Source: http://openjurist.org/320/f3d/452
Timestamp: 2013-05-18 17:37:57
Document Index: 176778556

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 846', '§ 841', '§ 2', '§ 846', '§ 841', '§ 2', '§ 851', '§ 5239', '§ 6', '§ 2', '§ 2255']

320 F3d 452 United States v. Givan | OpenJurist
320 F. 3d 452 - United States v. Givan	Home320 f3d 452 united states v. givan
320 F3d 452 United States v. Givan 320 F.3d 452
UNITED STATES of Americav.Yul Darnell GIVAN, AppellantUnited States of Americav.Wayne Torrence, Appellant
No. 01-2788.
No. 01-2793.
Richard H. Morgan, Jr. (argued), Pontiac, MI, for Appellant Yul Darnell Givan.
This criminal case comes on before this court on appeals from judgments of conviction and sentence entered June 25, 2001. A jury convicted defendants-appellants Yul Darnell Givan and Wayne Torrence on one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute in excess of 100 grams of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(B) and one count of possession with intent to distribute in excess of 100 grams of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B) and 18 U.S.C. § 2.
After Billings agreed to cooperate in the investigation and entered into a plea agreement, a grand jury returned a two-count Second Superseding Indictment against Givan and Torrence on November 30, 1999. Count I charged that on or about and between a date unknown and September 8, 1999, the defendants conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute in excess of 100 grams of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B). Count II charged that on or about September 8, 1999, the defendants possessed with intent to distribute in excess of 100 grams of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Both counts added, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 851, an allegation of Givan's prior felony drug conviction. Both defendants pleaded not guilty.
The district court denied Torrence's motion to suppress as evidence the heroin obtained from the vehicle search.1 The court based its decision on its findings that (1) the troopers had probable cause to charge Torrence with speeding; (2) the troopers had a reasonable suspicion to believe that Torrence had committed a crime justifying further investigation; (3) Torrence freely and unqualifiedly gave consent to the troopers to search the vehicle. We "review[] the district court's denial of the motion to suppress for `clear error as to the underlying facts, but exercise[] plenary review as to its legality in light of the court's properly found facts.'" United States v. Riddick, 156 F.3d 505, 509 (3d Cir.1998) (quoting United States v. Inigo, 925 F.2d 641, 656 (3d Cir.1991)).
Neither defendant contests the district court's first ruling that the initial stop clearly was justified inasmuch as Taylor clocked the vehicle at 77 miles per hour in a 65 miles per hour zone. After a traffic stop that was justified at its inception, an officer who develops a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity may expand the scope of an inquiry beyond the reason for the stop and detain the vehicle and its occupants for further investigation. See United States v. Johnson, 285 F.3d 744, 749 (8th Cir.2002). While "reasonable suspicion" must be more than an inchoate "hunch," the Fourth Amendment only requires that police articulate some minimal, objective justification for an investigatory stop. See United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 13, 109 S.Ct. 1581, 1585, 104 L.Ed.2d 1 (1989). In determining whether there was a basis for reasonable suspicion, a court must consider the totality of the circumstances, in light of the officer's experience. See United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273, 122 S.Ct. 744, 750-51, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002); United States v. Orsolini, 300 F.3d 724, 728 (6th Cir.2002). Within the last year we have noted that in "the Supreme Court's most recent pronouncement on the Fourth Amendment reasonable suspicion standard, it accorded great deference to the officer's knowledge of the nature and the nuances of the type of criminal activity that he had observed in his experience, almost to the point of permitting it to be the focal point of the analysis." United States v. Nelson, 284 F.3d 472, 482 (3d Cir.2002).
Even assuming, as the district court seemed to do, that the brief questioning following the return of Torrence's documents occurred while Torrence had been seized for Fourth Amendment purposes rather than during a consensual encounter that began once Torrence's documents were returned and he was informed that he was free to leave, Taylor had a reasonable and articulable suspicion of illegal activity sufficient to extend the stop the few additional minutes it took to ask the occupants about their travel destinations. Taylor knew at that time that: (a) Torrence had been speeding; (b) Torrence was operating a motor vehicle that had been rented less than 24 hours earlier in Saginaw, Michigan; (c) the estimated driving time from Saginaw to New York City and back to the site of arrest was approximately 17 hours; (d) it is a common practice of drug dealers from other states to make a non-stop trip to New York City and back for purchasing drugs; (e) Torrence appeared nervous and fidgety and was talking often and shuffling his feet. Furthermore, questions relating to a driver's travel plans ordinarily fall within the scope of a traffic stop. See United States v. Williams, 271 F.3d 1262, 1267 (10th Cir.2001). After receiving conflicting stories from Torrence and the passengers about their travel, Taylor was justified in further extending the stop and asking for consent to search the vehicle. Thus, the district court did not err in holding that the further investigation was justified.
