Opinion ID: 2971512
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Allegedly Prejudicial Statements at Trial

Text: Robinson next contends that he was prejudiced by certain statements made during the trial by the district judge and a government witness, Daniel McGill. We find that none of these statements, even if made in error, provides a basis for reversal. No. 02-5040 United States v. Robinson Page 23 Robinson first complains that the district court erroneously informed the jury that a non-testifying co-defendant, Kawyn Logan, had pleaded guilty to a felony. As the government points out, however, it is clear that the district judge simply misspoke, and that this error was immediately corrected. During the testimony of Daniel McGill, the court admitted McGill’s plea agreement, and then addressed the jury as follows: THE COURT: Now, members of the jury, you’ve heard proof here that Mr. Logan has pled guilty to a felony. You must not consider Mr. Logan’s guilty plea to a felony as evidence that either Mr. Robinson or Mr. Brady joined in a conspiracy with Mr. Logan to commit a felony. Additionally, you must not consider Mr. Logan’s guilty plea as evidence that either Mr. Robinson or Mr. Brady possessed cocaine and/or marijuana with the intent to distribute it. Rather — and we’re only talking only about this guilty plea now, nothing else about his testimony, but just the guilty plea part of his testimony; rather, you may consider Mr. Logan’s guilty plea only in order to assess Mr. Logan’s credibility as a witness for the government, and that’s the only way you consider it. It’s the only purpose for which it is introduced here. Okay. Any other questions of this man? GOVERNMENT COUNSEL: Yes, Your Honor. You’re referring to Mr. McGill’s plea agreement; is that correct? THE COURT: Yeah. I’m sorry. Mr. McGill, McGill. I’m sorry. Mr. McGill. I misspoke. Mr. McGill, the man testifying here. I got him mixed up with Mr. Logan, who may testify later. McGill, Mr. Daniel McGill, the man seated right here, his plea. That’s the only purpose for which you can consider it, to assess his credibility as a witness for the government, that purpose only, nothing else. I’m sorry I misspoke. All right. (6/5/2001 Trial Tr. at 39-40, J.A. at 684-85.) Contrary to Robinson’s contention, we do not view this passage as informing the jury that a nontestifying co-defendant, Logan, had pleaded guilty to a felony. Rather, a reasonable juror surely would assume, precisely as he was told, that the district court had erroneously referred to Logan instead of McGill. The district court immediately corrected its misstatement, and there is no reason to suspect that the jury disregarded this curative remark. Consequently, Robinson suffered no prejudice as a result of this mere and isolated slip of the tongue. Robinson further contends, without citation to supporting authority, that the district court “departed from its impartial role” by purportedly instructing a government witness, Agent Stephen Ribolla, on how to give credible testimony. (Appellant Br. at 63.) On the occasion in question, the district court excused the jury during Agent Ribolla’s cross-examination, in order to address a government objection to a line of questioning being pursued by defense counsel. After resolving this matter, and before the jury was returned to the courtroom, the district judge addressed Agent Ribolla: THE COURT: You need to answer the questions asked by counsel. You don’t need to volunteer extra, extra testimony unless you need to explain an answer. You need to be responsive, forthcoming. You’re not an advocate here. No. 02-5040 United States v. Robinson Page 24 You’ve got to understand you’re working for the people, and if you appear to be an advocate, you’re not working for the people. It doesn’t help your case one iota to appear to be prejudiced or an advocate in a situation. Much better to be just forthcoming about it. If you don’t know, you don’t know. If it’s something that helps the defendant, so be it. You don’t make the facts, you’re not here to make facts. That’s the way the system works. Now, you’re going to have to keep that in mind. (6/15/2001 Trial Tr. at 67, J.A. at 1066.) We find nothing so prejudicial in these remarks as to warrant reversal. It is unquestionably the duty of the district court “to conduct the trial in an orderly way with a view to eliciting the truth and to attaining justice between the parties.” United States v. Hickman, 592 F.2d 931, 933 (6th Cir. 1979) (internal quotations and citations omitted). To the extent that the district judge directed Agent Ribolla to answer defense counsel’s questions truthfully and without evasion or embellishment, he acted entirely within this proper role. Rather than giving impermissible advice to Agent Ribolla, it