Opinion ID: 698644
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: jury and courtroom procedures

Text: 8 Appellants jointly challenge the district court's overall conduct of the Group II trial. They claim that they were denied a fair trial by the district court's decisions to empanel an anonymous jury and keep it sequestered, to hold the trial in a secure courtroom, and to find the jury impartial notwithstanding its exposure to pretrial publicity. None of these decisions requires a new trial. 2
9 Following the trial of the Group I defendants, the United States moved that the jury in the Group II trial be kept anonymous and sequestered. The district court granted the motion, United States v. Edmond, 730 F.Supp. 1144 (D.D.C.1990), ordering that the names, addresses, and workplaces of the Group II venire pool be withheld from all counsel and the media. To justify its order, the court cited numerous attempts by members of the Edmond group and their associates to disrupt the Group I trial and to intimidate witnesses with threats and actual violence. In addition, it credited a prosecutor's declaration that several potential witnesses refused to testify in the Group II trial out of fear and noted an FBI agent's sworn declaration that, according to a reliable informant, a reward was available on the street to anyone who assassinated a key government witness. Id. at 1146-47. 10 As a substitute for revealing the prospective jurors' names, addresses, and places of employment or business, id. at 1149, the court gave the venire members a twenty-three-page questionnaire designed to solicit information about their demographics, general lines of work, and familiarity with the events and parties in the case, id. at 1159-65. It also sought to downplay the significance of the jury's anonymity and sequestration. Throughout the voir dire, the court told the venire members that keeping the jury anonymous and sequestered was a common practice followed in many cases in federal court and in no way unusual; it was being done to protect your privacy ... [and] so that no one can later say that the integrity of the process was tainted by any improper outside contact or conduct. The court emphasized to the potential jurors that these precautions indicated nothing about the defendants' guilt or innocence and it repeated its explanation for the safeguards in its charge to the jury at the close of the trial. 11 Appellants now argue that the use of anonymous juries violates the Constitution because they create a prejudicial trial atmosphere and deny defendants meaningful opportunities to conduct voir dire and exercise peremptory challenges intelligently. In terms of their own trial, they claim that the government's assertions of potential danger to the jury were vague and did not implicate any specific Group II defendants; they also argue that the dangerousness of the Group I defendants and their behavior at the first trial cannot justify empaneling an anonymous, sequestered jury in the second case. Finally, they say, the district court's repeated anonymity instructions and statements that anonymity was routine (statements that in their view were obviously false), combined with the pressures of sequestration, subliminally communicated to the jurors that the defendants were especially dangerous and most likely guilty. 12 We reject these arguments. No court--state or federal--has ever held that the use of anonymous juries is per se unconstitutional, and no federal court has ever overturned a conviction rendered by an anonymous jury for that reason alone. In our recent decision upholding the empaneling of an anonymous jury in the Group I trial, we joined the Second, Third, Seventh, and Eleventh Circuits in approving of their use in some cases. See Edmond, 52 F.3d 1080; see also United States v. Wong, 40 F.3d 1347 (2d Cir.1994); United States v. Ross, 33 F.3d 1507 (11th Cir.1994); United States v. Crockett, 979 F.2d 1204 (7th Cir.1992); United States v. Scarfo, 850 F.2d 1015 (3d Cir.1988). We held that a district court may empanel an anonymous jury if it conclud[es] that there is a strong reason to believe the jury needs protection [ ... and] tak[es] reasonable precautions to minimize any prejudicial effects on the defendant and to ensure that his fundamental rights are protected. Edmond, 52 F.3d at 1090 (quoting United States v. Paccione, 949 F.2d 1183, 1192 (2d Cir.1991)). 13 The Group I appellants assumed that a trial court's decision to empanel and sequester an anonymous jury was reviewable only for abuse of discretion, an assumption implicitly followed by the Edmond court. See Edmond, 52 F.3d at 1091 (holding that the empaneling of an anonymous jury is left to the district court's discretion, subject to the broad constraints noted above) (quoting Paccione, 949 F.2d at 1192). Appellants in this case, however, assert that these decisions should be reviewable de novo. We disagree. Decisions on sequestration and anonymity require a trial court to make a sensitive appraisal of the climate surrounding a trial and a prediction as to the potential security or publicity problems that may arise during the proceedings. With so many factors entering the calculus, each varying subtly, an appellate court's de novo resolution of the issue would merely duplicate the trial judge's efforts and yet yield almost nothing of precedential value. Fact-intensive disputes, those whose resolution is unlikely to establish rules of future conduct, are reviewed under a deferential standard because the role of appellate courts in establishing and articulating rules of law is not at stake. Mars Steel Corp. v. Continental Bank N.A., 880 F.2d 928, 933 (7th Cir.1989) (en banc) (discussing application of Rule 11's reasonable inquiry requirement); see also id. at 936 (noting that [f]act-bound resolutions cannot be made uniform through appellate review, de novo or otherwise and that an appellate pronouncement in such a case is unlikely to establish clear guidelines for lower courts; nor will it clarify the underlying principles of law.); Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp., 496 