But the defendants contend that even if Torrence gave his consent to search the vehicle at a time Taylor was justified in extending the stop, Torrence did not give his consent freely and voluntarily. The Fourth Amendment protects the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." Pursuant to the Fourth Amendment, warrantless searches of automobiles frequently are prohibited. It is well settled, however, that a search conducted pursuant to consent is one of the specifically established exceptions to the search warrant requirement. Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 219, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2043-44, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). In Schneckloth the Supreme Court stated that voluntariness "is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of all of the circumstances." Id. at 227, 93 S.Ct. at 2048. The district court's determination that Torrence's consent was voluntary was a determination of fact subject to review on a clear error basis. See United States v. Kelly, 708 F.2d 121, 126 (3d Cir.1983).
In United States ex rel. Harris v. Hendricks, 423 F.2d 1096 (3d Cir.1970), we elucidated the critical factors comprising a totality of the circumstances inquiry as including the setting in which the consent was obtained, the parties' verbal and non-verbal actions, and the age, intelligence, and educational background of the consenting individual. See id. at 1099. When we apply the totality of the circumstances test to the facts adduced at the suppression hearing, we conclude that the district court's determination that Torrence voluntarily gave his consent rather than did so by reason of duress or coercion, cannot be said to be clearly erroneous.
The facts in the record supporting the district court's determination include: (1) Taylor returned Torrence's license and advised Torrence that he was free to leave before asking Torrence if he would mind answering a few questions and Torrence said that he did not mind; (2) after asking Torrence some initial questions Taylor asked Torrence if he would mind if Taylor looked in the vehicle and Torrence replied that he had nothing to hide and Taylor could go ahead and look; (3) Taylor testified that when he asked Torrence for his consent, he told Torrence that his consent had to be voluntary and that Torrence did not have to allow the search; (4) both troopers testified that Torrence gave consent without any coercion or duress and this testimony was unrebutted; (5) Torrence gave his consent while standing on the side of a major highway in broad daylight, see United States v. Velasquez, 885 F.2d 1076, 1082 (3d Cir.1989), and prior to being handcuffed. There is nothing in the record indicating that Torrence's age, intelligence or educational background in any way limited his ability to consent voluntarily to the search. Torrence cites the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in United States v. Mesa, 62 F.3d 159 (6th Cir.1995), in support of his position that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress. But, as the government points out, Mesa is inapposite because its facts materially differ from those here. Most notably, Mesa was locked in the back of a police vehicle when she consented to a search of the vehicle. See id. at 161. The totality of the circumstances in this case are more similar to those in United States v. Velasquez, 885 F.2d at 1081-82, and indicate that Torrence freely and voluntarily consented to the search. The district court's finding of voluntariness was not clearly erroneous.
We next discuss Givan's argument that the district court erred when it admitted into evidence under Fed.R.Evid. Rule 404(b) testimony to the effect that Givan had been convicted of a felony drug offense in Des Moines County, Iowa, on January 25, 1993. To the extent that our review of this ruling requires us to consider the district court's interpretation of the rules of evidence our review is plenary. See United States v. Furst, 886 F.2d 558, 571 (3d Cir.1989). But, assuming that the evidence could be admissible in some circumstances, we review the district court's decision to admit it on an abuse of discretion basis. See United States v. Console, 13 F.3d 641, 658-59 (3d Cir.1993); United States v. Saada, 212 F.3d 210, 223 (3d Cir.2000).
