## In the



# U n ited S ta tes Co urt o f Ap p ea ls

F o rth eS e v e n th C ir cu it
N o. 08

- 3603 U NI T ED S TATE SOF A MERI CA, P la intif f-A pp ellee, v. D AVI D S I MMONS, D ef endant-Appellant.

A pp eal from the United S t ates Di strictC our t fo r the C entral D istricto f Illino is. No . 07 C R 10128

—Mi ch ael M . M ihm, Judge .
A RGUED O CT OB ER 9, 2009

— D ECI DE D M AR CH 30, 2010

Befo re P OSNER, R OV NER, a nd W I L L I A MS, Circ uit Ju dg es . R OV NER, Cir cu i tJudg e . O n S e p t e mb e r 1 4 , 2 0 0 7, a b an k i n N or m al, I l l in ois , was robbed ofapproxi m ate l y $ 5, 862 by tw o gunm en. Davi d Si m m on s w as ar re ste d that day f orthe cri m e, and a j ury f ound him g u i l ty ofar m ed bank robber y under 18 U
. S. C. § 2 113( a) & ( d), and of usi ng o r car ry i ng a fi re ar m duri ng a cri m e ofvi ol ence i n vi ol ati on o f18 U
. S. C . § 92 4( c) ( 1) ( A )
. S i m m ons has appeal ed that convi cti on t o thi s co urt.2 N o. 08

- 3603 The robber y o fthe U
. S. Bank i n N or m alo ccurr ed shor tl y after noon. Tw o m en ar ri ved at the ban k arm ed wi thg uns . W hi l e o ne m an s to o d ne arthe do o r po i nt i ng a gun at the peopl e in the bank, the othe r approached the t el l erco unter and dem anded m oney . S urve i l l ance cam er as c ap tu re d the s cene, but both m en wore w hi te c ov er in gs ov er th eir fac es h in d er in g id en tific at ion . In addi ti o n, b oth men wo r e l i g ht

- co l o r ed g l o ve s, wi ththe re sul t that no u se ab l e fi nger pri nts were r eco ver ed fro m th e ba nk

. Af te r o bt aini nga ppr o xi m ately $ 5, 86 2 f r o m the te l l er s an d pl ac i ng i t i n a b ac k pac k, the men fl ed th e bank by f oo t. Both m en ra n toward nearby ra i l ro ad tr acks , pu rs ued by an em p loy ee of a loc al a u to sh op . T h e m e n ev en tu ally spl i t as the y a ppr o ac he d th e t r ac k s, wi tho ne he ading nor th i nto som e bushe s a nd the ot h er r unning into an area of trees by a w a ter utili ty bu il d ing. T he police w ere a l e r t e d t o th e l o c a t i o n a n d d e s c e n d e d o n the ar e a . An o ffi ce r s po tt ed a m an c rouc he d ne ars o m e tr ee s wea r i ng a bl ack shi rtand so m ethi ng w h ite o n hi s hea d. W hen spott ed, the m an r an bac k into th e tr ee s and f our detecti ves gave chase

. Eventual l y he ra n to w ar d South A del ai de Stre et w i th the detec ti ves i n pursui t. A pol i ce offi cerr espondi ng to the sce ne sa w a m an r unning a cro ss S o uth Adel ai de S tr ee t wea r i nga da r ks wea ts hi r t an d so m ethin gwhi te o n h i s he ad. He c i r cl ed a bui l di nga nd in te rc ep te d th e m an , w h o w as lat er id en tifie d as D av id S i m m o ns . They r ec o ve r ed a whi te t
- sh i r t sl ee ve a nd bl ac k ca p ne arby, an d f o und a l o ade d Gl o ck h an d g un i n the w oo ds. The o ffi cer s t est i fi ed that at the s tat i on th eyr ec o ve r ed a p ai r o fl i g ht

- co l o r ed UnderArmourN o. 08

- 3603 3 f o o tb a l l g l o v e s i n S i mm o ns ’ pa nt s po c k e t
. H e was wea r i nga l o ng - sl ee ve d b l ac kt
- sh i r t i ns i de o utwi ththe tag visible, w hich w as con sisten t w ith th e clothing w orn b y on e o f th e ro b b er s o n th e s u r ve illan c e t ap e. In a d d iti o n, he ha d the c ut
- o ffs l ee ve o fa whi te t
- sh i r t ar o und hi s nec k. A t t ri al, the gov er nm ent intro du ced the tes ti m oni es of fi ve eye w i tness es to the bank robber y, but none o f them wer e ab l e to iden ti fy S i m m o ns a s th e per pet r at o r o fthe c r i me. T he g o v er nme nta l s o i nt r o du c e d s t a t e men t s ma de by Sim m ons w hen he was i nter ro gat ed at the pol i ce sta ti on, w h ich co rr esponded w i th the kno w n detai l s o f the c ri m e. I n thos e s tat em ents, S im m ons adm i tte d that h e c a r r i ed th e G loc k fire ar m int o t h e b an k, th at h is ro le w as to sta y b y the doorto pro vi de cov erf ort he o ther bank robber, a nd thatthe othe r bank robberapproa ched the t el l er s a nd to l d them to put m oneyi n the bl ack back

