Opinion ID: 508775
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Issues Pertaining to Defendant Spotts

Text: 73 Defendant Spotts raises two additional arguments in his own behalf. Spotts claims that the district court erroneously failed to suppress evidence obtained by the police and FBI when they executed a search warrant at the Alachua stash house. Spotts also claims that he was denied his sixth amendment right to effective assistance of counsel at trial.
74 Spotts contends that the authorities searched his residence, the Alachua stash house, in violation of a Florida law that requires officers serving a search warrant to knock and announce before entering the premises to be searched. See Fla.Stat. Secs. 901.19(1), 933.09 (1986). Spotts sought to have the district court suppress the evidence that the officers seized during that search. Upon Spotts's motion, the district court held a suppression hearing on that issue. At the hearing, Spotts testified that the officers did not knock and announce before entering the house. The district court denied Spotts's motion to suppress the evidence. 75 In a federal criminal prosecution, federal standards govern the admissibility of evidence. See Wolfle v. United States, 291 U.S. 7, 12-13, 54 S.Ct. 279, 279-80, 78 L.Ed. 617 (1934); United States v. Dudek, 530 F.2d 684, 689 (6th Cir.1976). In determining whether evidence seized by state officials may be used against a defendant in a federal proceeding, the district court must determine the legality of the search and seizure as if federal officers had executed the search and seizure. Preston v. United States, 376 U.S. 364, 366, 84 S.Ct. 881, 883, 11 L.Ed.2d 777 (1964); Elkins v. United States, 364 U.S. 206, 223-24, 80 S.Ct. 1437, 1447, 4 L.Ed.2d 1669 (1960). Thus, the fact that the officers failed to comply with Florida law is irrelevant in a federal proceeding. 76 We recognize that federal law requires federal officials executing a search warrant to first knock and announce their authority and purpose before entering a dwelling. Sabbath v. United States, 391 U.S. 585, 590, 88 S.Ct. 1755, 1758, 20 L.Ed.2d 828 (1968) (construing 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3109); cf. United States v. Salter, 815 F.2d 1150, 1152 (7th Cir.1987). Thus, even under federal law, the authorities executing the search warrant at the Alachua stash house were required to knock and announce before entering the house. In his motion to suppress before the district court, however, Spotts relied solely on Florida law, without reference to federal law. Likewise, in his brief, Spotts merely cites the Florida statute, and does not mention the federal knock and announce requirement. 15 Therefore, we will not consider whether the officers complied with the federal knock and announce requirement. United States v. Whaley, 830 F.2d 1469, 1475-76 (7th Cir.1987) (arguments not presented to district court are waived for purposes of appeal), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 108 S.Ct. 1738, 100 L.Ed.2d 202 (1988); see Jordan v. Duff & Phelps, Inc., 815 F.2d 429, 438 (7th Cir.1987) (appellate court ought not put words in a party's mouth and use them as the grounds on which to decide), cert. dismissed, --- U.S. ----, 108 S.Ct. 1067, 99 L.Ed.2d 229 (1988). We see no reason to disagree with the determination of the trial judge.
77 Spotts also argues that he did not receive effective assistance of counsel at trial. Spotts claims that his trial counsel, David Fahrenkamp, did not adequately consult with Spotts regarding the preparation of his defense; did not make an opening statement; did not prepare Spotts to testify at the suppression hearing; and did not present adequate testimony or evidence at the suppression hearing. 78 The Supreme Court has set out the standard that a defendant must meet to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. 79 First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. 80 Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). The defendant bears the burden of proving both incompetence and prejudice. Id. Because we find that Spotts was not prejudiced by the alleged errors of his trial counsel, we need not address whether trial counsel was incompetent. 81 To meet the prejudice prong of Strickland, [i]t is not enough for the defendant to show that the errors had some conceivable effect on the outcome of the proceeding. Id. at 693, 104 S.Ct. at 2067. Rather, [t]he defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068. Spotts has not met this standard. 82 First, Spotts argues that trial counsel did not maintain regular contact with him prior to trial, and did not devote sufficient time to consultations with him during the trial. Nevertheless,  '[w]e know of no case establishing a minimum number of meetings between counsel and client prior to trial necessary to prepare an attorney to provide effective assistance of counsel.'  