Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/476/791/551449/
Timestamp: 2020-07-04 08:47:30
Document Index: 186806720

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 1291', '§ 952', '§ 841', '§ 844', '§ 841', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553']

United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Marcos Alonzo Hernandez, Defendant-appellant, 476 F.3d 791 (9th Cir. 2007) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Ninth Circuit › 2007 › United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Marcos Alonzo Hernandez, Defendant-appellant
United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Marcos Alonzo Hernandez, Defendant-appellant, 476 F.3d 791 (9th Cir. 2007)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 476 F.3d 791 (9th Cir. 2007)
Argued and Submitted October 17, 2006
[476 F.3d 794] 794
Petitioner Marcos Alonzo Hernandez ("Hernandez") appeals his convictions for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and for importation of more than fifty grams of methamphetamine. Hernandez argues that his convictions must be reversed because the district court admitted testimony commenting on his silence during custodial interrogation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment, and because the district court erroneously denied his request for a jury instruction on the lesser included offense of simple possession. Hernandez also contends that his sentence should be vacated because either the mandatory language of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) renders the safety valve provision invalid after United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S. Ct. 738, 160 L. Ed. 2d 621 (2005), or because § 3553(f)'s requirements are advisory after Booker, and the district court should have applied it in sentencing Hernandez. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the district court.
[476 F.3d 795] 795
Hernandez was charged with one count of importation of approximately 115 grams of actual methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960, and one count of possession of 115 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) (1). During trial, in the government's case-in-chief, CBP officer Carlas testified that after he pulled the package from Hernandez's front left pants pocket and asked him "what is this?" Hernandez did not respond; and that CBP officer Bisa then asked Hernandez if it was meth. Defense counsel objected to this testimony. Outside the presence of the jury, the district court found that at the time of the secondary inspection Hernandez was "detained and he couldn't leave," and Carlas's question, "what is this?," and Hernandez's subsequent silence were admissible, but that the government could not use Bisa's question, "is it meth?", or Hernandez's response, "yes" in its case-in-chief.
We first address Hernandez's claim that the district court erroneously admitted testimony at trial commenting on his silence during custodial interrogation, in [476 F.3d 796] 796 violation of the Fifth Amendment. We review whether there has been a violation of a defendant's Fifth Amendment rights de novo. See United States v. Beckman, 298 F.3d 788, 795 (9th Cir. 2002) (reviewing comments on defendant's silence).
The right to remain silent is founded in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides that " [n]o person . . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." U.S. Const. amend. V; see also United States v. Velarde-Gomez, 269 F.3d 1023, 1029 (9th Cir. 2001) (en banc) (stating that Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966), warnings are "a prophylactic means of safeguarding Fifth Amendment rights" and that an "individual has a right to remain silent in the face of [custodial] government questioning, regardless of whether the Miranda warnings are given" (internal quotation marks omitted)). This right to remain silent carries an implicit "assurance that silence will carry no penalty." Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 618, 96 S. Ct. 2240, 49 L. Ed. 2d 91 (1976). The government may use a defendant's post-arrest, pre-Miranda silence for impeachment, but it may not do so "in its case-in-chief." Velarde-Gomez, 269 F.3d at 1029 n. 1, 1033.
Generally, a suspect's Miranda rights are triggered during custodial interrogation. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S. Ct. 1602. Interrogation is "express questioning" by the police, or "any words or actions on the part of the police . . . that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect." Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-01, 100 S. Ct. 1682, 64 L. Ed. 2d 297 (1980) (footnote omitted). Officer Carlas testified that when he removed the opaque package from Hernandez's pants pocket he believed it contained drugs. When officer Carlas then asked, "what is this?", not only was this direct questioning, but based on officer Carlas's belief that he was holding drugs in his hand, he knew or should have known his question could reasonably lead to an incriminating response from Hernandez.
