US v. Hudak: Hudak was charged with two counts of intimidation based no race or ethnic status for incidents in which he punched and kicked a neighbor (who was of Mexican descent) and a road rage incident in which he punched another the window of another driver (who was black) “four or five times” before following him to his apartment. In both incidents, Hudak let loose a stream of racist and ethic invective. At trial, Hudak’s defense was that he had not engaged in the incidents “because of the victim’s race, color, or national origin” and sought to admit expert testimony that he suffered from “serious mental health issues” that led to him being “enraged.” The district court did not allow the evidence to be admitted. The district court allow evidence to be admitted about Hudak’s collection of Nazi and other memorabilia in response to statements he made during his testimony. Hudak was convicted on both counts and sentenced to 41 months in prison.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Hudak’s conviction. As to the mental health testimony, the court first noted that the report presented to support the testimony related to Hudak’s competency to stand trial, not his mental state at the time of the incidents. Regardless, the proffered evidence “was not particular relevant to the factual question facing the jury.” As to the Nazi memorabilia, the court noted that the district court had excluded such evidence prior to trial, but during his testimony Hudak mentioned the collection and that he acquired it “because of the history of war . . . not any racisms, not any hate.” That opened the door for the Government to provide details of the collection.
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