Opinion ID: 445460
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: errors occurring at trial.

Text: 76 All appellants vigorously deny any criminal involvement in the theft of the King Air and the importation or possession of marijuana. They presented various exculpatory stories to rebut the picture painted by the Government's case in chief. We turn now to an analysis of various errors which appellants claim occurred at trial to the prejudice of their respective defenses. 77
78 Buhajla claims to be the innocent victim of a ruptured oil line: he testified that the King Air made an emergency landing at his airstrip in early February and that, after mechanics came and repaired it, the plane was mysteriously flown away about a week later. He denied emphatically that he was paid by his co-defendants to store the plane and insisted that he knew absolutely nothing about the theft of the plane or the importation of marijuana. Buhajla's defense consisted of his own testimony and that of four witnesses who all praised his reputation as a truth-teller and as a law-abiding citizen. In addition, he presented evidence that he had openly communicated to others that the King Air was stored on his property in early February. Leon Bibbins testified that Buhajla told many people that the King Air was at his airstrip. Similar testimony from Kay Dickson, however, was excluded on hearsay grounds. Buhajla claims on appeal that the district court erred (1) by excluding Kay Dickson's testimony that Buhajla did not conceal the existence of the King Air on his property and (2) by refusing Buhajla's request that seven witnesses be subpoened at Government expense. 79
80 Shortly before trial, Buhajla moved for issuance of subpoenas at Government expense for three witnesses from Arkansas and four witnesses from Illinois. The court granted the motion in part: Buhajla was instructed to choose four of the seven witnesses listed in his motion for whom subpoenas were issued. Buhajla now argues that the district court arbitrarily limited him to four cost-free subpoenas. We note at the outset that only three of the four witnesses for whom subpoenas were authorized testified at trial; one of the witnesses for whom a subpoena was denied testified anyway. 81 Buhajla now claims that four of the witnesses he requested were character witnesses only but that the other three were also fact witnesses. We note, however, that nowhere in the record did Buhajla indicate what he intended to prove through the seven witnesses he requested. His written motion, Record Vol. II at 238, simply lists the witnesses names and addresses; apparently, no objection or offer was made in response to the court's limitation of subpoenas. 82 Rule 17(b), Fed.R.Crim.P., governs an indigent's right to have witnesses subpoened at Government expense. Of course, the issue is not entirely procedural; it implicates both the sixth amendment right to compulsory process and the fifth amendment protection against unreasonable discrimination based upon the ability to pay. See, e.g., United States v. Hegwood, 562 F.2d 946, 952 (5th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1079, 98 S.Ct. 1274, 55 L.Ed.2d 787 (1978). We have long held, however, that, within the limits imposed by the Constitution, [t]he decision to grant or deny a Rule 17(b) motion is vested in the sound discretion of the trial court. United States v. Bowman, 636 F.2d 1003, 1013 (5th Cir.1981). As a threshold matter, an indigent seeking a Rule 17(b) subpoena must allege facts that, if true, demonstrate the necessity of the requested witness' testimony. Hegwood, 562 F.2d at 952. The trial court may then exercise its discretion to deny the subpoenas if the Government demonstrates that the indigent's averments are untrue, United States v. Goodwin, 625 F.2d 693, 703 (5th Cir.1980), or if the requested testimony would be merely cumulative or irrelevant. Bowman, 636 F.2d at 1013. 83 Since Buhajla did not make a threshold showing on the record that the seven requested witnesses were necessary to an adequate defense, Fed.R.Crim.P. 17(b), we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion by forcing him to choose four of them. We note that even if Buhajla had made a record showing below of what he has told us on brief, we would nonetheless uphold the district court's decision. Buhajla claims that the four Illinois witnesses were exclusively character witnesses. He intended for the three Arkansas witnesses, however, to testify about his character and also about facts relevant to his defense: they could testify that Buhajla made no attempt to conceal the fact that the King Air was stored on his property. Even with the court's limitation, then, Buhajla could have subpoenaed at Government expense a total of four character witnesses while at the same time compelling attendance of the only three fact witnesses he sought. Given a district court's wide latitude in limiting cumulative character evidence, e.g., United States v. Edwards, 702 F.2d 529, 530 (5th Cir.1983), we could hardly find an abuse of discretion here. 84
