Opinion ID: 537758
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Jose's Claims

Text: 25 Jose raises several issues on appeal. First, he claims that the trial court erred in admitting hearsay statements made by Carlos under the hearsay exception allowing statements against penal interest. The statements in question were allowed into evidence because Carlos refused to testify and was found to be an unavailable witness as defined by Fed.Rule of Evid. 804(a)(1). Jose contends that pursuant to Fed.Rule of Evid. 804(b)(3), statements against penal interest must be corroborated for their trustworthiness to assure they were made for their truth and not to curry favor with the police. United States v. Alvarez, 584 F.2d 694 (5th Cir.1978). However, the precise meaning of the corroboration requirement in Rule 804(b)(3) is uncertain, and is not much clarified by either legislative history or the cases. United States v. Silverstein, 732 F.2d 1338, 1346-47 (7th Cir.1984). The Fifth Circuit has identified a three-prong test for determining the admissibility of hearsay statements under 804(b)(3). To satisfy the three-prong test, a court must find that, (1) the declarant's statement was against the penal interest of the declarant, (2) corroborating circumstances exist indicating the trustworthiness of the statement, and (3) the declarant must be unavailable. Id.; see also, United States v. Harrell, 788 F.2d 1524, 1526 (11th Cir.1986); and United States v. MacDonald, 688 F.2d 224, 232-33 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1103, 103 S.Ct. 726, 74 L.Ed.2d 951 (1982). 26 We believe this is a useful test to be used in such an analysis and we adopt it here. In applying this test, we first determine whether a statement is in fact against interest. This depends upon the circumstances of the particular case. United States v. Guinan, 836 F.2d 350, 355 (7th Cir.1988); United States v. Coachman, 727 F.2d 1293, 1296 (D.C.Cir.1984). For a statement to qualify as a 804(b)(3) statement against interest, the government must show that the statement tended to subject the declarant to criminal liability so that a reasonable person in the declarant's position would not have made the statement unless the declarant believed it to be true. United States v. Wilkus, 875 F.2d 649, 654 (7th Cir.1989); United States v. Candoli, 870 F.2d 496, 509 (9th Cir.1989). A statement satisfies this requirement if it would be probative in trial against the defendant. 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). Carlos' statements implicating himself and Jose in the transportation of marijuana and the possible involvement in a larger conspiracy surely would tend to subject Carlos to criminal liability. Therefore, the statements are clearly against penal interest, and since Carlos asserted his fifth amendment right not to testify he was not available. The only issue for us to decide is whether the statements were properly corroborated as to their trustworthiness. 27 Rule 804(b)(3) requires that corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of a statement against interest. United States v. Williams, 738 F.2d 172, 178 (7th Cir.1984) (citing United States v. Silverstein, 732 F.2d 1338 (7th Cir.1984)); United States v. Bagley, 537 F.2d 162, 165 (5th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1075, 97 S.Ct. 816, 50 L.Ed.2d 794 (1977). This applies to both inculpatory and exculpatory statements. Fuson v. Jago, 773 F.2d 55, 60 (6th Cir.1985). This Court has determined that a trial judge has considerable discretion, within the parameters of the rules of evidence, in determining whether hearsay statements contain the necessary guarantees of trustworthiness because the judge watches and evaluates credibility and demeanor. Guinan, 836 F.2d at 354; Bagley, 537 F.2d at 168. Therefore, a trial court's determination of the trustworthiness of an out-of-court statement should be upheld unless the finding is clearly erroneous. United States v. Briscoe, 742 F.2d 842, 846-47 (5th Cir.1984). 28 Jose argues that the hearsay statements lack reliability because they were made during the custodial interrogation of Carlos without an attorney and as such may have been made merely to curry favor with the authorities. Feldman, 761 F.2d at 388 (when currying favor with law enforcement officials is involved, there is a substantial likelihood that the statement is self-serving and, thereby, unreliable). To determine whether these facts are sufficient, we rely on the analysis adopted by this Court in United States v. Silverstein, 732 F.2d at 1347, which requires some corroborative evidence of the content of the hearsay statement. There is nothing in the record that indicates Carlos was motivated by a desire to curry favor with his interrogators. He voluntarily made his statement after being advised of his Miranda rights and did not enter into any plea agreements with the government. Under this analysis, we find there was sufficient evidence for the district court to conclude that Carlos' statements were corroborated by some other evidence in the case. In sum, the trial court's decision to admit the statements was not clearly erroneous. 29 Jose next argues that his sixth amendment confrontation rights were violated by the admission of Carlos' hearsay statements. To support his claim, Jose relies on this Court's holding in United States v. Fairman, 712 F.2d 315, 318 (7th Cir.1983), where we held the confrontation clause requires that hearsay statements of unavailable witnesses must be excluded at trial absent adequate indicia of reliability. See also New Mexico v. Earnest, 477 U.S. 648, 649-50, 106 S.Ct. 2734, 2734-35, 91 L.Ed.2d 539 (1986); United States v. Feldman, 761 F.2d 380, 387 (7th Cir.1985). [T]he constitutional test [is] not whether there was an opportunity for ... cross-examination, but whether there are adequate indicia of reliability to justify the placement of the hearsay statement before the jury. Guinan, 836 F.2d at 358 (quoting Feldman, 761 F.2d at 387). The Supreme Court has determined in Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 66, 100 S.Ct. 2531, 2539, 65 L.Ed.2d 597 (1980), that reliability can be inferred when hearsay evidence falls within a firmly-rooted hearsay