Opinion ID: 566443
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Double Jeopardy-Successive Prosecution

Text: 15 Relying on statements in Bartkus v. Illinois, 359 U.S. 121, 79 S.Ct. 676, 3 L.Ed.2d 684 (1959), defendant argues that the federal prosecution in this case was merely a tool of the state authorities, a sham and a cover for an otherwise impermissible State of Oklahoma prosecution. See id. at 123-24, 79 S.Ct. at 678. He claims that Mr. Wintory, in his capacity as state prosecutor, controlled and manipulated the federal process, Appellant's Brief at 11, as evidenced by an absence of significant federal involvement in investigation and prosecution. Further, by the State conducting proceedings on the state felony information, and then dismissing those proceedings in favor of federal prosecution, defendant claims that he has been deprived of the right to a speedy trial on constitutional and statutory grounds. See Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972); 18 U.S.C. § 3161-3174 (Speedy Trial Act). He also alleges that his right to a fair trial has been compromised in the absence of a speedy trial. The district court rejected the notion that the federal proceeding was a sham prosecution and denied the defendant's motion to dismiss. Rec. supp. vol. III at 41. 16 We review a district court's legal conclusion on a double jeopardy claim de novo. United States v. Cardall, 885 F.2d 656, 665 (10th Cir.1989). Subsidiary factual findings are reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. United States v. Jones, 816 F.2d 1483, 1486 (10th Cir.1987) (whether conspiracies were separate and distinct under prior law was factual; district court finding reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard); United States v. Martinez, 562 F.2d 633, 638 (10th Cir.1977) (same). The burden is on the defendant to prove a double jeopardy claim. United States v. Felix, 926 F.2d 1522, 1531 (10th Cir.1991); Jones, 816 F.2d at 1486. When a defendant claims that federal and state officials are not acting as dual sovereigns, he has a substantial burden of proving one sovereign is so dominated by the actions of the other that the former is not acting of its own volition. United States v. Liddy, 542 F.2d 76, 79 (D.C.Cir.1976). 17 The double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment bars any subsequent prosecution in which the government, to establish an essential element of an offense charged in that prosecution, will prove conduct that constitutes an offense for which the defendant already has been prosecuted. Grady v. Corbin, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 2084, 2093, 109 L.Ed.2d 548 (1990) (footnote omitted); See also Harris v. Oklahoma, 433 U.S. 682, 97 S.Ct. 2912, 53 L.Ed.2d 1054 (1977). Double jeopardy scrutiny is appropriate when there are successive prosecutions arising from virtually the same conduct involving the same actors and overlapping time frames. Felix, 926 F.2d at 1531. It is well established, however, that a subsequent federal prosecution based upon the same conduct as a terminated state prosecution does not violate the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment. Abbate v. United States, 359 U.S. 187, 195, 79 S.Ct. 666, 670, 3 L.Ed.2d 729 (1959); United States v. Lanza, 260 U.S. 377, 382, 43 S.Ct. 141, 142, 67 L.Ed. 314 (1922). The dual sovereignty doctrine rests upon the notion that laws of separate sovereigns are indeed separate and that one act may violate the laws of each; accordingly, prosecution by each cannot be for the same offense and double jeopardy concerns are not implicated. Heath v. Alabama, 474 U.S. 82, 88, 106 S.Ct. 433, 437, 88 L.Ed.2d 387 (1985). A possible exception to the dual sovereignty rule might exist where a federal or state prosecution was merely a tool manipulated by the other sovereign to revive a prosecution barred on federal constitutional grounds. See Bartkus, 359 U.S. at 123-24, 79 S.Ct. at 678-79; United States v. Bernhardt, 831 F.2d 181 (9th Cir.1981) (district court determined that jeopardy had attached in state prosecution). Accordingly, courts have considered double jeopardy claims that (1) federal prosecutors have manipulated state processes rendering the state prosecution a sham and a cover for an otherwise barred federal prosecution, see, e.g., United States v. Moore, 822 F.2d 35, 37-38 (8th Cir.1987); United States v. Patterson, 809 F.2d 244, 247 (5th Cir.1987); United States v. Russotti, 717 F.2d 27, 30-32 (2d Cir.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1022, 104 S.Ct. 1273, 79 L.Ed.2d 678 (1984); United States v. Aleman, 609 F.2d 298, 309 (7th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 946, 100 S.Ct. 1345, 63 L.Ed.2d 780 (1980); Liddy, 542 F.2d at 79, and (2) state prosecutors have manipulated federal processes rendering the federal prosecution a sham and a cover for an otherwise barred state prosecution, see, e.g., Bernhardt, 831 F.2d at 182. 