Opinion ID: 440538
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Issues Relating to Matters Arising Prior to Trial

Text: 10 On January 5, 1979, Florida law enforcement agent Stephen Dobson applied for and received authorization from a Florida circuit court judge to intercept telephone conversations on two telephones listed to unindicted co-conspirator Bill Cobb, for a period of thirty days. Within that thirty-day period, Cobb had the numbers on both of his telephones changed; the telephone company refused to intercept the new numbers without new court orders, and so Dobson returned to court on January 15 and 29 and obtained amendments to the January 5 order, substituting the new numbers for the old. On February 2, 1979, Dobson applied for and was granted a thirty-day extension of the amended January 5 authorization, and it was during the extension period that certain telephone calls were intercepted incriminating several of the appellants. 11 1. Newly discovered evidence that the wiretap order was issued on the basis of false information 12 The appellants' initial challenge respecting the sufficiency of the wiretap application concerns what might best be termed newly discovered evidence. Dobson's original affidavit relied in part upon information obtained from an informant, Rayburn Morgan. In the affidavit, Dobson alleged that he interviewed Morgan on December 5, 1978, and credits Morgan with having furnished certain details of Cobb's involvement in the marijuana conspiracy prior to July 1978. 13 In April 1983, several months after the conclusion of trial and while this appeal was pending, the defendants located Rayburn Morgan, and obtained his affidavit. Morgan stated that he did not make many of the statements attributed to him in the Dobson affidavit, and listed those statements with which he took issue. He added that he had reason to believe Cobb intended to kill him, for which reason he had been in hiding since the spring of 1978, and had made himself unavailable to all but the government prosecutors. 14 On the basis of this newly discovered evidence, appellants insist that the Dobson affidavit failed to establish the probable cause needed to authorize a wiretap on Cobb's phone. Consequently, appellants continue, this court should remand the case to the district court, presumably for a determination of whether a new trial is in order. 15 Evidence discovered post-trial, calling into question the existence of probable cause for a search conducted by law enforcement officers, is properly considered by the district court in a motion for a new trial pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.Pro. 33. See, e.g., United States v. VanMaanen, 547 F.2d 50, 52-53 (8th Cir.1976). Rule 33 provides, however, that where, as here, such a motion is filed with the district court during the pendency of an appeal, the motion may be denied but may not be granted without first having the case remanded by the court of appeals. United States v. Fuentes-Lozano, 580 F.2d 724 (5th Cir.1978); see generally C. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure Sec. 557 (1982). 16 For our part, a court of appeals is without authority to rule on a motion for a new trial. United States v. Boberg, 565 F.2d 1059, 1062 (8th Cir.1977). We must nevertheless decide whether to remand the case for the limited purpose of having the district court entertain such a motion, and if remanding the case would serve no valid purpose, we will decline to do so. United States v. Mack, 695 F.2d 820, 823 (5th Cir.1983). 17 For the appellants to prevail in the district court on a motion for a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence, they must demonstrate, among other things, that the new evidence is such that it will probably produce an acquittal. Bentley v. United States, 701 F.2d 897 (11th Cir.1983); United States v. Hirst, 668 F.2d 1180, 1185 (11th Cir.1982). In order for such a result to be likely in this case, appellants must demonstrate, at the very least, that suppression of the wiretap evidence was warranted in light of information contained in Morgan's affidavit. Because we do not believe that the affidavit alone could properly result in suppression of the wiretap, it is unnecessary to remand the question to the district court for its consideration. 