Opinion ID: 490949
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Prejudice from the Change of Plea

Text: 11 Ramirez argues that the absence of the two other defendants after they changed their plea could only have led the jury to believe that the two defendants had pled guilty. Ramirez further argues that this presumed guilt would prejudice the jury against Ramirez, since the evidence showed all three were in the same venture. The district court recognized this danger of prejudice and instructed the jury as follows: 12 This case has been disposed of as to the two defendants who accompanied the remaining defendant when we started the trial. The other two defendants, the ones that are not here today, are of no concern to you and you should not speculate as to the reason why they are not here. This disposition should not control or influence your verdict with reference to the remaining defendant, Julio del Carmen Ramirez, and you must base your verdict as to him solely on the evidence against him. 13 The court also instructed the jury to the same effect at the conclusion of the trial. 14 The use of this instruction in this type of situation was approved by the Second Circuit in United States v. Gibbons, 602 F.2d 1044, 1048 (2d Cir.1979). See also United States v. Beasley, 519 F.2d 233, 239 (5th Cir.1975) (suggesting such an instruction would be appropriate). Other courts have gone even further and permitted the trial judge to inform the jury that the missing defendants changed their plea to guilty, where a cautionary instruction similar to the one above was given. See United States v. Earley, 482 F.2d 53, 58 (10th Cir.1973); United States v. Jones, 425 F.2d 1048, 1053 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 823, 91 S.Ct. 44, 27 L.Ed.2d 51 (1970). 15 Although the existence of some prejudice from the absence of the two other defendants is undeniable, that prejudice is inherent in a trial involving a joint venture. If the two other defendants had pled guilty prior to the trial, they could well have been compelled to testify, as part of a plea agreement, to their involvement, leaving the jury with even stronger doubts than those created by the empty chairs. The possibility of guilt by association cannot be eliminated from joint venture cases, even when all defendants proceed to trial. The most a trial judge can do is clearly and carefully instruct the jury to consider the evidence against a particular individual, alone, and to determine guilt or innocence on that basis. The trial judge did just that here. Like the other circuit courts to have considered this issue, see ante, we consider the cautionary instruction adequate in the circumstances. The change of plea did not create a mistrial. 16