pack he w as car ry i ng. S i m m ons then ac know l edged th a tthe y s ub s e qu e nt l y fl e d o n f o o t, tha th e h e a r d s o meone runni ng be hi nd them , and t h at t hey s pli t up once they re ached the ra i l ro ad tr acks . He furtherst ate d that he tho ught he had fo und a go od h id i ng pl ace, but once he saw the o ffi c e r a pp r o a c h i n hi s v e hi c l e , h e b e g an runni ng to w ar d h i s g ra nd m othe r’ s a partm ent, wh i ch wa s a b l o c kwe s to fwh e r e h e wa s a r r e s t e d. The go ver nm ent a l so in tr oduced test i m ony re l ati ng to th e g l o v e s a n d u l t i ma t e l y i n t r o du c e d th e g l o v e s th e msel ves i nto evi dence. I t i s that t estim ony and evi dence that f or m s the bas i s forS im m ons’ appeal

. Fi rs t, o ver defe nse c ounsel ’ s ob j ec ti on, the dist ri ct c ourtal l owed4 N o. 08

- 3603 D et ec tiv e M er ica to te st ify a s t o w h et h er th e g lov es in S i m m o ns ’ po ss es si o n at th e ti m e o fa r r es t wer e co ns i st en t w i th the gl ov es w or n by the r obbe rs i n the surve i l l ance pho to
. M er i ca ha d c o nduc te d the i nt er vi ew o fSi m m o ns at th e po l i ce st at i o n an d th er efo r e ha d vi ewe d fi r stha nd the g l ove s found in Sim m ons’ poss ess i on. N eve rthel ess , S i m m o ns a r g ue d tha t M er i ca ’ s te st i m o ny i nv ade d the provi nc e o fthe j ur y b y g i v i nga n o pi ni o n a s t o wh e ther g l o ve s o ffer ed as an ex hibi t wer e th e sa m e ty pe as in the bank photo. The di stric t c ourtal l owed i t a s l ay opi ni on tes ti m ony und erFe deralRule o fEvi dence 701 , wh i ch p rovide s for testim ony i n th e form of op inions or i nferences as a no n-e xpert i ftho se opin ions ori nfe re nces ar e “ ( a) r ati onal l y b ase d on the p er cepti on o fthe w i tness , (b ) h elp fu l to a cle ar u n d er st an d in g of t h e w i t n e ss ’ te st im ony orthe deter m i nati on o fa f act i n iss ue, and ( c) not b as ed on sc ien tific , tec h n ica l, or ot h er sp ec ializ ed kn ow led ge w ith in th e s c op e o f R u le 7 02 .” T he go ver nm ent l ate r m ove d to adm i t the gl ove s into e v i de nc e , wh i c h the di s t r i c tc o ur tu l t i mat e l y g r a nt e d. S i m m o ns c ha l l en g es tha t as wel l, a ss er tingtha t th e chai n of custo dy w as so defi ci ent that the gl ove s sh ou ld not have been adm i tte d. The go ver nm ent c oncedes th at th er e is a ga p in t h at ch ain of cu st od y. M er ica te st ifi ed that afterhi s interview ofS i m m ons, he a ske d Det ecti ve Under woo d t o c o l l ec t S i m m o ns ’ c l o th i ngi n the pape r b agUnder woo d w as c ar r y i ng, a nd t o b r i ng S i m m o ns ’ c l o th i ngb ac kfr o m the pr o ce ss ing at th e co unty j ai l

. Un d erw oo d t es ti fi ed th athe c o l l ec te d the cl othi ng as r equeste d, but di d not per sonal l y c ol l ect gl ov es fr om S i m m ons and did not pu t g l ove s in the bag.N o. 08

- 3603 5 U nd er w oo d fur therte sti fied thathe g ave the b ag to De t e c t i v e Ac un c i us . Ac un c i us t e s t i fi e d tha ts he r e c ei ved th e ba gfr o m U nd er woo d a nd pho to g r aph ed i ts c o ntents
. S he te sti fi ed that the b ag c ontai ned, am ong othe r i tem s, the U n der Arm our f oo tbal l gl ove s. S he co m pared the photog ra p h she had tak en o fthe gl ove s t o the g l ove s w hi ch the gov er nm ent sought to adm i t at tr i al, and note d that the glov es eve n had the s am e co ckl ebur on them th atwas a ppar en t i n the pho to g r aph

. Si m m ons ar gu es that the g l ove s s houl d not hav e be en adm i tte d into evi dence because ther e i s not evi de n c e as to w hetherthe gl ove s in the bag w er e the o nes obtained from Si m m ons du ring the inte rvie w . Th e d istri ct cou rt re cogni zed the gap i n the c h ain o fcusto dy, but adm i tte d th e ev i den ce . The c o ur t r eli ed on o urc as es i n U nited Sta tes v. Lee, 5 0 2 F
. 3 d 6 9 1 , 6 9 7( 7 th Ci r . 2 0 0 7 ) , a nd U nited S t at e s v . Wi l l i a ms , 44 F. 3d 614, 61 8 ( 7th Ci r. 19 95)
. I n thos e c a s e s , w e ma de c l e a r tha tg a ps i n the c ha i n o fc us t o dy go to th e w eig h t o f th e e vi d e n c e r a th er th an th e a d m iss ib ility w h er e t h er e is n o e vid en c e o f ta m p er in g. Id. S i mmo n s ’ c l a i ms — parti cul ar l y r ega rdi ng the chai n of c us t o dy