18 In Franks v. Delaware, the Supreme Court summarized the standard applicable for determining whether a defendant is entitled to a hearing upon his allegation that a search warrant was issued on the basis of a false affidavit: 19 There is, of course, a presumption of validity with respect to the affidavit supporting the search warrant. To mandate an evidentiary hearing, the challenger's attack must be more than conclusory and must be supported by more than a mere desire to cross-examine. There must be allegations of deliberate falsehood or of reckless disregard for the truth, and those allegations must be accompanied by an offer of proof. They should point out specifically the portion of the warrant affidavit that is claimed to be false; and they should be accompanied by a statement of supporting reasons. Affidavits or sworn or otherwise reliable statements of witnesses should be furnished, or their absence satisfactorily explained. Allegations of negligence or innocent mistake are insufficient. The deliberate falsity or reckless disregard whose impeachment is permitted today is only that of the affiant, not of any nongovernmental informant. Finally, if these requirements are met, and if, when material that is the subject of the alleged falsity or reckless disregard is set to one side, there remains sufficient content in the warrant affidavit to support a finding of probable cause, no hearing is required. On the other hand, if the remaining content is insufficient, the defendant is entitled, under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, to his hearing. 20 438 U.S. 154, 171-72, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 2684-85, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978) (footnote omitted) (emphasis supplied). 21 Assuming without deciding that Morgan's affidavit supports a claim of deliberate falsehood, and setting aside all references in Dobson's affidavit to the Morgan interview (which would be unnecessary even if everything in Morgan's affidavit was taken as true, given that Morgan makes it clear, at least by implication, that he does not question all statements attributed to him), the information remaining would still be sufficient to sustain a probable cause determination. In support of his application for wiretap, Agent Dobson furnished forty-six pieces of information tending to link Bill Cobb to an ongoing marijuana conspiracy. Of those forty-six items, only seven had any connection to Rayburn Morgan. The remaining thirty-nine detail the circumstantial evidence amassed pointing to the conclusion that Cobb was deeply involved in a drug conspiracy: a pattern of telephone calls to and from Cobb's residence to other suspected co-conspirators at times when marijuana smuggling ventures were coming to fruition; Cobb's purchase, ownership or use of several items of real and personal property employed by suspected co-conspirators to house and transport themselves and their marijuana; and details of an ongoing drug investigation in Maryland involving Cobb, among others, culminating in an arrest of several of the participants. 22 While no one item of information recounted above might have been sufficient standing alone to justify a wiretap order, taken together, they amply set out probable cause to believe that Cobb was involved in a marijuana conspiracy. Because probable cause to issue the wiretap order existed irrespective of information allegedly obtained from Morgan, the statements credited to Morgan, whether true or false, could not alter the trial court's determination that probable cause existed to authorize a wiretap. We therefore find it unnecessary to remand the question to the lower court for an evidentiary hearing. 23 2. The initial wiretap application and the staleness of information supporting probable cause 24 The appellants' second objection to the wiretap is that the application for authorization was supported by stale information. It is their contention that even if Dobson's affidavit amply demonstrated Cobb's involvement in the conspiracy through June of 1978, it failed to provide probable cause to believe that he continued to be involved when the wiretap was authorized seven months later. 25 Information contained in Dobson's affidavit relating to Cobb's involvement in the conspiracy after June, 1978, is as follows: The affidavit indicated that from July through November 1978 a consistent pattern of telephone calls continued to be made from Cobb's telephones to persons previously linked to the conspiracy. In that time, Cobb changed his principal residence and telephone numbers several times, which Dobson indicated in his experience was a common practice of persons engaged in illegal operations, done in an effort to impede detection by law enforcement personnel. Finally, on November 24, a slip of paper was found in the pocket of one James Posey, at the time of his arrest in connection with a smuggling operation linked to the conspiracy previously connected to Cobb, on which was written Cobb's telephone number, and the message: Bill called--emergency 1:30 (expletive deleted) panic. 