Opinion ID: 501759
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Nank's Testimony

Text: 122 The Montana death sentence statute permits the court to consider in mitigation whether the defendant has no significant history of prior criminal activity. Mont.Code Ann. Sec. 95-2206.9. In Coleman II, 185 Mont. 299, 605 P.2d at 1019-20, the Montana supreme court held that this statute permitted the trial court to consider the Roundup burglary in sentencing. We have long held that the due process clause does not preclude the sentencing judge from considering evidence of prior criminal conduct not resulting in a conviction. See, e.g., United States v. Morgan, 595 F.2d 1134, 1136 (9th Cir.1979); United States v. Miller, 588 F.2d 1256, 1266-67 (9th Cir.1978) (citing authorities from this court), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 947, 99 S.Ct. 1426, 59 L.Ed.2d 636 (1979); Farrow v. United States, 580 F.2d 1339, 1359-60 (9th Cir.1978) (en banc); United States v. Weston, 448 F.2d 626, 628-34 (9th Cir.1971), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 1061, 92 S.Ct. 748, 30 L.Ed.2d 749 (1972); United States v. English, 421 F.2d 133 (9th Cir.1970) (per curiam) (passim ). In Williams v. New York, 337 U.S. 241, 69 S.Ct. 1079, 93 L.Ed. 1337 (1949) (Williams ), the Court upheld the trial court's consideration, in imposing the death sentence, of some thirty burglaries allegedly committed by the defendant, even though he had not been convicted of these crimes. Id. at 244, 69 S.Ct. at 1081. See also McMillan, 106 S.Ct. at 2420 (discussing Williams ); Williams v. Oklahoma, 358 U.S. at 583-84, 79 S.Ct. at 425-26 (consideration of prior record in death sentence); see also United States v. Wondrack, 578 F.2d 808, 809-10 n. 1 (9th Cir.1978). 123 In Morgan, 595 F.2d 1134, we noted three due process limitations on a court's use in sentencing of crimes for which a defendant has not been convicted. First, a court may not consider evidence obtained in violation of the principles underlying Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963). Morgan, 595 F.2d at 1136. Second, a court may not consider false information. Id. (citing Townsend v. Burke, 334 U.S. 736, 68 S.Ct. 1252, 92 L.Ed. 1690 (1948)). Third, a court may not consider information derived solely from a pre-sentence report  'unless it is amplified by information such as to be persuasive of the validity of the charge there made.'  Id. (quoting Weston, 448 F.2d at 634). In United States v. Ibarra, 737 F.2d 825 (9th Cir.1984), we expanded upon the second and third limitations expressed in Morgan and held that the challenged information is  'false or unreliable' if it lacks 'some minimal indicium of reliability beyond mere allegation.'  Id. at 827 (citation omitted); see also United States v. Hull, 792 F.2d 941, 942-43 (9th Cir.1986) (applying this standard to evidence of unconvicted crimes; noting abuse of discretion standard to trial court's determination). Contrary to Coleman's contention, our cases have never established any per se rule preventing consideration of uncorroborated testimony in imposing sentence. Rather, the controlling inquiry is whether the evidence is minimally reliable. Id. at 942. Accord United States v. Whitten, 706 F.2d 1000, 1007 (9th Cir.1983) (evidence for conviction), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1100, 104 S.Ct. 1593, 80 L.Ed.2d 125 (1984). See also United States v. Florence, 741 F.2d 1066, 1069 (8th Cir.1984) (judge may consider uncorroborated hearsay; citing Farrow, 580 F.2d at 1360); United States v. Papajohn, 701 F.2d 760, 763 (8th Cir.1983) (same); United States v. Ray, 683 F.2d 1116, 1120 (7th Cir.) (same; citing authorities), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1091, 103 S.Ct. 578, 74 L.Ed.2d 938 (1982); State v. Koon, 298 S.E.2d 769, 773 (S.C.1982) (death penalty context) (disapproved on other grounds in Skipper, 476 U.S. 1, 106 S.Ct. 1669, 90 L.Ed.2d 1); Alvord v. State, 322 So.2d 533, 538 (Fla.1975) (same), cert. denied, 428 U.S. 923, 96 S.Ct. 3234, 49 L.Ed.2d 1226 (1976). See McMillan, 106 S.Ct. at 2420 (citing Williams, 337 U.S. 241, 69 S.Ct. 1079, 93 L.Ed.2d 1337, a death penalty case, and noting that evidence is often considered in discretion of judge without burden allocation or standard of proof). 124 Nank's testimony regarding the Roundup burglary satisfied this standard. The trial judge observed Nank while he testified and heard his testimony first hand. See United States v. Cruz, 523 F.2d 473, 476 (9th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1060, 96 S.Ct. 797, 46 L.Ed.2d 651 (1976). The trial judge also observed Coleman as he testified at the trial and heard him deny any involvement in the burglary. At the July 10th hearing, Coleman's counsel generally denied any involvement by Coleman in prior criminal activities. But he did not challenge the reference to Coleman's participation in the Roundup burglary in the pre-sentence report or in the trial court's unsigned Findings which were distributed at the beginning of the July 10th hearing. Coleman's counsel declined to call Nank to testify at the sentencing hearing and subject him to further cross-examination. 11 In addition, the Montana supreme court determined that Nank was corroborated on several points. Coleman I, 177 Mont. 1, 579 P.2d at 748 (including Negroid pubic hairs found in the Harstad vehicle and Coleman's fingerprints in the car and purse). 125 Presnell v. Georgia, 439 U.S. 14, 99 S.Ct. 235, 58 L.Ed.2d 207 (1978) (per curiam), cited by Coleman, does not change our conclusion. There, the jury sentenced the defendant to death. Although the jury did not find that the defendant had committed the necessary aggravating element of forceable rape, the Georgia supreme court sustained the conviction because the evidence would have supported that finding. Id. at 15-16, 99 S.Ct. at 236. The Court reversed because the jury did not convict the defendant of forceable rape and the sentence could not be sustained on a theory not accepted by the jury. Id. at 16-17, 99 S.Ct. at 236-37. Unlike the Georgia supreme court in Presnell, the trial judge here was authorized to enter sentence and determine the existence or non-existence of aggravating or mitigating circumstances. Mont.Code Ann. Secs. 95-2206.6 and 95-2206.10. See Spaziano, 468 U.S. 447, 104 S.Ct. 3154, 82 L.Ed.2d 340 (passim ) (upholding statute permitting trial court to enter sentencing in death penalty). The trial judge, like the jury, found that Coleman had committed aggravated kidnapping. Once the court found this aggravating circumstance, the court determined that Coleman was not entitled to mitigation credit for his otherwise clean record, because of his participation in the Roundup burglary and the enormity of his offense. We find nothing irrational or arbitrary about the trial court's weighing of these factors, see id. at 467, 104 S.Ct. at 3166, nor may we substitute our judgment for that of the Montana courts. Id. 126