— ar e n otp ro m isin g for h im , bu t t h e a p p ea l fails f ora m or e g l ar i ng r eas on. W e nee d not e ven co nsi der w hetherthe dist ri ct c ourter re d i n adm i tting the gl ove s o r in all o wi ngt es ti m o ny a s to the s i m i l ar i tyt o the photos, bec ause an y pos sibl e e rr orwas harm l ess gi ven th e d efe n d an t’s ow n te st im on y i n t h e c as e. It is w elle s t a b l i s h e d th a te v i d e n t i a r y e r r o r s a r e s ub j e c tt o h a r ml ess er ro r i nquir y. U nited Sta tes v. C o o per, 591 F. 3d 582, 59 0 (7t h C ir. 20 10 ); U ni t e d S t at e s v. M cGowan , 590 F. 3d 446, 45 66 N o. 08

- 3603

n. 1 ( 7 th C i r . 2 0 0 9 )
. Ane r r o r i s h a r ml e s s i fth e r e v i ewi ng cour t i s co nvi nced that the j ury w oul d have con victe d ev en ab se n t th e e r r o r. Id. B ec au se Sim m on s’ o w n te st imon y e s t a b l i s he d tha th e po s s e s s e d g l o v e s whe n a r r e s t e d, an d tha t th o se g l o ve s wer e th e o ne s us ed i n the b an k robber y, t he al l ege d err or s co uld nothave affecte d the o utcom e. S i m m o ns maintained a t th e tr i altha t he was no t o ne of the p erson s w h o robbed the ba nk

. H e stated , how ever, th athe kne w w ho tho se i ndi vi dual s wer e be ca us e he re c eiv ed a p h on e c all fr om on e o f th em let tin g h im know w hat happene d . Sim m ons tes ti fi ed that they had b or ro w ed h is c ar ea rlier in t h e d ay an d th ey to ld h im th a tthe y t o o kh i s g l o v e s tha th e k e pti n the c a r . T hey to l d hi m tha t th eyus ed th o se g l o ve s i n the rob be r y, a nd th atthe y ha d l at erdi sc ar ded th e g lov es a l o ngwi ththe g un a n d wh i t e s h i r t
. S i mmo n s th e n t e s t i fi e d th a the d ec id ed t o re tr iev e t h e g lov es be c au se h e fe ar ed th at h is DN A w ou ld be i n the gl ove s a nd would draw him i nto the c ri m e. H e there f or e pr oce ed ed to the wooded are a wher e the y ha d s ta te d the g l o ve s wer e ab an do ne d a nd he r e c l a i me d th e g l o v e s , b u t s t a t e d th a t h e l e ft th e g un wher e i t ha d b ee n di sc ar ded. He declare d tha t th e po l i ce s po tt ed hi m a s he was t r y i ngt o flee th e ar ea, a nd th a th e r a n b e c a u s e h e kn e w wh o c o mmi t t e d th e c r i me but did n ot w ant t o tel l the pol i ce thei r nam es because h e w as p ro te c t i n g h is fa m ily. T h e p olic e c au gh t h im bef or e he re ached hi s g ra nd m othe r’ s ho use a nd ar re ste d h i m. Si m m ons thus tes ti fi ed that the gl ove s in hi s pos ses si on at the t i m e o fthe ar re st w er e in f act the g l ove s that hadN o. 08

- 3603 7 been used i n the robbery. H e c annot now co m pla i n that M er i ca ’ s te st i m o ny i m pr o per l yt i ed th o se g l o ve s to the ones i n the bank p h oto, gi ven that he has a dm i tte d at tr i altha t th e g l o ve s ar e i n f ac t the o ne s i n the b an k pho to
. Norwas the i r a dm i ss i o n i nt o e vi den ce po te nti al l y ha r m ful, given th athe ha s ac k no wl edg ed th atthe gl ove s which be l on ge d t o him and w er e in hi s pos ses si o n a t th e ti m e o fthe a r r es t wer e th e o ne s use d i n the bank robber y. S i m m ons ask ed the j ury to re sol ve not w he th er th e gloves w ere his, bu t w he th er th e y w ere used b y s o meo ne o the r tha n hi mse l fa tthe b a nka nd the n r e t r i e v e d b y h i m. T he t e s t i mon y b y Mer i c a a nd the a dm i ssi on o fthe gl ove s into evi dence di d not i m pact that d eterm in ation in an y w ay. B ecau se th e govern m en t’s evi dence chal l enged byS i m m ons m er el y s up port ed Si m m ons’ ow n theo ryo fthe case , thi s i s a s cl eara case ofhar m l ess er ro r as w e a re likely to s ee. The deci si on o f the di str i ct c ourti s A FFI RMED .

3- 30- 10