Opinion ID: 547207
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Orovic Suitcase

Text: 43 By the time the Government rested, Neville and Kirchheimer had made reasonable efforts to explore any evidence that could account for Aguirre's possession of the Samsonite bag and its contents, of which Aguirre said he had no knowledge. Although the district court faulted the attorneys for failing to pursue the Orovic theory, there is nothing in the record to suggest that evidence of the Samsonite's earlier relation to Julia Orovic would have strengthened the defense. 44 As Neville and Kirchheimer discovered, the theory suffered from many serious deficiencies. First, the testimony of the witnesses necessary to pursue the defense would have disclosed damaging evidence. Carmen Trueba Piedrahita would have testified that, although the Orovic bag and the Samsonite were the same, Aguirre acted suspiciously upon arrival at the Quito airport, especially in not allowing his luggage to undergo a drug inspection. And Luis Peredes might have given harmful testimony because of his perceived hostility toward Aguirre. 45 Second, based on the interviews with these witnesses, Neville and Kirchheimer entertained serious doubts about the veracity of the Orovic theory. Although the blue Samsonite Aguirre carried had wheels and straps, Germanico Coronel had previously described the Orovic bag as lacking those features. One witness informed Neville that men's clothing had been removed from it in the airline's storeroom, a fact inconsistent with prior ownership by Julia Orovic, a woman. Peredes stated that the Orovic suitcase was not decorated with stickers, unlike the seized suitcase. Moreover, it is difficult to believe that anyone would abandon a bag containing fourteen pounds of cocaine; it is even more difficult to believe that the bag would have been returned to Quito and kept in the airline's storeroom without being detected. 46 Third, the other available witnesses would have been unable to testify as to the Orovic theory. Magdalena Solorzano told Neville she had no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Aguirre's borrowing the blue Samsonite in July 1988. Jennie Aguirre knew nothing about the source of the borrowed suitcase other than the fact that Montesdeoca delivered it to their apartment before the Los Angeles flight. And the two employees who were not transported to New York, Pablo Diaz and Diego Mantilla, likewise would not have been able to testify about the suitcase's prior ownership. 47 As a result, Neville and Kirchheimer were severely restricted in their presentation of evidence. The district court seems to have given no serious consideration to the situation confronting these attorneys in their preparations. Under these circumstances, we cannot fault the decision to call only Jennie Aguirre, Solorzano and Peredes, and to limit the examination of the latter. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2065-66 (court must judge the reasonableness of counsel's challenged conduct on the facts of the particular case, viewed as of the time of counsel's conduct); Mills v. Scully, 826 F.2d 1192, 1197 (2d Cir.1987) (not ineffective assistance to forego a defense approach that poses greater risks than benefits). Neville's and Kirchheimer's decisions not to pursue various avenues ancillary to the Orovic defense were made after their initial decision to abandon the defense altogether. Accordingly, the doubts to which they confessed regarding the inadmissibility of some of the evidence pertinent to the defense are immaterial. 48 We also disagree with the district court's conclusion that the Orovic defense might have caused the jury to reach a different result. From start to finish the telltale evidence was the excessive weight of the Samsonite bag. In summation, the prosecutor argued in part, How can Mr. Aguirre carry that unusually heavy bag without knowing what was going on? How can someone so accustomed to carrying a similar bag not know? During deliberations, each juror lifted the suitcase, apparently to determine its weight; moments later, the verdict was announced. Even if counsel encountered no roadblocks in execution of the Orovic theory, such as adverse admissibility rulings or unfavorable revelations from witnesses, the evidence would have failed to counter the jury's reasonable inference that a flight attendant of Aguirre's experience would hardly have carried an excessively heavy bag without having some knowledge of its contents. 49 Neville and Kirchheimer were faced with a strong Government case that was difficult to defend, a fact that militates against our finding prejudice from any challenged defense tactic. See United States v. Reiter, 897 F.2d 639, 645 (2d Cir.1990), petition for cert. filed, 58 U.S.L.W. 3787 (U.S. May 31, 1990) (No. 89-1878). Counsel followed a course that, at the time, appeared to be the safest and most effective one available after thorough investigation of law and facts relevant to plausible options, Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2066.