Opinion ID: 365815
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: martin vargas

Text: 21
22 Outside the presence of the jury, the government informed the court of its intent to introduce evidence of a similar bank robbery, to which Vargas had pled guilty. The trial court ruled that the evidence would be admissible for the limited purpose of proving identity or Modus operandi, as permitted by Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). Vargas contends that the court committed reversible error by failing to make a finding that the two robberies were sufficiently similar to allow admission pursuant to Rule 404(b). 23 No evidence of the subsequent robbery was introduced at the trial; therefore, we need not consider whether the evidence was admissible under Rule 404(b). See 28 U.S.C. § 2111; United States v. Moore, 580 F.2d 360, 363 (9th Cir. 1978). 24 Vargas contends that the admissibility ruling deterred him from taking the stand. The admission of the evidence under Rule 404(b) was not conditioned upon Vargas taking the stand; thus the trial court's ruling could not have deterred Vargas from taking the stand. Furthermore, Vargas did not indicate his desire to take the stand nor move to preclude impeachment by evidence of the other crime under the provisions of Fed.R.Evid. 609(a). We find no error.
25 Billy Harris, a convicted felon, testified against Vargas as a government witness. Vargas complains that Harris was given a reduced sentence on felony charges in exchange for his testimony and that Harris was hostile to Vargas. Vargas argues that Harris's credibility was so questionable that the admission of his testimony denied Vargas a fair trial. 26 Harris unquestionably was a competent witness. Fed.R.Evid. 601. Under present law the granting of a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony affects the weight, not the admissibility, of the testimony. Darden v. United States, 405 F.2d 1054, 1056 (9th Cir. 1969). The same is true with respect to hostility harbored by a witness against a party. See Moore, 580 F.2d at 364; United States v. Kartman, 417 F.2d 893, 897 (9th Cir. 1969). The credibility of the witness was a question for the jury.
27 Vargas was sentenced to twenty years in prison. The statutory maximum penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d) is twenty-five years. The sentence is within the statutory maximum and ordinarily is not reviewable. However, Vargas contends that a pretrial conference was held, at which there was some discussion of a possible plea bargain, and that the district judge indicated that a lesser sentence would be appropriate if Vargas would plead guilty. There is nothing in the record on appeal to justify this assertion by the appellant. The pretrial conference was not reported and no mention was made of this contention at the time of sentencing, nor was any post-trial motion brought, raising this contention. Vargas relies solely upon an affidavit of his attorney appended to his brief on appeal. An affidavit of the prosecuting attorney was attached to the appellee's brief which reflected a different recollection of the conference, raising a factual dispute as to what occurred at the pretrial conference. 28 Consideration on this appeal cannot be given to these affidavits, because they are not a part of the record on appeal. Frizell v. United States, 394 F.2d 783, 794 (9th Cir. 1968). In order to augment the record on appeal concerning proceedings which were not reported, the provisions of Rule 10(c) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure should be followed. Rule 10(c) requires that appellant must prepare a statement of the evidence or proceedings from the best available means. This statement is then served on the appellee, who may serve objections or propose amendments. The statement and any objections or proposed amendments are thus submitted to the district court for settlement and approval. Fed.R.App.P. 10(c); 7 Moore's Federal Practice, P 210.06(2). This procedure affords the appropriate method to augment the record and to resolve any factual disputes as to the evidence or proceedings in the trial court. 29 Appellant made no attempt to follow the procedures prescribed by Rule 10(c). Nor did he attempt, during or immediately after the in-chambers conference, to preserve in the transcript the substance of the court's alleged remarks. It was his responsibility to do so in order to make a proper record for appeal. Since no record is provided upon which his claim can be evaluated, it must be denied. United States v. Dunham Concrete Products, Inc., 475 F.2d 1241, 1251 (5th Cir. 1973). 30 Brown v. United States, 314 F.2d 293 (9th Cir. 1963) and United States v. Piascik, 559 F.2d 545, 550 (9th Cir. 1974) are distinguishable. In both cases the error complained of on appeal failure to comply with the mandate of 28 U.S.C. § 753(b) that a record be made of all proceedings in criminal cases . . . in open court was fully apparent on the face of the record on appeal. See also United States v. Selva, 546 F.2d 1173, After remand, 559 F.2d 1303 (5th Cir. 1977); United States v. Workcuff, 137 U.S.App.D.C. 263, 422 F.2d 700 (1970). In contrast, the error asserted in this case enhancement of appellant's sentence because he elected to stand trial is not reflected in the record on appeal. Failure to record the in-chambers proceedings in which the error allegedly occurred is not asserted as error, and clearly did not violate the statute. 31 Appellant will have an opportunity to raise his constitutional claim, and if necessary to resolve the dispute as to what occurred in the conference, in post-conviction proceedings under § 2255. In this respect, too, appellant is in a different position than Brown. See 314 F.2d at 295 n.1.