26 It remains a fundamental principal of search and seizure law that information furnished in an application for a search warrant must be timely, and that probable cause must be found to exist at the time the warrant issues. United States v. Hyde, 574 F.2d 856, 864 (5th Cir.1978). A warrant application based upon stale information of previous misconduct is insufficient, because it fails to create probable cause that similar or other improper conduct is continuing to occur. United States v. Weinrich, 586 F.2d 481, 491 (5th Cir.1978). 27 No mechanical test exists for determining when information becomes fatally stale; rather, staleness is an issue which must be decided on the peculiar facts of each case. Hyde, 574 F.2d at 865; Weinrich, 586 F.2d at 491. 28 In general, the basic criterion as to the duration of probable cause is the inherent nature of the crime. The circuits hold that where an affidavit recites a mere isolated violation then it is not unreasonable to believe that probable cause quickly dwindles with the passage of time. On the other hand, if an affidavit recites activity indicating protracted or continuous conduct, time is of less significance. 29 Bastida v. Henderson, 487 F.2d 860, 864 (5th Cir.1973). Protracted and continuous activity is inherent in large-scale drug trafficking operations. United States v. Tehfe, 722 F.2d 1114, 1119 (3d Cir.1983). In such cases, then, the staleness issue should be construed liberally. Id. at 1120. 30 In light of the liberal treatment properly accorded the staleness issue in a large drug conspiracy operation such as this, evidence of Cobb's continued complicity in the marijuana conspiracy in the seven months preceding the application was sufficient to support a finding of probable cause to authorize the wiretap. While the telephone message from Cobb found in Posey's pocket, the calls made from Cobb's telephones, and changes in Cobb's address and telephone numbers are subject to an innocent interpretation when viewed in isolation, in light of the ongoing investigation and Cobb's preexisting involvement with the conspiracy, such additional circumstantial evidence lent adequate basis for a probable cause determination that Cobb remained a part of the conspiracy and that his telephone was being used in connection with that conspiracy at the time the wiretap application was submitted. United States v. Todisco, 667 F.2d 255, 258 (2d Cir.1981). 31 3. The amended wiretap application and its sufficiency under federal and state law 32 The appellants' final objection to the wiretap concerns the sufficiency of the January 15 and 29 applications for amendment of the January 5 authorization order. They argue that the amendment applications violated Florida law, in that they improperly incorporated by reference documents relating back to the original January 5 application. 11 33 Before the January 5 order had been acted upon and the wiretap was in place, Cobb had one of his telephone numbers changed. Consequently, on January 15, Dobson returned to the circuit judge who had issued the original order, and applied for an amended order reflecting the new telephone number. In his affidavit in support of the application for amendment, Dobson attached a copy of the original wiretap order, incorporated it by specific reference, and explained why that order needed to be amended. The court thereupon issued the amended order. A nearly identical sequence of events occurred later in the month: Cobb had the number on his second telephone changed, Dobson returned to court on January 29 with an application to amend the January 5 order, and the court amended its order accordingly. 34 The first question to be answered is whether federal or state law governs a federal district court's ruling in a federal drug conspiracy case on the sufficiency of a wiretap application approved by a state court and submitted by a state law enforcement agent. Both the United States and the state of Florida have enacted wiretap authorization statutes. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2510 et seq.; FSA Secs. 934.01 et seq. Title 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2516(2) provides in pertinent part: 35 The principal prosecuting attorney of any State, or the principal prosecuting attorney of any political subdivision thereof, if such attorney is authorized by a statute of that State to make application to a State court judge of competent jurisdiction for an order authorizing or approving the interception of wire or oral communications, may apply to such judge for, and such judge may grant in conformity with section 2518 of this chapter and with the applicable State statute an order authorizing, or approving the interception of wire or oral communications by investigative or law enforcement officers having responsibility for the investigation of the offense as to which the application is made ... 