Source: https://openjurist.org/948/f2d/1449
Timestamp: 2018-02-22 07:11:59
Document Index: 49008606

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 371', '§ 2113', '§ 2', '§ 924', '§ 2', '§ 922', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 5035', '§ 4', '§ 2', '§ 2']

948 F2d 1449 United States v. Muhammad | OpenJurist
948 F. 2d 1449 - United States v. Muhammad
948 F2d 1449 United States v. Muhammad
948 F.2d 1449
Abdul-Aziz Rashid MUHAMMAD, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 90-5701.
On July 12, the government, in a four-count indictment, charged Muhammad with conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery and use of firearms during the commission of a felony in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) & (d) and 18 U.S.C. § 2(a) & (b); armed bank robbery by knowingly using and carrying firearms in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 2(a) & (b); and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2(a) & (b). He was arraigned on July 21, and trial was set for September 18. On September 11, the case was continued on motion from co-defendant Walton until October 30.
As a preliminary matter, Muhammad's reliance on the IADA is misplaced. It is clearly established that "the Interstate Agreement on Detainers does not apply to a person who is imprisoned awaiting disposition of pending charges and who has not been sentenced to a term of imprisonment." United States v. Roberts, 548 F.2d 665, 671 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 931, 97 S.Ct. 2636, 53 L.Ed.2d 246 (1977). In the instant case, the state charges against Muhammad were stayed pending the outcome of the federal proceedings, and he had not been sentenced by either sovereign. Therefore, the IADA does not apply.
We have found no case which directly addresses the narrow question presented here. Muhammad cites Rose v. United States, 365 F.Supp. 841 (N.D.Ill.1973) for the proposition that issuing a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum is the "correct way" of bringing a prisoner to trial from the custody of another jurisdiction. Further, in Carbo v. United States, 364 U.S. 611, 615, 81 S.Ct. 338, 340, 5 L.Ed.2d 329 (1961), the Supreme Court noted that "the writ ad prosequendum was necessary to remove a prisoner in order to prosecute him in the proper jurisdiction wherein the offense was committed." The question here, however, is whether the court's oral ruling ordering the writ to issue is sufficient to confer jurisdiction.
We find the better position is to treat the failure to issue the physical writ under a Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(a) harmless error analysis. In this case, Muhammad originally took the position that he was a federal prisoner who had been unlawfully taken from federal custody to state court to answer state charges. Later, he argued that he was a state prisoner all along, and that the federal government had no jurisdiction to prosecute him. Muhammad was present before the court on July 6, 1989, however, when the United States asked the court to issue a writ ad prosequendum to release Muhammad from state custody, as was his counsel. In response to the motion by the United States, the magistrate responded, "All right. Let the writ issue then." No objection was made at this time. Thus, Muhammad was notified that he was before the court in federal custody. The fact that the actual physical writ did not issue did not prejudice the defendant's prosecution in any way. His trial was not delayed in federal court, and his prosecution in Kentucky had been already stayed pending the outcome of the federal proceedings. Thus, as far as the defendant was concerned, he was properly before the federal court. We hold, therefore, that in this particular case the oral ruling of the court as to the issuance of the writ was sufficient to confer jurisdiction on the district court and any failure to issue the physical writ to the state of Kentucky authorities was harmless absent a showing of prejudice affecting substantial rights of the defendant.
Muhammad next contends that the admission of Officer's Snow's testimony as to a statement allegedly made by Muhammad regarding why he did not kill Officer Stanton was error because the statement was not disclosed to the defendant pursuant to his discovery request under Fed.R.Crim.P. 16. Rule 16 provides in relevant part:
(A) Statement of Defendant. Upon request of a defendant the government shall permit the defendant to inspect and copy ... the substance of any oral statement which the government intends to offer in evidence at trial made by the defendant whether before or after arrest in response to interrogation by any person then known to the defendant to be a government agent[.]
Fed.R.Crim.P. 16 (emphasis added). We review a district court's treatment of a failure to disclose a statement to the defendant under Fed.R.Crim.P. 16 for abuse of discretion. United States v. Glover, 846 F.2d 339, 342 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 982, 109 S.Ct. 533, 102 L.Ed.2d 565 (1988).
