FI LED U. S . COURT OF AP PE ALS E L E V E N T H C IR C U IT Febr uar y 28, 2007 T HOM AS K. KAHN CL E RK [ DO NO T P UB L I S H] I N THE UN I TE D STATE S C OU RT OF APPE ALS F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C IR C U IT

________________________ N o. 06- 13081 N on -A rgum entC al endar

________________________ D. C . Do c k e tNo . 0 5 - 0 0 3 4 1 - C R - T - 2 4 - E AJ U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A , P la in tif f - A p p e lle e , v ersu s J A M E S L A W R E N C E L I G H T , D e f e n d a n t- A p p e lla n t.

________________________ A pp ea l fr om the U ni t ed S t at es D i stri ctC ou rt f orthe M i ddl e D i s tr i c tof F l or i da

_________________________ ( F e b r u ar y 28, 2007) B efo re T JO F L A T , A N D E R S O N an d H U L L , C i rcu i tJu d g es. P E R C U R I A M: J a m e s L a w r e n c e L ig h t, w h o r e p r e s e n te d h im s e lf a t tr ia l in th e d is tr ic t c o u r t,Li ghtc o n c e d e s th ath i s w ai v er w a s v o lunt ar

y. 1 2 appe a l s w i th the a i d of

c ouns e l hi s c onvi c t i on a nd 262- m onth s e nt e nc e f or p o s s e s s io n w ith in te n t to d is tr ib u te m o r e th a n f iv e g r a m s o f

c r a c kc o c a in e , in vi ol a t i on of

21 U . S . C . §§ 841( a ) ( 1) a nd ( b) ( 1) ( B ) ( i i i ) . L i ghtr a i s e s tw o i s s ue s on ap p e a l. F ir s t, L ig h t a r g u e s th a t th e d is tr ic t c o u r t e rr e d in f in d in g th a t h e w a iv e d h is S i xth A m e ndm e ntr i ghtt o c ouns e l know i ngl y a nd i nt e l l i ge nt l y . S e c ond, L i ght 1 a r gue s tha tthe r e w a s i ns uf f i c i e nte vi de nc e t o s uppor thi s c onvi c t i on be c aus e the o n ly e v id e n c e a g a in s t h im w a s th e te s tim o n y o f C o r e y M c D o n a ld ( “M c D o n a ld ” ) , a tw ic e - c o n v ic te d f

e lo n w h o te s tif

ie d in th e h o p e s o f

r e c e iv in g ar e d u c tio n in h is se nt ence . W e r ej ec tL i gh t ’ s argum ent s and af fi rm hi s c on vi ct i on and sent ence . I . ST AN DA RDS OF R EVI EW W e r e vi e w de novo adi s tr i c tc our t ’ s c onc l us i on tha tade f e nda nt ’ s w a i ve rof c ouns e l i s know i ng, vol unt a ry , a nd i nt e l l i ge nt . S e e U ni t e d S t a t e s v. K i m ba l l , 291 F . 3d 726, 730 ( 11th C i r . 2002) . O n di r e c tappe a l , the bur de n i s on the G ove rnm e nt t o pr ove tha tthe w a i ve ri s va l i d. S e e B r e w e rv. W i l l i a m s , 430 U . S . 387, 404, 97 S . C t . 12 32 , 12 42 (197 7).

“ W he the rthe r e i s s uf

f i c i e nte vi de nc e t o s uppor tac onvi c t i on i s aque s t i on of l a w w hi c h thi s C our tr e vi e w s de novo. ” U ni t e d S t a t e s v. C ha r l e s , 313 F . 3d 1278, 1 2 8 4 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 2 ) ( c ita tio n o m itte d ) . V ie w in g th e f a c ts a n d a ll r e a s o n ab le3

i nfer ence s draw n there fr om i n the l i gh tm ostfa vo rabl e t o the G ov ernm ent , se e U ni t e d S t a t e s v. H a ns e n, 262 F . 3d 1217, 1236 ( 11th C i r . 2001) , w e a s k w he the rthe ju ry c o u ld h a v e f

o u n d th e e s s e n tia l e le m e n ts o f ac r im e b e y o n d ar e a s o n ab le d o u b t, s e e C ha r l e s , 313 F . 3d a t1284. “ W he r e the gove rnm e nt ’ s c a s e i s ba s e d on ci rcu m st an t i al ev i d en ce, ‘ reaso n ab l e i n feren ces, an d n o tm ere sp ecu l at i o n , m u st s u p p o r t th e ju ry ’s v e r d ic t.’” I d . ( in te rn a l c ita tio n s o m itte d ) . I I . DI S C US S I ON A . W ai ve r of Si xth A m endm ent

