Opinion ID: 801394
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Consequences of the Insufficiency Finding

Text: This differencebetween the narrow conspiracy the government proved at trial and the broader conspiracy it charged in the indictment but did not provematters. It matters in this case not because there was a variance between the proof and the indictment, [17] but because of the five-year federal statute of limitations for non-capital crimes, 18 U.S.C. § 3282(a). See United States v. Bucci, 839 F.2d 825, 829 (1st Cir.1988) (stating that the statute of limitations for a Hobbs Act violation is five years); see also United States v. Agne, 214 F.3d 47 (1st Cir.2000) (vacating a wire fraud conviction because the indictment was untimely under the five-year statute of limitations of 18 U.S.C. § 3282 and the government failed to prove that the defendant's actions affected a financial institution so as to trigger the ten-year statute of limitations of 18 U.S.C. § 3293(2)); United States v. Doherty, 867 F.2d 47 (1st Cir.1989) (reversing a mail fraud conspiracy conviction for conspiring to obtain a promotion through the use of a stolen police sergeant's exam because the ongoing receipt of increased salary as a result of the conspiracy's success was not an overt act within the statute of limitations); United States v. Juodakis, 834 F.2d 1099 (1st Cir.1987) (per curiam) (reversing a conviction for manufacturing illegal drugs where the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the particular conspiracyas determined by the defendant's agreementwithin the limitations period). We view the matter through a particular standard of review. The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense which a criminal defendant has the responsibility of raising and preserving before or at trial if he seeks its benefit. See United States v. Thurston, 358 F.3d 51, 63 (1st Cir.2004), vacated on other grounds by 543 U.S. 1097, 125 S.Ct. 984, 160 L.Ed.2d 988 (2005). A defendant's failure to do so results in forfeiture of the defense. [18] Id. Franco-Santiago did raise but did not adequately preserve the statute of limitations as a defense before his trial. [19] It is undisputed that Franco-Santiago did not raise the statute of limitations defense at trial, so he did not preserve the issue. See United States v. Rogers, 118 F.3d 466, 474 (6th Cir.1997) (defendant never argued withdrawal or abandonment at trial; therefore he failed to preserve the issue of whether he withdrew from or abandoned the conspiracy before the limitations period, despite having raised [the issue] in his pretrial motion to dismiss); United States v. Wilson, 26 F.3d 142, 159-60 (D.C.Cir.1994) (ordinarily, when a trial court denies a motion to dismiss the indictment because the motion raises questions of fact, the defendant must renew his objection at trial). Because he did not raise his statute of limitations defense at trial, we review for plain error. See United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-32, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993); Fed. R.Crim.P. 52(b). Under plain error review, Franco-Santiago must show (1) there is an error; (2) the error is plain or obvious; (3) the error `affected [his] substantial rights, which in the ordinary case means it affected the outcome of the district court proceedings;' and (4) `the error seriously affect[s] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.' De Jesús-Viera, 655 F.3d at 57 (second alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Gerhard, 615 F.3d 7, 22 (1st Cir.2010)) (internal quotation marks omitted). We have held there was error; it was sufficiently clear that the government acknowledged at sentencing that the only ongoing offense, the September 25 robbery, was not known or foreseeable to Franco-Santiago. The prejudice to him is obvious. The fourth prong is closer. The question is whether allowing the time-barred conviction to stand seriously affect[s] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Olano, 507 U.S. at 736, 113 S.Ct. 1770 (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Atkinson, 297 U.S. 157, 160, 56 S.Ct. 391, 80 L.Ed. 555 (1936)) (internal quotation marks omitted). On the one hand, Franco-Santiago did commit a very serious crime, one which easily could have ended in death or injury. He also was a police officer who betrayed his badge and the public trust inherent in his position. On the other hand, there are reasons not to let the conviction stand. The Supreme Court has said that [t]he purpose of a statute of limitations is to limit exposure to criminal prosecution to a certain fixed period of time following the occurrence of those acts the legislature has decided to punish by criminal sanctions. Such a limitation is designed to protect individuals from having to defend themselves against charges when the basic facts may have become obscured by the passage of time and to minimize the danger of official punishment because of acts in the far-distant past. Toussie v. United States, 397 U.S. 112, 114-15, 90 S.Ct. 858, 25 L.Ed.2d 156 (1970). And it is in the interests of fairness and integrity that the prosecution be held to the rules governing its own conduct, including in a situation such as this. `Every statute of limitations, of course, may permit a rogue to escape,' but when a court concludes that the statute does bar a given prosecution, it must give effect to the clear expression of congressional will that in such a case `no person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished.' Id. at 123-24, 90 S.Ct. 858 (citation omitted) (quoting Pendergast v. United States, 317 U.S. 412, 418, 63 S.Ct. 268, 87 L.Ed. 368 (1943); 18 U.S.C. § 3282). Here the government had the information it needed to bring an indictment before the statute of limitations on the August 7 payroll robbery expired. No good reason is evident from the record for its failure to do so. In addition, if Hernández had evidence tying Franco-Santiago to the larger conspiracy, the government could easily have solicited it after following the district court's instruction to lay a proper Petrozziello foundation. See United States v. Petrozziello, 548 F.2d 20, 23 (1st Cir. 1977). The government's own conduct has brought about this result, calling into question the integrity and fairness of the process. See United States v. Peña-Lora, 225 F.3d 17, 27 (1st Cir.2000) (reversing a firearms conviction for insufficient evidence on plain error review where inconsistent testimony made it impossible for the jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and the government invited these testimonial inconsistencies); see also United States v. Vázquez-Rivera, 665 F.3d 351, 364 (1st Cir.2011) (finding plain error where the government excessively relied on improper testimony to convict the defendant of possession of child pornography, and stating that the errors unfairly impaired the integrity of [the defendant's] trial); United States v. Carrasco, 540 F.3d 43, 54 (1st Cir.2008) (finding plain error where the trial court admitted the defendant's confession for impeachment after having ruled that it was inadmissible, and stating that allowing such an error to go uncorrected even though it may well have meant the difference between conviction and acquittal would certainly erode public confidence in the integrity of judicial proceedings); United States v. Fuchs, 218 F.3d 957, 963 (9th Cir.2000) (Allowing defendants' convictions to stand, given the likelihood that the jury may not have convicted had they been properly instructed, would be a `miscarriage of justice.').