Opinion ID: 765805
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 18 Smallwood argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions. In making his sufficiency challenge, Smallwood faces a nearly insurmountable hurdle . . . [in that] we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, defer to the credibility determination of the jury, and overturn a verdict only when the record contains no evidence, regardless of how it is weighed, from which the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Szarwark, 168 F.3d 993, 995 (7th Cir. 1999) (quoting United States v. Moore, 115 F.3d 1348, 1363 (7th Cir. 1997)).
19 Count 1 charged Smallwood with conspiring with Generally to distribute crack cocaine between April and September of 1996. In order to establish such a conspiracy, the government was required to prove the existence of an agreement to commit a crime other than the crime that consists of the sale itself. United States v. Lechuga, 994 F.2d 346, 347 (7th Cir. 1993) (en banc). Evidence of a buyer-seller relationship is insufficient. See id., at 349 (holding that an agreement on the one side to sell and on the other to buy does not constitute a conspiracy even if the buyer intends to resell the drugs so long as the buyer and seller do not have an agreement to further distribute the drugs). Smallwood contends that the government's evidence showed only that Generally purchased drugs from him and then resold them, and thus established no more than a buyer-seller relationship. 20 Smallwood misconstrues the nature of the agreement that must be proven. We have long recognized that by their very nature, drug conspiracies are loosely-knit ensembles. United States v. Townsend, 924 F.2d 1385, 1391 (7th Cir. 1991). An agreement to commit a crime separate from the mere purchase or sale of drugs can consist of an implicit understanding between the parties regarding the subsequent resale of drugs. United States v. Hall, 109 F.3d 1227, 1232 (7th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 118 S. Ct. 153 (1997). Such an agreement may be established by circumstantial evidence. See United States v. Brisk, 171 F.3d 514, 526 (7th Cir. 1999). Thus, [e]vidence of a conspiracy, as opposed to a buyer-seller relationship, may include transactions involving large quantities of drugs, prolonged cooperation between the parties, standardized dealings, and sales on a credit. United States v. Berry, 133 F.3d 1020, 1023 (7th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 118 S. Ct. 1851 (1998) (internal citations omitted). If enough such evidence point[s] in the direction of a concrete, interlocked interest beyond the consummation of the individual buy-sell deals themselves, we will not disturb the conclusion reached by the finder of fact that at some point the association blossomed into a cooperative venture. United States v. Clay, 37 F.3d 338, 342 (7th Cir. 1994). 21 In this case, the evidence of an interlocked interest was ample. Smallwood frequently supplied crack cocaine to Generally at a set price over a period of five months. The crack was given to Generally on credit. As the relationship strengthened, Smallwood began to supply the crack at a discount. Smallwood gave Generally advice about selling crack, and gave her a scale to facilitate her sales. Generally allowed Smallwood to sell cocaine from her apartment, and occasionally helped Smallwood hide his activities from the police. When Generally was put in jail, Smallwood got her a lawyer. Based on this evidence, a rational jury could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Smallwood and Generally conspired to distribute cocaine. See Lechuga, 994 F.2d at 350 (If, knowing that Lechuga was a drug dealer, Pagan assisted him in distributing drugs . . . then Lechuga and Pagan were coconspirators.).