strikes us that the district court’s instructions were an appropriate admonition as to the proper role and obligations of a government agent when he is called as a witness at trial. Robinson next objects —once again, without citation to authority — to the district court’s allegedly prejudicial comments and conduct toward defense counsel. Out of the many hours of testimony during a two-week trial, Robinson cites a brief period in which the trial court admonished defense counsel, in the presence of the jury, that he should “move on” from a question that had been “asked and answered twice,” and that he was standing next to and “preaching to the jury,” in violation of a local court rule that requires counsel to remain at the podium. (6/5/2001 Trial Tr. at 70, 76, J.A. at 715, 721.) In further addressing this latter issue, the district court stated to defense counsel that he was “a good lawyer,” but “get carried away sometimes,” and he cautioned counsel not to “get smart with me now.” (Id. at 77, J.A. at 722.) This single exchange in the midst of a contentious trial does not remotely approach the repeated expressions of partiality or bias that we have found necessary to warrant reversal. See, e.g., Hickman, 592 F.2d at 934-36. To the contrary, we view this as an understandable expression of the trial court’s legitimate desire to retain control over the mode and manner of counsel’s interrogation of a witness. See Fed. R. Evid. 611(a). Indeed, if a trial judge’s isolated annoyance with counsel were grounds for a mistrial, it seems fair to say that many cases would never be tried to completion. Moreover, in its final instructions to the jury, the district court cautioned the jury not to “interpret my rulings on [the attorneys’] objections as any indication of how I think this case should be decided,” and emphasized that “nothing that the court did during the course of the trial is to suggest or convey to you in any way or any manner as to what I think this verdict should be in this case.” (6/18/2001 Trial Tr. at 113, 144, J.A. at 1154, 1185.) We presume that the jury heeded these instructions. Consequently, we find that this isolated incident, featuring brief and mild remarks rather than a harsh rebuke, did not result in any prejudice to Robinson’s fair trial rights. Finally, Robinson claims that he was prejudiced by a statement in Daniel McGill’s testimony that “[y]ou make sure you repent for your sins.” (6/5/2001 Trial Tr. at 18, J.A. at 663.) Although Robinson contends that this remark was directed at him, it appears equally likely from the surrounding context that McGill was repeating a remark made to him by a “voodoo priest” in Brazil. Nor can Robinson plausibly say how the jury might have construed this testimony, where his counsel failed to object, and later acknowledged that he had not heard McGill’s statement. (See id. at 18, 26, J.A. at 663, 671.) More importantly, defense counsel declined the district court’s offer of a curative instruction, and expressly agreed with the court’s observation that any such instruction was likely only to emphasize a statement that the jury also might not have heard or understood. (See id. at 27, J.A. at 672.) Under these circumstances, we find no error in the district court’s handling of this incident. No. 02-5040 United States v. Robinson Page 25 3. Dena Carmichael’s Testimony Regarding a Purported Instruction Not to Talk to Defense Counsel As his final claim of prejudice at trial, Robinson challenges the district court’s handling of Dena Carmichael’s testimony that she was instructed by the government’s counsel not to talk to Robinson’s attorney (or anyone else) about the case. Specifically, Carmichael testified that “I was told not to talk to anybody about this case,” and that this instruction came from “my lawyer for one, and the district attorney [i.e., the Assistant U.S. Attorney] also told me that.” (6/5/2001 Trial Tr. at 170, J.A. at 815.) Robinson argues that this instruction by government counsel interfered with his established right to interview witnesses. As the government correctly points out, however, the district court promptly explored this matter in a voir dire examination of Carmichael outside the presence of the jury. During this examination, Carmichael clarified her earlier testimony, stating that her lawyer had instructed her not to talk to anyone about the case, but that the Assistant U.S. Attorney, as well as the two federal law enforcement officers on the case, had merely advised her that she “didn’t have to talk to anybody” if she did not wish to. (Id. at 17879, J.A. at 823-24.) This testimony satisfied the district court that nothing improper had occurred. We find no basis to disturb the district court’s resolution of this factual issue, nor has Robinson cited