Opinion ID: 444672
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 21 Appellant asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support the jury's verdict that he conspired to obstruct justice (Count One) and that he endeavored to obstruct justice (Count Three). In reviewing challenges to sufficiency of the evidence, this court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942), and must affirm a conviction if a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Figueroa, 720 F.2d 1239, 1243 (11th Cir.1983); United States v. Bell, 678 F.2d 547, 549 (5th Cir.1982) (Unit B en banc), aff'd on other grounds, 462 U.S. 356, 103 S.Ct. 2398, 76 L.Ed.2d 638 (1983). 12 The evidence may be sufficient though it does not exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence or [is not] wholly inconsistent with every conclusion of guilt .... A jury is free to choose among reasonable constructions of the evidence. Bell, 678 F.2d at 549.
22 The elements of a conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371 are: (1) an agreement between two or more persons, (2) an unlawful purpose, and (3) an overt act committed by one of the coconspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. United States v. Wieschenberg, 604 F.2d 326, 331 (5th Cir.1979). The existence of a conspiracy may be established through direct evidence or through inference. As stated by this court in United States v. Mulherin: 23 While mere presence or association with others involved in a criminal scheme is not sufficient to prove participation in a conspiracy, the essential elements of a conspiracy can be proved by inference from the actions of the parties or by circumstantial evidence. Direct evidence of an agreement to join a criminal conspiracy is rare, so a defendant's assent can be inferred from acts furthering the conspiracy's purpose. The government is not required to prove that each alleged conspirator knew all the details of the conspiracy; it is enough to establish that a defendant knew the essentials of the conspiracy. 24 710 F.2d 731, 738 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 1305, 79 L.Ed.2d 703 (1984) (citations omitted). 25 In the present case, appellant contends that there was no conspiracy to obstruct the investigation of false entries or misapplication of funds (an investigation instigated by the appellant and Charles Hawkins); at most there was a conspiracy to defraud the insurance company or avoid paying taxes. We conclude, however, that a reasonable jury could have found that there was a conspiracy to obstruct the investigation of false entries to the extent that the conspirators did not want the FBI to learn who really controlled the account in question. 26 Perkins also claims that the government failed to prove that he agreed to be part of the conspiracy to keep the Grand Jury from learning the true circumstances of the ownership of the Sweetie Marshall account. At appellant's trial, the government produced the following circumstantial evidence of Perkins' involvement in the conspiracy: FBI Special Agent Wilkerson testified that on March 12, 1980, Perkins told him that Sweetie Marshall did not reside at 647 West South Street (Perkins' office address and the address listed on Sweetie Marshall's bank account), and had not for some time, that Sweetie Marshall lived in Polk County, and that he would have Sweetie Marshall contact the FBI. When Perkins learned who controlled the Sweetie Marshall account (later in the day on March 12, 1980), he did not contact Wilkerson to clear the matter up. Perkins apparently took no further action until June 11, 1980, when he telephoned Ruye Hamilton and told him to call Wilkerson. This phone call took place several days after the Hamilton family had decided that Ruye would misrepresent himself as Sweetie Marshall in order to obtain the insurance money. The government also points to Perkins' alleged evasiveness or false statements before the Grand Jury as evidence that he was part of the conspiracy. 27 Although we find the foregoing evidence far from overwhelming, it is not this court's duty to conduct a plenary review of the evidence. Rather, under the standard set forth above, we find that the jury could have reasonably concluded that defendant knew of the conspiracy and agreed to be a part of it.