Fed.R.Evid. 404(b) provides in relevant part that: "Evidence of other crimes, wrongs or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity or absence of mistake or accident...." We have recognized that Rule 404(b) is a rule of inclusion rather than exclusion. See United States v. Jemal, 26 F.3d 1267, 1272 (3d Cir.1994). We favor the admission of evidence of other criminal conduct if such evidence is "relevant for any other purpose than to show a mere propensity or disposition on the part of the defendant to commit the crime." United States v. Long, 574 F.2d 761, 765 (3d Cir. 1978) (quoting United States v. Stirone, 262 F.2d 571, 576 (3d Cir.1958), rev'd on other grounds, 361 U.S. 212, 80 S.Ct. 270, 4 L.Ed.2d 252 (1960)). In Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681, 108 S.Ct. 1496, 99 L.Ed.2d 771 (1988), the Supreme Court set out a four-part test for admission of Rule 404(b) evidence: (1) the evidence must have a proper purpose; (2) it must be relevant; (3) its probative value must outweigh its potential for unfair prejudice; and (4) the court must charge the jury to consider the evidence only for the limited purposes for which it is admitted. Id. at 691-92, 108 S.Ct. at 1502; United States v. Vega, 285 F.3d 256, 261 (3d Cir. 2002).
Knowledge, intent, and lack of mistake or accident are well-established non-propensity purposes for admitting evidence of prior crimes or acts. See Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). Inasmuch as a showing of knowledge, intent and lack of mistake or accident was essential for the government to meet its burden of proof in this case, and the 1993 felony drug conviction was evidence that the jury could consider as shedding light on the key issues of whether Givan knew about the drugs in the vehicle, the court admitted the prior felony conviction for a proper purpose. See United States v. Parsee, 178 F.3d 374, 379 (5th Cir.1999); United States v. Martino, 759 F.2d 998, 1004-05 (2d Cir.1985).
Even though we have concluded that evidence of Givan's 1993 felony drug conviction was not inadmissible on a legal basis, we must evaluate the evidence against the unfair prejudice standard of Fed.R.Evid. 403. See Government of Virgin Islands v. Harris, 938 F.2d 401, 420 (3d Cir.1991). Fed.R.Evid. 403 provides that relevant evidence may be excluded if, inter alia, "its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury...." We review the district court's application of Rule 403 on an abuse of discretion basis. See id. But as we stated in United States v. Long, 574 F.2d at 767, "[i]f judicial self-restraint is ever desirable, it is when a Rule 403 analysis of a trial court is reviewed by an appellate tribunal."
In upholding the admission of the Rule 404(b) evidence, we recognize that Judge McKee in his dissent contends that "the jury could only have considered the prior conviction to establish Givan's criminal propensity," dissent at 26, and makes much of the circumstance that the prior conviction involved cocaine and not heroin as here. We note, however, that it is a basic tenet of our jurisprudence that a jury is presumed to have followed the instructions the court gave it, see United States v. Gilsenan, 949 F.2d 90, 96 (3d Cir.1991), and the court's instructions did not allow the use of the evidence in the way that Judge McKee contends that it used it. If we preclude the use of evidence admissible under Rule 404(b) because of a concern that jurors will not be able to follow the court's instructions regarding its use we will inevitably severely limit the scope of evidence permitted by that important rule. Moreover, the distinction Judge McKee draws between the types of drugs involved is of limited significance in the context of this case in which the conviction is germane only with respect to Givan's knowledge of the presence of drugs. It is not as if dealing in cocaine and heroin are mutually exclusive endeavors. Finally on this point we note that our result is consistent with that reached by other courts of appeals. See, e.g., Parsee, 178 F.3d at 379; Martino, 759 F.2d at 1004-05. These cases cannot be distinguished reasonably from this case so that if we reject the Rule 404(b) evidence we will create a conflict among the circuits.
C. Morgan's Testimony
Givan also argues that the district court erred when it allowed the jury to hear the testimony of Darryl Morgan because his testimony constituted evidence of other criminal conduct impermissible under Fed.R.Evid. 404(b), or, alternatively, Morgan's testimony was not relevant to the conspiracy count of the indictment. The government argues that Morgan's testimony was directly relevant to the existence of a drug conspiracy involving Torrence and Givan and that Morgan's testimony was proof of the existence of the drug conspiracy charged in Count I of the Second Superseding Indictment. We review the district court's decision to admit this evidence on an abuse of discretion basis. See United States v. Sokolow, 91 F.3d 396, 402 (3d Cir.1996).