85 Buhajla also complains that the district court erroneously prevented his first witness, Kay Dickson, from testifying that Buhajla told her in the presence of six other people that a King Air was stored on his property in early February of 1983. The court sustained the Government's hearsay objection to this testimony. Buhajla argues that, since the out-of-court statement he made to Kay Dickson was not offered for the truth of the matter asserted, it did not constitute hearsay. We agree. 86 Hearsay, of course, is defined as a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Fed.R.Evid. 801(c). Kay Dickson's testimony was not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted by Buhajla--that a King Air was stored on his property. Rather, it was offered to support an inference of innocence: a man with guilty knowledge is not likely to advertise his possession of stolen property. 87 It is axiomatic that verbal conduct which is assertive but offered as a basis for inferring something other than the matter asserted is excluded from the federal definition of hearsay. Fed.R.Evid. 801(a) advisory committee note (1975). In United States v. Parry, 649 F.2d 292 (5th Cir.1981), for example, defendant was charged with acting as an intermediary in drug sales between undercover agents and third parties. He claimed, however, that he had acted on the good faith belief that he was assisting the undercover agents in their investigation. To bolster his theory of the case, defendant offered his mother's testimony that he told her that the telephone calls he had been receiving were from a narcotics agent with whom he was working. We held that the testimony was erroneously excluded on hearsay grounds: 88 As Parry explained to the district court, this statement was not offered to prove that the caller was a narcotics agent or that Parry was working with the agent, but to establish that Parry had knowledge of the agent's identity when he spoke. In other words, Parry offered the statement as the basis for a circumstantial inference by the jury that, if this statement was in fact made--a question which the in-court witness would testify to while under oath, before the jury, and subject to cross-examination--then Parry probably knew of the agent's identity. Using an out-of-court utterance as circumstantial evidence of the declarant's knowledge of the existence of some fact, rather than as testimonial evidence of the truth of the matter asserted, does not offend the hearsay rule. 89 Id. at 295 (emphasis supplied). Here, Dickson's testimony was offered as circumstantial evidence of the declarant's ignorance of some fact. Since the statement was offered simply to support an inference which the jury might reasonably have drawn regardless of the truth of the assertion, we think it was clearly not hearsay. 90 We are convinced, however, that exclusion of Kay Dickson's testimony was harmless error. In the past, we have applied both the harmless beyond a reasonable doubt standard of Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967), and the substantial influence standard of Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 90 L.Ed. 1557 (1946), to erroneous hearsay rulings. Compare United States v. Martinez, 588 F.2d 495, 499 (5th Cir.1979) with United States v. Parry, 649 F.2d at 296. The error here was harmless under either standard. 91 Although Kay Dickson was not allowed to testify about Buhajla's public avowals with respect to the King Air, Buhajla himself testified about a conversation he had with Kay Dickson during which several people heard him state that a King Air was parked on his property. It is true that exclusion of Dickson's testimony deprived Buhajla of evidence corroborating this specific aspect of his own testimony. The point of this evidence, however, was simply to demonstrate that Buhajla publicly acknowledged the King Air's presence on his property; the fact that Buhajla's statement was made to Kay Dickson was not itself significant to the defense. Leon Bibbins testified without objection that Buhajla was proud that he had a King Air that landed at this short strip and that Bibbins was around many, many times when he talked about it. Record Vol. XXV at 3348. It appears, therefore, that evidence with the same exculpatory value as Kay Dickson's excluded testimony was presented to the jury. The jury obviously refused to draw the inference of ignorance that, according to Buhajla, follows from this evidence. In light of the direct testimony that Buhajla was paid $1000 a day to store the plane and that he originally told investigators, until he was shown photographs indicating the opposite, that there had never been a King Air on his property, we are convinced that Kay Dickson's testimony would not have tipped the balance in Buhajla's favor. Cf. United States v. Gonzalez, 700 F.2d 196, 202 (5th Cir.1983) (harmless error to exclude evidence of out-of-court corroborating statement where trial testimony to same effect was rejected as unbelievable). 92