28 The lower court instructed the jury that in order to convict Perkins of obstructing justice pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1503, the government must prove that there was a federal grand jury investigation underway, that the defendant endeavored to influence, obstruct, or impede justice, and that the defendant's acts were done knowingly and corruptly. 29 Appellant Perkins' answers before the Grand Jury have alternately been characterized by the government as evasive and as false. In United States v. Griffin, 589 F.2d 200 (5th Cir.1979), the Fifth Circuit held that false testimony can form the basis of a conviction under section 1503. Griffin also held by implication, that evasive testimony can obstruct justice. Id. at 204 ([w]hether Griffin's testimony is described in the indictment as 'evasive' because he deliberately concealed knowledge or 'false' because he blocked the flow of truthful information is immaterial.). The Second Circuit reached the same conclusion in United States v. Cohn, 452 F.2d 881 (2d Cir.1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 975, 92 S.Ct. 1196, 31 L.Ed.2d 249 (1972) (defendant charged with giving false and evasive testimony) where the court found [t]he blatantly evasive witness achieves this effect [deliberate frustration] as surely by erecting a screen of feigned forgetfulness as one who burns files or induces a potential witness to absent himself. Id. at 884, citing United States v. Alo, 439 F.2d 751, 754, (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 850, 92 S.Ct. 307, 30 L.Ed.2d 282 (1971). See also United States v. Caron, 551 F.Supp. 662, 667, n. 6 (E.D.Va.1982) ([T]he indictment in Griffin alleges only that defendant gave false testimony, whereas in Cohn, the indictment additionally charged the defendant with giving evasive testimony, which more clearly obstructs a grand jury's investigation than does false testimony.). 30 Turning to the facts in the case before us, Perkins knew that there were irregularities in the Sweetie Marshall account, that Sweetie Marshall was a fictitious name, and that the grand jury was attempting to learn the identity of the person who controlled the Sweetie Marshall account. Although the government could have questioned Perkins more effectively, e.g., by asking him directly who controlled the Sweetie Marshall account, a reasonable jury could have found that Perkins' answers were evasive or false in an effort to obstruct the grand jury's investigation. Although the evidence is marginal, we do not find that it would be unreasonable for the jury to conclude that appellant endeavored to influence, obstruct or impede justice and that his acts were done knowingly and corruptly. 31 When false statements form the basis of the alleged obstruction, however, the government must prove that the statements had the effect of impeding justice. United States v. Griffin, 589 F.2d at 205; United States v. Caron, 551 F.Supp. at 670. The Supreme Court's opinion in In Re Michael, 326 U.S. 224, 66 S.Ct. 78, 90 L.Ed. 30 (1945), explains the rationale for this further requirement. There the Court explained: 32 All perjured relevant testimony is at war with justice, since it may produce a judgment not resting on truth. Therefore, it cannot be denied that it tends to defeat the sole ultimate objective of a trial. It need not necessarily, however, obstruct or halt the judicial process. For the function of trial is to sift the truth from a mass of contradictory evidence, and to do so the factfinding tribunal must hear both truthful and false witnesses. It is in this sense, doubtless, that this Court spoke when it decided that perjury alone does not constitute an obstruction which justifies usurpation of the contempt power and that there must be added to the essential elements of perjury under the general law the further element of obstruction to the Court in the performance of its duty. Ex parte Hudgings, supra, 249 U.S. 378, 39 S.Ct. 337, 63 L.Ed. 656, 11 ALR 333. 33 326 U.S. at 227-28, 66 S.Ct. at 79-80. We find this rationale equally applicable to allegations of evasive testimony and thus conclude that when either false or evasive testimony is the basis of a section 1503 charge, the government must prove obstruction. 34 We note, however, that the jury in this case was expressly instructed that it did not have to find the further element of obstruction in order to find the defendant guilty. Defense counsel did not object to this instruction at trial and does not challenge the validity of this instruction on appeal. Rather, appellant raises the requirement of proving obstruction only as it relates to whether there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict. The government produced testimony that the mystery of Sweetie Marshall was not solved by Perkins' testimony and that the investigation continued for over a year after he testified. We find, based upon this evidence, that a reasonable jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Perkins' testimony had the effect of obstructing the investigation. Thus, even given the incorrect jury instructions, Perkins' conviction is not subject to reversal based on insufficiency of the evidence. Cf. United States v. Palzer, 745 F.2d 1350 at 1355 n. 9, (11th Cir.1984). We are remanding this case for a new trial on other grounds and assume that the jury in this new trial will be correctly charged as to the necessity of finding the additional element of obstruction.