36 (emphasis supplied). Two courts of appeals have expressly held that the federal statute requires federal courts to defer to state law on the question of the validity of wiretap orders obtained in state court by state law enforcement agents, to the extent that state requirements are the more rigorous. United States v. McNulty, 729 F.2d 1243, 1264 (10th Cir.1984) (en banc); United States v. Marion, 535 F.2d 697 (2d Cir.1976). In United States v. Nelligan, our court tacitly approved the Second Circuit's conclusion that state law governs the validity of state warrants issued by state courts as an exception to the general rule that federal law governs the admissibility of wiretap evidence in federal criminal cases. 573 F.2d 251, 254 (5th Cir.1978). We agree with the interpretation given the statute by our brethren in the Second and Tenth Circuits, and therefore make explicit what was only implicit in Nelligan: that the requirements of state and federal law govern a federal district court's determination of the validity of wiretap warrants obtained by state law enforcement officers in state courts. 37 As previously noted, the state circuit court approved Agent Dobson's applications to amend the original January 5 wiretap authorization order, on the basis of affidavits that incorporated by reference the January 5 order and stated that an amendment to that order was necessary because the subject of the wiretap had changed his telephone number. The appellants do not suggest that this procedure would run afoul of federal law, but contend that it did violate the more rigorous Florida requirements. In support of their position, appellants have brought to our attention two Florida court of appeals decisions applying the state wiretap statute, and invalidating wiretap order amendment applications that incorporated by reference documents from the original application. Bagley v. State, 397 So.2d 1036 (Fla.App.1981); Wilson v. State, 377 So.2d 237 (Fla.App.1979). 38 In both Wilson and Bagley, the original wiretap applications submitted by the state were sufficient in all respects and were properly approved. Among the requirements satisfied, was that the applicant furnish a full and complete statement as to whether or not other investigative procedures have been tried and failed or why they reasonably appear to be unlikely to succeed if tried or to be too dangerous--a requirement common to the Florida and federal statutes. Sec. 934.09(1)(c), Fla.Stats.; 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2518(1)(c). Before the thirty-day time period on the original orders had run, the subjects of the wiretaps in Bagley and Wilson changed residence and telephone number, forcing the state to return to court with applications to amend the existing orders. In neither amendment application did the state reassert that other investigative procedures continued to be too dangerous or unlikely to succeed. Rather, they simply incorporated by reference statements to that effect from the original application. 39 The Florida courts of appeals held that the amendment applications were insufficient. The rationale for that conclusion, implicit in both opinions, is that when a suspect changes residence, the circumstances that previously made other investigative procedures dangerous or unlikely to succeed may no longer exist, thus requiring the state to assert new facts in its amendment application demonstrating that conventional investigative techniques continue to be dangerous or ineffective. As the Bagley court observed: In the original application for wiretap, the affiant declared that it was difficult to surveil Bagley's residence because there were no positions the affiant could sit without being detected. The amendment makes no reference at all to the success or failure of the surveillance techniques employed at the new location. The amendment also fails to state why routine methods of surveillance could not be used at the new location. 397 So.2d at 1038. 40 Unlike the subjects of the wiretaps in Bagley and Wilson, Cobb changed only his telephone number. As distinguished from a change in residence, a change in telephone number only could not conceivably have affected the efficacy of alternative investigative techniques. Nor in the context of this case could such a change call into question the continued existence of probable cause--to the contrary, in his initial application, Agent Dobson pointed to Cobb's frequent changes in telephone number as evidence of his continued involvement in illicit activities. 41 The foregoing comparison of Bagley and Wilson to the instant case leads us to conclude that Dobson's amendment applications were sufficient under Florida law. The naked formality of restating information in the amendment that would, in the context of this case, necessarily be identical in every respect to that presented one or two weeks before to the same circuit judge in the original application was not indispensable.