any authority indicating that the advice given by government counsel to Carmichael was improper. E. The District Court Did Not Err in Its Jury Instructions. Robinson next argues that the district court’s instructions to the jury were erroneous in five different respects. Yet, as to all but one of these challenges, Robinson presents his arguments in wholly cursory fashion, without any citation to supporting authority. We have cautioned that “[i]ssues adverted to in a perfunctory manner, unaccompanied by some effort at developed argumentation, are deemed waived,” and that “[i]t is not sufficient for a party to mention a possible argument in the most skeletal way, leaving the court to . . . put flesh on its bones.” McPherson v. Kelsey, 125 F.3d 989, 995-96 (6th Cir. 1997) (internal quotations and citation omitted); see also United States v. Reed, 167 F.3d 984, 993 (6th Cir. 1999) (invoking this rule to deem an issue forfeited). In any event, we have already addressed several of these issues — e.g., the question of a single versus multiple conspiracies, the characterization of Robinson’s prior California conviction, and the claim of withdrawal from the conspiracy — and other contentions are contradicted by the record — e.g., the claim that the district court failed to inform the jury that its determinations as to drug quantities must be unanimous and beyond a reasonable doubt, (see Verdict Form at 2, J.A. at 323 (requiring unanimous findings of drug quantities beyond a reasonable doubt)). This leaves only Robinson’s contention that the district court erroneously declined to present his proffered theory of defense to the jury, and instead stated this theory in a more summary fashion. Upon reviewing the record, however, we do not share Robinson’s view that the district court’s statement did “nothing more than explain[] the significance of Robinson’s not guilty plea.” (Appellant Br. at 67.) Rather, we find that the district court’s presentation captured the essence of Robinson’s submission, and merely omitted certain unnecessary and repetitive details such as, for example, the contention that Dena Carmichael was not a truthful witness. We conclude, therefore, that the district court did not abuse its discretion in this matter. F. A Remand Is Necessary for Resentencing. Turning, finally, to the matter of sentencing, Defendant Robinson argues that the district court erred by sentencing him in absentia, and that the court also misapplied the Sentencing Guidelines in determining his sentence. We find no merit in the first of these challenges, but agree that the district court’s application No. 02-5040 United States v. Robinson Page 26 of the Sentencing Guidelines was deficient in one respect, and accordingly remand this case for resentencing.39 1. Sentencing in Absentia Shortly after trial and prior to his scheduled sentencing, Robinson escaped from federal custody at the Blount County Jail. The district court elected to proceed with sentencing in Robinson’s absence, and declined to reopen this proceeding when Robinson was apprehended in Brazil about a week after the sentencing hearing. Robinson now contends that the district court erred in sentencing him in absentia, and in declining to convene another sentencing hearing after his counsel had an opportunity to address various sentencing matters with him while he remained in Brazilian custody. We review the district court’s decision on this matter for clear error, see United States v. Watkins, No. 02-4174, 2004 WL 237412, at  (6th Cir. Feb. 6, 2004), and find no such error here. Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 43(b)(2), as it read at the time of Robinson’s sentencing, the “further progress of the trial to and including . . . the imposition of sentence, will not be prevented and the defendant will be considered to have waived the right to be present whenever a defendant, initially present at trial, . . . is voluntarily absent at the imposition of sentence.”40 At the November 28, 2001 sentencing hearing, the district court heard the testimony of a corrections officer regarding Robinson’s July 12, 2001 escape from the Blount County Jail. Although defense counsel argued that this did not establish Robinson’s voluntary absence from the sentencing hearing, the district court held otherwise, and this determination was not clearly erroneous. See Watkins, 2004 WL 237412, at - (upholding a finding of voluntary absence where the defendant was several hours late for a sentencing hearing, and where he previously had failed to regularly report to pretrial services as required under the terms of his release, resulting in a warrant for his arrest and the revocation of bond); United States v. Jordan, 216 F.3d 1248, 1249-50 (11th Cir. 2000) (holding that the defendant was voluntarily