Source: https://openjurist.org/136/f3d/1414
Timestamp: 2017-11-21 02:57:55
Document Index: 722445230

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 290', '§ 290', '§ 2', '§ 3559', '§ 3559', '§ 2113', '§ 3559', '§ 851', '§ 851', '§ 851', '§ 3559', '§ 3559', '§ 111', '§ 924']

136 F. 3d 1414 - United States v. Oberle
136 F3d 1414 United States v. Oberle
136 F.3d 1414
Frank Anthony OBERLE, Defendant-Appellant.
This statement is quite equivocal. Although it could be read as the government suggests, it is not a clear admission of guilt of the charged bank robbery. Because a natural reading of the statement is not particularly inculpatory on the crime charged and because the statement effectively informs the jury that Oberle has been in prison previously, it may have been an abuse of discretion to conclude that the statement's probative value outweighed its prejudice, as required by the Rule 404(b) analysis. However, even if the court erred in allowing the statement, such error does not require reversal in light of the substantial evidence against Oberle and the limiting instruction given to the jury in the final jury instructions. See United States v. Birch, 39 F.3d 1089, 1094-95 (10th Cir.1994) (harmless error where record "reveals substantial evidence of defendant's guilt"); see also United States v. Olivo, 80 F.3d 1466, 1469 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 265, 136 L.Ed.2d 189 (1996) (error would be harmless where considerable evidence linked defendant to crime and court "cautioned the jury" about the limited purpose of the evidence). Further, the jury was made aware of Oberle's prior history of robbing banks through the admission of his "MO" statement, and, as discussed below, the admission of that statement was not erroneous. Consequently, we do not believe that the statement had a "substantial influence" on the outcome of the case. See United States v. Flanagan, 34 F.3d 949, 955 (10th Cir.1994).
2. Statement about Oberle's MO
Over Oberle's objection, the district court admitted the FBI agent's testimony that Oberle acknowledged to him that "the robberies were his MO." Oberle argues the statement was "unadulterated propensity evidence" that "was relevant for no proper purpose." Where a district court fails to "precisely articulate the purpose of this evidence under Rule 404(b), this is subject to a harmless error analysis." United States v. Kimball, 73 F.3d 269, 272 (10th Cir.1995). The error is harmless "if the purpose for admitting the evidence is apparent from the record and its admission is proper." Id.
At least one proper Rule 404(b) purpose for admitting the statement is apparent from the record, as it helps establish the identity of the bank robber. Information that Oberle had committed bank robberies in a similar manner was relevant in this case, where the main issue was the identity of the robber. See United States v. Morgan, 936 F.2d 1561, 1572 (10th Cir.1991); United States v. Porter, 881 F.2d 878, 887 (10th Cir.1989). Although the statement was prejudicial, its probative value outweighed the prejudice, and the district court gave an instruction regarding the limited purposes for which evidence of other acts may be considered. Consequently, the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the statement to be admitted.
B. Refusal to Admit Evidence
Oberle challenges the district court's quashing of two subpoenas, one to the clinic that treated Gary's heroin addiction and the other to Oberle's probation officer. Generally we review a district court's decision to exclude evidence for an abuse of discretion, see United States v. Patterson, 20 F.3d 809, 812 (10th Cir.1994), but the question of whether to admit confidential records of substance abuse treatment is a mixed question of law and fact to be reviewed de novo, see United States v. Corona, 849 F.2d 562, 565 (11th Cir.1988).
