Opinion ID: 776874
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Challenge to the Sufficiency of the Evidence in the Second Trial

Text: 181 Appellants' primary contention with respect to the second trial is that their convictions for conspiracy to obstruct justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 (the conspiracy statute) and 1503 (the obstruction of justice statute) must be reversed for insufficiency of the evidence under the Supreme Court's holding in United States v. Aguilar, 515 U.S. 593, 115 S.Ct. 2357, 132 L.Ed.2d 520 (1995). This conspiracy was charged in Count Twelve of the indictment, the only count to be tried at the second trial. 182 Appellants carry a heavy burden in challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. They must establish that, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, no rational trier of fact could have found all of the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); United States v. Vasquez, 267 F.3d 79, 90 (2d Cir.2001); United States v. Desimone, 119 F.3d 217, 223 (2d Cir.1997). Nevertheless, we agree that, under the teaching of Aguilar, the evidence was insufficient to convict the appellants and that their convictions must be reversed. 183 The particular provision that appellants were convicted for conspiring to violate is the so-called omnibus clause of § 1503, which prohibits anyone from corruptly or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, influenc[ing], obstruct[ing], or imped[ing], or endeavor[ing] to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice. 18 U.S.C. § 1503. The phrase administration of justice in this statute has been authoritatively construed to require a pending federal judicial proceeding, such as a federal grand jury proceeding. See Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 599, 115 S.Ct. 2357. 184 In order to convict for conspiracy to obstruct justice under § 1503, the government must establish (1) that the defendant (a) knowingly entered into an agreement with another, (b) with knowledge, or at least anticipation, of a pending judicial proceeding, and (c) with the specific intent to impede that proceeding; and (2) the commission of at least one overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. See, e.g., United States v. Davis, 183 F.3d 231, 243 (3d Cir.1999); United States v. Mullins, 22 F.3d 1365, 1368 (6th Cir.1994); United States v. Messerlian, 832 F.2d 778, 793-94 (3d Cir.1987), abrogated on other grounds, Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989); United States v. Ardito, 782 F.2d 358, 361 (2d Cir.1986). The government's proof at trial fell short of meeting these requirements.
185 The evidence at trial was plainly sufficient for a jury, if it accepted the government's version of what happened, to find that, soon after the state investigation into Louima's assault began, Schwarz, Bruder, and Wiese agreed generally to impede investigators by putting forth and corroborating a false version of what occurred. Amid numerous communications among the appellants and others at key points during the investigations, appellants offered parallel accounts that evolved as other evidence in the case surfaced. For instance, all three appellants initially made statements to IAB investigators and others to the effect that Volpe alone escorted Louima to the bathroom, while Wiese and Schwarz remained at the front desk. After news accounts revealed a few days later that the authorities had an account that Schwarz escorted Louima to the bathroom, Bruder and Wiese both changed their earlier stories to assert to state and federal investigators that Wiese, not Schwarz, accompanied Volpe in escorting Louima, while Schwarz stayed at the front desk. There was evidence from other witnesses, however, that Schwarz did not remain at the front desk at all times. Schofield and Turetzky, for example, testified that Schwarz escorted Louima to the rear of the stationhouse and Fallon testified that when he looked up, both Schwarz and Louima had left the front desk. Faced with this discrepancy, Schwarz testified at the second trial that he left the front desk to search the patrol car. 186 There is little need to recite in further detail all of the evidence that would have supported a jury finding that the appellants agreed to mislead both state and federal investigators. If this had been the object of the conspiracy charged, we have no doubt that such a jury verdict would be upheld. See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (providing, in relevant part, for the imposition of criminal penalties on who[m]ever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive ... branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully — ... (2) makes any materially false... statement or representation.). The object of the conspiracy charged in Count Twelve of the superseding indictment, however, was a precise one; it was a violation of § 1503. Therefore the question we must answer is a narrow one: whether the scope of the agreement shown at trial included as its object conduct falling within the prohibitions of § 1503, which we discuss below. 187
188 The second element of the conspiracy count concerns whether the appellants entered into their agreement, or continued a preexisting agreement, to obstruct justice with knowledge that there was a pending federal judicial proceeding, here a federal grand jury investigating the Louima assault. 189 We note at the outset that the government argues it did not have to prove that the federal grand jury had convened at the time the conspiracy began, only that the appellants—as experienced police officers — could have anticipated that a case such as this would result in a federal grand jury proceeding. In support of this point, the government cites United States v. Messerlian, 832 F.2d 778 (3d Cir.1987), the facts of which are strikingly similar to this case but for the significant difference that the police officers convicted in Messerlian directly lied to the grand jury that convened two years after the conspiracy to obstruct began. We read Messerlian as standing for the proposition, with which we have no quarrel, that a judicial proceeding need not be pending at the time the conspiracy began so long as the appellants had reason to believe one would begin and one in fact did. See id. at 794; see also Davis, 183 F.3d at 243 & n. 3; United States v. Vaghela, 169 F.3d 729, 734-35 (11th Cir.1999). But, as the Supreme Court has made clear, knowledge of an existing grand jury investigation or the foreseeability of such an investigation, by itself, is not enough to sustain a conviction under § 1503. 