Opinion ID: 444351
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Sole v. Sicily Antagonistic Defense

Text: The law in this circuit is well settled; antagonistic defenses do not per se require severance, even if the defendants are hostile or attempt to cast the blame on each other. United States v. Arruda, 715 F.2d at 679; United States v. Talavera, 668 F.2d 625, 630 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 978, 102 S.Ct. 2245, 72 L.Ed.2d 853 (1982). Antagonism of defenses requires severance only where the defenses are so inconsistent that the jury would have to believe one defendant at the expense of the other; the conflict alone establishes the guilt of a defendant. Id. Drougas' and Karahalis' antagonistic defense consisted of a theory that the first smuggle alleged by the government to have been carried out through the use of the fishing boat, the Sole, on or about June 1977 was actually an independent caper of Alba's carried out with another boat, the Sicily, in May of 1977. 4 A jury finding that the conspirators executed the first smuggle but used a different boat or performed the smuggle two or three weeks before the approximate dates given by the government witness would not, by itself, have benefited Drougas or Karahalis. The indictment alleges only that the smuggle occurred on or about June of 1977, the substantive charges do not name a particular boat, and only one of twenty-seven overt acts alleged refers to the Sole. As defendants appear to concede, such a variance in the indictment would not affect their substantial rights and would not be grounds for dismissal. See United States v. Flaherty, 688 F.2d at 582. In order for the defendants' theory to have benefited them (or its preclusion to have caused prejudice), Drougas' and Karahalis' defense must in some way impeach the government witness' version of the first smuggle by making it either less likely that the smuggle occurred or less likely that Drougas or Karahalis were involved. From this vantage point, we examine defendants' antagonistic defense. The Sicily-not-Sole theory consisted of evidence that: 1 although Alba did have access to the Sole, he was not the owner nor an officer in the corporation that owned the Sole at the time of the alleged smuggle; 2 Alba did own the Sicily during May and June of 1977; 3 the DEA agent who had filed an affidavit erroneously identifying Alba as the owner of the Sole which led to the impoundment of the Sole testified on voir dire that everyone was telling me that I had the wrong boat; 4 the government's witness could not pinpoint the precise date of the first smuggle nor remember the name of the fishing boat, although he placed several presmuggle meetings in May shortly after an operation on his knee; 5 a physician had treated the witness' knee on May 6, 1977; 6 several telephone calls from a Staten Island motel that were consistent with the government witness' story of distribution two weeks after the smuggle had been made on May 22nd and May 23rd, 1977; 7 the government witness testified that the boat used in the smuggle had sustained $20,000 to $50,000 damage in the first smuggle and Alba had requested $90,000 to repair it; and 8 a marine surveyor who had examined the Sole stated that the damages on the port side of the Sole had been repaired at an estimated cost of $25 to $30 while dock and insurance records showed that the Sicily was out of the water for $4,500 in repairs in June of 1977 Despite Drougas' and Karahalis' protestations to the contrary, the trial court did not prevent defendants from challenging the government's proof on the use of the Sole and the date of importation. All defendants were given broad opportunity to cross-examine the government witness, including questioning his ability to recall the time and the boat involved in the first importation. The government stipulated that the witness had been treated for a knee injury on May 6th; defendants were allowed to impeach the witness' damage estimate by calling the marine surveyor who had examined the Sole; and Drougas' counsel was permitted to call the DEA agent who had filed the affidavit that had brought about the impoundment of the Sole and examine him regarding the actual ownership of the Sole and his error. In short, the only evidence on the antagonistic defense that the trial court excluded was evidence that Alba owned a fishing boat named the Sicily that had been out of the water for substantial repairs during the time the government alleged the first smuggle had taken place. A judge may limit the scope of impeachment evidence or cross-examination so long as his discretion is exercised with caution and solicitude for the defendant's sixth amendment rights. United States v. Tracey, 675 F.2d 433, 437 (1st Cir.1982); United States v. Houghton, 554 F.2d 1219, 1225 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 851, 98 S.Ct. 164, 54 L.Ed.2d 120 (1977). Here, Drougas and Karahalis were given a full opportunity to proffer the nature and extent of their evidence that the boat involved in the first smuggle was not part of the alleged conspiracy. Defendants could only show that the Sicily had been available in May and was not available in June. They could not show any relationship between the Sicily having been used and the Sole not having been used or that the Sicily could not have been used in furtherance of the conspiracy. Alba, DeFeo, and two other defendants not involved in this appeal raised strenuous objection to the Sicily testimony on the grounds of irrelevance and prejudice. Alba, in particular, was concerned that the evidence would suggest that Alba and others had participated in a smuggle in May on the Sicily and in June on the Sole. Other defendants objected to the introduction of the Sicily material on the seventy-ninth day of trial because they would need time to prepare alibis to cover the new dates. 5 The government also pointed out that evidence of the Sicily being beached could strengthen the government's case because, although Alba was not the owner, he did have access to the Sole and would have had a motive to use it if his own boat was unavailable. After three days of voir dire, the trial court excluded the evidence of the Sicily having been out of the water for repairs in June of 1977 on the grounds of irrelevance, prejudice, jury confusion, and because it would result in undue delay in the trial. Although Drougas contends that his evidence was relevant because it made it less likely that the Sole rather than the Sicily was used, it is not the boat that is the subject of the charge, but the conspiracy. In rendering his evidentiary ruling, the judge stated: I conclude that [the proffered testimony on the Sicily] ... is not evidence that would contribute in any reasoned way to creation of a reasonable doubt by the factfinder as to any element of the offense charged. We agree and find no abuse of discretion by the trial court in excluding evidence that another boat owned by Alba had not been seaworthy at the time of the first smuggle. The exclusion did not unduly restrict defendants' constitutional right to confront witnesses or to present witnesses in their own behalf.