Opinion ID: 187186
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Carroll Fletcher

Text: We now turn to Carroll Fletcher's claims. First, Fletcher argues that the evidence was insufficient for a jury to convict him of Count 4, maintaining a drug residence at 200 K St. N.W. The Government concedes on appeal that the evidence is in fact insufficient; accordingly, we reverse Fletcher's conviction on that count and remand for re-sentencing. Second, Fletcher challenges his mandatory life sentences for his convictions on Counts 1 and 5. A life sentence is mandatory for certain drug offenders convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(iii) and § 846 who have two prior felony drug convictions. Here, the Government relied on Fletcher's 1977 and 1987 drug convictions as the two prior felony drug convictions. Fletcher argues that (1) the 1977 conviction was set aside under the Federal Youth Corrections Act (FYCA) and (2) the Government did not sufficiently prove the conviction because it relied only on a docket sheet entry. Even assuming his 1977 conviction was set aside under the FYCA, however, the conviction still counts for purposes of sentencing under § 841(b). We need not decide at this stage whether the Government adequately proved the 1977 conviction: We are already remanding Fletcher's convictions for re-sentencing because we are reversing his drug-residence conviction; and on remand, the Government plans to provide additional proof of Fletcher's 1977 conviction. Third, Fletcher and his co-defendants Farrell and Law raise a Confrontation Clause challenge to expert witness testimony by a police detective; that argument is inconsistent with our precedents. Fourth, Fletcher, Farrell, and Law contend that the Government's expert forensic scientist gave improper expert testimony; we reject that claim.
The jury found Fletcher guilty of Count 4, maintaining a drug residence at 200 K Street in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(1). Section 856(a)(1) makes it unlawful to knowingly open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place, whether permanently or temporarily, for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance. See United States v. Lancaster, 968 F.2d 1250, 1254 (D.C.Cir. 1992). On appeal, Fletcher argues that the evidence shows that another person rented and maintained the 200 K Street apartment; Fletcher further contends that there was no evidence that he owned, leased, lived in, had a key to, or had any control over the apartment; the evidence showed only that he went there occasionally to carry out drug transactions. The Government concedes on appeal that the evidence is insufficient to support Fletcher's conviction on this count. Accordingly, we reverse Fletcher's § 856(a)(1) conviction; as the Government acknowledges, we must therefore remand Fletcher's case for re-sentencing.
The jury found Fletcher guilty of, among other counts, (1) conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, 50 grams or more of cocaine base, and 100 grams or more of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846 (Count 1) and of (2) distributing 50 grams or more of cocaine base in violation of § 841 (Count 5). For each of these counts, the district court sentenced Fletcher to life imprisonment without releasea mandatory sentence for offenders such as Fletcher who were convicted under those provisions after two or more prior convictions for a felony drug offense have become final. § 841(b)(1)(A); see also § 846 (Any person who attempts or conspires to commit any offense defined in this subchapter shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the attempt or conspiracy.). Fletcher had two prior felony drug convictions: a 1977 conviction for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and a 1987 conviction for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. He argues that the § 841 and § 846 mandatory life sentences do not apply to him, however, because (1) the 1977 conviction was later set aside under § 5021 of the Federal Youth Corrections Act, and (2) the Government did not prove his 1977 conviction sufficiently. See Federal Youth Corrections Act, 18 U.S.C. § 5005 et seq., (1976), repealed by Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-473, § 218(a)(8), 98 Stat. 1976, 2027. Even if we assume Fletcher's 1977 conviction was set aside under the Federal Youth Corrections Acta question we need not decidethe district court still must take it into account in determining his sentence under § 841(b). The term set aside and the related term expunge have unfortunately not acquired settled meanings. Compare U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2, cmt. n.10 (conviction removed from criminal record for reasons unrelated to innocence or errors of law such as a conviction removed from criminal record to serve a social policy goal, for example to restore civil rights or to remove the stigma associated with a criminal conviction, is set aside), with Dickerson v. New Banner Inst., Inc., 460 U.S. 103, 115, 103 S.Ct. 986, 74 L.Ed.2d 845 (1983) (under Iowa law, expunction does not alter the legality of the previous conviction and does not signify that the defendant was innocent of the crime to which he pleaded guilty). The FYCA uses the term set aside in the same way the Sentencing Commission doesto designate a conviction removed from a criminal record for policy reasons unrelated to innocence or legal error, namely, to promote the rehabilitation