Opinion ID: 450382
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Claims of Error Raised by Baraldini and Odinga

Text: 4. Use of RICO 34 Baraldini, joined by Odinga, argues that the trial court erred in allowing the government to prosecute these defendants as criminal racketeers. 35 a. Economic purpose 36 There is no merit to the claim that there was insufficient economic purpose for RICO to be applied to these self-professed revolutionaries. There must merely be some financial purpose, United States v. Bagaric, 706 F.2d 42, 55 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 134, 78 L.Ed.2d 128 (1983) (emphasis supplied), either to the criminal enterprise or the acts of racketeering. Appellant's reliance on United States v. Ivic, 700 F.2d 51 (2d Cir.1983), is misplaced. It does not stand for the proposition that there must be a significant economic purpose for RICO to apply. In Ivic, we expressly stated that we were not addressing a situation in which a terrorist organization engaged in robberies to obtain money to further their activities. 700 F.2d at 61 n. 6. Here, the defendants' activities centered around the commission of economic crimes. These defendants were charged with ten robberies and attempted robberies of armored trucks, the murders of guards and police officers at the scene of those crimes, and the use of the money obtained from those robberies to support enterprise members and to maintain safe houses. 37 b. Enterprise Proven by Facts Independent of Predicate Acts 38 Nor is there any merit to Baraldini's claim that the enterprise was not proven independent of the predicate acts. RICO charges may be proven even when the enterprise and predicate acts are functionally equivalent, and 'the proof used to establish [them] ... coalesce[d]' . Bagaric, 706 F.2d at 57, quoting United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576 at 583, 101 S.Ct. 2524 at 2528, 69 L.Ed.2d 246; United States v. Mazzei, 700 F.2d 85, 89 (2d Cir.1982). Moreover, the jury was presented with proof entirely separate from the existence of the two predicate acts. The government presented evidence of the Family's structure, the Action Five of which Odinga was a member, the secondary team which included Baraldini, the network of safehouses, continuing strategy and planning sessions, and the links among numerous criminal acts. 5. Fair Trial 39 We also find no merit to Baraldini's claim, joined in by the others, that she was denied a fair trial. First, the claim that the district judge was biased, based in part on the hostility expressed between one of the defense counsel and the district judge, is belied by the fact that the defendant represented by that lawyer was acquitted. It is difficult to see, therefore, how this could have prejudiced Baraldini. Moreover, it was not an abuse of discretion, and did not evidence a predisposition, for the trial judge to determine that unrelated investigations and the mistreatment of Odinga by state officials were irrelevant. In fact, the record reflects numerous examples of Judge Duffy's willingness to accommodate defendants' religious beliefs and their personal needs. 40 Second, Baraldini complains that Judge Duffy's refusal to name Susan Tipograph as appointed counsel was an abuse of discretion and denied her a fair trial. We disagree. As the trial court noted, Ms. Tipograph was not an attorney eligible for such appointment and had undertaken to represent Baraldini without any promise of payment. Further, her counsel's repeated reference to the trial transcript demonstrated her access to the transcript. 41 Third, appellant challenges the use of an anonymous jury. We have fully considered and resolved the issue of the effect that jury anonymity has on a defendant's presumption of innocence. United States v. Thomas, 757 F.2d 1359 (2d Cir.1985). Here, as in Thomas and United States v. Barnes, 604 F.2d 121 (2d Cir.1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 907, 100 S.Ct. 1833, 64 L.Ed.2d 260 (1980), there was justification for keeping jurors' identities secret: evidence at trial was to include descriptions in which the defendants discuss killing two government witnesses; a wanted-dead or alive poster of another government witness had been circulated; in the related state court proceedings, defense counsel had referred to witnesses as war criminals; and one fugitive defendant had written an exhortation calling for a campaign that targeted individual U.S. Attorneys or grand jurors [involved in this case] and [held] them accountable for the impact of their actions. United States v. Shakur, SSS 82 Cr. 0312, slip op. at 8 (S.D.N.Y. March 29, 1983). And, as in Thomas the district judge attributed the jury's anonymity to a need to protect their privacy from the press. Id. at ---- & n. 1; see also Barnes, 604 F.2d at 141. Baraldini's complaint that prospective jurors should have been questioned on voir dire about possible fear of jury service cuts both ways--such interrogation could well have created or heightened such fear. 42 Finally, no prejudice arose from other security measures taken under the circumstances. As many as two dozen plainclothed marshals were sometimes present at trial, they drove the jurors home at night, and there was a metal-detecting device present at the entrance to the courtroom. We agree that courts must guard against an ostensible display of unusual precaution which might have been interpreted as singling out th[ese] defendant[s] as ... particularly dangerous or guilty persons. Hardee v. Kuhlman, 581 F.2d 330, 332 (2d Cir.1978). But in view of the charges against the defendants, the threats that were made against witnesses and prosecutors, the disturbances occurring during the trial which added to the tense atmosphere, the fact that two important witnesses were in the witness protection program, and the number of defendants on trial, we find that the security measures employed were not prejudicial. Moreover, the effect on the jurors of the unusual precautions taken here were somewhat ameliorated because the marshals were not uniformed, the metal-detector was out of the juror's view, and the night escort service was a lesser measure than permissible sequestration. 