190 The government also argues that, even if actual knowledge of a pending grand jury proceeding were required, such knowledge was established in this case by newspaper articles that reported the commencement of a federal investigation into the assaults in August 1997 and by the fact that Bruder was served with a grand jury document subpoena on November 6, 1997, two days before he made allegedly false statements to federal investigators and prosecutors. We agree with the government that Bruder's knowledge of the federal grand jury investigation was directly established. As for the other appellants, we note that there was no evidence at the second trial that they received grand jury subpoenas of any kind or spoke with Bruder or each other between November 6, 1997, the day Bruder received his subpoena, and November 8, 1997, the day he came forward to federal investigators and prosecutors. But we need not finally decide whether their knowledge was established because, as discussed below, we conclude that there was insufficient evidence to support a jury finding that the appellants intended to engage in conduct that would violate § 1503. 191
192 The third element of the conspiracy charged in the indictment, and the one upon which the government's case founders, requires that the appellants have specifically intended to obstruct the federal grand jury proceeding. The only evidence that tied appellants' conduct to the federal investigation and thus the federal grand jury proceeding, was Bruder's statements to federal investigators on November 8, 1997. In order to convict appellants of conspiracy to obstruct justice in violation of § 1503, therefore, the government had to show, at a minimum, that Bruder made these statements with the specific intent to obstruct the federal grand jury. 193 Critical to our analysis of whether this element has been satisfied, and ultimately dispositive as to the sufficiency of the evidence on Count Twelve, is the Supreme Court's interpretation of § 1503 in United States v. Aguilar, 515 U.S. 593, 115 S.Ct. 2357, 132 L.Ed.2d 520 (1995), a case in which the Court reversed a § 1503 conviction of a federal district judge who, like Bruder in this case, gave false statements to federal investigators while a federal grand jury investigation was underway. 194 Judge Aguilar was being investigated for his alleged participation in efforts to influence the outcome of a habeas corpus petition filed by an associate of one Abraham Chalupowitz, a.k.a. Abe Chapman, who was an acquaintance of Aguilar. Id. at 595-96, 115 S.Ct. 2357. The investigation was also examining whether Judge Aguilar improperly disclosed to Chapman that Chapman's phone was being wiretapped. Id. at 596-97, 115 S.Ct. 2357. When the judge was interviewed by two FBI agents, he lied about his participation in the habeas case and falsely denied any knowledge of the wiretap. Id. at 597, 115 S.Ct. 2357. During the course of the interview, Judge Aguilar asked the FBI agents if he was the target of a federal grand jury investigation and was told that a grand jury was investigating this issue. Id. at 597, 600, 115 S.Ct. 2357. Specifically, one agent told Aguilar that [t]here is a Grand Jury meeting ... some evidence will be heard I'm ... I'm sure on this issue. Id. at 600, 115 S.Ct. 2357. 195 The critical question in Aguilar was whether the evidence could support a finding that Judge Aguilar's statements to the federal investigators were made with the specific intent to obstruct the federal grand jury investigation, as required by § 1503. The Court construed the element of intent in § 1503 to contain a nexus requirement that is satisfied only when the defendant's conduct has some relationship in time, causation, or logic to a judicial proceeding, such as a federal grand jury proceeding, so that it may be said to have the natural and probable effect of interfering with that judicial proceeding. Id. at 599-600, 601, 115 S.Ct. 2357. 196 Applying this interpretation, the Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit's reversal of Judge Aguilar's conviction. His uttering [of] false statements to an investigating agent ... who might or might not testify before a grand jury was insufficient to establish a violation of § 1503 because it failed to establish that the judge acted with the specific intent to obstruct the federal proceeding; all it proved was an intent to influence some ancillary proceeding, [here] an investigation independent of the ... grand jury's authority. Id. at 599, 600-01, 115 S.Ct. 2357. The Court further held that the judge's knowledge that there was a pending federal grand jury, and thus his awareness of the possibility that his deceptions might be put before it, was insufficient to establish the required specific intent because there was no indication that the judge knew that the investigating officers interviewing him were going to testify at the grand jury. Id. at 600-01, 115 S.Ct. 2357. The appellants here argue that, as in Aguilar, the evidence at trial proved at most that they made false statements to state and federal investigators, and, therefore, was insufficient to support their convictions. 