1. Drug Treatment Records
42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2(a) (1992) requires that drug treatment records in programs receiving federal funds be kept confidential. Disclosure is permitted, however, "[i]f authorized by an appropriate order of a court of competent jurisdiction granted after application showing good cause therefor, including the need to avert a substantial risk of death or serious bodily harm." 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2(b)(2)(C) (1992). "In assessing good cause the court shall weigh the public interest and the need for disclosure against the injury to the patient, to the physician-patient relationship, and to the treatment services." Id.; see also 42 C.F.R. § 2.64(d) (1997) (to find good cause, there must be no other adequate way of obtaining the information, and the public interest and the need for disclosure must outweigh the potential injury to the patient, the physician-patient relationship, and the treatment services). Oberle argues that he established good cause for disclosing Gary's records because there was no alternative means of acquiring the information; the public interest and need for disclosure, in the form of assuring a fair trial to a criminal defendant, outweighed injury to Gary; and there was no harm to Gary's relationship with clinic staff or to the course of his treatment because he had already left the program.
At least two circuit courts have acknowledged that a defendant may subpoena a probation officer. See United States v. Lanterman, 76 F.3d 158, 161 (7th Cir.1996); United States v. $2,500 in United States Currency, 689 F.2d 10, 16 (2d Cir.1982). We agree with the Second Circuit that a defendant seeking to subpoena a probation officer must show a special need for the testimony. See $2,500 in United States Currency, 689 F.2d at 16 ("Absent some showing of special need by [defendant], we see no reason to breach the confidentiality of the Probation Department's post-sentencing supervisory reports.").
United States v. Ivy, 83 F.3d 1266, 1288 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 253, 136 L.Ed.2d 180 (1996) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Defense counsel objected to only one of the challenged comments, one in which the prosecutor stated that Oberle tried to get Jensen a "Fifth Amendment plea arrangement, showing some wherewithal, some knowledge of the criminal system, I would say." This comment is reviewed de novo. See Ivy, 83 F.3d at 1288. Because defense counsel did not object to the remaining comments, we review them for plain error. See United States v. Sands, 968 F.2d 1058, 1063 (10th Cir.1992). Under a plain error analysis, "reversal is appropriate only if, after reviewing the entire record, we conclude that the error is obvious and one that would undermine the fairness of the trial and result in a miscarriage of justice." Id. (citing Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b) and United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 16, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 1046-47, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985)). "When evaluating allegedly inappropriate remarks of counsel for plain error, we must view the remarks in the context of the entire trial." Id. at 1063-64 (citing Young, 470 U.S. at 11-12, 105 S.Ct. at 1044-45).
The government argues that it merely highlighted admissible evidence for proper purposes--to show Oberle's knowledge, control and consciousness of guilt--and to rebut the defense's argument that Gary was the bank robber. The transcript reveals, however, that in making these arguments the prosecutor exceeded the boundaries of commenting upon the evidence. She moved from arguing that the evidence showed Oberle was in control of the operation (a permissible inference) to arguing that he was a "pro" who "had been around the block" and who showed "some knowledge" of the criminal system. This is more akin to arguing propensity than it is focusing the jury's attention on the evidence, and it was improper to the extent that it suggested that the jury could make its decision based partly on the fact that Oberle had committed other bank robberies or was experienced with the criminal justice system. See United States v. Pena, 930 F.2d 1486, 1490-91 (10th Cir.1991).
The ultimate question, however, is whether Oberle was deprived of a fair trial. See id. at 1491. "[W]e will not overturn a conviction on account of improper argument by the prosecutor unless the prosecutor's misconduct was enough to influence the jury to render a conviction on grounds beyond the admissible evidence presented." Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). "In assessing whether the misconduct had such an impact, we consider the trial as a whole, including the curative acts of the district court, the extent of the misconduct, and the role of the misconduct within the case." United States v. Ramirez, 63 F.3d 937, 944 (10th Cir.1995) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Thus, factors relevant to determining whether the improper commentary affected the fairness of the trial include whether the instance was singular and isolated, whether the district court instructed the jury that the attorneys' argument was not evidence, and whether there was substantial evidence of the defendant's guilt. See Ivy, 83 F.3d at 1288; Ramirez, 63 F.3d at 944; Pena, 930 F.2d at 1491. "When evaluating errors claimed by appellate counsel which were not raised by trial counsel, we must be cautious of a tendency to seize upon errors which, removed from context, take on an aspect of seriousness which they never had below." Sands, 968 F.2d at 1064 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
Our conclusion is buttressed by the fact that we must review the majority of the comments for plain error. "[T]he plain-error exception to the contemporaneous-objection rule is to be 'used sparingly, solely in those circumstances in which a miscarriage of justice would otherwise result.' " Young, 470 U.S. at 15, 105 S.Ct. at 1046 (quoting United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 163 n. 14, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 1592 n. 14, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982)). Though the statements were improper, this is not such an egregious case as to warrant reversal, particularly considering the trial as a whole and the force of the evidence against Oberle. See, e.g., United States v. Nichols, 21 F.3d 1016, 1019 (10th Cir.1994); Sands, 968 F.2d at 1064.