43 6. Kidnapping as a Predicate Violation Under RICO 44 The jury found that one of the predicate acts for Baraldini's RICO conviction was her participation in the kidnapping of two prison guards during the prison escape of Joanne Chesimard. The guards were handcuffed, placed in a van and driven 200 yards down the road from the prison. Baraldini, again joined by Odinga, argues that Ms. Chesimard and her allies commandeered the prison van and put the guards inside as a necessary and incidental feature of the escape and that, under New Jersey law, the events cannot constitute a kidnapping. Appellants rely on State v. Hampton, 61 N.J. 250, 294 A.2d 23 (1972), in which the court considered whether the asportation and detention were ... incidental to the underlying crime, and ... substantially increased the risk of harm to the victim beyond that normally inherent in breaking and entering. 61 N.J. at 276; 294 A.2d at 37. Baraldini argues that under these facts her RICO conviction cannot stand on such a de minimus kidnapping. In the alternative, she asks that a new trial be ordered with the asportation issue submitted to the jury. 45 Under New Jersey law [a] person is guilty of kidnapping if [s]he [by force or threat] removes another from his place of residence or business, or a substantial distance from the vicinity where he is found ... in order [t]o facilitate commission of any crime or flight thereafter. N.J.Stat.Ann. Sec. 2C:13-1(b)(1) (emphasis added). By its own terms, the statute does not require proof that the victim be removed a substantial distance when, as here, the victim is removed from his place of business. See State v. Masino, 94 N.J. 436, 442, 466 A.2d 955, 961 (1983). Since this claim of error fails in light of the clear language of the New Jersey statute, it is unnecessary to reach the government's contention that the kidnapping was not, in any event, incidental to the escape, or its argument that the Hampton rule does not apply to hostage situations. See State v. Wooten, 135 N.J.Super. 6, 342 A.2d 549 (1975), aff'd by an equally divided court, 73 N.J. 317, 374 A.2d 1204 (1977). 7. Sufficiency of Evidence 46 Baraldini's challenge to the sufficiency of evidence supporting the two predicate acts, although presenting a close question, also fails. The jury found Baraldini guilty of two of the five predicate acts alleged in the indictment: the New Jersey kidnapping and an attempted armed robbery in Danbury, Connecticut on December 22, 1980. Claims of lack of sufficiency of the evidence to establish guilt are not often successful because a jury verdict must be upheld where, taking the view most favorable to the government, there is substantial evidence to support it. See Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1, 17, 98 S.Ct. 2141, 2150, 57 L.Ed.2d 1 (1978); Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942). As the jury resolves all issues of credibility and determines the facts, an appellate court must draw all available inferences in favor of the jury's verdict. When evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, a RICO conviction is no different from others, and hence the same rules apply. See United States v. Bagaric, 706 F.2d at 64. Here, the evidence sufficiently demonstrated Baraldini's guilt on both counts. 47 a. Danbury Attempted Robbery 48 Rison, a confederate who participated in the Danbury attempted robbery, testified against Baraldini. Rison testified that Baraldini had participated in the attempt. He based his conclusion on the fact that he saw more switch cars than drivers at the scene of the attempt and that Baraldini was a member of the secondary team of drivers. But he acknowledged that he did not actually see Baraldini at the scene. Rison also testified that Baraldini had committed another robbery based on a similar presumption, when, in fact, she was in Zimbabwe at the time. Thus, standing alone, Rison's testimony is clearly legally insufficient evidence. But another witness, Sondra Mitchell, provided sufficient evidence to sustain Baraldini's conviction when she testified that on December 22, 1980 while at home dressing for her grandmother's funeral, she allowed members of The Family to prepare for the Danbury robbery. She identified Baraldini as one of the women donning wigs on the day of the attempt. 49 b. Kidnapping 50 Rison also testified against Baraldini with respect to the kidnapping, stating that he saw her on the morning of the escape waiting with a switch car outside a safe house in East Orange, New Jersey. He saw her immediately after the escape at the safe house and testified that at the same time he saw others whom he said had been at the escape scene. But, again, he admitted that he had not actually seen Baraldini at the scene of the escape and that he had not seen her at any planning meeting. Nonetheless, while the proof against her is admittedly weak, it must be considered together with a handwritten evaluation of the operation, which was seized during a search of Odinga's Pittsburgh safe house. In that document a Family member expressed concern that the police would trace a van that Baraldini had purchased shortly before the escape and later turned over to Odinga. The written report recommended that the van be removed from insurance coverage and sold. Both steps were promptly taken. This, when combined with Rison's testimony, provides sufficient evidence to sustain the predicate kidnapping offense against Baraldini. 8. Baraldini's Sentence 51 Baraldini finally contends that her sentence, two consecutive 20 year terms, was excessive. Whatever views we may entertain concerning the severity of the sentence it was within statutory limits, see United States v. Tucker, 404 U.S. 443, 447, 92 S.Ct. 589, 591, 30 L.Ed.2d 592 (1972), and consistent with penalties given in this and other jurisdictions for the same offenses. See, e.g., Bagaric, 706 F.2d at 52 (consecutive sentences on RICO conspiracy and substantive counts, totaling 40 years). Baraldini contends that she did not have a significant prior criminal record and that, in any event, her role in the crimes for which she stands convicted was minor. She also claims that Judge Duffy failed to question her about possible inaccuracies in the pre-sentence report, that the sentence was based on her political beliefs, and that it was unfair to tack together the two 20 year sentences. 52 The seriousness of the crimes in which Baraldini was involved is self-evident regardless of her prior record, and as the driver of a getaway car her role in the crimes was significant. Moreover, she had ample opportunity to address the court regarding inaccuracies in her pre-sentence report and failed to do so, and she cites no evidence to support her claim that she was sentenced because of her political beliefs.