Opinion ID: 8312407
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Alleged Improper Legal Instructions to Grand Jury

Text: The second basis for Agustin's motion for in camera inspection of the grand jury minutes is to check whether the grand jury was properly instructed on the law regarding aiding and abetting liability. In this regard, Agustin is correct that criminal liability for aiding and abetting a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c) requires that the defendant has actual knowledge of the use of a firearm by the principal. See Rosemond v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 134 S.Ct. 1240 , 1243, 188 L.Ed.2d 248 (2014) (We hold that the Government makes its case by proving that the defendant actively participated in the underlying drug trafficking or violent crime with advance knowledge that a confederate would use or carry a gun during the crime's commission.); United States v. Slatten , 865 F.3d 767 , 793 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (citing Rosemond , and finding sufficient evidence to support [ ] convictions under an aiding-and-abetting theory where defendant at issue actively participated in a gunbattle in which victims were killed and the gunfire of each shooter hindered potential escape, leaving victims exposed to the others' bullets); United States v. Powell , 929 F.2d 724 , 729 (D.C. Cir. 1991) (requiring proof that aider and abettor knew to a practical certainty that his drug-peddling associates would be carrying a gun in connection with their joint venture); United States v. García-Ortiz , 792 F.3d 184 , 189-90 (1st Cir. 2015) (stating requirement that an aider and abettor of a § 924(c) crime have advance knowledge of the principal's intent to use a weapon). Citing a single paragraph in the prosecutor's extradition request, which Agustin claims provides an incomplete statement of the law applicable to aiding and abetting, he contends this provides good reason to believe that any instructions [to the grand jury] were incomplete. Def.'s Mot. GJ Inspection at 7-8. With this argument, Agustin again fails to meet his burden for demonstrating a particularized need to overcome the presumption of secrecy and regularity that materials from grand jury proceedings enjoy. See Procter & Gamble , 356 U.S. at 683 , 78 S.Ct. 983 ; Pittsburgh Plate Glass , 360 U.S. at 400 , 79 S.Ct. 1237 . His argument essentially relies on what is missing in the extradition request, which, as the government points out, is governed by treaty and does not require a complete set of jury instructions. Gov't's' Opp'n Def.'s Mot. GJ Inspection at 7-8. Moreover, as discussed above, the indictment has already been deemed facially valid, which undermines Agustin's theory that the grand jury instructions may have been incomplete. See United States v. Espy , 23 F.Supp.2d 1 , 10 (D.D.C. 1998) (denying motion for disclosure of grand jury materials where facially valid indictment undermines any 'particularized need' the alleged grand jury instructions demonstrate for disclosure of the grand jury transcripts); see also United States v. Singhal , 876 F.Supp.2d 82 , 99 (D.D.C. 2012) (rejecting disclosure of grand jury materials where  [d]efendants are unable to identify any portion of the Indictment that suggests that any charge to the grand jury was legally erroneous, and resorts to speculation about what the grand jury was instructed based on what is not stated in the Indictment) (emphasis in original); United States v. Trie , 23 F.Supp.2d 55 , 62 (D.D.C. 1998) (finding where the indictment is facially valid that the mere suspicion that the grand jury may not have been properly instructed ... is insufficient to establish that [the defendant] is entitled either to dismissal of the indictment or to disclosure of grand jury materials). For these reasons, Agustin has failed to show any particularized need for inspection of the instructions to the grand jury about Count Two, and his attempt to relitigate his earlier challenge to this charge in the indictment must be rejected. Accordingly, Agustin's motion for an in camera review of the grand jury minutes is DENIED.