We review the adequacy of jury instructions de novo, examining the challenged instruction in light of the instructions as a whole. See United States v. Russell, 109 F.3d 1503, 1513 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 2525, 138 L.Ed.2d 1026 (1997).
Oberle first suggests that during trial the government proceeded on the theory that he was the principal bank robber and that to give an aiding and abetting instruction at the conclusion of the evidence impermissibly changed the focus of the case. In United States v. Cueto, 628 F.2d 1273, 1275 (10th Cir.1980), however, this court held that "[e]ven though the Government's theory of the case was that [defendant], and not [accomplice], was the one who actually robbed the bank, it was nevertheless, under the circumstances, quite proper to give the jury an instruction on aiding and abetting." Oberle seeks to distinguish Cueto by arguing that the evidence here, unlike in Cueto, does not support an inference that he aided and abetted the robbery. Cueto, however, is almost identical to this case factually. There, the court noted that even if the jury did not believe that Cueto was the bank robber, the testimony of the getaway car driver established Cueto's preparations for the robbery, which would support his conviction as an aider or abettor. See id. Here, Jensen testified about Oberle's preparations for the robbery. Taken in the light most favorable to the government, this evidence is sufficient for conviction and could support an alternative aiding and abetting charge. See United States v. Scroger, 98 F.3d 1256, 1262 (10th Cir.1996) ("[Defendant] knew, or should have known, that when more than one person is involved in a criminal act, the district court may properly submit an aiding and abetting instruction to the jury, even though it was not charged in the indictment ...."), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1324, 137 L.Ed.2d 485 (1997). The district court did not err in giving the aiding and abetting instruction.
Oberle also argues that the district court should have given his requested instruction that mere association with the robbers did not constitute aiding and abetting and that he had to have the intent to participate in the robbery. The instruction tendered to the jury, however, included those concepts, and thus the district court did not err. See United States v. McKneely, 69 F.3d 1067, 1077-78 (10th Cir.1995).
E. Combination of errors
Oberle argues that he was prejudiced by the combination of errors that allegedly infected his trial. "The cumulative effect of two or more individually harmless errors has the potential to prejudice a defendant to the same extent as a single reversible error." United States v. Rivera, 900 F.2d 1462, 1469 (10th Cir.1990) (en banc). "A cumulative-error analysis merely aggregates all the errors that individually have been found to be harmless, and therefore not reversible, and it analyzes whether their cumulative effect on the outcome of the trial is such that collectively they can no longer be determined to be harmless." Id. at 1470. The analysis, however, "should evaluate only the effect of matters determined to be error, not the cumulative effect of non-errors." Id. at 1471.
F. "Three Strikes" Statute
The district court found Oberle subject to mandatory life imprisonment pursuant to the "Three Strikes" enhanced sentencing statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c) (1994). Oberle argues that the district court improperly sentenced him under section 3559(c) because it did not conduct a hearing on his prior record. Instead, the district court found that Oberle had committed four prior violent felonies (two previous Albuquerque bank robberies and two Ohio aggravated robberies) based solely on the certified copies of conviction. We review questions of statutory construction de novo. See United States v. Diaz, 989 F.2d 391, 392 (10th Cir.1993).