In the circumstances Morgan's testimony was direct proof of existence of the drug conspiracy alleged in the indictment and was not subject to the limitation in Rule 404(b) of the admissibility of evidence of "other crimes, wrongs, or acts." See United States v. Maynie, 257 F.3d 908, 915 (8th Cir.2001); United States v. Sriyuth, 98 F.3d 739, 747 (3d Cir.1996); United States v. Retos, 25 F.3d 1220, 1228, n. 10 (3d Cir.1994); 22 C. Wright & K. Graham, Federal Practice and Procedure § 5239, at 450 (1978). Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the jury to hear Morgan's testimony.
Torrence contends that the district court clearly erred in finding that he was involved in the distribution of between one and three kilograms of heroin and that he possessed a firearm in relation to drug trafficking. We review the district court's findings of fact on these issues for clear error, see United States v. Miele, 989 F.2d 659, 663 (3d Cir.1993), but apply plenary review to its construction of the Sentencing Guidelines, see United States v. Bethancourt, 65 F.3d 1074, 1080 (3d Cir. 1995). When sentencing a defendant, the district court only need base its determinations on the preponderance of the evidence with which it is presented. See United States v. McDowell, 888 F.2d 285, 291 (3d Cir.1989). Information used as a basis for sentencing must have "sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy." U.S.S.G. § 6A1.3(a).
The heart of Torrence's argument is that the district court erred in relying on Billings' testimony because of his unreliability. While Billings is a drug addict, his testimony, in contrast to that considered in United States v. Miele, 989 F.2d at 667, was not internally inconsistent and, also in contrast to that in Miele, was corroborated by the testimony of another witness, Darryl Morgan. See id. at 664-65. Billings' and Morgan's testimony was subject to vigorous cross-examination and at the sentencing hearing the district court listened to extensive argument on the issue of drug quantity. The court, which observed their demeanor and was in a position to judge their credibility, carefully considered the estimates based on their testimony and concluded that the witnesses were reliable. As we have stated "assessments of credibility by the trial court are entitled to great deference at the appellate level." United States v. Brothers, 75 F.3d 845, 853 (3d Cir.1996). Because we agree that there was at least a minimal indicia of reliability to support the court's reliance on Billings' and Morgan's testimony relating to drug quantity, we conclude that its drug quantity calculation was not clearly erroneous.
Torrence also argues that the district court clearly erred in finding that he possessed a firearm in relation to drug trafficking. The court took Torrence's possession of a firearm into account in adding two points to his offense level, in accordance with U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1).
Torrence also claims that his right to effective assistance of counsel was violated because in deciding to take the case to trial rather than plead guilty, he relied upon his counsel's incorrect calculations of the guideline range that would apply at sentencing after a conviction at trial. However, claims of ineffective assistance of counsel ordinarily are not cognizable on direct appeal. United States v. Mustafa, 238 F.3d 485, 497 (3d Cir.2001); United States v. Tobin, 155 F.3d 636, 643 (3d Cir.1998). Rather, the proper mechanism for challenging the efficacy of counsel is through a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. As the government points out, the record in this case is inadequate for us to address the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel for, even if we accept as true all of Torrence's factual assertions, the record does not establish what, if any, prejudice Torrence suffered by reason of the incorrect calculation of his anticipated guideline range. For example, for all we know Torrence might have gone to trial regardless of the calculations supplied. See United States v. Sandini, 888 F.2d 300, 312 (3d Cir.1989) ("[C]laims predicated upon attorney's error do require a showing of prejudice and therefore may involve facts not adequately developed in the record.") (emphasis in original).
Torrence's last argument is that he detrimentally relied upon the government's erroneous statements during plea discussions before trial of what the applicable guideline range would be. Citing Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971), and Virgin Islands v. Scotland, 614 F.2d 360 (3d Cir.1980), he contends that the government should have been estopped based on these statements from asserting that his base offense level was higher than 26 and that we should vacate his sentence and require the trial court to accept as binding a base offense level of 26. The record indicates that the parties' counsel had a pretrial discussion concerning the applicable guideline range, and that they underestimated the base offense level that would apply after trial. However, in contrast to the situation in Santobello and Scotland, the government never made any formal plea offer to Torrence. In these circumstances there is no support for Torrence's argument that the government should have been estopped from asserting that he was subject to a base offense level higher than 26.
Although evidence of a prior "bad act" is admissible if it is being admitted to establish something other than the defendant's character, we have cautioned that such testimony is not easily divorced from the improper purpose of suggesting bad character or criminal propensity. Thus, we have noted that "inquiries of relevance and proper purpose are intimately intertwined. Evidence that is not relevant, by definition cannot be offered for a proper purpose, and evidence that may be relevant for some purposes may be irrelevant for the purpose for which it is offered." United States v. Morley, 199 F.3d 129, 133 (3d Cir.1999).
