Opinion ID: 2995079
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Manjarrez’s waiver of his right to

Text: testify Manjarrez contends that the record establishes that he did not knowingly and intelligently waive his right to testify on his own behalf. Near the close of the government’s case-in-chief, the district court asked Manjarrez’s counsel whether he intended to rest immediately after the close of the government’s case (without putting on any evidence). He responded in the affirmative. The court then asked Manjarrez’s counsel if he would like the court to talk to Mr. Manjarrez right now about not testifying. Manjarrez’s counsel responded that he would, and the court engaged in the following colloquy with Manjarrez: COURT: Mr. Manjarrez, the Court understands that it’s your decision in this case not to testify in your own defense. As you’ve heard me tell the jury several times, you have an absolute right not to testify, and I would be happy to continue to instruct the jury as I have already that they cannot draw any inference or suggestion of guilt from the fact that you did not testify. On the other hand, you should know that you have an absolute right to testify in your own defense. Do youunderstand? MANJARREZ: (Through Interpreter)/2 Yes. COURT: You understand that you can testify in your own defense if you decide you want to. MANJARREZ: (Through Interpreter) Well, yes. COURT: Okay. I also want you to know that being realistic about this, even though sometimes I instruct the jury not to draw any inference or suggestion of guilt from the fact that you didn’t testify, it could be that some jurors are going to draw that type of inference. Do you understand that? MANJARREZ: (Through Interpreter) Yes, that’s fine. COURT: Knowing all of this, is it your desire not to testify in this case? MANJARREZ: (Through Interpreter) No. I mean my lawyer’s here to answer everything that needs to be answered. COURT: Okay. Has anyone forced you in any way or threatened you in order to get you not to testify? MANJARREZ: (Through Interpreter) No. COURT: Okay. And let me just tell you, Mr. Manjarrez, you’re free to continue to talk to Mr. Halprin [defense counsel], and if you decide at any point that you want to testify, that’s strictly up to you. Do you understand that? MANJARREZ: (Through Interpreter) That’s fine. COURT: Okay. I’ll leave it at that. Trans. at 223-24. Manjarrez asserts that nowhere in the above dialogue is there evidence that he knowingly and intelligently waived his right to testify. While the court did ask a series of basic questions regarding Manjarrez’s intentions not to testify and elicited a series of yes responses from him through the interpreter, Manjarrez contends that this was insufficient since the court did nothing to satisfy itself that [Manjarrez], who did not speak or understand fluent English, understood the substance of what it means to testify. In addition, he notes that at no time during the colloquy did his counsel state on the record that he had explained to him what it means to testify. Finally, Manjarrez seizes on his response to the court’s fourth question, wherein he stated that his lawyer was here to answer everything that needs to be answered, and argues that it demonstrates a total lack of understanding of what it means to testify, since it seems to imply that he thought that his lawyer could testify and offer evidence on his behalf as a witness. According to Manjarrez, all of this indicates that he waived his fundamental constitutional right to take the stand without adequately comprehending either the nature of his right or the consequences of waiving it. Manjarrez maintains that this deprived him of a fair trial and, in light of what he considers to be the weakness of the government’s case as well as the jury’s confusion during their deliberations, that it probably affected the outcome of the trial. On these grounds Manjarrez urges us to reverse his conviction or to remand for an evidentiary hearing on the issue of whether his waiver of his right to testify was knowing and intelligent. We reject both Manjarrez’s arguments and his request. A criminal defendant has a constitutional right to testify on his own behalf. See Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 49-53 (1987); Morgan v. Krenke, 232 F.3d 562, 569 (7th Cir. 2000). This right is an aspect of the [criminal defendant’s] right to defend himself, Underwood v. Clark, 939 F.2d 473, 475 (7th Cir. 1991), which arises from the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of compulsory process to obtain favorable witnesses, see Stephens v. Miller, 13 F.3d 998, 1002 (7th Cir. 1994) (en banc), as well as the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause./3 It is also a necessary corollary of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee against compelled testimonial self-incrimination. See id. (citations omitted). The right to take the stand on one’s own behalf is personal to the defendant, which means it can only be waived by the defendant himself, and not by his counsel. See Jones v. Barnes, 463 U.S. 745, 751 (1983) (the accused has the ultimate authority to make certain fundamental decisions regarding the case, as to whether to . . . testify in his or her own behalf . . .); United States v. Curtis, 742 F.2d 1070, 1076 (7th Cir. 1984). Moreover, because the defendant’s right to testify is a fundamental constitutional right essential to due process of law in a fair adversary process, Rock, 483 U.S. at 51 (quotation omitted), the defendant’s waiver of the right must be knowing and intelligent. See United States v. Pennycooke, 65 F.3d 9, 11 (3d Cir. 1995) (citing Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 241 (1973)); United States v. Teague, 