absent where he escaped from custody following his guilty plea and remained at large on the date of his sentencing hearing). Nonetheless, Robinson argues that he was no longer “voluntarily absent at the imposition of sentence,” as required to find a waiver under Rule 43(b)(2), where he was apprehended a few days after the sentencing hearing and was in Brazilian custody by the time the district court formally entered its judgment on December 18, 2001. He has not cited any authority for this proposition, however, and we are not inclined to adopt a hypertechnical reading of Rule 43 that would deny the significance of a sentencing hearing. The Rule, after all, is addressed solely to the subject of a defendant’s presence at various stages of a criminal proceeding, including sentencing. By specifying that voluntary absence operates as a waiver of the right to be present, the Rule plainly means to refer to proceedings that a defendant otherwise would be expected to attend. With regard to sentencing, the pertinent event is the hearing, at which a defendant is afforded the opportunity to address any issues relevant to his sentence. The entry of judgment, in contrast, is not such an occasion, and a defendant is not expected to be present at this time. Consequently, we find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s determinations (i) that Robinson waived his right to be present at sentencing by virtue of his voluntary absence from the November 28 and 29, 2001 sentencing hearings, and (ii) that 39 In a supplemental filing after oral argument, Robinson suggests that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Blakely v. Washington, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004), casts further doubt upon the validity of his sentence. In United States v. Koch, ___ F.3d ___, 2004 WL 1899930 (6th Cir. Aug. 26, 2004) (en banc), however, we held that Blakely does not invalidate the Sentencing Guidelines. Should the Supreme Court decide otherwise in a subsequent ruling, of course, the parties may revisit this matter at resentencing. 40 Under the present version of the Rule, this waiver provision has been moved to subsection (c) and reworded slightly, now speaking of voluntary absence “during sentencing.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 43(c)(1)(B). No. 02-5040 United States v. Robinson Page 27 this right was not reinstated, and that the sentencing hearing need not be reconvened, as a result of Robinson’s capture after the hearings but before the entry of judgment.41 2. The District Court’s Application of the Sentencing Guidelines Robinson advances both legal and factual challenges to the district court’s application of the Sentencing Guidelines in determining his sentence. We find no merit in his legal challenges, but agree that the trial court’s factual findings are insufficient to sustain his sentence. As his sole legal challenge, Robinson contends that the district court engaged in impermissible “double counting” by citing his escape from jail as a basis both for (i) denying a two-level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, and (ii) applying a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1. Yet, even assuming that “double counting” occurred here, we have observed that “the Sentencing Guidelines expressly mandate double counting under some circumstances through the cumulative application of sentencing adjustments.” United States v. Farrow, 198 F.3d 179, 194 (6th Cir. 1999). More specifically, we have identified the precise situation presented here — namely, an escape from custody before trial or sentencing — as one in which the “guidelines expressly contemplate using the same conduct to enhance a sentence and to deny a sentence reduction.” United States v. Tevepaugh, No. 00-6641, 2002 WL 22029, at  (6th Cir. Jan. 2, 2002). Robinson does not dispute that his escape provides an appropriate basis for a two-level obstruction enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1 — and, indeed, the application notes to § 3C1.1 expressly cite an escape before sentencing as an example of conduct warranting this enhancement. See U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1, cmt. n.4(e). Yet, having conceded this point, Robinson confronts the considerable obstacle that “[c]onduct resulting in an enhancement under §3C1.1 . . . ordinarily indicates that the defendant has not accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct,” and that it is only “extraordinary cases in which adjustments under both §§ 3C1.1 and 3E1.1 may apply.” United States v. Angel, 355 F.3d 462, 477 (6th Cir. 2004) (quoting U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, cmt. n.4). Thus, the Sentencing Guidelines not only permit the “double counting” challenged by Robinson here, they