Opinion ID: 364924
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Other Facts Considered

Text: 16 Morgan also objects to judicial consideration of police report summaries which referred to statements he allegedly made on three occasions when he was arrested. One arrest resulted in a conviction. As to the other two, charges were dismissed. His objections are based in part on the reasoning addressed in the previous section dealing with the prior acquittal, and in part on the contention that the prosecutor should have been required to hold an evidentiary hearing in order to bolster the reliability of those allegations. The latter argument will be dealt with briefly below. 17 The police report summaries show that on the occasions of the arrests, Morgan was belligerent and uncooperative. Also, on one occasion, he claimed to be a demolitions expert, and in response to a statement by one of the arresting officers that he would be working on the 4th of July, Morgan is reported to have said, that's a good day to get blown up. 18 It is clear beyond question that such information about Morgan is relevant to his characteristics . . . and the circumstances affecting his behavior, and, according to Rule 32(c)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, may appropriately find its way into a presentence report to be considered by the sentencing judge. The scope of Williams v. New York,supra, is likewise broad enough to accommodate such information. There are no Tucker problems because, as discussed earlier, these allegations are in no way related to unconstitutionally obtained prior convictions. Weston is satisfied because the allegations are based on police reports of statements made by Morgan himself. They are not, therefore, the same type of unsubstantiated allegations that required reversal in Weston. Finally, there is no evidence that any of the allegations are false, in contravention to Townsend, supra. We hold the information regarding statements allegedly made by Morgan at the time of these arrests was properly considered by Judge Thompson as evidence of other criminal conduct not resulting in conviction. Miller,supra at 1266; Weston, supra at 633. 19 Morgan's complaint against consideration of the fact that he was a possible witness in a trial involving the shooting of his girl friend is likewise without merit. He argues that this information was prejudicial, but it is clear from the Record and the Transcript of the sentencing procedure that Judge Thompson understood Morgan himself was not a suspect in the shooting. Morgan cites no authority whatsoever that would even arguably allow remand on this point, and we see no reason to do so. 2