence supports a finding that threats and abuse made seeking help reasonably appear too dangerous.
- Consecutive sentencing decisions are reviewed for abuse of discretion and are permissible when the district court recognizes its authority and acts within statutory and guideline bounds.
- Under *Apprendi*, a fact that increases a statutory maximum must be found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt; an enhancement based on a jury finding satisfies this requirement.

## Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit upheld Dowd’s interstate domestic violence conviction and sentence, ruling that sustained abuse and credible threats can compel interstate travel within § 2261(a)(2), that consecutive sentencing was within the district court’s discretion, and that a jury’s sexual-assault finding permitted the statutory enhancement without violating *Apprendi*.


United States v. Dowd, 417 F.3d 1080 (9th Cir. 2005)