Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/160/768/534043/
Timestamp: 2020-08-03 10:10:46
Document Index: 781875941

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 841', '§ 846', '§ 3500', '§ 3500', '§ 3500', '§ 3500', '§ 1863', '§ 2', '§ 924', '§ 2', '§ 924', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 2']

United States of America, Appellee, v. Luis A. Marrero-ortiz, Defendant, Appellant, 160 F.3d 768 (1st Cir. 1998) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › First Circuit › 1998 › United States of America, Appellee, v. Luis A. Marrero-ortiz, Defendant, Appellant
United States of America, Appellee, v. Luis A. Marrero-ortiz, Defendant, Appellant, 160 F.3d 768 (1st Cir. 1998)
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit - 160 F.3d 768 (1st Cir. 1998) Heard Sept. 16, 1998. Decided Nov. 17, 1998
In the wake of his conviction on a charge of conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, see 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) (1), 846 (1994), defendant-appellant Luis Marrero-Ortiz (Marrero), one of thirty-one defendants named in a wide-ranging indictment, claims that the district court committed a host of errors. We have reviewed the trial record with care and find Marrero's multi-pronged attack on his conviction meritless. Withal, one aspect of the trial court's sentencing determination gives us pause.
1. Sufficiency of the Evidence. On a defendant's timely motion, a federal trial court is constrained to order a judgment of acquittal with respect to any given charge if the government fails to present sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 29(a). In this instance, the appellant sought--but did not secure--judgment of acquittal under Rule 29. We review the district court's determination de novo, applying precisely the same standard that obtained below: "whether, after assaying all the evidence in the light most amiable to the government, and taking all reasonable inferences in its favor, a rational factfinder could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the prosecution successfully proved the essential elements of the crime." United States v. Hernandez, 146 F.3d 30, 32 (1st Cir. 1998) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
"To prove a drug conspiracy charge under 21 U.S.C. § 846, the government is obliged to show beyond a reasonable doubt that a conspiracy existed and that a particular defendant agreed to participate in it, intending to commit the underlying substantive offense...." United States v. Sepulveda, 15 F.3d 1161, 1173 (1st Cir. 1993). The prosecution may meet its burden through either direct or circumstantial evidence, or through some combination thereof. See United States v. Houlihan, 92 F.3d 1271, 1292 (1st Cir. 1996).
Relevant evidence is evidence that has a "tendency to make the existence of any fact ... more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence." Fed.R.Evid. 401. Evidence, though relevant, nonetheless may be excluded if its probative value is overbalanced by other considerations, such as by the danger of unfair prejudice. See United States v. McKeeve, 131 F.3d 1, 13 (1st Cir. 1997) (citing Fed.R.Evid. 403). Virtually all evidence is meant to be prejudicial, and it is only unfair prejudice against which Rule 403 protects. See United States v. Pitrone, 115 F.3d 1, 8 (1st Cir. 1997); Houlihan, 92 F.3d at 1297. Because such determinations are peculiarly within the ken of trial courts, we review them only for abuse of discretion. See Pitrone, 115 F.3d at 7; Houlihan, 92 F.3d at 1297.
Concluding that evidence of the shooting incident made it more probable that Marrero was a member of the conspiracy, and that the evidence's probative worth outweighed any unfairly prejudicial effect, the district court admitted the evidence. We decline to second-guess this ruling. See Freeman v. Package Mach. Co., 865 F.2d 1331, 1340 (1st Cir. 1988) ("Only rarely--and in extraordinarily compelling circumstances--will we, from the vista of a cold appellate record, reverse a district court's on-the-spot judgment concerning the relative weighing of probative value and unfair effect.").
4. Rule 12(d) (2). Citing Fed. R. Crim. P. 12(d) (2), the appellant assigns error to the district court's admission of certain evidence during trial.3 The background is as follows. Because of the numerosity of defendants, the district court ordered two separate trials on the indictment. The court placed the appellant in the second group. The government designated all its evidence prior to the first trial, but did not renew the designation prior to the second trial.