dictate that this is the proper result in all but the most “extraordinary” cases. Robinson has not even attempted to suggest how his circumstances might qualify as extraordinary — and, in fact, even in the absence of his escape from custody, we are somewhat at a loss to see what action Robinson might have taken at any point in these proceedings that would reflect his acceptance of responsibility. See, e.g., United States v. Hough, 276 F.3d 884, 895 (6th Cir. 2002) (“While going to trial does not preclude such a decrease [for acceptance of responsibility], it certainly does not make denial of the decrease a reversible error.”). We find no legal infirmity, therefore, in the enhancement of Robinson’s sentence under § 3C1.1 and the denial of a downward adjustment under § 3E1.1. Nonetheless, we agree with Robinson that the district court did not make the requisite factual findings in support of its application of the Sentencing Guidelines, and that a remand is necessary to rectify this omission. In the court below and again on appeal, Robinson has challenged the quantities of cocaine and marijuana for which he should be held responsible, the four-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a) for his role in the drug conspiracy offense, and the two-point increase in his criminal history under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(d) for committing the drug conspiracy offense while still on probation for his California battery offense. In resolving these and other factual issues at sentencing, the district court stated: THE COURT: What I am going to do shouldn’t be much to your surprise. I am going to adopt the Presentence Report and the addendum, as will be amended . . . . I am 41 We note that the present version of Rule 43 no longer refers to absence “at the imposition of sentence,” but instead speaks of voluntary absence “during sentencing.” The advisory committee notes accompanying this revision indicate that this change was purely stylistic, and not substantive. This lends further support to our conclusion that a defendant’s voluntary absence from a sentencing hearing operates as a waiver of his right to be present at sentencing, even if he then appears before the entry of judgment. No. 02-5040 United States v. Robinson Page 28 going to adopt that in its entirety as part of the order of this court rather than go through all of it and read it off which would be just — you have already seen it. (11/29/2001 Sentencing Hearing Tr. at 47-48, J.A. at 1286-87.) Later in the hearing, the district court reiterated: THE COURT: I am adopting [the presentence] report on all those things. I have noticed other district judges do this and it saves them a lot of time and the attorneys a lot of time. The Court of Appeals has approved that . . . . I am going to start doing it too. I used to sit here and write a long opinion on it. Now all we do is adopt it because we were anyway for the most part. (Id. at 51, J.A. at 1290.) As Robinson points out, Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(c)(1) provided, at the time of his sentencing, that “[f]or each matter controverted, the court must make either a finding on the allegation or a determination that no finding is necessary because the controverted matter will not be taken into account in, or will not affect, sentencing.”42 We require “literal compliance” with this provision, in order to “ensure that sentencing is based on reliable facts found by the court itself after deliberation, not on the delegation of the fact-finding process to the probation officer or the prosecution.” United States v. Parrott, 148 F.3d 629, 633 (6th Cir. 1998) (internal quotations and citation omitted). “The law in this circuit clearly prohibits a court faced with a dispute over sentencing factors from adopting the factual findings of the presentence report without making factual determinations of its own.” United States v. Monus, 128 F.3d 376, 396 (6th Cir. 1997). The district court’s ruling at sentencing in this case ran afoul of this prohibition. Nonetheless, a remand is not necessary if this error was harmless — as would be true, for example, if the purportedly “disputed” factual issues could be conclusively resolved under the record before us. See, e.g., United States v. Carter, 374 F.3d 399, 408 (6th Cir. 2004); Parrott, 148 F.3d at 633-34. We cannot say that the error here was clearly harmless, however. Rather, each of the above-cited factual issues can only be resolved by weighing the evidence, assessing the credibility of witnesses, and employing other fact-finding means that are unavailable in this appellate forum. Consequently, we remand this case for resentencing, at which time the district court can make rulings on these issues in accordance with the command of Rule 32.43