42 Count V of the indictment provided in its entirety: COUNT FIVE The Grand Jury further charges that: 43 Commencing during January, 1977 and continuing thereafter up to and including the date of the filing of this indictment, within the Northern District of Florida, and elsewhere, MANUEL ERIC VILLANUEVA, JOSE LUIS ACOSTA, MANUEL W. JAMES, GUSTAVO J. FERNANDEZ, CLIFFORD B. WENTWORTH, CARLTON C. REEVES, JAMES L. SELLERS, JOHN M. ARANEO, PATRICK C. WALDROP, RUSSELL HOBSON, and RENE BENITEZ, defendants herein, did unlawfully, willfully and knowingly conspire, combine, confederate and agree together, with each other and with divers other persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute, marihuana, a Schedule I controlled substance in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a), all in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846. 44 The appellants' objection is that in the absence of more detailed factual allegations, Count V was constitutionally insufficient in that it failed to put the defendants on notice of the events giving rise to the crime charged. Along similar lines, the appellants complain that they had previously been tried with respect to the incidents forming the basis for the charge, but that the indictment was so unspecific that they were unable to formulate a coherent objection on double jeopardy grounds. 45 Defendants' contentions need not detain us long. In United States v. Yonn, our court conclusively resolved this very issue adversely to appellants: 46 To pass constitutional muster, an indictment must be sufficiently specific to inform the defendant of the charge against him and to enable him to plead double jeopardy in any future prosecutions for the same offense. (citation omitted). Those requirements are satisfied by an indictment that tracks the wording of the statute, as long as the language sets forth the essential elements of the crime. (citations omitted). In addition, an indictment for conspiracy to commit a criminal offense need not be as specific as a substantive count. (citation omitted). 47 Against this background, the indictment here meets the test of specificity. Count II recites the essential elements of the offense charged against Sanes-Saavedra--knowingly conspiring to import a schedule I controlled substance into the United States, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 952(a) and 963. It identified his alleged co-conspirators as well as the particular controlled substance. (citation omitted). The indictment also correctly set forth the time span of the conspiracy: from June 1, 1981 until the date of the indictment (November 24, 1981). (citations omitted). It further described the locale of the alleged conspiracy, at least partially, with the allegation that the criminal activity took place in the Northern District of Florida and elsewhere. Taken as a whole, these allegations adequately set forth the offense charged. 48 702 F.2d 1341, 1348 (11th Cir.1983).

49 At the pretrial conference, the district court gave counsel for appellants a choice in the exercise of their peremptory challenges. Either they could exercise three challenges apiece without conferring among themselves prior to announcing the strikes each intended to make (for a maximum total of eighteen challenges, or a minimum of three, depending upon the extent to which the strikes overlapped), or they could collectively exercise fifteen strikes after consultation. Appellants chose the latter option and now contend that because the collective decision making process required lawyers-only conferences and decision making outside the earshot of their clients, the appellants were denied their right to be represented by counsel and to be present at a critical stage in the proceedings. 50 Rules 43 and 44 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure embody a criminal defendant's rights under the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution to be present and to be represented by counsel at every stage of the proceedings against him, including the impaneling of the jury. Fed.R.Crim.P. 43(a), 44(a); Illinois v. Allen, 397 U.S. 337, 338, 90 S.Ct. 1057, 1058, 25 L.Ed.2d 353 (1970); United States v. Chrisco, 493 F.2d 232 (8th Cir.1974). Those rights necessarily extend to that phase of the jury selection process involving the exercise of peremptory strikes. Chrisco, 493 F.2d at 236-37. 51 Rule 24(b) outlines the appropriate procedures for exercise of peremptory challenges: 52 If the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, the government is entitled to 6 peremptory challenges and the defendant or defendants jointly to 10 peremptory challenges ... If there is more than one defendant, the court may allow the defendants additional peremptory challenges and permit them to be exercised separately or jointly. 53 Fed.R.Crim.Pro. 24(b). The procedure utilized in the appellants' trial comported with Rule 24: the defendants were permitted jointly to exercise fifteen peremptory strikes--ten as a matter of right under the rule, and an additional five in the discretion of the trial court because there was more than one defendant involved. Appellants do not dispute this, but argue nevertheless that because the lawyers conferred among themselves outside the courtroom before exercising their peremptory strikes, their clients were simultaneously denied access to counsel and their right to be present. 