953 F.2d 1525, 1533 (11th Cir. 1992) (ruling that there can be no effective waiver of a fundamental constitutional right unless there is an ’intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege’ Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464 . . . (1938)); see also United States v. Webber, 208 F.3d 545, 550 (6th Cir. 2000). However, we have repeatedly held that the Constitution does not require a trial court to question a defendant sua sponte in order to ensure that his decision not to testify was undertaken knowingly and intelligently unless there is some indication that the defendant has been prevented from exercising that right. See, e.g., Liegakos v. Cooke, 106 F.3d 1381, 1386 (7th Cir. 1997) (rejecting defendant’s argument that a judge must inquire on the record whether the defendant understands the advantages of testifying and must elicit a former waiver of the right to testify); United States v. Thompson, 944 F.2d 1331, 1345 (7th Cir. 1991) (ruling that courts have no affirmative duty to determine whether a defendant’s silence is the result of a knowing and voluntary decision not to testify (citations omitted), and that a court is not constitutionally required to make such an inquiry absent some indication that the defendant has been prevented from exercising [his] right [to testify]). Indeed, we have discouraged district court judges from directly questioning a defendant concerning his decision not to testify for fear that in so doing judges will insert themselves into a sensitive aspect of trial strategy, thereby intruding inappropriately on the attorney-client relationship. See Liegakos, 106 F.3d at 1386; United States v. Campione, 942 F.2d 429, 439 (7th Cir. 1991); Underwood, 939 F.2d at 476. For this reason, we have suggested that courts refrain from questioning a defendant regarding his decision not to take the stand unless there is some indication that either the defendant actually wants to testify and is being prevented from doing so or that there is a conflict between the defendant and his lawyer on the matter. See Thompson, 944 F.2d at 1345; see generally Ortega v. O’Leary, 843 F.2d 258, 260-61 (7th Cir. 1988). There is nothing in the record which required the district court to do anything more than it did to insure that Manjarrez’s waiver of his right to testify was knowing and intelligent. Manjarrez does not claim that he expressed a desire to testify which his counsel refused to honor. See Campione, 942 F.2d at 439. Nor does he argue that his counsel failed either to inform him of his right to testify or adequately to explain the right and the consequences of waiving it. Indeed, Manjarrez has not even submitted an affidavit stating that he did not understand any of these things at the time of the waiver. Further, the case for finding a knowing and intelligent waiver of the right to testify is stronger here than in several other cases wherein we have found such a waiver. The district court posed a series of clear and straightforward questions through an interpreter, informing Manjarrez of his right to testify and of the consequences of waiving it, and repeatedly asked Manjarrez if he understood what the court was saying and whether he wished to waive his right. Manjarrez repeatedly indicated that he did understand and that he did wish to waive his right to testify. This is not a case wherein we have to infer a defendant’s waiver from his mere silence (i.e., from his mere failure to take the stand and to object when his counsel rested without calling him as a witness). Rather, we have unambiguous affirmative indications of waiver from Manjarrez’s own lips. Nevertheless, Manjarrez claims that his response to the fourth question in the colloquy shows that he was laboring under a fundamental misapprehension regarding what it means to testify, and that once the trial court was put on notice of this it was obligated to take further steps to insure that he fully and correctly understood the right that he was waiving. We are not persuaded. After informing Manjarrez of his absolute right to testify and of the possibility that jurors might draw an adverse inference from his failure to testify, the court asked Manjarrez, knowing all this, is it your desire not to testify in this case? Manjarrez responded, No. I mean my lawyer’s here to answer everything that needs to be answered. He never expressed confusion regarding the meaning of his right to testify nor asked the court for clarification, despite having been asked several times whether he understood. Moreover, his response does not clearly demonstrate a lack of understanding regarding the meaning or significance of his right to testify. Manjarrez said merely that his lawyer would answer everything that needs to be answered. He did not say that his lawyer would testify on his behalf. Given this, his response can reasonably be taken to mean that Manjarrez thought that his lawyer would do everything that needed to be done by way of presenting a defense (i.e., that his lawyer would make any arguments on Manjarrez’s behalf that needed to be made, without the aid of Manjarrez’s testimony), and not that he thought that his lawyer would testify for him. Thus, we do not hesitate to hold Manjarrez bound by his waiver. While there may be cases wherein a defendant’s conduct clearly indicates a fundamental lack of understanding regarding the meaning of the right to testify and/or the consequences of waiving it, this is not such a case. We will not vacate Manjarrez’s conviction or require further proceedings on the basis of an unsubstantiated, post hoc claim that he did not understand his right to testify when he waived it, cf. Underwood, 939 F.2d at 476, especially when the claim is belied by the record.