It is well-settled in this circuit that the appropriate sanction, if any, for a failure to comply with Rule 16 is left to the "sound discretion of the trial court." Glover, 846 F.2d at 342. In United States v. Bartle, 835 F.2d 646 (6th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 969, 108 S.Ct. 1245, 99 L.Ed.2d 443 (1988), the government failed to provide the defendant with highly probative evidence pursuant to a Rule 16 discovery request. The defendant objected to the admission of the evidence, but failed to request a recess or continuance. The district court allowed the evidence to be admitted and on appeal the defendant claimed the trial court abused its discretion. This court disagreed:
Muhammad also contends that the district court made several errors in calculating his sentence. We review de novo a district court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines whenever such application involves mixed questions of law and fact. United States v. Davis, 922 F.2d 1385, 1387 (9th Cir.1991). A district court's determinations as to questions of fact in connection with sentencing are reviewed under a clearly erroneous standard. Id. at 1387-88; see also United States v. Barrett, 890 F.2d 855, 867 (6th Cir.1989).
A. U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(3)
Muhammad first asserts that the district court erred by raising his base offense level two levels under U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(3). Section 2B3.1(b)(3) provides a schedule of adjustments to the base offense level for robbery when a victim sustains bodily injury:
Degree of Bodily Injury       Increase in Level
(A)  Bodily Injury                  add 2
(B)  Serious Bodily Injury          add 4
(C)  Permanent or                  add 6.
U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(3) (1991). The presentence report addresses this issue as follows:
20. Pursuant to 2B1.3(b)(3), if any victim sustained bodily injury, increase the offense level according to the seriousness of the injury. Pursuant to Subsection (A) of this offense characteristic, the police officer with which [Muhammad] struggled, received bodily injury. He was taken to the hospital and his shoulder was x-rayed as the result of a hyper-extension injury received during the struggle. The purpose of the x-ray was to determine if there had been any rotator cuff damage. Therefore, the offense level should be increased two levels.
Muhammad attacks this two level increase on two grounds. First he argues that Officer Stanton was not a "victim" under 2B3.1(b)(3). Second, he claims that Officer Stanton did not sustain injuries which would trigger the application of this enhancement.
Muhammad argues that the Officer Stanton was not a "victim" within the meaning of § 2B3.1(b)(3). Muhammad's argument essentially boils down to an assertion that the use of the term "victim" in § 2B3.1(b)(3) was meant to refer only to the victim of the crime of robbery, in this case the bank. He concedes, however, that such a notion of victim would have to include employees and customers present during the offense. This is true because it would make no sense to provide for an increase of two levels for "bodily injury" to the institution of the bank itself. Thus, Muhammad's distinction between the bank and its employees and customers, on the one hand, and Officer Stanton, on the other, is a temporal one. As Muhammad puts it, "The robbery was completed upon leaving the bank and carrying the monies that were not lawfully the property of the defendants." Appellant's Brief at 17.
We find that such a time constrained reading artificially circumscribes the crime of robbery and the meaning of victim for § 2B3.1(b)(3) purposes. As the crime of bank robbery cannot be completed without some form of flight or attempted flight, the crime is more naturally understood to include the act of fleeing and the immediate consequences of such flight. Thus, we find the language "any victim" in § 2B3.1(b)(3) was meant to include any employee, bystander, customer, or police officer who gets assaulted during the bank robbery or during an attempted get-away. See United States v. Bates, 896 F.2d 912, 914 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 3227, 110 L.Ed.2d 673 (1990) (approves an upward departure based upon terror and mayhem caused by defendants fleeing from a bank robbery).1
Muhammad also challenges his sentence under § 2B3.1(b)(3) based upon his charge that Officer Stanton was not sufficiently "injured" to invoke the enhancement. The Commentary to § 1B1.1, Application Note (1)(b), defines "bodily injury" as follows:
"Bodily injury" means any significant injury; e.g., an injury that is painful and obvious, or is the type for which medical attention might be sought[.]
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.1, Commentary, Application Note (1)(b). The court found that Officer Stanton was beaten and kicked, resulting in numerous abrasions, the hyperextension of his shoulder, and soreness in his knees and elbow for two weeks. Based upon these facts, the district court's finding is not clearly erroneous.