R i gh t to C ou nsel A lth o u g h th e S ix th A m e n d m e n t a f f o r d s c r im in a l d e f

e n d a n ts th e r ig h t to de f e nd the m s e l ve s , “ i n m os tc r i m i na l pr os e c ut i ons de f e nda nt s [ c a n] be tt e rde f e nd w i th cou nsel ’ s gui dance than b y thei r ow n u nski l l ed ef fort s. ” F ar ett a v. C al i forni a, 4 2 2 U .S . 8 0 6 , 8 3 2 - 3 4 , 9 5 S . C t. 2 5 2 5 , 2 5 3 9 - 4 0 ( 1 9 7 5 ) . B e f o r e ad e f e n d a n t is a l l ow e d t o w a i ve hi s S i xth A m e ndm e ntr i ghtt o c ouns e l , he “ s houl d be m a de aw ar e of the dang er s and di sa dv ant ages of se l f- re pres ent at i on , so thatthe re cord w i l l es t abl i sh thathe kn ow s w hathe i s doi ng and h i s c ho i ce i s m ade w i th eye s ope n. ” I d. a t835, 95 S . C t . a t2541. A pr e tr i a l he a r i ng i s the i de a l m e thod f or “a s s u r in g th a t ad e f

e n d a n t u n d e r s ta n d s th e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f aw a iv e r .” K im b a ll, 2 9 1 F .3 d a t 7 3 0 . T h e f

a c to r s r e le v a n t to th e in q u iry o f w h e th e rad e f

e n d a n t s h o u ld b e a llo w e d to r e p r e s e n t h im s e lf a t tr ia l in c lu d e :4

1 ) th e d ef

en d an t’ s a g e, h ea lth , an d ed u ca ti o n ; 2 ) th e d ef en d an t’ s c ont a c tw i th l a w y e r s pr i ort o tr i a l ; 3) the de f e nda nt ’ s know l e dge of the na tur e of

the c ha r ge s a nd pos s i bl e de f e ns e s a nd pe na l t i e s ; 4) the de f e nda nt ’ s unde r s t a ndi ng of the rul e s of

e vi de nc e , pr oc e dur e a nd co u rtro o m d eco ru m ; 5 ) th e d efen d an t ’ s ex p eri en ce i n cri m i n al tri al s; 6 ) w h e th e rs ta n db y c o u n s e l w a s ap p o in te d a n d , if s o , th e e x te n t to w hi c h s t a ndby c ouns e l a i de d i n the tr i a l ; 7) a ny m i s tr e a tm e ntor coer ci on of the defendant ; and 8 ) w hether the defendantw as a tte m p tin g to m a n ip u la te th e tr ia l. I d. a t730- 31. D u r in g aF a r e ttain q u iry , ad is tr ic t c o u r t is n o t r e q u ir e d to “e s tim a te w h a t a d e f e n d a n t’s a c tu a l p u n is h m e n t u n d e rth e s e n te n c in g g u id e lin e s w ill b e ,” b u t s h o u ld “e n s u r e th a t ad e f

e n d a n t u n d e r s ta n d s th e r is k s o f d e f e n d in g h im s e lf

. . . [ a n d ] th is pu rpose i s s at i sf

i ed w hen a defendanti s aw ar e of the m axi m um penal ty he f ac es . ” I d. a t732. F i na l l y , the “ purpos e of aF a r e tt ai nqui ry i s nott o de t e rm i ne the e xt e nt of a def endant ’ s l egal kn ow l edge or t o d et erm i ne ho w go od of a tri al advo ca t e a de f e nda ntw i l l be . ” I d. a t731. I ns t e a d, ade t e rm i na t i on m us tbe m a de about