An individual is in custody if considering the circumstances surrounding an interrogation "a reasonable person . . . felt he or she was not at liberty to terminate the interrogation and leave." Thompson v. Keohane, 516 U.S. 99, 112, 116 S. Ct. 457, 133 L. Ed. 2d 383 (1995). Relevant circumstances to the custody analysis "include the language used by the officers, the physical characteristics of the place where the question occurs, the degree of pressure applied to detain the individual, the duration of the detention, and the extent to which the person was confronted with evidence of guilt." United States v. Butler, 249 F.3d 1094, 1099 (9th Cir. 2001). In this case, Hernandez was at a secondary customs inspection station between the United States and Mexico. He was surrounded by six CBP officers, ordered out of the car, ordered to place his hands on top of the vehicle and subjected to a pat-down. If he had tried to leave, he would have been stopped. The district court found that there was "no doubt [Hernandez] was detained and he couldn't leave." Considering the circumstances of the interrogation, we conclude that a reasonable person in Hernandez's position would not have felt free to terminate the inspection by the CBP officers and leave. Because Hernandez was under custodial interrogation [476 F.3d 797] 797 when he did not respond to officer Carlas's question, his Miranda rights were triggered, and the district court erred by admitting testimony relating to Hernandez's silence.
The government has the burden of proving this error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S. Ct. 824, 17 L. Ed. 2d 705 (1967) (placing the burden on "the beneficiary of [the] constitutional error"). "In the context of comments on silence, we consider three factors: ` [1] the extent of comments made by the witness, [2] whether an inference of guilt from silence was stressed to the jury, and [3] the extent of other evidence suggesting defendant's guilt.'" Velarde-Gomez, 269 F.3d at 1034-35 (alterations in original) (quoting United States v. Newman, 943 F.2d 1155, 1158 (9th Cir. 1991) (applying harmless error review)).
We review a district court's refusal to instruct on a lesser included offense using a two part test. First, "the defendant must prove that the offense on which instruction is sought is a lesser-included offense of that charged." United States v. Fejes, 232 F.3d 696, 703 (9th Cir. 2000) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). This is reviewed de novo. See United States v. Arnt, 474 F.3d 1159, 1163 (9th Cir. 2007). The government concedes that 21 U.S.C. § 844(a), simple possession [476 F.3d 798] 798 of methamphetamine, is a lesser included offense of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a), possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
Second, to warrant a lesser included offense instruction "the evidence at trial must be such that a jury could rationally find the defendant guilty of the lesser offense, yet acquit him of the greater." Schmuck v. United States, 489 U.S. 705, 716 n. 8, 109 S. Ct. 1443, 103 L. Ed. 2d 734 (1989) (citing Keeble v. United States, 412 U.S. 205, 208, 93 S. Ct. 1993, 36 L. Ed. 2d 844 (1973)). We review this step of the inquiry for abuse of discretion. See Fejes, 232 F.3d at 703.
We have previously stated that when "a defendant is charged with possession with intent to distribute, the district court may refuse to give an instruction on simple possession where there is a large quantity of a drug and other evidence tending to establish distribution." United States v. Vaandering, 50 F.3d 696, 703 (9th Cir. 1995). We do not require a lesser included instruction in such circumstances, because once a jury determines that a defendant possessed the drugs, "it could not rationally conclude that there was no intent to distribute." United States v. Powell, 932 F.2d 1337, 1342 (9th Cir. 1991) (refusing to require a lesser included offense instruction where the defendant had more than eleven pounds of cocaine hidden in a bag in his basement; various smaller amounts of cocaine located throughout his house; rinsed-kilogram bags, which had recently held cocaine; a portable electronic scale and triple beam balance; a currency counter; and $162,000 in cash) (citing United States v. Espinosa, 827 F.2d 604, 615 (9th Cir. 1987) (holding that a rational jury could only conclude there was an intent to distribute where the defendant possessed sixty-nine pounds of cocaine in an unfurnished apartment to which the defendant had keys)).