93
94 Murphy claims that the trial court erred by denying his pre-jury selection, alternative motions to quash the entire venire or for a mistrial. On the first day of trial Murphy claimed that a large number of prospective jurors saw him exit an elevator and walk down a corridor with handcuffs on. In response to Murphy's motions, the court interviewed the marshals who had accompanied Murphy from the elevator and discovered that some, but not a majority of the jurors probably saw Murphy in handcuffs. He was carrying some books at the time, was clean-shaven and was wearing a coat and tie. The court denied the motions but took steps to ensure that the incident was not repeated. Given the fleeting nature of this incident and Murphy's failure to request a cautionary instruction, we discern no error in the denial of his motions. See, e.g., United States v. Escobar, 674 F.2d 469, 479 (5th Cir.1982); United States v. Diecidue, 603 F.2d 535, 549-50 (5th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 946, 100 S.Ct. 1345, 63 L.Ed.2d 781 (1980). 95
96 Counts two and three of the indictment allege conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute approximately 1500 pounds of marijuana. Section 841 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841, makes it unlawful to possess certain controlled substances, including marijuana, with the intent to distribute them. Subsection (a) defines the substantive offense; subsection (b) sets forth the maximum penalties available to the sentencing judge for a violation of subsection (a), which vary with the nature of the controlled substance involved. In 1980, subsection (b) was amended to increase the maximum penalty for possession of large amounts of marijuana: possession of one thousand pounds or less triggers a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment and a $15,000 fine, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(b)(1)(B); possession of more than one thousand pounds subjects the offender to an enhanced penalty of fifteen years' imprisonment and a $125,000 fine, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(b)(6). 97 Based on the indictment in this case, appellants were all subject to the enhanced penalties of section 841(b)(6). At the close of the Government's case, Murphy moved for judgment of acquittal with respect to the enhanced penalties on the ground that the Government had not proved that there were more than one thousand pounds of marijuana in the King Air. Royalston and Weinrich made similar motions, but took them one step further: They argued that the Government forfeited the right to section 841(b)(6) enhancement by destroying the marijuana before appellants had a chance to weigh and test it for themselves. 98 The trial court denied the motions on the ground that the Government's evidence, if believed, would support a finding that the King Air contained more than one thousand pounds of marijuana. The court accommodated appellants' claims that the Government failed to prove more than one thousand pounds by submitting counts two and three to the jury with a lesser included offense instruction of possession and conspiracy to possess less than one thousand pounds of marijuana. The court, however, rejected the claim that the Government forfeited the right to seek enhanced penalties by destroying the marijuana, finding that agents did not act in bad faith when they destroyed the evidence. The jury obviously found that the King Air contained more than one thousand pounds of marijuana: each of the convictions on counts two and three is for the greater of the offenses charged. 99 The Government's evidence with respect to disposition of the marijuana seized at Greenville can be summarized as follows: On the morning of February 12, agents unloaded fifty-six bales of marijuana from the King Air and stacked them in a hangar at the Greenville airport. Agents photographed the marijuana and observed that the bales appeared to be approximately the same size. DEA agent D.L. Boyles weighed twelve bales which, except for the three smallest, were between thirty-three and thirty-eight pounds each. The three smallest bales weighed approximately twenty-five pounds each. Boyles retained the three smallest bales and, with the permission of an assistant United States attorney, destroyed the remaining marijuana in an incinerator at a local hospital. Boyles filled twelve small storage bags with samples from some of the bales before they were placed in the incinerator. DEA chemist Margaret Stevenson examined the material collected by Boyles and determined that it was in fact marijuana. The three complete bales that Boyles retained and the twelve smaller samples were received in evidence. 