Opinion ID: 506169
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Disparity in Evidence

Text: 49 Severance is required in two situations. First, when the evidence against the other defendants was far more damaging, the prejudicial spillover may have deprived a defendant of a fair trial. Id. (quoting United States v. Sampol, 636 F.2d 621, 645 (D.C.Cir.1980)). The trial judge is usually in the best position to evaluate the resulting degree of prejudice, and jury instructions generally are sufficient to minimize any disparities in evidence. Butler, 822 F.2d at 1194; United States v. Wright, 783 F.2d 1091, 1096 (D.C.Cir.1986). 50 Although each appellant claims the government's case against him was far weaker than that against the other appellants, the evidence was not so dramatically disparate that the judge abused his discretion in denying the motions to sever. We have rarely held that a district court improperly denied a motion to sever. In United States v. Mardian, 546 F.2d 973 (D.C.Cir.1976) (en banc), Robert Mardian was tried along with the other Watergate conspirators. Mardian's participation in the conspiracy was brief, and the evidence against him was slight. Nevertheless, we held that severance was not required until Mardian's lawyer became ill during the trial. 546 F.2d at 979-80. 51 In Sampol, 636 F.2d 621, Ignacio Sampol was tried only for misprision of a felony and making false statements, whereas his co-defendants were tried for conspiracy and murder. Because of the quantity and inflammatory nature of the testimony against the co-defendants, the risk of a transference of their guilt was significant. Moreover, the testimony created a false impression that Sampol was involved in the conspiracy. 636 F.2d at 644-48. 52 In United States v. Bruner, 657 F.2d 1278 (D.C.Cir.1981), however, the kingpin of the conspiracy was tried along with his confederates. Lynch directed the operation, in which groups of overweight women were sent to doctors in various cities to obtain prescriptions for Dilaudid and Preludin. These drugs were later illegally resold. Although the evidence against Lynch was substantial, there was also independent and substantial evidence that the co-defendants participated in the conspiracy. The disparity in the weight of the evidence was not so dramatic as to require a severance. 657 F.2d at 1290-91. 53 We also distinguished Mardian and Sampol in United States v. Sutton, 801 F.2d 1346 (D.C.Cir.1986). There, we held the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying a motion for severance when the charges required the presentation of much of the same evidence, testimony of the same witnesses, and involve[d] two defendants who [were] charged, inter alia, with participating in the same illegal acts. 801 F.2d at 1365. 54 Here, too, there was substantial and independent evidence of each appellant's significant involvement in the conspiracy. Once each appellant was tied to the conspiracy, the acts of each conspirator in furtherance of the conspiracy's aims were attributable to all. The evidence and the charges were substantially overlapping, but the overlap was caused by the involvement of each appellant in a single scheme. In these circumstances, severance was not required.