Opinion ID: 408075
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: McCruiston's Motion for Severance of the Defendants' Trials

Text: 27 Before trial, McCruiston filed a motion to sever his trial from that of Banks pursuant to Rule 14 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The grounds for the motion stated that the defendants' defenses were antagonistic and inconsistent and that there was a substantial probability that the defendants would make statements incriminating each other. In this appeal, McCruiston additionally claims that the actual conduct of Banks' defense unfairly prejudiced McCruiston in that: (1) counsel for Banks made remarks in her cross-examination of Milton and her closing argument which implicated McCruiston in the offense charged; (2) the testimony of Milton included statements of Banks which prejudiced McCruiston and violated McCruiston's Sixth Amendment right to confrontation of witnesses; and (3) the court denied McCruiston's request for additional peremptory challenges. 28 Mutually antagonistic defenses mandate severance only when acceptance of one party's defense precludes the acquittal of the other. United States v. Ziperstein, 601 F.2d 281, 285 (7th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1031, 100 S.Ct. 701, 62 L.Ed.2d 667 (1980). A review of the record reveals that the proffered defenses of Banks and McCruiston failed to meet this standard. Despite McCruiston's pre-trial references to a defense of entrapment, from opening to closing statements both defendants offered the defense that their plan had been to abscond with Milton's money without any actual transfer of heroin. Banks asserted an alternative defense that his level of involvement could not rise to the level of aiding and abetting even if the jury did find that the offense had been committed as charged. However, Banks did not refute, and in fact frequently reaffirmed, his alternate theory of defense that a sting had been intended and not a drug transaction. Even had McCruiston offered a defense of entrapment, Banks' defense would not have conflicted with McCruiston's. Therefore, the defenses of the defendants did not mandate severance. 29 Even though the defenses did not mandate a severance, it is still necessary to determine whether the actual conduct of Banks' defense so prejudiced McCruiston's defense as to warrant severance. This grounds for severance, however, depends on a careful evaluation of facts elicited, prejudicial tendencies, and the entire course of the trial prior to the challenged conduct. United States v. Ziperstein, 601 F.2d 281, 286 (7th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1031, 100 S.Ct. 701, 62 L.Ed.2d 667 (1980). Accordingly, the denial of a motion for severance will not be disturbed in the absence of an abuse of discretion. United States v. Tanner, 471 F.2d 128 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 949, 93 S.Ct. 269, 34 L.Ed.2d 220 (1972). 30 On this appeal, McCruiston objects to statements of Banks' counsel during her cross-examination of Milton and her closing argument. We need not address this issue because McCruiston failed to object to the statements during the cross-examination and failed to object during the closing argument until after the jury had retired, at which time he moved for a mistrial. Moreover, review of the record demonstrates that in context most references to the conduct of McCruiston were used to strengthen the sting defense and the prejudicial effect, if any, on McCruiston's defense was minimal. 31 McCruiston's next objection to the actual conduct of the trial is also without merit. The objection focuses on statements of Banks brought out in the testimony of Milton which purportedly implicated McCruiston. According to McCruiston, the admission of these extra-judicial statements of a co-defendant mandate reversal and remand for separate trials because they were highly prejudicial to McCruiston's defense and violated his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation of witnesses in that McCruiston did not have the opportunity to cross-examine Banks on any of the statements he allegedly made. All statements attributed to Banks and offered through the testimony of Milton took place during the transaction which formed part of the offenses charged against both defendants and were made in furtherance of the joint efforts of both defendants to commit the crime. The only statements by Banks to which McCruiston specifically objects is his statement to Milton that McCruiston would make the buy if Milton gave McCruiston the money. 32 Any prejudice from admission of Banks' statements was insignificant and clearly does not warrant reversal and remand for separate trials. Throughout Milton's testimony, the judge gave the jury an instruction, each time it was requested, that the statements made by Banks in McCruiston's absence were evidence only as to Banks. McCruiston failed to object or request a jury instruction following the only statement by Banks to which he specifically objects in this appeal. At the end of the trial, the judge gave the instructions requested by McCruiston that no statement made by one defendant in the absence of the other could be considered as evidence against the absent defendant, and that statements in the indictments could not be considered as evidence. Nor was there any Sixth Amendment violation. We note that the statements were made during the commission of the offense charged. McGregor v. United States, 422 F.2d 925, 926 (5th Cir. 1970) (per curiam). It was not disputed that the statements were actually made, and there was circumstantial evidence supporting the truth of the statements. United States v. Blakey, 607 F.2d 779, 786 (7th Cir. 1979). For these reasons, nothing in the nature of the defendants' defenses or the actual conduct of the trial compels us to find that the district court erred in denying severance. We will address the issue of peremptory challenges below. 33