“ w he the r[ the de f

e nda nt ] unde r s t ood tha trul e s do e xi s tt o gove rn the pr oc e dur e of atr i a l , the i ntr oduc t i on of e vi de nc e a nd the be ha vi orof a dvoc a t e s a nd t o de t e rm i ne w h e th e r[ th e d e f

e n d a n t] u n d e r s to o d th a t h e w o u ld b e b o u n d b y th o s e ru le s .” I d . I n thi s c a s e , L i ghtw a s 31 y e a r s ol d, ha d ne ve rbe e n tr e a t e d f ora l c ohol or drug abus e orf

orm e nt a l i l l ne s s , pos s e s s e d aG E D , a nd c om pl e t e d tw o y e a r s of unde r gr a dua t e pa r a l e ga l s tudi e s . L i ghtm e tw i th an a tt orne y pr i ort o the he a r i ng5

a nd turne d dow n the m a gi s tr a t e ’ s of f e rt o c ons ul tw i th a nothe ra tt orne y about se l f- re pres ent at i on . A l tho ug h L i gh tkn ew l i tt l e abo utthe subst ance of the F eder al R ul es of C ri m i nal P roce du re or the F eder al R ul es of E vi dence, he un ders t oo d that the rul e s e xi s t e d a nd tha tthe y w oul d gove rn hi s tr i a l . L i ghtw a s i nf orm e d of the m a xi m um pe na l ty he f

a c e d i f c onvi c t e d, a nd w a s , the r e f or e , a w a r e of

the r i s ks of de f e ndi ng hi m s e l f

. L i ghtha d e xpe r i e nc e i n c r i m i na l tr i a l s be c aus e he r e c e nt l y a nd succ es sf ul l y def ended h i m se l f i n tw o j ury tri al s. A st andb y a tt orney w as appo i nt ed f orL i ght , w a s a va i l abl e f orc ons ul t a t i on dur i ng tr i a l , a nd m a de a r gum e nt s on L i gh t ’ s behal f duri ng the se nt enci ng ph as e. T here i s no evi dence thatL i gh tw as a tt e m pt i ng t o m a ni pul a t e the tr i a l ortha tthe r e w a s a ny m i s tr e a tm e ntorc oe r c i on of L i ght . A r e vi e w of

the r e c or d, the r e f

or e , e s t abl i s he s tha tL i ghtw a s a w a r e of the d a n g e r s a n d d is a d v a n ta g e s o f s e lf - r e p r e s e n ta tio n a n d th a t h is c h o ic e w a s m a d e w ith hi s e y e s ope n. A c c or di ngl y , i n l i ghtof a l l of the f a c t or s , the di s tr i c tc our tdi d not err i n i t s c on cl usi on thatL i gh tw ai ved h i s S i xth A m endm entri gh tt o cou nsel k n o w i n g l y, v o l u n t ari l y, an d i n t el l i g en t l y. B . Su f f i ci encyof

the E vi dence T h e s e c o n d is s u e o n ap p e a l is w h e th e rth e r e w a s s u f f ic ie n t e v id e n c e to supp ortL i gh t ’ s c on vi ct i on . L i gh tar gu es thatthe evi dence i ntrodu ce d attri al w as i ns uf f i c i e ntbe c aus e the G ove rnm e nt ’ s c a s e a ga i ns thi m c e nt e r e d l a r ge l y on the6

te s tim o n y o f

M c D o n a ld , aG o v e rn m e n t in f o rm a n t w h o s e te s tim o n y L ig h t s a y s is no tcr edi bl e. I n or de rt o s us t a i n ac onvi c t i on f orpos s e s s i on w i th i nt e ntt o di s tr i but e , the G o v e rn m e n t m u s t s h o w ( 1 ) k n o w in g p o s s e s s io n , a n d ( 2 ) a n in te n t to d is tr ib u te . U n ite d S ta te s v . P e r e z - T o s ta , 3 6 F .3 d 1 5 5 2 , 1 5 5 9 ( 1 1 th C ir . 1 9 9 4 ) . I n te n t to di s tr i but e m a y be i nf

e rr e d f r om the qua nt i ty of

drugs . I d. T o s uppor tac onvi c t i on ba s e d on pos s e s s i on w i th i nt e ntt o di s tr i but e ac ontr ol l e d s ubs t a nc e , the G ove rnm e ntdoe s notha ve t o s how tha tthe de f e nda ntha d know l e dge of the pa r t i c ul a rdrug i nvol ve d orthe qua nt i ty of drug i nvol ve d, butm us tpr ove tha tthe de f e nda ntw a s a w a r e tha tac ontr ol l e d s ubs t a nc e w a s i nvol ve d. U ni t e d S t a t e s v. G o m e z , 9 0 5 F .2 d 1 5 1 3 , 1 5 1 4 ( 1 1 th C ir . 1 9 9 0 ) . D e t e rm i na t i ons r e ga r di ng w i tne s s c r e di bi l i ty a r e w i thi n the e xc l us i ve p r o v in c e o f

th e ju ry a n d m a y n o t b e r e v is ite d u n le s s aw itn e s s ’s te s tim o n y is

