Opinion ID: 419738
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Bruton Evidence

Text: 35 Rubio claims that she was deprived of her constitutional right to confront a witness against her, when the district court admitted a DEA agent's testimony of Rosado's post-arrest exculpatory statements which referred to her. The challenged testimony consisted of Rosado's statement that Rubio and Rosado were at the Holiday Inn on June 6 for a weekend vacation, and that Rubio was going to use the triple beam scale and the Clorox to do some cooking and cleaning while they were there. Rubio argues that it was error under Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968), to admit these statements into evidence, since the jury could have inferred that the statements by Rosado, if found to be false, were made to conceal improper conduct by herself. We find this argument meritless. 36 At the time the DEA agent's testimony was introduced and again in his charge to the jury, the district judge instructed the jury to consider such statements only with respect to Rosado and to disregard them as to Rubio. The judge also gave an instruction to the jury on the rationale of offering allegedly false exculpatory testimony at trials. The Supreme Court in Bruton has indicated that such a careful foundation and curative instruction, although ineffective against powerfully incriminating statements, may be effective in less severe circumstances. Id. at 135, 88 S.Ct. at 1627. This court has also held that cautionary instructions will avoid a Bruton confrontation issue unless the admitted evidence is clearly inculpatory as to the complaining co-defendant and is vitally important to the government's case. United States v. Wingate, 520 F.2d 309, 313 (2d Cir.1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1074, 96 S.Ct. 858, 47 L.Ed.2d 84 (1976) (quoting United States v. Catalano, 491 F.2d 268, 273 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 825, 95 S.Ct. 42, 42 L.Ed.2d 48 (1974)); see also United States v. Burke, 700 F.2d 70, 85 (2d Cir.1983); United States v. Marin, 669 F.2d 73, 83 (2d Cir.1982); United States v. Perry, 643 F.2d 38, 51 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 835, 102 S.Ct. 138, 70 L.Ed.2d 115 (1981); United States v. Knuckles, 581 F.2d 305, 313 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 986, 99 S.Ct. 581, 58 L.Ed.2d 659 (1978). 37 Rosado's statements clearly were not inculpatory as to Rubio; nor is this a case where a defendant has attempted to shift blame to a co-defendant. See United States v. Garris, 616 F.2d 626, 630 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 926, 100 S.Ct. 3021, 65 L.Ed.2d 1119 (1980). Moreover, nothing new or incriminating was presented to the jury which had not already been presented through the testimony of Agent Castillo, who testified with regard to Rubio's presence at the Holiday Inn and the fact that she had shown him both the scale and the bottle of Clorox. Therefore, since we find Rosado's statements as to Rubio to be non-inculpatory, we see no reason why the jury could not have received the evidence without an impermissible taint affecting their judgment. Further, the limiting instructions given were sufficient to cure any prejudice to Rubio which may have been caused by admitting Rosado's statements into evidence. 38 The remaining claims on appeal relating to ministerial defects in search warrants procured for the appellants' apartment, safe deposit boxes and the trunk of their car, were thoroughly discussed and properly dismissed by the district court. United States v. Rubio, 526 F.Supp. 171 (S.D.N.Y.1981). We affirm the findings of the court below and hold that the defects, largely inadvertent and due to carelessness, do not merit the severe remedy of suppression. 39 The judgments of conviction are affirmed.