22 As to count 6, which charged Smallwood with being a felon in possession of a firearm, Smallwood claims that the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he possessed the firearm found in the upstairs apartment at 309 Spring Street. Possession may be either actual or constructive. In this case, the government alleged constructive possession. Therefore, the only issue before us is whether the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Smallwood knowingly had the power and the intention to exercise dominion and control over the firearm. See United States v. Lloyd, 71 F.3d 1256, 1266 (7th Cir. 1995). A defendant need not own a firearm in order to possess it. See United States v. Hubbard, 61 F.3d 1261, 1272 (7th Cir. 1995). Constructive possession may be proven either by direct or circumstantial evidence. Id. at 1267. 23 Smallwood insists that neither the physical evidence nor Bernard's testimony was sufficient to support his conviction. However, we need not decide whether either type of evidence was sufficient standing alone because, taken as a whole, the evidence clearly provided a sufficient basis for the jury's verdict. The crux of Smallwood's argument is that Bernard's testimony should not have been credited by the jury because Smallwood's admissions to Bernard were not adequately corroborated. It is true that a conviction must rest upon firmer ground than the uncorroborated admission or confession of the accused. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 488-89 (1963). See also United States v. Grizales, 859 F.2d 442, 445 (7th Cir. 1988) (The requirement that a defendant's statements be corroborated extends beyond strict confessions to cover statements by the accused that show essential elements of the crime.). However, corroborative evidence need not independently establish each element of the crime. See United States v. Jackson, 103 F.3d 561, 567 (7th Cir. 1996); United States v. Bukowski, 435 F.2d 1094, 1106 (7th Cir. 1970). It need only ensure the reliability of the confession or admission of the accused. Bukowski, 435 F.2d at 1106. See also United States v. Howard, 179 F.3d 539, 541 (7th Cir. June 1, 1999). Therefore, one available mode of corroboration is for the independent evidence to bolster the confession itself. Bukowski, 435 F.2d at 1107 (quoting Smith v. United States, 348 U.S. 147, 156 (1954)); Howard, 179 F.3d at 541. In this case, Smallwood's admissions were adequately corroborated by the fact that the police found the firearm in plain view in the apartment where Smallwood was hiding and where Leady said that Smallwood lived. 24 As even Smallwood concedes, Bernard's testimony, if credited, sufficed to allow the jury to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Such credibility determinations belong to the jury, see United States v. Alcantar, 83 F.3d 185, 189 (7th Cir. 1996) (Questions of witness credibility are reserved for the jury, and its assessments will not be second-guessed by an appellate panel.); and Smallwood's jury obviously believed Bernard's testimony. This testimony, bolstered by the evidence found at 309 Spring Street, was sufficient to support Smallwood's conviction of count 6.
25 As to the sufficiency of the evidence with respect to the three distribution charges, Smallwood's brief states simply: Counts Two, Three, and Four should also have been dismissed. (Smallwood Brief, at 7). We decline to address this claim because [u]ndeveloped and unsupported claims are waived. United States v. Brocksmith, 991 F.2d 1363, 1366 (7th Cir. 1993). B. Challenges to the Jury 1. Fair Cross Section of the Community 26 Smallwood next argues that the district court deprived him of his right to a jury selected from a fair cross section of the community. In order to establish a prima facie violation of this right, Smallwood was required to show: (1) that the group alleged to be excluded is a 'distinctive' group in the community; (2) that the representation of this group in venires . . . is not fair and reasonable in relation to the number of such persons in the community; and (3) that this under-representation is due to systematic exclusion of this group in the jury- selection process. Johnson v. McCaughtry, 92 F.3d 585, 590 (7th Cir. 1996) (citing Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357, 364 (1979)). The district court held that Smallwood had failed to establish the second and third elements of a prima facie case. We review this factual determination for clear error. 27 The jury administrator testified that 137 qualified jurors had been selected electronically to serve in the East St. Louis Division of the Southern District of Illinois for the month of June, 1998. Of the 137 qualified jurors, 24 were black. On June 22, 1998, the day that the Smallwood jury was empaneled, 62 of the 137 jurors actually appeared. Two black jurors were excused, and two did not appear for jury duty. Of the 62 jurors who reported on June 22, three or four were black. Thirty-five of the 62 jurors who reported were randomly assigned to the venire for Judge Riley's courtroom. Only one member of the venire was black. The jury administrator testified that the jurors had been randomly selected using the voter registration list in accordance with the plan of the district court. 28 Based on these numbers, Smallwood contends that his jury was not selected from a fair cross section of the community. More particularly, he complains that: (1) only 5% of the people who reported for jury duty on June 22 were black, while 25% of the community is black (he does not indicate the basis for this 25% figure), and (2) of the jurors assigned to Judge Riley's courtroom, only one was black. 