B. U.S.S.G. § 3A1.2
22. Victim Related Adjustment: Pursuant to Guideline 3A1.2 official victim, if the victim was a law enforcement or corrections officer, or any other official as defined by 18 U.S.C. 1114, or a member of the immediate family thereof, and the crime was motivated by such status, increased [sic] by three levels. As the defendants attempted to escape from the bank, the defendant fired at least three shots, two of which were directed at police officers. As their flight attempt continued, he became involved in a hand-to-hand combat situation with a Florence, Kentucky police officer as they struggled for possession of the officer's handgun. The officer was injured[.] This action was taken by the defendant because of the police officer's position as a law enforcement officer. No calculation for this has been made in the guidelines calculation process to this point, and therefore, the offense level should be increased three levels.
U.S. Sentencing Commission Guideline Trainer's Manual, Section III(B)(1)(c). This example parallels nearly exactly the situation we have before us, except that the instant case provides stronger factual support for the enhancement. In the example above, the police officer is shot and wounded as the defendant flees the bank. In the instant case, Muhammad, in an attempt to free his co-conspirator in the bank robbery from Officer Stanton's custody, assaults Officer Stanton in a manner likely to bring about serious bodily harm to the officer. Thus, we find the enhancement was proper under the pre-November 1, 1989 version of § 3A1.2.3
In addition to his independent challenge to the two-level increase under § 2B3.1(b)(3) and the three-level increase under § 3A1.2, Muhammad asserts that the court's assessment of both enhancements constitutes double counting. We find this assertion to be without merit.
As the United States points out, each guideline requires different conduct on the part of the defendant and punishes different wrongdoing. Specifically, § 2B3.1(b)(3) provides for a two-level increase for the defendant's conduct resulting in "bodily injury." Thus, the focus of this enhancement is the fact that the defendant's criminal conduct resulted not only in the offense of conviction, but also in injury to "any victim." U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(3). By contrast, § 3A1.2 has no requirement of injury at all. Rather, § 3A1.2 adds three levels for crimes motivated by animus against a law enforcement officer, regardless of whether there was injury. U.S.S.G. § 3A1.2 (version effective prior to November 1, 1989).4 This enhancement is aimed at the punishment of a defendant's acts that put a law enforcement officer at risk of serious bodily harm because of that officer's attempt to do his or her duty. Thus, as these guidelines do not involve offense level adjustments for the same conduct, applying both guidelines does not constitute double-counting.
It is true that the guidelines' definition of "prior felony conviction" for career offender purposes does limit such convictions to "prior adult" convictions. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2 Commentary, Application Note 3. Although Muhammad was seventeen years old at the time he was first convicted of armed bank robbery in 1974, he was tried and convicted as an "adult" pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 5035 & 5037. Muhammad raises no objection to his trial or conviction as an adult. He merely claims that the fact that he was seventeen at the time of his conviction should bar its use in calculating his career offender status. This novel argument is without precedent. Further, this court and numerous others have repeatedly accepted the use of juvenile convictions in calculating criminal history categories under § 4A1.1. See, e.g. United States v. Hanley, 906 F.2d 1116 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 357, 112 L.Ed.2d 321 (1990); United States v. Unger, 915 F.2d 759, 764 (1st Cir.1990), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 1005, 112 L.Ed.2d 1088 (1991). The fact that Congress did not see fit to treat a juvenile as a career offender, does not mean that this court should ignore a prior adult conviction for bank robbery merely because the defendant was seventeen.
Muhammad cites United States v. Graves, 908 F.2d 528 (9th Cir.1990) for the proposition that the term "victim" as used in U.S.S.G. § 2A2.2(b)(3)(A) was meant to refer only to the victim of the aggravated assault of which the defendant was convicted. In Graves, a two level increase was assessed for bodily injury to an officer that the defendant hit with his car while fleeing from the assault on another officer. The Ninth Circuit reversed finding that the normal reading of the term "victim" was meant to apply only to the direct victim of the offense charged. The court reasoned that the use of the term "victim" throughout chapter 2 of the guidelines supports this view. The court cited for example, § 2A3.1 which provides an increase of 4 levels if the "victim" of a sexual assault is under 12 years of age. The court reasoned that no increase could be had if a defendant fleeing from a sexual assault hit a child under 12 with a car. We find the court's analogy inapt. Section 2B3.1(b)(3) specifically provides for an increase for bodily injury to "any victim." The sexual assault provision cited by the Ninth Circuit does not. Further, one must understand the term "victim" in the context of the crime committed. In the context of an assault, the victim might be most reasonably understood to be the person harmed by the assault. While in the context of bank robbery, the scope of the term might be more reasonably understood to include not only the institution of the bank but those persons which are affected by the commission of the crime, including persons harmed in flight