18 We consistently have recognized the dual sovereignty rule in holding that a defendant is not entitled to dismissal of an indictment even if the government does not comply with its Petite 2 policy. See United States v. Gourley, 835 F.2d 249, 250-51 (10th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1010, 108 S.Ct. 1741, 100 L.Ed.2d 204 (1988); United States v. Padilla, 589 F.2d 481, 484 (10th Cir.1978); United States v. Fritz, 580 F.2d 370, 375 (10th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 947, 99 S.Ct. 340, 58 L.Ed.2d 338 (1978); United States v. Thompson, 579 F.2d 1184, 1187 (10th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 896, 99 S.Ct. 257, 58 L.Ed.2d 243 (1978). Padilla is of particular significance because it involves the same prosecutor at the federal and state levels. Judge Logan's concurring opinion described the facts as follows: 19 The defendant here was charged in state court on six counts of trafficking in heroin. He ultimately pleaded guilty in all counts. A lawyer in the state prosecutor's office, apparently involved in the case in state court, became an Assistant United States Attorney and brought before a Federal grand jury the same transactions, securing indictments for the same acts previously charged in state court. The sole witness at the federal trial was a member of the Albuquerque, New Mexico Police Department who was involved in the gathering of evidence in the state case. 20 Padilla, 589 F.2d at 485 (Logan, J., concurring). Defendant challenged his conviction on double jeopardy grounds and the court held that the federal conviction was not barred. Id. at 484. The double jeopardy circumstances in Padilla were far more compelling than those in this case, yet the dual sovereignty doctrine controlled the case. See id. at 485 (Logan, J., concurring) (It is hard to imagine another situation where the law permits what appears on its face to be such an apparent injustice, making a defendant answer twice for the same acts.). 21 Defendant's double jeopardy claim fails for any number of independent reasons. First, jeopardy never attached in the Oklahoma state prosecution. In a jury trial, jeopardy attaches when the jury is impaneled and sworn; in a bench trial, jeopardy attaches when the first witness is sworn. Crist v. Bretz, 437 U.S. 28, 37-38, 98 S.Ct. 2156, 2161-2162, 57 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978); Serfass v. United States, 420 U.S. 377, 388, 95 S.Ct. 1055, 1062, 43 L.Ed.2d 265 (1975). Prior to any trial, the Oklahoma prosecution was dismissed in lieu of federal prosecution. See Liddy, 542 F.2d at 80 (state prosecution dismissed in lieu of federal prosecution). Second, although defendant claims that his constitutional and statutory right to a speedy trial has been circumvented, he offers no fact-law integration to support the claim. Sometimes things are what they appear; the lack of factual development and legal analysis on this claim strongly suggests its lack of merit. Moreover, defendant has never explained how the Oklahoma state prosecution would be barred as a result of the difficulty in extraditing him from Texas to Oklahoma. A lone cite to Tex.Crim.Pro.Ann. art. 51.13 (Vernon 1979 & 1991 Cum.Supp.) does not provide sufficient specificity, particularly in view of the many sections pertaining to extradition. We will not presume that insurmountable obstacles barred defendant's extradition. Third, defendant has not shown that the district court's factual findings are clearly erroneous. 22 The district court found that the state charges encompassed only a small part of defendant's alleged criminal activities. Rec. supp. vol. III at 42-43. The court also found that the federal superseding indictment involved criminal activity of a larger scope. Id. This is apparent from the federal indictment which charged a conspiracy to distribute MDMA and cocaine over approximately two years. Merely because some of the overt acts contained in the conspiracy counts of the federal indictment encompass defendant's prior Texas convic tions or Oklahoma charges does not violate double jeopardy. See Aleman, 609 F.2d at 309. 23 Defendant concentrates on the degree of federal involvement in this case, arguing that it was insufficient. He points to the many witnesses who were involved in the previous state cases and Mr. Wintory's heavy involvement in both cases. As an initial matter, we question whether these factors alone could ever establish a sham prosecution given our holding in Padilla which involved the same state prosecutor and the same state evidence at the federal level. Assuming, arguendo, that the extent of independent federal involvement must be evaluated, see Bernhardt, 3 831 F.2d at 183, the district court's finding on this score is not clearly erroneous. The district court found that the federal prosecution involved substantial investigation separate and apart from the state charges, and that the federal designation of Mr. Wintory was appropriate to vindicate the substantial federal interest implicated by the scope of the alleged criminal activity. See Rec. supp. vol. III at 43. The federal government paid for the cost of prosecution, lawyers from the Justice Department and the local U.S. Attorney's office worked on the case, and a few witnesses were unique to the federal prosecution. 24 Defendant's double jeopardy claim under Bartkus fails as a matter of law. Moreover, defendant did not meet his substantial burden of proving that the federal prosecution was merely a tool of the State. For these reasons, the district court properly declined to dismiss the indictment on double jeopardy grounds.