This rule is not applicable here because the government presented no evidence, other than the methamphetamine itself and expert testimony, to establish an intent to distribute. Drugs by themselves, in quantities that could rationally be thought by the jury to be for personal use, without other evidence of intent to distribute, are not enough to exclude a jury instruction on a lesser included offense. See Vaandering, 50 F.3d at 703-04; Powell, 932 F.2d at 1342. This case is governed by the standard announced in Schmuck: If a rational jury could find Hernandez guilty of the lesser offense, yet acquit him of the greater, then the district court abused its discretion by failing to give a lesser included jury instruction. See Schmuck, 489 U.S. at 716 n. 8, 109 S. Ct. 1443.
Certainly, there are cases in which no rational jury could find that the defendant possessed the drugs for any reason other than distribution, even though the only evidence presented at trial is the quantity, purity, and monetary value of the drugs.2
[476 F.3d 799] 799
At the opposite end are cases where the value and quantity of drugs possessed by the defendant are such that no reasonable jury could find an intent to distribute.3 Between these extremes, however, lies "the jury's province to determine whether the evidence demonstrates simple possession or possession with intent to distribute." United States v. Lucien, 61 F.3d 366, 376 (5th Cir. 1995).
It would not be irrational if a jury had concluded that Hernandez was returning from a buying trip to Mexico, and his intent was to stockpile his reserves of methamphetamine for personal use, rather than distribution. Additionally, there was no corroborating physical evidence. When Hernandez was arrested the drugs were not individually cut or packaged for sale; the government produced no evidence that [476 F.3d 800] 800 Hernandez had precursor chemicals, glassware, cutting agents, scales, firearms or weapons, or other typical items associated with drug trafficking. Even if it is more probable that a drug distribution was intended by Hernandez, we cannot say that a rational jury could not have concluded that Hernandez possessed the methamphetamine for personal use. The government did not show that the jury's only option on the evidence was to find intent to distribute beyond a reasonable doubt.
We note, moreover, that a district court may not weigh the evidence in determining whether to give a lesser included offense instruction. The standard announced by the Supreme Court is that regardless of the weight of the evidence, a defendant is entitled to a lesser included offense instruction if the evidence would allow a rational jury to convict him of the lesser offense and acquit him of the greater. See Keeble, 412 U.S. at 208, 93 S. Ct. 1993. That Hernandez did not affirmatively present evidence on his intention to use the drugs for personal use is not controlling. What matters is what a jury could have concluded from the evidence presented. Given that the only affirmative evidence the government presented was the methamphetamine itself and the expert testimony that the amount and purity indicated an aim for distribution, and there was no other physical evidence of drug trafficking, we conclude that a rational jury could have found that Hernandez possessed the methamphetamine for personal use. Because personal use of the drugs was a rational possibility, it was within the jury's province to determine that Hernandez was guilty of only simple possession.
Similarly, in United States v. Gibbs, 904 F.2d 52, 54-55, 59 (D.C. Cir. 1990), the District of Columbia Circuit held that it was reversible error for the trial judge not to give the lesser included offense instruction where five people were in possession of 15.5 grams of cocaine, $576 in cash, and several firearms with ammunition. The court stated that, "this [was] not a case in which the defendants were in possession of a quantity of drugs so large as to defy a [476 F.3d 801] 801 suggestion of personal use." Id. at 58. Because the government did not present any evidence, or expert testimony, that five adult men could not consume 15.5 grams of cocaine, the court declined to hold that 15.5 grams of cocaine was, per se, inconsistent with personal use. Id.
Like in Gibbs, here the government presented evidence on the quantity, but unlike in Gibbs, Hernandez was not found with any cash or firearms. Here, the government did not present evidence that Hernandez could not have consumed the methamphetamine personally. By declining to instruct the jury on simple possession based on Hernandez's possession, without more evidence of distribution, of 159 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine, the district court "effectively eliminate [d] the range of cases in which the jury determines what the evidence shows." Lucien, 61 F.3d at 377.
