Opinion ID: 304334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Prosecution's Motive in Bringing the Felony Charges.

Text: 6 Martinez testified at length as to the circumstances leading up to the felony indictment. He stated that in preparing to try the misdemeanor charges he delved thoroughly into the facts of the case. Thereupon he concluded, despite an earlier recommendation to the contrary by Washington, that Slatko was guilty of the felony. (App. at 119.) This conclusion was the major factor in bringing felony charges. (App. at 120). Moreover, it became clear that much of the evidence necessary to obtain a misdemeanor conviction was the same evidence which would have been required to prove the felony charges. Accordingly, said Martinez, he recommended asking the grand jury for a felony indictment. 7 At one point during his testimony to the Bar committee, Martinez stated that while involved in pretrial preparation he resolved that if the Government went to trial on the misdemeanor only its case was a loser. From this statement Slatko infers that the felony charges were brought so as to induce a guilty plea, thereby avoiding an unsuccessful prosecution. But Martinez's explanation of this statement is more persuasive. Put simply, he believed the Government had a far better case on the felony counts than on the misdemeanor charges. 1 8 Slatko would also attribute an evil motive to the Government since Martinez stated that there was no reason for Slatko to plead guilty on any of the misdemeanor charges prior to the felony indictment. As Martinez explained, Slatko might as well have gone to trial on all the misdemeanor counts because, even if convicted on all three, the likelihood was that he would receive concurrent sentences. Yet this realization would be apparent to any competent lawyer. And importantly, after bringing the felony charges the Government did not approach Slatko with a bargain but, on the contrary, repeatedly refused Slatko's approaches. As Martinez testified: Mr. Kasanoff [Slatko's counsel] kept bugging us to let you plead to the misdemeanor[s] only during the entire pretrial procedure and up until the time we were able to convince Washington that we should. (App. at 116). It was only after a full day of trial, when the Government apparently realized that a felony conviction would be difficult to obtain owing to the complexity of the case, 2 that the Government acceded to Slatko's requests. 9 Put shortly, we agree with the district judge that there is simply nothing in the record to indicate that Slatko's refusal to plead guilty to the misdemeanors in any way influenced the Government's decision to bring the felony charges. Of course, the Government cannot threaten baseless prosecutions to induce a guilty plea. See Machibroda v. United States, 1962, 386 U.S. 487, 82 S.Ct. 510, 7 L. Ed.2d 473; Brady v. United States, 1970, 397 U.S. 742, 751 n. 8, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747. But in this case there is no evidence that the felony charges were baseless or that the charges were brought to induce a plea. Accordingly, Slatko's appeal on that ground must fail. 10