100 Murphy claims on appeal that, because the Government deliberately destroyed the marijuana, section 841(b)(6) enhancement is unavailable and evidence of the marijuana's weight should have been excluded. The Government responds that the issue is moot because Murphy did not receive an enhanced penalty: he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment on both counts two and three. Webster, however, who did receive an enhanced penalty, has adopted Murphy's treatment of the issue. See Fed.R.App. p. 28(i). Therefore, without considering the validity of the Government's claim that the issue is moot as to Murphy, we will consider the effect of the Government's destruction of the evidence. 101 We reject the argument that the Government cannot seek section 841(b)(6) enhancement unless it retains all of the marijuana seized until defendants can weigh it for themselves. Since Murphy supports his argument to the contrary with vague allusions to a prosecutor's constitutional duties under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), we consider first the constitutional implications of subjecting appellants to enhanced penalties notwithstanding destruction of the marijuana. The Supreme Court has recently grappled with a state's constitutional duty to preserve evidence. In California v. Trombetta, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 2528, 81 L.Ed.2d 413 (1984), the Court held that a state may constitutionally introduce breath-analysis tests in drunk driving prosecutions even though the state has failed to preserve defendant's breath samples for his inspection. Without defining the precise parameters of the constitutional rule, the Court noted that [w]hatever duty the Constitution imposes ... to preserve evidence, that duty must be limited to evidence that might be expected to play a significant role in the suspect's defense. Id. 104 S.Ct. at 2534. Evidence meets this standard of constitutional materiality, if (1) it possess[es] an exculpatory value that was apparent before the evidence was destroyed and (2) is of such a nature that the defendant would be unable to obtain comparable evidence by other reasonably available means. Id. The Court held that breath samples did not meet this test because the chances are extremely low that preserved samples would have been exculpatory and the defendant has other means available to attack the breath-test results. Id. 104 S.Ct. at 2534-35. See also Killian v. United States, 368 U.S. 231, 82 S.Ct. 302, 7 L.Ed.2d 256 (1961) (destruction of notes later incorporated into FBI report is not impermissible destruction of evidence). 102 Applying the Trombetta standard, we are not convinced on the facts of this case that subjecting appellants to enhanced penalties is fundamentally unfair. We note at the outset that the record reveals not the slightest hint that agents destroyed the marijuana in bad faith to circumvent disclosure requirements. In fact, the district court specifically found that the agents destroyed the marijuana in good faith, according to accepted DEA procedures. 103 Moreover, we do not think that the marijuana possessed an apparent exculpatory value 12 with respect to application of section 841(b)(6) enhancement. Trombetta makes clear that the mere possibility that evidence might aid the defense does not satisfy the constitutional materiality standard; rather, if the record reveals that the chances are extremely low that preserved [evidence] would have been exculpatory, destruction of that evidence does not render a conviction or sentence fundamentally unfair. Id. 104 S.Ct. at 2534. The record here reveals a sufficiently low probability that, had the marijuana been preserved, appellants would have been able to establish that it weighed less than one thousand pounds. The Court in Trombetta was impressed by the accuracy of the breath analyzers used by California law enforcement agencies: In all but a tiny fraction of cases, preserved breath samples would simply confirm the Intoxilyzer's determination that the defendant had a high level of blood-alcohol concentration.... Surely, if DEA agents weighed each bale before destruction on carefully calibrated scales, a similar deference to accuracy would be appropriate. While we would feel more comfortable if they had, we are convinced that the method used here to calculate the marijuana's weight was sufficiently accurate to render nugatory the exculpatory value of preservation. 