exception. From this principle, we have developed a two-part test to determine whether the statements admitted pursuant to a hearsay exception violated a defendant's confrontation rights. United States v. Blakey, 607 F.2d 779, 786 (7th Cir.1979) (citing Dutton v. Evans, 400 U.S. 74, 91 S.Ct. 210, 27 L.Ed.2d 213 (1970)). First it must be clear that the declarant actually made the statement in question. Second, there must be circumstantial evidence supporting the truth of the statement. Id.; see also Feldman, 761 F.2d at 387. There is no question in this case that Carlos made the statements at issue. Thus, we move to the second part of the inquiry and note that we have previously determined that the statements were properly admitted as statements against interest under Rule 804(b)(3). As such, we concluded that the statements were supported by sufficient corroborating evidence. That evidence also satisfies the required indicia of reliability for confrontation clause purposes. United States v. Marchini, 797 F.2d 759, 765 (9th Cir.1986). Admitting Carlos' statements was not a violation of Jose's sixth amendment confrontation right. 30 Jose next contends that the trial court erred in refusing to give his theory of defense instruction to the jury, i.e., he was merely associated with Carlos. His proposed instruction read Association with conspirators alone is not sufficient to constitute knowledge of the conspiracy or intent to join the conspiracy. This claim must be viewed under the standard established by this Court in United States v. Gratton, 525 F.2d 1161 (7th Cir.1975) where we held that: 31 The mere offer of the instruction does not preserve the error for appeal. If the party whose tendered instruction is refused fails to object to the refusal, stating distinctly the grounds of his objection, the Court of Appeals may review the refusal to instruct only to determine whether it constitutes plain error within the meaning of Rule 52(b) [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure]. 32 In this case, defense counsel failed to raise an objection to the trial court's refusal to give the proposed instruction. Therefore we must determine if the failure to give the instruction amounts to plain error. 33 The plain error rule, 52(b), is to be applied cautiously and only where it can be said that a fundamental error, so basic and prejudicial has occurred that justice cannot have been done, or where the error denies a fundamental right of the accused. United States v. McCaskill, 676 F.2d 995, 1002 (4th Cir.1982) (citing United States v. Harper, 579 F.2d 1235, 1239 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 968, 99 S.Ct. 459, 58 L.Ed.2d 427 (1978)). Plain error also occurs where the instructional mistake had a probable impact on the jury's finding that the defendant was guilty. United States v. Jackson, 569 F.2d 1003, 1010 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 437 U.S. 907, 98 S.Ct. 3096, 57 L.Ed.2d 1137 (1978). To determine whether the claimed error was so prejudicial to a defendant to constitute reversible error, the submitted instructions must be viewed in light of the facts of the case and the evidence presented. Sherrod v. Berry, 827 F.2d 195, 203 (7th Cir.1987). 34 In the instant case, the jury instructions sufficiently informed the jury of all elements needed to find Jose guilty or innocent of the crime charged. The conspiracy instruction given to the jury stated in pertinent part: 35 To be a member of the conspiracy, the defendant need not join at the beginning or know all the other members or the means by which the purpose was to be accomplished. The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, from the defendant's own acts and statements, that he was aware of the common purpose and was a willing participant. 36 This instruction adequately states the applicable principle of law in the case and allows the jury to consider Jose's mere association defense. We do not believe that the additional instruction proposed by Jose would have a probable impact on the jury's finding or better serve the goals of justice. Therefore, any error that may have resulted from omitting the proposed instruction on mere association does not constitute plain error. 37 Finally, Jose argues for a reduction in his sentence by objecting to the base offense level computation under the Sentencing Guidelines Drug Quantity Table. The base offense level for a drug offense is determined by reference to the type and amount of drugs involved in the defendant's offense. Under the Guidelines, Jose was sentenced at a base offense level of 26 after being found guilty of a conspiracy involving 100 kilograms of marijuana (220 pounds). Jose objects to this base level claiming he was only involved, if at all, with transporting 100 pounds of marijuana, the amount in the truck, and this would only amount to a base level of 20 resulting in a lesser sentencing range. 38 The sentencing court rejected this objection, and so do we. Initially, we note that both Jose and Carlos stipulated that a conspiracy, if proven, was to distribute more than 100 kilograms. It is evident from the record that they entered into this stipulation to avoid the formality of the government presenting evidence to the jury of their involvement in more than the 100 pounds of marijuana found in the truck. Rather than cause delay and expense the defendants stipulated to the amount. Furthermore, the jury determined all the evidence proved Jose was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of participating in a conspiracy involving the stipulated amount of drugs and convicted him of the conspiracy. This conviction was based in part on the lack of evidence by the defendant that he only participated in this one delivery, as well as evidence that Jose picked up the truck and contacted Carlos about the delivery indicating that he may be involved in the larger drug conspiracy. The jury could reasonably rely on such evidence to convict Jose of the conspiracy charged. Based on the stipulation, the jury's conviction, and the district court's findings, we conclude that the overall circumstances support Jose's conviction on the conspiracy involving 100 kilograms. Therefore, the trial court's sentence is affirmed.