“ i nc r e di bl e a s am a tt e rof l a w . ” U ni t e d S t a t e s v. C a l de r on, 127 F . 3d 1314, 1325 ( 11th C i r . 1997) . T e s t i m ony i s i nc r e di bl e a s am a tt e rof l a w i f i ti s “ unbe l i e vabl e on its f a c e ,” o rin c lu d e s “f

a c ts th a t [ th e w itn e s s ] p h y s ic a lly c o u ld n o t h a v e p o s s ib ly o b s e rv e d o re v e n ts th a t c o u ld n o t h a v e o c c u rr e d u n d e rth e la w s o f n a tu r e .” I d . M c D ona l d’ s t e s t i m ony w a s noti nc r e di bl e a s am a tt e rof l a w . H i s t e s t i m ony r e l a t e d t o m a tt e r s tha the phy s i c a l l y obs e rve d, a nd the j ury w a s a w a r e of7

M c D ona l d’ s c r i m i na l hi s t ory a nd hi s m ot i va t i on f orc oope r a t i ng w i th the G o v ern m en t . T h e j u ry w as fu l l y en t i t l ed t o cred i tM cD o n al d ’ s t est i m o n y i f i tso c hos e . M or e ove r , the t e s t i m ony f r om the P l a ntC i ty P ol i c e D e t e c t i ve a nd the G o v ern m en t ’ s o th er ev i d en ce, i n cl u d i n g au d i o an d v i d eo su rv ei l l an ce t ap es, bol s t e r e d M c D ona l d’ s t e s t i m ony . M c D ona l d t e s t i f i e d tha ta f

t e rs pe a ki ng t o L i ght on the t e l e phone , he a rr a nge d t o m e e tL i ghta thi s hous e . B oth M c D ona l d a nd the D e t e c t i ve t e s t i f

i e d tha tM c D ona l d a nd hi s ve hi c l e w e r e s e a r c he d pr i ort o the e nc ount e ra nd tha tthe r e w e r e no drugs f ound. T he vi de o s how e d tha tL i ght arri ved as s chedul ed, drop ped som ethi ng on the fl oo r of the po rc h and exchanged s o m e th in g w ith M c D o n a ld , w h ic h M c D o n a ld te s tif ie d w a s th e m o n e y g iv e n to h im by the D e t e c t i ve . A l though notc om pl e t e l y c l e a r , the audi o t ape of the tr a ns a c t i on c orr obor a t e d M c D ona l d’ s t e s t i m ony tha the a nd L i ghtdi s c us s e d the qua nt i ty a nd qua l i ty of

the c r a c k c oc a i ne . A f

t e rthe tr a ns a c t i on, M c D ona l d pr e s e nt e d the drugs to th e D e te c tiv e a n d w a s s e a r c h e d a g a in , b u t n o m o n e y w a s f o u n d e ith e ro n h is pe r s on ori n hi s ve hi c l e . T hus , w e de t e rm i ne tha t , t a ki ng the e vi de nc e i n the l i ght m ostfa vo rabl e t o the G ov ernm ent , i tw as no tun re as on abl e f or the j ury t o fi nd that M c D o n a ld ’s te s tim o n y w a s c r e d ib le b e c au s e it w a s n o t u n b e lie v ab le o n its f a c e , it w a s c orr obor a t e d by othe re vi de nc e , a nd i the l pe d t o e s t abl i s h the e l e m e nt s of the c r im e c h a r g e d . A c c o r d in g ly , th e G o v e rn m e n t in tr o d u c e d e v id e n c e s u f f ic ie n t to8

prov e bey on d a re as on abl e dou btthatL i gh tkn ew he po ss es se d a control l ed s u b s ta n c e a n d th a t h e in te n d e d to d is tr ib u te it. I I I . C ON C L US I ON A f t e rc a r e f ul l y c ons i de r i ng the r e c or d a nd the pa r t i e s ’ br i e f s , w e f i nd no re vers i bl e e rr or. F or the re as on s s t at ed abov e, L i gh t ’ s c on vi ct i on and sent ence ar e a f f i rm e d. AF F I RME D.