It is not clear whether failure to provide a lesser included jury instruction, in cases other than in the death penalty context, may be considered a constitutional error.5 If it is constitutional error, then it must be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1, 7, 119 S. Ct. 1827, 144 L. Ed. 2d 35 (1999). If it is not constitutional error, then we would apply a harmless error standard more deferential to the government, and less protective of the defendant, as set forth in Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 66 S. Ct. 1239, 90 L. Ed. 1557 (1946). Under Kotteakos, the error is reversible "if one cannot say, with fair assurance, . . . that the judgment was not substantially swayed by the error." Id. at 765, 66 S. Ct. 1239. That is, if the "error itself had substantial influence" on the judgment, then it is not harmless. Id. However, we need not decide today whether the failure to give a lesser included jury instruction is constitutional error. For even under the more lenient standard of Kotteakos, the district court's refusal to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of simple possession was not harmless.
[476 F.3d 802] 802
Hernandez presents two primary arguments why the district court's sentence should be vacated. First, Hernandez contends that because the sentencing guidelines are advisory after Booker, a district court has discretion as to how and when it determines § 3553(f) eligibility. Second, Hernandez argues that because § 3553(f) contains mandatory language, it is invalid after Booker.8 Hernandez's Booker-based challenges are foreclosed by recent Ninth Circuit opinions in United States v. Hernandez-Castro, 473 F.3d 1004, 1005-06 (9th Cir. 2007), where we held that § 3553(f) (1) was not "rendered advisory by Booker," and United States v. Cardenas-Juarez, 469 F.3d 1331, 1334-35 (9th Cir. 2006), where we held that despite [476 F.3d 803] 803 its mandatory language, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) survives Booker, and if triggered requires district courts to impose sentences according to the advisory Sentencing Guidelines. We follow our holdings in Hernandez-Castro and Cardenas-Juarez, and Hernandez's claims fail.
See United States v. Silla, 555 F.2d 703, 706-07 (9th Cir. 1977) (holding that no rational jury could conclude there was no intent to distribute where the defendants possessed 3,000 pounds of marijuana); see also United States v. Short, 805 F.2d 335, 336-37 (8th Cir. 1986) (holding that possession of the equivalent of 279 pounds of marijuana valued at $279,000 dollars justified the district court's refusal to provide a lesser included instruction); United States v. Echeverri-Jaramillo, 777 F.2d 933, 935-36 (4th Cir. 1985) (holding that possession of more than thirty-five pounds of cocaine valued at between $5 and $7 million ruled out a simple possession jury instruction); United States v. Henley, 502 F.2d 585, 586 (5th Cir. 1974) (per curiam) (holding that possession of more than seven tons of marijuana justified the district court's refusal to provide a simple possession instruction).
See Turner v. United States, 396 U.S. 398, 422-23, 90 S. Ct. 642, 24 L. Ed. 2d 610 (1970) (concluding that possession of 14.68 grams of cocaine mixed with sugar was insufficient to sustain a conviction for distribution, despite possession of heroin that "proved he was dealing in drugs"); United States v. Latham, 874 F.2d 852, 862-63 (1st Cir. 1989) (holding that "an inference of intent to distribute [was] not warranted from the possession of one ounce of cocaine").
See Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625, 637-38, 100 S. Ct. 2382, 65 L. Ed. 2d 392 (1980), (holding that due process was violated by the state's capital punishment statute that prevented the trial court from giving the jury the option of convicting on a lesser-included, non-capital offense, where there was sufficient evidence for such a jury instruction). But see Gilmore v. Taylor, 508 U.S. 333, 361-62, 113 S. Ct. 2112, 124 L. Ed. 2d 306 (1993) (Blackmun, J., dissenting) (suggesting Beck is limited to capital cases); Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624, 645-48, 111 S. Ct. 2491, 115 L. Ed. 2d 555 (1991) (same).
In § 3553(f), the word "shall" appears: "the court shall impose a sentence pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the United States Sentencing Commission." Id. (emphasis added).