Without citing any pertinent authority, the appellant claims that the government had an obligation to redesignate the evidence before using it at the second trial. The applicable test is for abuse of discretion, see United States v. de la Cruz-Paulino, 61 F.3d 986, 993 n. 3 (1st Cir. 1995), and we are not persuaded that the district court perpetrated an abuse when it ruled that the initial designation satisfied Rule 12(d) (2)'s notice requirements. Under the circumstances, redesignation would have served no useful purpose.
Taking an alternate tack, the appellant also suggests that the government's failure to designate evidence relating to both his possession of firearms and his relationship with other participants in a drug transaction violated Rule 12(d) (2). But the appellant is firing blanks; he makes no developed argument for the suppression of such evidence. Absent some articulation of a convincing rationale for quashal, the lack of an opportunity to file a pretrial suppression motion cannot be viewed as prejudicial. See id. at 994.
This court recently joined several other circuits in holding that a district court has discretion to exclude from evidence acquittals or other favorable outcomes of prior state court proceedings involving the same subject matter. See United States v. Smith, 145 F.3d 458, 462 (1st Cir. 1998); accord United States v. Thomas, 114 F.3d 228, 249-50 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S. Ct. 635, 139 L. Ed. 2d 614 (1997); United States v. Jones, 808 F.2d 561, 566 (7th Cir. 1986); United States v. Irvin, 787 F.2d 1506, 1516-17 (11th Cir. 1986); United States v. Sutton, 732 F.2d 1483, 1493 (10th Cir. 1984); United States v. Viserto, 596 F.2d 531, 537 (2d Cir. 1979). The rationale is plain: such evidence ordinarily does not prove innocence. After all, cases are dismissed for a variety of reasons, many of which are unrelated to culpability. Because evidence of a dismissal may have served to confuse the jury rather than to assist it,4 the district court had the authority to exclude such evidence here. See Fed.R.Evid. 403.
6. Jencks Act. The Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500, in concert with Fed. R.Crim. P 26.2, controls the production of certain witness statements in the government's possession. In this case, the appellant sought to inspect rough notes taken by an Internal Revenue Service agent, Felicia Ramos, during an interview of Hidalgo (who testified at the trial as a government witness). The appellant maintains that the notes comprised a "statement" under 18 U.S.C. § 3500(e) (1), that the government therefore was obliged to produce them, and that their availability would have enabled him to impeach Hidalgo's credibility. We do not agree.
The Jencks Act ordains that "[a]fter a witness called by the United States has testified on direct examination, the court shall, on motion of the defendant, order the United States to produce any statement ... of the witness in the possession of the United States which relates to the subject matter as to which the witness has testified." 18 U.S.C. § 3500(b). The question here is whether the notes constitute a "statement." The statute itself provides some enlightenment, defining a "statement" as one "made by said witness and signed or otherwise adopted or approved by h[er]" 18 U.S.C. § 3500(e) (1). A written summary of a witness interview is not a statement unless the evidence shows that the witness adopted the notes, a phenomenon that would occur, for example, if "the interviewer read the statement back to the witness and ... the witness approved the statement." United States v. Gonzalez-Sanchez, 825 F.2d 572, 586 (1st Cir. 1987).
7. Anonymous Jury. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b) (7), a district court may empanel an anonymous jury in any case in which "the interests of justice so require." We recently held that this standard is satisfied when "there are strong grounds for concluding that [anonymity] is necessary to enable the jury to perform its factfinding function, or to ensure juror protection." United States v. DeLuca, 137 F.3d 24, 31 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 119 S. Ct. 174, 142 L. Ed. 2d 142 (1998) (No. 98-141). The trial court must take care, however, to implement reasonable safeguards "to minimize any risk of infringement upon the fundamental rights of the accused." Id. Under these criteria, Judge Fuste did not exceed the scope of his discretion when he empaneled an anonymous jury in this case.