U.S. 384, 405, 110 S.Ct. 2447, 2460, 110 L.Ed.2d 359 (1990) (citing and quotingMars with approval). Furthermore, some of the relevant factors, such as the degree of menace presented by the defendants and the intensity of media interest, may be only incompletely captured in the written record, so that courts of appeal are particularly ill-equipped to second-guess these judgments. Cf. Scarfo, 850 F.2d at 1023 (noting that review of decision to empanel anonymous jury must be particularly deferential to the trial judge, familiar as he is with the local ambiance). Finally, the factors counseling deference to the trial court's decision to empanel an anonymous jury apply equally to its decision on sequestration. See United States v. Persico, 832 F.2d 705, 718 (2d Cir.1987) ([s]equestration is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial court, and its decision will not constitute reversible error absent a showing of actual prejudice arising therefrom); United States v. Greer, 806 F.2d 556, 557-58 (5th Cir.1986) (similar). 14 The district court did not abuse its discretion in empaneling the Group II jury. The court reasonably found the serious potential for juror intimidation during and after the trial that would justify the extreme precautions of anonymity and sequestration. Though perhaps more peripheral than their Group I counterparts, the Group II defendants were still themselves alleged participants in an organized and extremely violent criminal conspiracy, and one of this group--appellant Daniels--stood accused of committing a brutal murder in furtherance of the conspiracy's ends. The organization retained the capacity to threaten and harm jurors, even though its highest leaders were in jail. Furthermore, the district court reasonably thought that the Group I defendants or their associates would be inclined to interfere with the second trial, given that most of the Group II defendants were close friends or family members of people convicted in the first round; in fact, five of the nine Group II defendants were married or otherwise related to one or more of the Group I defendants. Contrary to appellants' arguments, it was entirely appropriate in this context for the court to consider the dangers posed, not just by the Group II defendants themselves, but by other members of the conspiracy as well. Cf. Wong, 40 F.3d at 1377 (citing risks posed by non-defendant fellow gang members to justify anonymous jury); United States v. Vario, 943 F.2d 236, 240, 241 (2d Cir.1991) (attributing to defendant grand-jury tampering by co-conspirator and noting that demonstrable history or likelihood of obstruction of justice on the part of the defendant or others acting on his behalf  justifies anonymity) (emphasis added). 15 In fact, the district court's experience with the Group I trial arguably provided it with more relevant evidence justifying an anonymous jury in this case than it possessed the first time around. Prior to the Group I trial, the court primarily knew just that the defendants allegedly belonged to a criminal enterprise that had used violence on the streets and that government informants had heard the lead defendant's father say he would take care of witnesses; the court's conclusion that the defendants or their colleagues might tamper with the upcoming proceedings required an inferential leap, albeit a proper one. But that first trial proved the inference correct: The court now knew that associates of the Edmond organization were actually willing and able to interfere with the criminal trials of group members, and the only necessary inference was that they might continue such transgressions. During the Group I trial, the house of one witness's mother was firebombed in the middle of her testimony, a potential witness was found shot after a letter from prosecutors was accidentally sent to a house she shared with a defendant, the court received bomb threats during the trial, and both the judge and courtroom personnel observed audience members communicating with the defendants by hand signals and glaring menacingly at witnesses and jurors. Furthermore, the declarations submitted by the government suggested that similar abuses might occur at the second trial. Such willingness to interfere with witnesses and trial proceedings indicates a real danger that defendants might threaten or otherwise tamper with jurors. See Edmond, 52 F.3d at 1092. Finally, the district judge knew from his experience with the first trial that the Group II proceedings would likely attract increasing media attention as they progressed, heightening the danger that information identifying the jurors could become public and potentially exposing them to intimidation or harassment. This consideration, too, was proper. See id. at 1091. 16 We also find that the district court took appropriate precautions to minimize any prejudice to the defendants that might have resulted from the way the jury was empaneled. The court conducted a searching voir dire and gave jurors an extensive questionnaire, the scope of which appellants do not challenge. The judge's repeated statements downplaying the significance of anonymity and sequestration and stressing their irrelevance to the defendants' guilt or innocence were likewise appropriate. See Edmond, 52 F.3d at 1093 (approving identical instructions); Ross, 33 F.3d at 1521-22 n. 27 (approving of similar combination of downplaying safeguards and highlighting presumption of innocence); Crockett, 979 F.2d at 1216-17 (same); United States v. Tutino, 883 F.2d 1125, 1133 (2d Cir.1989) (same). Further, in the absence of some concrete reason to believe that jurors would discredit the judge's suggestions that these procedures were commonplace, we will not indulge appellants' assumption that the jurors suffered some sort of cognitive dissonance between what they knew of the conduct of trials and what they saw, much less that they would be led to infer that the defendants were guilty. In short, we find error in neither the district court's initial decision to empanel and sequester an anonymous jury in the Group II trial nor its manner of doing so.
