Opinion ID: 405147
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: severance of offenses

Text: 8 Harper contends that the district court improperly denied his motion to sever the offenses charged, so that each bank robbery could be tried separately. Harper argues that because of the denial of severance, the jury (1) impermissibly cumulated the evidence concerning each of the robberies so as to find him guilty of all three, and (2) inferred guilt as to the Peoples and Peninsula Bank robberies for lack of an alibi, because alibi witnesses were offered only as to the Hallandale Bank robbery. In support of his first argument, Harper notes that his first trial, which involved only the Peoples Bank robbery, resulted in a hung jury, whereas his second trial resulted in a guilty verdict as to all three robberies. In response, the government argues (1) that separate trials would not have cured the alleged cumulation of evidence, because evidence of all three robberies would have been admissible in a separate trial of each robbery, and (2) that the jury was able to consider separately the evidence of each robbery because of the well-organized presentation of evidence and because of the cautionary jury instructions. We conclude that the district court did not improperly deny Harper's severance motion. 9 The district court's denial of a motion for severance of offenses under Fed.R.Crim.P. 14 is reviewable only for abuse of discretion. E.g., United States v. McCulley, 673 F.2d 346, 349 (11th Cir. 1982); United States v. Kabbaby, 672 F.2d 857, 861 (11th Cir. 1982); United States v. Salomon, 609 F.2d 1172, 1175 (5th Cir. 1980). In order to demonstrate an abuse of discretion, the defendant must establish that the joint trial subjected him not just to some prejudice, but to compelling prejudice against which the district court could not afford protection. E.g., United States v. Kabbaby, 672 F.2d at 861; United States v. Tombrello, 666 F.2d 485, 492 (11th Cir. 1982) (quoting United States v. Swanson, 572 F.2d 523, 528 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 849, 99 S.Ct. 152, 58 L.Ed.2d 152 (1978)); United States v. Staller, 616 F.2d 1284, 1294 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 869, 101 S.Ct. 207, 66 L.Ed.2d 89 (1980). See generally Criminal Procedure Project, 1980-81 Term, 70 Geo.L.J. 365, 578-80 (discussing defendant's burden of establishing compelling prejudice). Harper simply has not demonstrated compelling prejudice. 10 First, the hung jury in the first trial does not persuade us that the jury in the second trial impermissibly cumulated the evidence. A jury may not be able to reach a verdict for many reasons. The different results reached by the two juries simply may reflect the honest, but differing, opinions of two groups of people, properly considering as to each robbery only the evidence relating to that robbery, but making different credibility choices concerning witnesses, etc. 11 Second, the prejudice asserted by Harper, with respect to the presentation of alibi witnesses only as to one robbery, is hardly compelling. Harper argues that because he presented alibi witnesses only as to one robbery, the jury was likely to infer that he had no alibi as to the other two robberies and thus that he was guilty of the other offenses. In our view, this contention is speculative. An equally plausible inference from the failure to present an alibi witness is that the defendant was elsewhere at the time of the crime, but was alone. Further, the jury was instructed (1) that the government, not Harper, bore the burden of proof with respect to each element of the offenses charged, including Harper's participation in the robberies, and (2) that Harper had no duty to present any evidence or to call any witnesses in the case. 12 The parties hotly dispute whether evidence of all three bank robberies would have been admissible as extrinsic offenses under Fed.R.Evid. 404(b) in separate trials of each robbery. We need not and do not address this question. It is true that the admissibility in severed trials of the same evidence admissible in a joint trial, albeit for different purposes, sometimes is considered in evaluating a defendant's claim of compelling prejudice from the denial of severance. E.g., United States v. Tombrello, 666 F.2d 485, 492 (11th Cir. 1982) (severance of defendants properly denied in part because all of the evidence relating to conspiracy count would have been admissible against each defendant in a separate trial). However, such admissibility is not required in order for the denial of severance to be within the district court's discretion. Indeed, in one case involving a challenge to the denial of severance of two bank robberies, the former Fifth Circuit upheld the denial, largely on the basis of cautionary jury instructions, and expressly declined to reach the government's argument that evidence of both robberies would have been admissible in separate trials of each robbery. United States v. Morris, 647 F.2d 568, 570-71 (5th Cir. 1981). In this case, aside from the hung jury and alibi arguments rejected above, Harper does not point to any particular characteristics of his trial in order to carry his burden of demonstrating compelling prejudice. The evidence as to each bank robbery was presented to the jury in a well-organized fashion, with the testimony of witnesses and the relevancy of physical evidence always tied to the particular bank robbery in question. Thus, the jury was not confused on the issue of which evidence pertained to which offenses. Further, the district court carefully instructed the jury that the defendants were not required to produce any witnesses or any evidence, that the government bore the burden of proof with respect to each element of the offenses charged, including the defendant's participation in the robberies, and that each offense and the evidence pertaining to it should be considered separately. 13 Accordingly, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Harper's motion for the severance of offenses.