Opinion ID: 765149
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Use of Perjury

Text: 27 Tingle contends that one of the government's witnesses--Eric Laws--committed perjury at trial, the government knew of the perjury, and therefore the district court erred in denying her motion for a mistrial. 28 We review the district court's refusal to grant a new trial based on the government's purported use of perjury for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Thompson, 117 F.3d 1033, 1035 (7th Cir. 1997). The district court abuses its discretion when it makes an error of law or when it makes a clearly erroneous finding of fact. United States v. Silva, 140 F.3d 1098, 1101 n.4 (7th Cir. 1998). To obtain a new trial based on use of perjurious testimony, a defendant must establish that (1) the government presented perjured testimony; (2) the government knew or should have known of the perjury; and (3) there is some likelihood that the false testimony affected the jury's verdict. Thompson, 117 F.3d at 1035. 29 To satisfy the first requirement, Tingle contends that Eric Laws testified that he obtained cocaine from Tingle in January 1995, which had to be false, because Tingle was incarcerated for an unrelated offense between January and May 1995. 6 Tingle, however, mischaracterizes Laws' testimony. On direct examination he testified that he dealt with Tingle during the [f]irst part of '95. This testimony is ambiguous, as the first part of '95 could reasonably be interpreted to mean the first quarter of 1995, the first half of 1995, the first three quarters of 1995, and so on. If the first part of '95 were construed to mean around the first part of 1995, this might also include the latter part of 1994. In short, while a person could reasonably interpret the first part of '95 to mean January 1995, it is also susceptible to many other interpretations, including periods during which Tingle was not imprisoned. Because of this ambiguity, Laws was forced to clarify his statements on cross- examination and redirect. Eric Laws testified that he knew Tingle was imprisoned during the early part of 1995 (although he could not remember the exact time period), and that during her incarceration he merely talked with her on the telephone, and obtained cocaine from her boyfriend, Tutu. Despite Tingle's imprisonment, cocaine was still distributed from her home in Chicago, just as it was before and after her incarceration. He also testified that he could not remember the exact date of any occasion that he met with Tingle, but he knew that he began dealing with Tingle at least six months before her incarceration in 1995. This testimony does not contradict Eric's other testimony or any other evidence presented at trial. Thus, Tingle has failed to show that Eric Laws' testimony was perjurious. 30 Finally, assuming arguendo that Laws had testified falsely, Tingle failed to show that there was some likelihood that this testimony impacted the jury's verdict, especially considering that Laws admitted he was unsure of the exact date he began receiving cocaine from Tingle. If anything, this aided Tingle's case by demonstrating to the jury that Laws' memory was imperfect. Beyond that, the fact that Tingle was unable to counter the testimony that she fronted cocaine on numerous occasions between January 1995 and June 1996, and her own statements to the officers that Eric Laws obtained cocaine from her house, also makes it highly unlikely that Eric Laws' statements had any further adverse impact on the jury's assessment of Tingle's guilt. Thus, Tingle cannot prevail on this argument.