17 The Group II trial took place in the secure courtroom of the United States Courthouse in Washington. That courtroom had a twelve-foot-high plexiglass partition separating the spectator section from the well of the court (i.e., the counsel tables, jury box, and bench). Two videocameras were located in the top rear corners of the courtroom. The record indicates that there were more courthouse security personnel than usual on hand throughout the proceedings, although we have no record as to how many officers were actually present at trial, where in the courtroom they were stationed, whether they were uniformed, and the like. It is also uncertain whether there was any additional security equipment (metal detectors, for example) in or outside the courtroom. 18 Appellants jointly petitioned to move their trial out of the secure courtroom and to reduce the number of security personnel present, claiming that these measures impermissibly create[d] the impression of the assemblage of a group of wild desperadoes. The district court denied the requests, citing the security and manageability concerns presented by a trial with such a large number of defendants and involving an organization that purchased its place in the community through the spilling of blood. During the Group II jury selection, however, the court did instruct the venire members to ignore the extra security precautions: The judge noted that many different civil and criminal trials were held in that same courtroom, that the partitioned courtroom design was common in courthouses across the country, and that uniformed security personnel were always present at criminal trials in direct proportion to the number of defendants on trial. The court repeatedly made clear that none of these measures had anything to do with the guilt or innocence of the defendants, and it confirmed several times that the venire members understood the instructions. 19 Appellants now claim that these extra security measures--especially in combination with the jury's sequestration and anonymity--denied them a fair trial by signaling to the jurors that the defendants were dangerous and most likely guilty. They correctly point out that the constitutional presumption of innocence may be undermined by the physical indicia of guilt; criminal defendants do have a right to be free of court-imposed physical appearances that are unfairly suggestive of their guilt. See, e.g., Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501, 96 S.Ct. 1691, 48 L.Ed.2d 126 (1976) (holding unconstitutional a requirement that defendant appear in prison garb at trial). On the other hand, this does not mean ... that every practice tending to single out the accused from everyone else in the courtroom must be struck down, Holbrook v. Flynn, 475 U.S. 560, 567, 106 S.Ct. 1340, 1345, 89 L.Ed.2d 525 (1986), especially when the proceedings present legitimate security concerns to which the presiding judge must respond. Like the decision to empanel an anonymous jury, the trial court's choice of courtroom security procedures requires a subtle reading of the immediate atmosphere and a prediction of potential risks--judgments nearly impossible for appellate courts to second-guess after the fact. For that reason, the balancing of the competing concerns for the presumption of innocence and for the integrity of the courtroom and its proceedings is best left to the sound discretion of the trial judge. See, e.g., Scarfo, 850 F.2d at 1024; United States v. Nicholson, 846 F.2d 277, 279 (5th Cir.1988). 20 In light of the security concerns noted above and the large number of defendants at the proceedings, we cannot say that the trial judge abused his discretion. Appellants do not point to any evidence of actual prejudice resulting from the security measures taken in their trial. Nor will we presume prejudice: We agree with another district judge who has held trials in the secure courtroom that the plexiglass partition and the videocameras (meticulously described in his opinion) are minimally intrusive, do not come between the jury box and the defendants or witnesses, and are far less stigmatizing than many other security measures--such as the shackling of unruly, flight-prone, or dangerous defendants--used in other courtrooms and upheld by other circuits. See United States v. Whitehorn, 710 F.Supp. 803, 835-41 (D.D.C.), rev'd on unrelated grounds sub nom. United States v. Rosenberg, 888 F.2d 1406 (D.C.Cir.1989). Appellants have likewise failed to demonstrate that the number of security officers present during the proceedings was disproportionate to the number of defendants being tried or that the officers were stationed in the courtroom in a way that might particularly influence the jury. Finally, the district court's lengthy instructions to the venire members seem more than adequate to alleviate any incidental prejudice that may have resulted.