13 104 In addition, we are convinced that appellants had alternative means, beyond weighing the marijuana itself, to challenge the Government's claim that it weighed more than one thousand pounds. The agent who weighed the marijuana and the chemist who tested it were both available for cross-examination. See Trombetta, 104 S.Ct. at 2535. Moreover, agents retained sample bales which presumably were available for inspection. Appellants therefore had a means available to them to test any claim that the agents' method of estimating weight included the weight of extraneous material, such as packaging or stalks, see 21 U.S.C. Sec. 802(15) (excluding stalks from definition of marijuana). Finally, the Government produced at trial photographs of the scales used to weigh the marijuana; we note that none of the appellants sought production of the scales themselves or a continuance to test them. We do not think, therefore, that appellants were prejudiced by the destruction of the marijuana. We find no impediment, constitutional or otherwise, on these facts to subjecting appellants to enhancement. 105 We note that some courts have, while refusing to overturn convictions, expressed concern with Government destruction of drugs and other evidence. See, e.g., United States v. Young, 535 F.2d 484, 488 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 999, 97 S.Ct. 525, 50 L.Ed.2d 609 (1976); United States v. Heiden, 508 F.2d 898, 903 (9th Cir.1974) (Merrill, J., concurring). Our research reveals, however, only one case disallowing section 841(b)(6) enhancement because of a destruction of evidence. The court in United States v. Zimmerli, (36 Crim.L.Rep. (BNA) 2012, Sept. 12, 1984), held that the Government forfeited the right to seek enhancement when it destroyed an estimated 4300 pounds of marijuana pursuant to a court order. In light of our analysis above, we think this case adopts an overly mechanistic approach, and we refuse to follow its reasoning. 106
107 Murphy complains that the trial court erred by receiving in evidence various copies of a receipt from Rockport Aviation in Fulton, Texas, for the sale of 448 gallons of jet fuel on February 11, 1983. At least three copies of the receipt were admitted at trial: Government Exhibits 123 and 139 and Defendant's Exhibit 5. The parties dispute whether another copy, Government Exhibit 88, was actually received in evidence. Murphy complains that all copies of the fuel receipt should have been excluded because they all contain unexplained mark-outs and alterations. 108 Receipt of the fuel ticket was damaging to Murphy's defense. As noted, the Government maintained at trial that Murphy and Wells flew the King Air from Ozark, Arkansas, to Mexico and back to Mississippi on February 11, 1983. Wells, who provided much of the Government's case against the appellants, testified that Murphy landed the King Air somewhere in south Texas to refuel during the trip to Mexico. It is undisputed that at the time of Murphy's arrest officers discovered a fuel ticket in his possession. The Government claimed that that fuel ticket was a carbon copy of a receipt prepared by employees of Rockport Aviation and given to Murphy during the refueling stop described by Wells. If so, the fuel ticket would both connect Murphy with the plane and corroborate Wells' testimony. 109 The Government ran into problems below, however, because it does not have the fuel ticket that was discovered in Murphy's possession on the night of his arrest. The Government claimed that agents photocopied the fuel ticket and inadvertently returned it to Murphy and that Murphy then destroyed it. According to the Government, Exhibits 88 and 123 are photocopies made shortly after Murphy's arrest of the fuel ticket discovered in his possession. Exhibits 88 and 123 appear identical, except for extraneous markings apparently made by agents for purposes of identification, and clearly reflect that on February 11, 448 gallons of jet fuel were pumped into a plane bearing registration number N487OP. 14 Defendant's Exhibit 5 is also a photocopy and, again except for extraneous identification markings, appears identical to Government Exhibits 88 and 123 with two significant exceptions: (1) the date on Exhibit 5 is blotted out and (2) the registration number appears to have been marked over to read N4876B. Government Exhibit 139, which was introduced through the testimony of the owner of Rockport Aviation, is an original which, according to the Government, was filled out simultaneously with Murphy's carbon copy. It is identical in material respects to the Government Exhibits 88 and 123. 110 Murphy claims in a conclusory fashion that [t]he alteration of the Rockport documents which were not properly explained by the person making the alterations rendered them inadmissible. We reject this argument. Murphy points to the discrepancy between Defendant's Exhibit 5 and the Government exhibits and also to the fact that the Government exhibits, although consistent with each other, also show signs of an altered registration number. See note 14, supra. The Government claims that the alterations on the Government exhibits were adequately explained and that Defendant's Exhibit 5 was deliberately altered by Murphy to reduce its evidentiary value after it was produced during pretrial discovery. 