United States v. Olson, 846 F.2d 1103, 1108 (7th Cir.1988) (quoting United States ex rel. Kleba v. McGinnis, 796 F.2d 947, 954 (7th Cir.1986)). Spotts fails to explain how the lack of consultation affected the outcome of the trial. Spotts's conclusory allegations regarding the time spent in consultation with his trial counsel do not show that he was prejudiced at trial, and thus his ineffective assistance of counsel claim must fail. See United States v. Goudy, 792 F.2d 664, 672 (7th Cir.1986); cf. United States v. Ray, 828 F.2d 399, 420-21 (7th Cir.1987), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, ----, 108 S.Ct. 781, 1233, 98 L.Ed.2d 867, 99 L.Ed.2d 432 (1988) (three petitions for certiorari denied). 83 Likewise, the mere fact that counsel did not make an opening statement is not sufficient for a defendant to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance. Whether to make an opening statement to the jury is at the discretion of trial counsel. Crisp v. Duckworth, 743 F.2d 580, 587 (7th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1226, 105 S.Ct. 1221, 84 L.Ed.2d 361 (1985). Spotts has not indicated any possible prejudice resulting from his attorney's trial strategy. 84 Spotts also complains that trial counsel failed to adequately prepare him to testify at the suppression hearing. Nevertheless, Spotts did testify at that hearing. Once again, Spotts fails to indicate how additional preparation would have enhanced his testimony. Therefore, this claim also must fail. See id. at 586 (defendant will not prevail on ineffective assistance of counsel claim merely by alleging that counsel failed to prepare defendant to testify; defendant must also show prejudice). The test is not whether the defendant was fully satisfied with defense counsel. 85 Finally, Spotts argues that Fahrenkamp was ineffective in representing him at the suppression hearing. Spotts claims that a Florida attorney retained by Spotts, Tom Kurrus, suggested the knock and announce defense to Fahrenkamp, but Fahrenkamp did not follow up on the suggestion. Nevertheless, Fahrenkamp did present the defense at the suppression hearing, with Spotts taking the stand to testify that the officers did not knock and announce before entering the Alachua stash house. Spotts claims that his fiancee, who was also present at the time of the search, could have corroborated Spotts's testimony. Spotts claims that even though Fahrenkamp knew well in advance of the hearing that Spotts's fiancee could corroborate his story, Fahrenkamp did not ask that she be present to testify at the suppression hearing. Spotts also claims that Kurrus compiled depositions of key witnesses of the police 'knockdown' team who preformed [sic] the raid. Although it is unclear from Spotts's brief who these witnesses are or what the depositions say, Spotts claims that the depositions are favorable to his case. Spotts asserts that although Fahrenkamp knew that the depositions existed, he made no use of them at the suppression hearing. 86 Spotts appears pro se on appeal. We will construe a pro se appellant's brief liberally. McCottrell v. EEOC, 726 F.2d 350, 351 (7th Cir.1984); see Glick v. Gutbrod, 782 F.2d 754, 755 n. 1 (7th Cir.1986). Reading Spotts's claims broadly, Spotts may be claiming that Fahrenkamp not only failed to use corroborating testimony at the suppression hearing, but failed to interview the corroborating witnesses or review their depositions. We have held that trial counsel who fails to interview potential witnesses or follow up on substantial leads may be deficient. See, e.g., Montgomery v. Petersen, 846 F.2d 407 (7th Cir.1988); Sullivan v. Fairman, 819 F.2d 1382 (7th Cir.1987); Crisp, 743 F.2d 580. Nevertheless, because Spotts relied solely on Florida law in his motion to suppress, no amount of preparation on that issue by his attorney would have resulted in the district court granting the motion. Therefore, even if Spotts's counsel did not perform in a constitutionally adequate manner, the outcome of Spotts's trial was not affected. 87 Perhaps a better argument would be that Spotts's trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to argue the federal knock and announce standard. Spotts, however, does not raise this argument, and thus we will not consider it. Jordan v. Duff & Phelps, Inc., 815 F.2d 429, 438 (7th Cir.1987), cert. dismissed, --- U.S. ----, 108 S.Ct. 1067, 99 L.Ed.2d 229 (1988); United States v. Binder, 794 F.2d 1195, 1203 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 869, 107 S.Ct. 234, 93 L.Ed.2d 159 (1986). See Walsh v. Mellas, 837 F.2d 789, 799-800 (7th Cir.1988) (failure to press an argument either before the district court or on appeal results in waiver); see also United States v. Brown, 739 F.2d 1136, 1144-45 (7th Cir.) (appellate court may refuse to consider an ineffective assistance of counsel claim if the claim was not first raised before the district court and the record on appeal is not sufficient for the court to rule on the merits of the claim), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 933, 105 S.Ct. 331, 83 L.Ed.2d 268 (1984). Therefore, because none of the alleged errors of trial counsel affected the outcome of the trial, Spotts's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel must fail.