Opinion ID: 461592
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Claim Initially Raised by Katz

Text: 91 Spillover of Evidence Introduced Against Co-defendants 92 Katz argues that Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 90 L.Ed. 1557 (1946), and United States v. Camiel, 689 F.2d 31 (3d Cir.1982), require this court to vacate his sentence. Katz asserts that the alleged variance between the multiple conspiracies charged in the indictment and the single conspiracy proved at trial allowed the government to introduce evidence unrelated to the conspiracy proved. This may be a classic spillover theory, see United States v. Schurr, 775 F.2d 549, 556 (3d Cir.1985), but because we find no variance between the RICO conspiracy charged and the one proved at trial, it is irrelevant. The existence of a variance is a prerequisite to our determination that the allegedly improper evidence materially prejudiced Katz's trial. See Schurr, 775 F.2d at 556; Camiel, 689 F.2d at 35. 93 Katz's spillover argument is better understood as alleging prejudicial joinder of defendants, i.e., that the jury was unable to separate the evidence relevant to Katz from the evidence introduced against the other defendants and thus did not render a fair verdict as to Katz. In particular, Katz maintains that the quantity and manner of presentation of the taped conversations admitted against the other defendants might have confused the jury to the extent that the jury transferred guilt from his co-defendants to Katz. Thus, we will analyze Katz's spillover claim as an appeal of the denial of his pre-trial severance motion. 94 As we noted in our discussion of Pecic's severance motion, a defendant is not entitled to severance merely because the government's evidence against his co-defendant is stronger than its evidence against him. Although we are sensitive to the dangers presented by joinder, see, e.g., State ex rel. Whitman v. Fox, 160 W.Va. 633, 634-46, 236 S.E.2d 565, 567-73 (1977), we also believe that good reasons support the general rule that persons charged with conspiracy should be tried together. See United States v. Jackson, 549 F.2d 517, 523 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 985, 97 S.Ct. 1682, 52 L.Ed.2d 379 (1977). Chief among these is the conservation of public resources that would be lost if the same evidence were presented at separate trials and the decreased possibility of prejudice where the evidence against each defendant is strong. See United States v. Lane, 584 F.2d 60, 65 (5th Cir.1978). 95 Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 14 requires the trial court to balance the public interest considerations in a joint trial against the possibility of prejudice inherent in the joinder of defendants. Our scope of review of the court's denial of a motion for severance is limited: the district court's denial of such a motion will not be disturbed absent an affirmative showing that the court's ruling resulted in such prejudice to the moving party that it amounted to an abuse of discretion. Dansker, 537 F.2d at 61, citing United States v. De Larosa, 450 F.2d 1057 (3d Cir.1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 927, 92 S.Ct. 978, 30 L.Ed.2d 800 (1972). The proper question on appeal is whether the jury could have been reasonably expected to compartmentalize the allegedly prejudicial evidence in light of the quantity and limited admissibility of the evidence. See Dansker, 537 F.2d at 62; United States v. Serubo, 460 F.Supp. 689, 694 (E.D.Pa.1978), vacated on other grounds, 604 F.2d 807 (3d Cir.1979). 96 We do not believe that Katz has met his burden. Our review of the record shows that the evidence was presented in a clear fashion and that the court carefully instructed the jury as to the manner in which the evidence could be considered. Moreover, the record reveals that all counsel, including Katz's, were alert to the possibility of prejudice from the introduction of the tapes, and ensured that the court gave limiting instructions where necessary. Consequently, we believe that Katz's allegation of prejudice through the transference of guilt between defendants here is speculative and as such, meritless. See Opper v. United States, 348 U.S. 84, 95, 75 S.Ct. 158, 165, 99 L.Ed. 101 (1954).