111 We note that the first of these exhibits to be introduced in evidence was Defendant's Exhibit 5. Murphy initially objected to introduction of Government Exhibit 123 on the ground that the Government had not adequately accounted for the absence of the original possessed by Murphy on the night of his arrest. After unavailability of the original was established, Government Exhibit 123 was received in evidence without objection. Government Exhibit 139 was likewise received as evidence without objection. Murphy's objection that the exhibits reveal unexplained alterations, therefore, is made for the first time on appeal. Moreover, Murphy himself introduced a copy of the fuel receipt with the very alterations about which he now complains. We find no plain error in the court's handling of these exhibits. In fact, we think the exhibits were handled in strict accordance with the Rules of Evidence. See Fed.R.Evid. 1003 (A duplicate is admissible to the same extent as an original unless (1) a genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of the original....); Weinstein & Berger, Weinstein's Evidence p 1003 (where there is a dispute about changes on duplicates, both the claimed unaltered version and the corrected counterpart should be admitted). 112
113 Murphy claims that the trial court should have declared a mistrial as to Murphy because Government witness Wells repeatedly testified about extrinsic crimes committed by Murphy. He cites, however, to only two examples in the record of objectionable testimony by Wells about Murphy. In both instances, the trial court overruled Murphy's objections and allowed Wells to testify. We are not convinced that the trial court erred in either instance. 114 Rule 404(b), Fed.R.Evid., provides that [e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. Such evidence is admissible, however, upon satisfaction of the prerequisites outlined in United States v. Beechum, 582 F.2d 898 (5th Cir.1978) (en banc), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 920, 99 S.Ct. 1244, 59 L.Ed.2d 472 (1979), if it is relevant to an issue other than character, such as motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). It is clear, however, that [a]n act is not extrinsic, and Rule 404(b) is not implicated, where the evidence of that act and the evidence of the crime charged are inextricably intertwined. United States v. Torres, 685 F.2d 921, 924 (5th Cir.1982). 115 The first alleged violation of Rule 404(b) to which Murphy draws our attention merits little discussion. Wells testified, in discussing a meeting between Murphy and Buhajla about payments for storing the plane, that Murphy said No. You remember this last deal or whatever--. He was cut off by Murphy's objection, however, and, although the objection was overruled, never resumed this thought. Even if the objection was erroneously overruled, this fleeting, unexplained reference to the last deal is obviously not reversible error. 116 The second instance occurred during Wells' description of the refueling of the King Air in Mexico. He testified, over Murphy's objection, that Murphy said that the fuel had to be pumped carefully because the last time they had got fuel ... had gotten dirt in the fuel and they had to land the plane someplace.... We agree with the Government that this evidence of a prior plane trip to Mexico was inextricably intertwined with evidence of the conspiracy charged in the indictment. Torres, 685 F.2d at 924. Therefore, we discern no error in allowing this testimony. 117 Finally, Murphy alleges generally that Wells' testimony about past conduct of his co-conspirator Webster also prejudiced him. In light of our disposition of Webster's argument, see part IV, C, infra, we reject this claim. 118
119 Webster also complains that Wells testified repeatedly about extrinsic offenses committed by Webster. Webster concedes that the trial court sustained his objections to these instances and repeatedly admonished the jury to consider only the crimes charged in the indictment in this case; he argues, however, that the cumulative effect of this testimony could not have been cured by instructions to disregard. We disagree. We recognize that the cumulative effect of several incidents of ... improper argument [or questioning] may require reversal, even though no single one of the incidents, considered alone, would warrant such a result. United States v. Canales, 744 F.2d 413, 450 (5th Cir.1984). We have carefully reviewed Wells' testimony, however, and do not think that the cumulative effect of references to extrinsic offenses required a mistrial. Therefore, we find no error in the district court's refusal to declare a mistrial. See, e.g., United States v. Uptain, 552 F.2d 1107, 1108 (5th Cir.) (judges' limiting instructions cured effects of extrinsic offense testimony), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 866, 98 S.Ct. 202, 54 L.Ed.2d 142 (1977). 120