of youth offenders. Tuten v. United States, 460 U.S. 660, 663-65, 103 S.Ct. 1412, 75 L.Ed.2d 359 (1983). If expungement or set-aside of a conviction is designed to allow an individual to make a fresh start, then if the individual commits a later crime, he or she may forfeit the benefits of the expungement for purposes of recidivist sentencing provisions, at least unless Congress provides otherwise. For as we have recognized, [s]ociety's stronger interest is in punishing appropriately an unrepentant criminal. United States v. McDonald, 991 F.2d 866, 872 (D.C.Cir.1993). Consistent with that principle, some federal recidivist provisions expressly exempt expunged or set-aside convictions. For example, the federal Sentencing Guidelines do not count expunged convictions for a defendant's criminal history, although the Guidelines do count set-aside convictions. See U.S. SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL § 4A1.2(j) (2007); see also United States v. Fosher, 124 F.3d 52, 58 (1st Cir.1997); Gass v. United States, 109 F.3d 677, 679-80 (11th Cir.1997); United States v. Nicolace, 90 F.3d 255, 258 (8th Cir.1996); United States v. Wacker, 72 F.3d 1453, 1479 (10th Cir.1995); United States v. Levi, 45 F.3d 453, 457 (D.C.Cir.1995) (conviction set aside under FYCA was properly included in determining [defendant's] sentence); United States v. Ashburn, 20 F.3d 1336, 1343 (5th Cir.1994); United States v. McDonald, 991 F.2d at 871-72; but see United States v. Kammerdiener, 945 F.2d 300, 301 (9th Cir.1991). For purposes of sentences imposed under § 841, however, Congress has not exempted from the prior convictions that must be counted those convictions removed from a criminal record for policy reasons unrelated to innocence or an error of law. The courts of appeals that have considered this § 841 question therefore have counted prior felony drug convictions even where those convictions had been set aside, expunged, or otherwise removed from a defendant's record for such reasons. See, e.g., United States v. Norbury, 492 F.3d 1012, 1015 (9th Cir.2007); United States v. Sampson, 385 F.3d 183, 194-95 (2d Cir.2004); United States v. Graham, 315 F.3d 777, 783 (7th Cir.2003); cf. United States v. Acosta, 287 F.3d 1034, 1037 (11th Cir.2002); United States v. Cisneros, 112 F.3d 1272, 1281-82 (5th Cir.1997); United States v. Meraz, 998 F.2d 182, 183-85 (3d Cir.1993); United States v. Campbell, 980 F.2d 245, 251 (4th Cir.1992). We agree with those courts of appeals and reach the same result here. We now turn to Fletcher's argument that the 1977 conviction was not sufficiently proved. The Government must prove the conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. See 21 U.S.C. § 851(c)(1). The Government relied on a docket-sheet entry to prove the 1977 conviction, but Fletcher claims that the docket sheet was insufficient because it lacks the necessary indicia of reliability. See United States v. Price, 409 F.3d 436, 445 (D.C.Cir.2005). We need not address that contention. Because we are reversing Fletcher's drugresidence conviction, we are already remanding his case for re-sentencing. And the Government has informed the court that, on remand, it will submit a copy of the judgment and order of commitment for Fletcher's 1977 conviction, presumably eliminating any argument about the fact of the conviction. If on remand the Government adequately proves Fletcher's 1977 conviction by producing the judgment and commitment order, the district court must continue to count the 1977 conviction in determining Fletcher's sentences for Counts 1 and 5.
All three defendants contest the admission of Detective Tyrone Thomas's expert testimony about the typical operations of narcotics dealers, arguing that it was testimonial hearsay admitted in violation of the Sixth Amendment as interpreted in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004). Because the defendants did not object to Thomas's testimony at trial, we review the admission of the testimony only for plain error. See FED.R.CRIM.P. 52(b); United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-37, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993). Defendants have shown no error, much less plain error, becauseas we have previously held Crawford does not limit the admissibility of expert witness testimony. In Crawford, the Supreme Court held that the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment bars the introduction of testimonial out-of-court statements by witnesses who are not subject to cross-examination. See 541 U.S. at 68-69, 124 S.Ct. 1354. The three defendants argue that Detective Thomas formed his opinion about the typical operations of narcotics dealers over the course of thousands of interviews, and that his testimony is in reality the testimony of thousands of out-of-court witnesses who were not subject to cross-examination. But as this court has previously explained (in a case involving this same expert), Crawford did not involve expert witness testimony and thus did not alter an expert witness's ability to rely on (without repeating to the jury) otherwise inadmissible evidence in formulating his opinion under Federal Rule of Evidence 703. United States v. Henry, 472 F.3d 910, 914 (D.C.Cir.2007). Here, as in Henry, Thomas testified based on his experience as a narcotics investigator; he did not relate statements by out-of-court declarants to the jury. We therefore find that admission of Thomas's testimony was not error, much less plain error.
