Opinion ID: 606321
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Simpson's Meritless Claims

Text: 8 Simpson first contends that the initial investigatory stop was unlawful because Gudger did not have a reasonable articulable suspicion that Simpson was involved in the alleged rape. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1879, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). This contention is meritless. Simpson was wearing clothing similar to that described by the victim, was of the same general age group (Simpson was twenty-five years old at the time of arrest), was of the same race and physical build of the alleged rapist, and was in the vicinity of the crime. Generally, a confluence of such factors will be sufficient to justify a Terry stop. See United States v. Clipper, 973 F.2d 944, 951 (D.C.Cir.1992) (stop reasonable where suspect with appearance and clothing similar to perpetrator's found near crime scene), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 1025, 122 L.Ed.2d 171 (1993); United States v. Short, 570 F.2d 1051, 1054 & n. 7 (D.C.Cir.1978) (stop justified where suspect's race, hair style and clothing matched description, and suspect stopped within two blocks of crime scene). Accordingly, it was reasonable for Gudger to temporarily detain Simpson in the course of his investigation. 9 Furthermore, we find nothing untoward about the scope or duration of the Terry stop in this case. At the suppression hearing, Gudger testified that only ten minutes elapsed between the time of the initial stop and Simpson's arrest. The trial judge credited this officer's testimony and we, as an appellate court, will overturn such a credibility determination only if it appears to be [301 U.S.App.D.C. 206] clearly erroneous. See United States v. Williams, 951 F.2d 1287, 1289 (D.C.Cir.1991). Simpson can point to nothing in the record that would call into question the trial judge's credibility finding in this case. Thus, assuming that the Terry portion of the stop lasted only for about ten minutes, the duration of the investigatory stop appears to have been well within the range that we have found reasonable. See, e.g., United States v. Nurse, 916 F.2d 20, 24-25 (D.C.Cir.1990) (twenty to thirty minute detention for canine sniff found to be minimally intrusive when investigation is conducted diligently); United States v. Tavolacci, 895 F.2d 1423, 1427 (D.C.Cir.1990) (fifteen minutes for canine sniff reasonable). 10 It is also noteworthy that there is nothing in the record indicating that the officers were in any way dilatory in their investigation. See United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675, 687, 105 S.Ct. 1568, 1576, 84 L.Ed.2d 605 (1985) (to assess whether a detention is too long, Court considered whether police acted diligently). Simpson was detained for approximately ten minutes preceding his arrest, during which time a second man was stopped, frisked, found to be armed, wrestled to the ground by several officers, and disarmed. Since it was not unreasonable for the officers to detain Simpson during this altercation, most of the time that Simpson was detained prior to his arrest was chargeable to reasonable safety precautions rather than dilatory investigation. Thus, the trial judge's conclusions regarding the propriety of the Terry stop were not in error.
11 Simpson next argues that, even if the stop was reasonable and not excessive in duration, he did not pose a sufficient threat to justify Rose's decision to frisk him. Under Terry, an officer may frisk a detainee when a reasonably prudent man in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety or that of others was in danger. 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. at 1883; see also United States v. Mitchell, 951 F.2d 1291, 1295 (D.C.Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1976, 118 L.Ed.2d 576 (1992). Once an officer has decided to frisk a suspect, the scope of the search must be limited to an intrusion reasonably designed to discover guns, knives, clubs, or other hidden instruments for the assault of the police officer. Terry, 392 U.S. at 29, 88 S.Ct. at 1884. Under the circumstances as they were understood by Rose at the time of the incident, we cannot fault the officer's frisk of Simpson. 12 Rose arrived on the scene in response to a call for assistance from officers confronting a suspect with a gun. After assisting other officers in subduing the gunman, he noticed a second man standing in a position to be frisked. Because he knew the circumstances of the alleged rape, Rose reasonably assumed that Simpson was associated with the man whom he had just subdued and that Simpson might also be armed. Further, there is nothing in the record that would cause us to disturb the trial judge's factual finding that the scope of the frisk was within permissible limits. 1 Therefore, we find no error in the District Court's handling of the suppression hearing.
13 Next, Simpson argues that the trial court improperly excused a juror in the midst of trial. The trial judge explained the dismissal as follows: 14 We got a note from juror number 9, who got a note from some clinic indicating that the results of some tests--they wanted him to come in right away. Apparently it was nothing more than a blood sugar test; and I would not have been inclined--although I'm not a doctor, I would have consulted with the medical people downstairs. 15 I would not have been inclined to excuse him if we had lost anybody overnight; we have not so I let number 9 go to the clinic; [301 U.S.App.D.C. 207] so we will move alternate number 1 into number 9's spot. 16 United States v. Gerald S. Simpson, No. 91-0598 (D.D.C. Feb. 19, 1992) at 4-5 (trial transcript) (Tr. I). 17 Rule 24(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that alternate jurors may replace jurors who become or are found to be unable or disqualified to perform their duties. FED.R.CRIM.P. 24(c). The determination of whether a juror should be excused pursuant to this rule is left to the trial judge's discretion. United States v. Sobamowo, 892 F.2d 90, 95 (D.C.Cir.1989), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 825, 111 S.Ct. 78, 112 L.Ed.2d 51 (1990). Although the trial judge did not verify the juror's claim with the court's medical staff, nothing in the rule or case law suggests that the judge must temper his discretion by performing any particular test to determine whether a juror is competent. In this case, the judge reasonably balanced the nature of the juror's excuse against possible prejudice from the use of an alternate. We find no abuse of discretion in the outcome of this balance.