8. Peremptory Challenges. In a related vein, the appellant argues that the empanelment of an anonymous jury created a need for additional peremptory challenges, beyond those ordinarily allowed. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 24(b) (delineating allotment and distribution of peremptories). Although the applicable rule allows a judge to grant additional challenges, the judge has wide discretion in administering this authority. See United States v. Cox, 752 F.2d 741, 747-48 (1st Cir. 1985). The empaneling of an anonymous jury neither curtails the scope of this discretion nor obligates a district court to afford more peremptories to the defense. We therefore reject the appellant's assignment of error.6 Sentencing Issues
9. Continuance of Disposition Hearing. Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(a) requires, inter alia, that the trial court impose sentence without undue delay. Such a disposition occurs following the preparation of the presentence investigation report (PSI Report) and the lodging of objections thereto. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(b) (6) (C) ("Not later than 7 days before the sentencing hearing, the probation officer must submit the presentence report to the court, together with an addendum setting forth any unresolved objections ... [a]t the same time, the probation officer must furnish the revisions of the presentence report and the addendum to the defendant."). In this instance, the probation officer did not distribute the addendum to the PSI Report in a timely manner. The appellant--who unsuccessfully sought a continuance--makes three arguments in regard to this lapse: (1) that the probation officer's failure to comply strictly with Rule 32 denied him the opportunity adequately to prepare a rebuttal to the PSI Report; (2) that the probation officer's belated response to the appellant's objections created unfair surprise; and (3) that, as a result of this surprise, defense counsel was unable either to explain the PSI Report to his client or to discuss the proceedings with him.
Nor can the appellant convincingly claim undue surprise. Defense counsel already had been granted a generous continuance. He knew the information contained within the PSI Report, and he had two months in which to prepare his rebuttal. The addendum did not contain any new information; it merely referenced trial testimony to refute the appellant's objections and, concomitantly, to support the probation officer's recommendation of a base offense level (BOL) of 38, a two-level upward adjustment for possession of a firearm, and a two-level enhancement for a supervisory role. The fact that the appellant received the addendum the day before sentencing, although violative of Rule 32(b) (6) (C), is not sufficient, in and of itself, to establish undue surprise. See United States v. Williams, 499 F.2d 52, 54-55 (1st Cir. 1974) (holding an analogous violation harmless on the ground that the PSI Report did not contain any information that the defendant could not have anticipated, despite the fact that the defendant received it five minutes before the disposition hearing).
10. Written Findings. Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(c) (1) requires that the trial court make a finding in respect to each matter controverted at sentencing (or, alternatively, make a finding that the controverted matter has no bearing). The rule also directs the sentencing court to append a written record of its findings to the judgment. See id. The appellant complains that the sentencing court neglected to follow this regimen.
When the sentencing court makes specific findings ore tenus, the court may append the sentencing transcript to the PSI Report and thus effect compliance with Rule 32(c) (1). See United States v. Bruckman, 874 F.2d 57, 65 (1st Cir. 1989). Preparing an additional written record of findings is merely "ministerial," and will not be required. Id.; accord United States v. Mena-Robles, 4 F.3d 1026, 1037 n. 14 (1st Cir. 1993). The same is true when the court makes implicit findings by reference to detailed suggestions in the PSI Report. See United States v. Ovalle-Marquez, 36 F.3d 212, 227 (1st Cir. 1994).
11. Possession of a Firearm. In this case, the district court increased the BOL by two levels because the appellant possessed a firearm in connection with his drug-trafficking activities. See USSG § 2D1.1(b) (1). The appellant urges us to nullify this enhancement. He bases his argument on an analogy to Bailey v. United States, 516 U.S. 137, 116 S. Ct. 501, 133 L. Ed. 2d 472 (1995). For purposes of a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (1), Bailey requires proof that the defendant's "use" of a firearm had an active relation to the underlying drug offense (e.g., that the defendant displayed, fired, or brandished the weapon). See id. 116 S. Ct. at 503. We agree with the sentencing judge that Bailey is not controlling here.
The sentencing guidelines govern this sentence enhancement. The applicable guideline provides that "[i]f a dangerous weapon (including a firearm) was possessed," the court should increase the defendant's BOL by two levels. USSG § 2D1.1(b) (1). The appellant argues that this guideline provision should be construed in pari materia with section 924(c) (1)--but he does not explain why this parallelism must exist. The language of the two provisions is dissimilar.7 So, too, is their effect: a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (1) results in an incremental five-year consecutive sentence, while a sentence enhancement under USSG § 2D1.1(b) (1) results merely in a two-level adjustment to the defendant's BOL. Most importantly, the interpretation of the guideline provision is colored by the Sentencing Commission's instruction that "[t]he adjustment should be applied if the weapon was present, unless it is clearly improbable that the weapon was connected with the offense." USSG § 2D1.1(b) (2), comment. (n.3). This is a far cry from the way in which the Bailey Court instructs judges to approach section 924(c) (1).