All three defendants contend that the district court erred in denying a motion to strike the expert testimony of Eileen Waninger, an FBI forensic chemist. Waninger testified that evidence recovered from trash cans behind the Rosedale building and from apartments # 3 and # 4 contained residue of controlled substances, including cocaine base, cocaine powder, and heroin. After allowing the prosecution to recall Waninger so she could explain testing procedures in greater detail, the district court denied the objection to her testimony. We review the district court's decision to admit the testimony under an abuse-of-discretion standard. See Gen. Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136, 146, 118 S.Ct. 512, 139 L.Ed.2d 508 (1997). Defendants argue that the district court should have barred Waninger's testimony because the evidence did not establish that her conclusions ... were reliable. Under Daubert, the district court must focus `solely on principles and methodology, not on the conclusions that they generate.' Ambrosini v. Labarraque, 101 F.3d 129, 133 (D.C.Cir.1996) (quoting Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 595, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993)). In acting as gatekeeper, the court must determine first whether the expert's testimony is based on `scientific knowledge;' and second, whether the testimony `will assist the trier of fact to understand or determine a fact in issue.' Id. (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 592, 113 S.Ct. 2786). As this court noted in Ambrosini, the Daubert Court outlined four factors that the district court could use to evaluate scientific validity: (1) whether the theory or technique can be and has been tested; (2) whether the theory or technique has been subjected to peer review and publication; (3) the method's known or potential rate of error; and (4) whether the theory or technique finds general acceptance in the relevant scientific community. Id. at 134. The court further emphasized that the inquiry is a flexible one; the factors outlined are not necessarily applicable in every case or dispositive; nor are [they] exhaustive. Id. Here, Waninger explained that, following FBI Laboratory protocol of identifying residue by more than one technique, she used at least two of the three following tests to identify the residue on each item: (1) ion mobility spectrometry, (2) infrared spectroscopy, and (3) gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. She testified that ion mobility spectrometry is an accepted screening technique in forensic chemistry; that it has been used for many, many years; that it is regularly used, including in Drug Enforcement Agency narcotics testing and airport explosives testing; and that a lot of papers have been written about its use. She testified that infrared spectroscopy, a technique that passes infrared light through a sample to determine its unique chemical spectra, is used worldwide by forensic chemists to detect controlled substances; that she has used it for ten years; and that it has been around a lot longer than that. Finally, Waninger testified about the third technique, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, which allows chemists to separate the components in a mixture and identify the chemicals in them based upon their mass spectrum. She testified that the technique is scientifically accepted, that she has used it for more than 15 years, and that it is widely used by forensic chemists for the detection of controlled substances. Waninger also explained that she represents the FBI on a scientific working group for the analysis of seized drugs, and that the group has published recommendations on the minimum standards for qualitative identification of the presence of a controlled substance using those techniques. She further testified that her FBI laboratory followed those standards. Waninger's testimony that all three techniques have been established for many years, are widely used, and are accepted in the relevant scientific community is sufficient to satisfy the limited Daubert inquiry. See Ambrosini, 101 F.3d at 134 (General acceptance in the relevant scientific community may be sufficient to permit the admissibility of expert testimony....); see also United States v. Vitek Supply Corp., 144 F.3d 476, 485-86 (7th Cir.1998) (finding that techniques including gas chromatography/mass spectrometry are widely used and generally accepted in the fields of analytical and forensic chemistry). We also note the expert's personal experience. See Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 148-49, 151-52, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999). Waninger had worked at the FBI's Quantico lab for ten years, had previously worked as a forensic scientist for a state police department for four years, and had testified as a forensic chemistry expert at least 40 times in federal and state courts throughout all of the United States as well as internationally. The district court did not err in admitting her testimony.