18 U.S.C. § 3559(c)(1) provides that a person convicted of a third serious violent felony or serious drug offense shall be sentenced to life imprisonment. The term "serious violent felony" generally includes robbery under 18 U.S.C. § 2113. See 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c)(2)(F) (1994).
Section 3559(c)(4) explicitly incorporates the provisions of 21 U.S.C. § 851(a) (part of the Controlled Substances Act), which requires the government to inform the court and the defendant of the convictions on which it intends to rely in seeking a sentencing enhancement. Oberle argues that the provisions of 21 U.S.C. § 851(b) and 21 U.S.C. § 851(c), which require the court to conduct an evidentiary hearing if the defendant denies the convictions and require the government to prove the prior convictions beyond a reasonable doubt, should likewise apply to proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c). See United States v. Kennedy, 952 F.Supp. 5, 8 n. 2 (D.D.C.1997) (acknowledging that the safeguards provided by sections 851(b) and 851(c) may apply under 18 U.S.C. § 3559), remanded, 133 F.3d 53, 1998 WL 11780 (D.C.Cir. Jan.16, 1998). Oberle seeks support from the fact that section 3559(c)(3)(A) allows a defendant to escape the sentencing enhancement by proving with clear and convincing evidence that a prior robbery did not involve a firearm or dangerous weapon and did not result in bodily injury, and hence does not satisfy the definition of a "serious violent felony." This subsection would be meaningless, he contends, if the defendant has no right to a hearing.
The fact that the defendant does not concede the existence or seriousness of former convictions does not automatically require a separate section 3559 hearing. Rather, it is only when a defendant tenders evidence to deny the seriousness of the former convictions or to deny that the prior convictions pertained to him or her that the district court must conduct a hearing. Here, at his sentencing hearing Oberle tendered neither his own testimony nor any other evidence that the prior convictions were not his or that they did not satisfy section 3559(c)(3)'s definition of "serious violent felony." All that he did was to put the government to its proof. The district court was not required to conduct a separate section 3559 hearing under these circumstances given the evidence that the government did offer.
Oberle argues that under section 3559(c) the government should have to prove his prior convictions beyond a reasonable doubt. Section 3559(c), however, is a sentencing enhancement statute. See United States v. Wicks, 132 F.3d 383, 385 (7th Cir.1997); cf. Segien, 114 F.3d at 1018-20 (differing between an element of the offense and a sentencing enhancement). The government's burden of proof at sentencing generally does not reach the level of "beyond a reasonable doubt." See Segien, 114 F.3d at 1019-20; see also McMillan v. Pennsylvania, 477 U.S. 79, 91-92, 106 S.Ct. 2411, 2418-19, 91 L.Ed.2d 67 (1986) (preponderance standard usually satisfies the Due Process Clause at sentencing). In fact, we have declined to impose a "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard in cases involving other sentencing enhancements. See Segien, 114 F.3d at 1020 (18 U.S.C. § 111(b)); United States v. McMahon, 91 F.3d 1394, 1397 (10th Cir.) (Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 533, 136 L.Ed.2d 418 (1996). We also decline to impose a "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard in this section 3559(c) case.
During opening statement, the prosecutor stated that Jensen would testify about "his association with Frank Oberle and the tricks of the trade that he learned from Frank Oberle. And he will tell you that Frank Oberle is a seasoned bank robber." During closing argument, she stated, "Who is in command? Who is in control? Who is the pro?"; "Who is showing ownership and control of the money? Who is in command? Who is the pro?"; that Oberle tried to get Jensen a "Fifth Amendment plea arrangement, showing some wherewithal, some knowledge of the criminal system, I would say."; "[Jensen] gave you details about things about which, you know, he wouldn't know unless he was dealing with a pro."; "And the Fifth Amendment, isn't he a pro? Telling Chris how to get a lawyer, what to plead."; and "This man has been around the block. This man is in control. This man feels cocky." Oberle also complains that the prosecutor stated that Gary was not the sort of man to commit bank robbery, implying that Oberle was the sort of man who would