29 Even if we assume that Smallwood has demonstrated that black people were under- represented in the jury selection process, his claim fails because he has not established that the under-representation was a result of systematic exclusion; i.e., exclusion that is inherent in the process used to select the jury. See United States v. Cooke, 110 F.3d 1288, 1301 (7th Cir. 1997). We have often approved the random selection of venires from voter registration lists. See, e.g., United States v. Ashley, 54 F.3d 311, 314 (7th Cir. 1995); United States v. Guy, 924 F.2d 702, 707 (7th Cir. 1991). Smallwood has offered no evidence that this procedure was not followed. In fact, Smallwood has given us no reason to think that the alleged under-representation resulted from anything other than coincidence. See Guy, 924 F.2d at 706. Cf. Duren, 439 U.S. at 366 (defendant demonstrated that a large discrepancy occurred not just occasionally but in every weekly venire for a period of nearly a year). Accordingly, the district court did not clearly err when it denied Smallwood's motion to dismiss the venire. Since we hold that Smallwood failed to demonstrate systematic exclusion, we need not consider whether he established under-representation. 2. Batson Challenge 30 Smallwood next argues that the government's peremptory strike of the only black member of the venire violated Batson v. Kentucky's prohibition of race-based peremptory strikes. See Batson, 476 U.S. 79, 89 (1986). Under Batson, a court must follow a three-step method when evaluating a challenge to a peremptory strike: 31 First, the party alleging a violation must make a prima facie showing of intentional discrimination. Second, once this showing has been made, the burden shifts to the party that exercised the challenge to articulate a [race]- neutral explanation for the challenge. Finally, the trial judge must decide whether the reasons offered are pretextual and whether the party alleging a violation has met its burden of proving purposeful discrimination. 32 Brisk, 171 F.3d at 522 (citing Batson, 476 U.S. at 96-98). In this case, the district court held that even if it assumed that Smallwood had made a prima facie showing of discrimination, his Batson challenge failed because the government had provided race-neutral reasons for the strike that were not pretextual. We review the district court's finding for clear error. See United States v. Roberts, 163 F.3d 998, 999 (7th Cir. 1998). 33 [U]nlike a challenge for cause, a peremptory strike need not be based on a strong or good reason, only founded on a reason other than race. United States v. Brown, 34 F.3d 569, 571 (7th Cir. 1994). The government stated that it struck the black venire member because the venire member was a teacher, the venire member thought that Smallwood looked familiar, the venire member's body language suggested an attitude of superiority, and the venire member may have been biased against law enforcement. The district court was in the best position to evaluate whether these reasons were pretextual. See Roberts, 163 F.3d at 1000 ([D]istrict judges are much better situated than appellate judges to evaluate the honesty of the lawyers who practice in district court.). It found that they were not. This was not clear error. 3. Limitation of Voir Dire 34 Smallwood next objects to the district court's denial of his motion for extra time to conduct voir dire. Although he was allowed to question the jury for thirty minutes (ten minutes longer than the usual allotment), he complains that the period of time he was given was wholly insufficient to probe the panel so as to effectively and intelligently exercise [his] peremptory strikes. (Smallwood Brief, at 19.) He further asserts that as a result of the district court's limitation of voir dire, he was unable to determine whether the all-white jury harbored biased racial attitudes. (Id.) This argument is unpersuasive. 35 Smallwood did not ask any questions about race during his thirty minutes of questioning. He does not indicate what he would have asked if he had been given additional time. Most importantly, he does not explain his failure to object or ask for additional time when the district court indicated that his time was up. In short, he has provided no basis for us to conclude that the district court improperly limited his voir dire. See United States v. Ricketts, 146 F.3d 492, 495-96 (7th Cir. 1998) (holding that defendants' argument that the district court improperly limited voir dire was meritless when the defense wasted time during voir dire and failed to request additional time when its time had expired). 3 D. Life Sentence 36 Smallwood argues that, although his life sentence technically conform[s] to the law, it is unjust and should be vacated because there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions, his case was tried before an all-white jury, and his criminal history was relatively modest. (Smallwood Brief, at 20.) In support of this argument, Smallwood cites Koon v. United States for the proposition that a district court may depart downward if there exists an aggravating or mitigating circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines. 518 U.S. 81, 92 (1996) (citing 18 U.S.C. sec. 3553(b)). However, this principle does not apply to Smallwood's sentence, which was mandated by 21 U.S.C. sec. 841(b)(1)(A), because 18 U.S.C. sec. 3553(b) only authorizes departures from sentences imposed under the Sentencing Guidelines. It does not authorize departures from statutory mandatory minimum sentences. See United States v. Arrington, 73 F.3d 144, 147 (7th Cir. 1996) (A defendant can receive a sentence below the statutory minimum only if the government makes a motion for a departure based on the defendant's substantial assistance, 18 U.S.C. sec. 3553(e), or if the defendant qualifies for sentencing under the safety valve provision, 18 U.S.C. sec. 3553(f).); United States v. Verners, 103 F.3d 108, 111 (10th Cir. 1996) ([T]he district court has no discretion to depart from a statutory minimum sentence for section 3553(b) mitigating circumstances.). Smallwood does not attack his sentence on any other grounds. Therefore, he has failed to show that his sentence was erroneous.