We need not tarry. Bailey is inapposite here. And, moreover, the evidence amply supports a finding, by a preponderance, that the appellant possessed a firearm for potential use in connection with his drug-trafficking activities. See, e.g., United States v. Berrios, 132 F.3d 834, 839 (1st Cir. 1998); United States v. Gonzalez-Vazquez, 34 F.3d 19, 24 (1st Cir. 1994); United States v. Ruiz, 905 F.2d 499, 507 (1st Cir. 1990). Accordingly, the district court did not err in enhancing the appellant's sentence under USSG § 2D1.1(b) (1).
In order to qualify for a two-level enhancement as a supervisor in a criminal enterprise, a defendant must exercise control over at least one other culpable individual. See United States v. Akitoye, 923 F.2d 221, 227 (1st Cir. 1991) (discussing USSG § 3B1.1(c)). The appellant's argument here boils down to a plaint that the district court made no specific findings in support of its determination that he deserved the enhancement. Although such findings are always helpful, they are unnecessary when the record clearly reflects the basis of the court's determination. See United States v. Quinones, 26 F.3d 213, 219 (1st Cir. 1994) (indicating a willingness to overlook the absence of findings "if the reasons for the judge's choice are obvious or if an explanation can fairly be implied from the record as a whole"). This is such a case.
At trial, the government presented two witnesses who indicated that the appellant was in charge of the conspiracy's drug point in Corozal. The government also presented testimony as to how the drug points were managed and the number of individuals involved. This evidence is self-explanatory and provides adequate support for the district court's determination that the appellant ran a drug point and supervised others in so doing. See United States v. Cruz, 120 F.3d 1, 4 (1st Cir. 1997) (en banc).8
13. Drug Quantity. In a narcotics case, drug quantity is an important integer in calculating the BOL (and, hence, the sentence itself). See Sepulveda, 15 F.3d at 1197. To determine the drug quantity attributable to a particular defendant, a court looks to the quantity of drugs associated with the count(s) of conviction, plus all "relevant conduct," i.e., those acts that were part of the same " 'common scheme or plan as the offense of conviction', whether or not charged in the indictment." United States v. Sklar, 920 F.2d 107, 110 (1st Cir. 1990) (quoting USSG § 1B1.3(a) (2)). In the case of a conspiracy, however, a defendant cannot be saddled with quantities of drugs that he could not reasonably have foreseen. See United States v. Garcia, 954 F.2d 12, 15 (1st Cir. 1992).
Different types of drugs affect the offense-level calculation in different ways. For instance, a defendant whose relevant conduct involved 30 kilograms or more of heroin would merit a BOL of 38, as would a defendant whose relevant conduct involved 150 kilograms of cocaine, or one whose relevant conduct involved 1.5 kilograms of cocaine base (crack cocaine). See USSG § 2D1.1(c) (1) (Drug Quantity Table). The Santiago organization trafficked indiscriminately in heroin, powdered cocaine, and crack, and the sentencing guidelines contain an elaborate conversion formula that can be used in such cases. See USSG § 2D1.1, comment. (n.10).
Withal, the court's decision to empanel four alternate jurors entitled the appellant to two additional peremptory challenges that he never received. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 24(c). But the appellant never objected to the number of challenges he was afforded anent the empanelment of the alternates and thus failed to preserve the right to raise this error on appeal. See United States v. Broadus, 7 F.3d 460, 463 (6th Cir. 1993) (holding that a defendant's failure to object to the denial of his right peremptorily to challenge alternates constitutes a waiver of any right to appeal the issue); Carbo v. United States, 314 F.2d 718, 748 (9th Cir. 1963) (holding that Rule 24(c) violations not brought to the district court's attention are forfeited). Moreover, since none of the alternates actually were called upon to serve as jurors, the error was patently harmless
Section 924(c) (1) provides in pertinent part that "[w]hoever, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime ... uses or carries a firearm, shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, be sentenced to imprisonment for five years...."