In order to insure that evidence offered under Rule 404(b) is being offered for a proper purpose and not merely to establish a defendant's criminal propensities, we have held that the proponent of such evidence must clearly articulate why it is relevant for something other than establishing criminal propensity or character. In United States v. Himelwright, we declared "[t]he proponent must clearly articulate how that evidence fits into a chain of logical inferences, no link of which may be the inference that the defendant has the propensity to commit the crime charged." 42 F.3d 777, 782 (3d Cir.1994) (emphasis added) (citing United States v. Jemal, 26 F.3d 1267, 1272 (3d Cir.1994)). That pronouncement is clearly the law of this circuit. Yet, it is so often honored in the breach that it resonates about as loudly as the proverbial tree that no one heard fall in the forest.
When asked, the prosecutor confirmed that the prior conviction was being admitted to establish "modus operandi," and the district court accepted that. Trial Transcript Vol. I., pp.12, 36. The court further noted that the conviction could be relevant to "knowledge or absence of mistake," Id. at 33-4. The prosecutor also insisted that the 1992 incident was admissible under Rule 404(b) by arguing that "[i]t ... goes to intent and absence of mistake." Id. at 13.
In United States v. Sampson, we stated: "Although the government will hardly admit it, the reasons proffered to admit prior bad act evidence ... is often mixed between an urge to show some other consequential fact as well as to impugn the defendant's character." 980 F.2d 883, 886 (3d Cir.1992). The prosecution's attempt to impugn Givan's character, as well as the wisdom of Himelwright's requirement that the proponent articulate a permissible chain of inferences, both become apparent from a careful study of this trial transcript.
However, this evidentiary chain does not survive close scrutiny. "[T]he government has been unable to articulate any theory that unites these isolated events which occurred six years apart, without resorting to the kind of character-based inference prohibited by Rule 404(b)." Government of the Virgin Islands v. Pinney, 967 F.2d 912, 916 (3d Cir.1992).
My colleagues stress that we must assume that jurors follow a judge's instructions. The Majority concludes that we must therefore assume that the jury only considered the prior conviction for a proper purpose, and not as evidence of Givan's character. See Maj. Op. at 462 (citing United States v. Gilsenan, 949 F.2d 90, 96 (3d. Cir.1991)). However, absent something akin to a "signature crime" or circumstances showing Givan's familiarity with the way cocaine is packaged based upon the six year old conviction, the jury could hardly have considered this evidence for anything other than character. Nothing else ties the six year old cocaine conviction to Givan's culpability here, and the district court's instruction did not change that.
980 F.2d at 888-89. Yet, we held in Sampson that, "[t]his instruction does not cure the error. Where the government has not clearly articulated reasons why the evidence is relevant to any legitimate purpose, there is no realistic basis to believe that the jury will cull the proper inferences and material facts from the evidence." Accordingly, I must conclude that "there is no realistic basis to believe" that this jury was somehow able to "cull the proper inferences and material facts from the evidence" here.5
For reasons I will explaininfra, Givan was thereafter convicted only of the April delivery, and charges arising from the discovery of cocaine in his car and his confession were dismissed.
Sgt. Beaird informed the court that the cocaine that was discovered was later suppressed along with Givan's confession because the suppression court determined that the search was not conducted pursuant to a general policy for inventory searchesSee South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364, 369, 96 S.Ct. 3092, 49 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1976). Accordingly, Givan was only convicted of the earlier distribution of cocaine in April 1992.
The gap in the required chain of logical inferences is all the more egregious here because Beaird was available as a witness and the prosecutor therefore had an opportunity to question him about the appearance of the cocaine he purchased in 1992, and establish how it compared to the heroin taken from the car here that the Troopers would describeSee Trial Transcript, Vol III, pp. 1-18.
The court inMorley charged:
Of course, "[t]he foregoing discussion ... seems very much beside the point to any experienced litigator. The obvious reason the government wanted [the prior conviction] testimony before the jury was because of the substantial likelihood that one or more members of the jury would use this highly inflammatory evidence for exactly the purpose Rule 404(b) declared to be improper...."Pinney, 967 F.2d at 917.
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