197 The government argues that Aguilar is inapposite because it concerned the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction for a substantive § 1503 violation, whereas here only a conspiracy was charged so that the government was not obligated to prove that the conduct at issue violated § 1503. But to prove a conspiracy, the government must show that the defendants knowingly engaged in the conspiracy with the specific intent to commit the offense[ ] that [was] the object[ ] of the conspiracy. United States v. Samaria, 239 F.3d 228, 234 (2d Cir.2001); see also Vaghela, 169 F.3d at 732 (11th Cir.1999) (To be guilty of conspiracy ... parties must have agreed to commit an act that is itself illegal.... [T]he government must therefore show that the defendant, in concert with ... others, agreed to commit acts that would violate 18 U.S.C. § 1503); United States v. Bufalino, 285 F.2d 408, 416 (2d Cir.1960). This the government has failed to do. 198 The thrust of the Court's opinion in Aguilar is that § 1503 requires a specific intent to obstruct a federal judicial or grand jury proceeding. Accordingly, the conduct offered to evince that intent must be conduct that is directed at the court or grand jury and that, in the defendant's mind, has the natural and probable effect of obstructing or interfering with that entity. Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 599, 115 S.Ct. 2357. After articulating the rule of Aguilar that [t]he action taken by the accused must be with an intent to influence judicial or grand jury proceedings, the Court found that the judge's false statements to investigators did not meet this requirement because his 199 conduct ... f[ell] on the other side of the statutory line from that of one who delivers false documents or testimony to the grand jury itself. Conduct of the latter sort all but assures that the grand jury will consider the material in its deliberations. But what use will be made of false testimony given to an investigating agent who has not been subpoenaed or otherwise directed to appear before the grand jury is far more speculative. 200 Id. at 599, 601, 115 S.Ct. 2357. 201 At oral argument before us, the government urged that this case is distinguishable from Aguilar because Bruder initiated a meeting with the federal investigators and prosecutors that had served him with a federal grand jury subpoena for his documents. The government contends that Bruder's conduct was sufficient to demonstrate that he intended to influence the grand jury. The government in Aguilar made a similar argument—namely, that because the judge had been informed that there was a pending grand jury investigation into the matter, the judge `understood that his false statements would be provided to the grand jury' and that he made the statements with the intent to thwart the grand jury investigation.' Id. at 600, 115 S.Ct. 2357. However, the Supreme Court rejected this argument on the ground that the judge's mere knowledge of the pending grand jury investigation would not enable a rational trier of fact to conclude that respondent knew that his false statement would be provided to the grand jury, id. at 601, 115 S.Ct. 2357 (emphasis added). We must do so here for the same reason. 202 We see no meaningful distinction between this case and Aguilar. The fatal defect in the government's case is that there was no showing that Bruder, who had been subpoenaed only for his memo book, knew that the allegedly false statements he made to the federal investigators on November 8, 1997 would be conveyed to the federal grand jury. Bruder had not himself been called to testify and there is no evidence that the investigators gave him any indication that they would repeat his statements to the grand jury. He may have hoped that they would be provided to the grand jury, and surely there was that possibility; but there was insufficient evidence to enable a rational trier of fact to conclude that [Bruder] knew that this would happen or that he entertained any expectations on that score that were based on such knowledge. At best, the government proved that Bruder, knowing of the existence of a federal grand jury investigation, lied to federal investigators regarding issues pertinent to the grand jury's investigation. The government has therefore failed to offer sufficient evidence of Bruder's intent to obstruct the federal grand jury for if the defendant lacks knowledge that his actions are likely to affect the judicial proceeding, he lacks the requisite intent to obstruct. Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 599, 115 S.Ct. 2357. 203 Because Bruder was the only alleged conspirator to have engaged in conduct directed toward federal investigators, the absence of sufficient evidence to establish Bruder's specific intent to obstruct the federal grand jury means that there was insufficient evidence to permit a reasonable jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that obstruction of the federal grand jury fell within the scope of the alleged conspiratorial agreement. While there may have been sufficient evidence to support appellants' convictions for conspiracy to engage in conduct violative of other federal statutes, such as 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (prohibiting giving materially false statements to federal officials), appellants were not charged with participating in such a conspiracy — they were charged with conspiracy to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1503. The government failed to prove the charged conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt. See Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 599-601, 115 S.Ct. 2357. 204 In conclusion, we find that the evidence was insufficient to support appellants' convictions for conspiracy to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1503. Accordingly, we reverse the convictions. Because the Double Jeopardy Clause precludes retrying appellants with respect to these charges, see Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1, 18, 98 S.Ct. 2141, 57 L.Ed.2d 1 (1978), we direct entry of a judgment of acquittal as to Count Twelve of the indictment. REMAINING CLAIMS 205 Appellants have raised several additional challenges to their convictions. In light of our disposition with respect to both trials, we do not address these claims and express no opinion as to their merit.