21 Prior to the severance of the trials, appellants moved jointly for a change of venue, claiming that the media attention focused on the proceedings would make a fair trial in the jurisdiction impossible. The motion stated that the case had attracted lots of publicity because of the large quantities of drugs the enterprise was alleged to have brought into the District, the number of homicides potentially connected to the defendants, the fact that several defendants associated with members of the Georgetown University basketball team, and the District's recent anointment as the murder capital of the nation. Thirty-eight articles from local newspapers were attached to the motion, many dealing with the defendants' proceedings, but others simply discussing drug violence, narcotics arrests, and gangs generally. The district court denied the motion for a change of venue; however, it included in the Group II juror questionnaire several questions asking whether venire members had been exposed to the media coverage of this or related cases, it individually questioned prospective jurors who had indicated on their questionnaires that they had been so exposed, and it asked the venire pool repeatedly whether they could put aside any opinions formed from this publicity. 22 After their conviction, appellants moved for an acquittal or a new trial based upon the denial of the change of venue. The district court denied the motion, holding that the media coverage of the case, though extensive, had been dispassionate and factual, that the court had screened extensively for potential bias, and that appellants' counsel had leftover peremptory challenges with which they could have stricken any juror they thought potentially prejudiced. See Childress, 746 F.Supp. at 1138-40. 23 Appellants now do not specifically challenge the denial of their motion for a change in venue, nor do they challenge the scope of the district court's questionnaire or voir dire. Instead, they argue that the media attention surrounding the case was so inflammatory that the jury could not have rendered a fair verdict. Although they cannot point to any indications that a single juror was actually prejudiced by the pretrial publicity, appellants urge us to infer prejudice from the fact that twenty-seven members of the venire pool indicated that they had been exposed to the media coverage. 24 We reject this claim. The mere existence of intense pretrial publicity is not enough to make a trial unfair, nor is the fact that potential jurors have been exposed to this publicity. Although the Constitution is understood to require that defendants be judged by a panel of indifferent jurors, those jury members need not be totally ignorant of the facts and issues involved, Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722, 81 S.Ct. 1639, 1642, 6 L.Ed.2d 751 (1961). Rather, it is sufficient if the juror can lay aside his impression or opinion and render a verdict based on the evidence presented in court. Id. at 723, 81 S.Ct. at 1643. We review the trial court's finding of juror impartiality only for manifest error, Mu'Min v. Virginia, 500 U.S. 415, 428-29, 111 S.Ct. 1899, 1906-09, 114 L.Ed.2d 493 (1991); Patton v. Yount, 467 U.S. 1025, 1031, 104 S.Ct. 2885, 2888, 81 L.Ed.2d 847 (1984); and absent a showing that individual jurors were actually prejudiced and unable to meet this standard, we will infer prejudice only in those rare cases, Nebraska Press Ass'n v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539, 554, 96 S.Ct. 2791, 2800, 49 L.Ed.2d 683 (1976), in which the community has been saturated with particularly damning publicity. The Supreme Court presumed jury prejudice, for example, where a defendant's videotaped murder confession was broadcast on three consecutive nights to audiences of 24,000, 53,000, and 29,000 people in a rural parish of 150,000 residents. Rideau v. Louisiana, 373 U.S. 723, 83 S.Ct. 1417, 10 L.Ed.2d 663 (1963). But such a presumption is reserved for only the most egregious cases. The Court, for example, would not presume prejudice even where a defendant's crime had provoked substantial unfavorable publicity--more than would have attended most capital murders because the defendant was an inmate charged with committing murder while on work release and the crime had occurred during a presidential campaign highlighting similar crimes by furloughed inmates. Mu'Min, 500 U.S. at 428-30, 111 S.Ct. at 1906-08. The Mu'Min Court stressed the importance of the community context, which as here was part of the metropolitan Washington statistical area, which has a population of over 3 million and in which, unfortunately, hundreds of murders are committed each year. Id. at 429, 111 S.Ct. at 1907. 25 Simply put, the standard is high, and appellants do not meet it. Appellants merely rehash the newspaper articles they submitted with their original motion for a change in venue before the Group I trial; the latest of these stories ran seven months before their own trial started. In fact, counsel for several appellants argued to the district court that media coverage just before the Group II trial had been so thin that jury sequestration and anonymity were unnecessary. Twenty-seven members of the venire pool may have been exposed to whatever publicity there was, but only two of these people made it onto the jury and then only after the court questioned them individually and appellants' counsel did not object. In short, we find no manifest error in the district court's finding that the jurors were impartial, Childress, 746 F.Supp. at 1139-40. As the Edmond court found in reviewing the Group I trial, there is no reason for concluding that the population of Washington, D.C. was so aroused against appellants and so unlikely to be able objectively to judge their guilt or innocence on the basis of the evidence presented at trial that their right to a fair trial was violated. Edmond, 52 F.3d at 1099 (internal quotes omitted).