54 We disagree. Nothing in the record suggests that counsel were rendered unable to confer with their clients in the course of the peremptory strike process. At the pretrial conference, the court told counsel that I will give you an opportunity to confer among yourselves back in the back outside the hearing of everybody before you have to exercise your peremptory challenges, and at the voir dire, counsel took advantage of that opportunity. Nothing prevented counsel from speaking with their clients after they had conferred informally among themselves, before they made their strikes. Under these circumstances, we are unable to conclude that the appellants were deprived of their right to counsel. United States v. Alessandrello, 637 F.2d 131, 144 (3d Cir.1980); Chrisco, 493 F.2d at 237. 55 We likewise hold that the defendants were not denied their right to be present during the peremptory strike phase of jury selection. This case is quite close on its facts to the Eighth Circuit's decision in United States v. Chrisco, 493 F.2d 232 (8th Cir.1974). In Chrisco, the defendants were absent from the courtroom when their counsel informally conferred and made their peremptory strikes (a situation somewhat more troubling than in the instant case, where the defendants were in the courtroom at all times, and counsel left briefly to confer). The Chrisco court nevertheless held that the defendants had not been denied their right to be present for the peremptory strike phase of the jury selection process, in light of the following facts: the defendants were in the courtroom when the voir dire questioning took place and again when the peremptory strikes were given actual effect by the clerk's reading off the list; the defendants had the opportunity to discuss their misgivings with counsel during or immediately following the impaneling process; and no objection was made at the time to the defendants' absence from the informal peremptory strike conference. For the same reasons, we conclude that the defendants were sufficiently present at the impaneling of the jury to satisfy the sixth amendment and Rule 43 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
56 The appellants' second attack upon the jury selection procedures employed in this case is directed at what they perceive to be an impermissibly brief and superficial voir dire examination conducted by the trial court. At the pretrial conference, the district judge informed counsel that he intended to conduct the voir dire himself, that counsel could submit questions they wanted asked, and that the court in turn would determine which questions were appropriate. (v. 29 at 16-17). Waldrop and Fernandez subsequently submitted lists containing 71 and 58 questions, respectively. (v. 9 at 2109-2112; 2173-2176). At the voir dire, the court posed twelve questions to the jurors, most if not all of which were among those requested by the defendants. 12 The appellants contend that the limited number of questions asked by the court precluded the defendants from rationally exercising their jury strikes, both peremptory and for cause. 57 Rule 24(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that: 58 The court may permit the defendant or his attorney and the attorney for the government to conduct the examination of prospective jurors or it may itself conduct the examination. In the latter event, the court shall permit the defendant or his attorney and the attorney for the government to supplement the examination by such further inquiry as it deems proper or shall itself submit to the prospective jurors such additional questions by the parties or their attorneys as it deems proper. 59 In granting the district court latitude to ask or have asked such questions as it deems proper, Rule 24 vests considerable discretion in the court to determine the appropriate method and scope of voir dire. United States v. Brunty, 701 F.2d 1375, 1378 (11th Cir.1983). That discretion, however, is not boundless: 60 We do not deem as it deems proper to give a trial judge unlimited discretion to ignore proposed questions nor to permit arbitrary refusal to put such questions. 61 We do not consider the court's obligation to let counsel, on request, get at underlying bases reflecting on bias, prejudice or other suspect factors to be discharged by general questions such as, Is there any reason you cannot fairly and impartially try this case? This obligation particularly would not seem to be discharged by general direct confrontation questions on human characteristics that most people are reluctant to admit they possess. 62 On the other hand, we do not mean to suggest that the same matter may be explored in numerous substantially similar questions, with tedious repetitions, of only slightly variant shadings of meaning. No hard and fast rules can be laid down, but the trial court within the general guidelines hereinbefore set forth must exercise its discretion so as not to block the reasonable exploration of germane factors that might expose a basis for challenge, whether for cause or peremptory. 63 United States v. Lewin, 467 F.2d 1132, 1138 (7th Cir.1972); see also United States v. Nell, 526 F.2d 1223, 1229-30 (5th Cir.1976). Accord United States v. Ledee, 549 F.2d 990, 993 (5th Cir.1977) (Peremptory strikes are worthless if counsel is not afforded an opportunity to gain the necessary information upon which to base such strikes). 64 The appellants charge that the defendants were rendered unable to exercise rationally their jury strikes, because of the trial court's failure to pursue two crucial avenues of inquiry: juror bias toward marijuana, and juror prejudgment due to the enormous quantity of marijuana involved in this case. Contrary to the appellants' suggestion, the district court did inquire into juror bias toward marijuana, as follows: 65 THE COURT: All right. Now, as I have previously indicated to you, this case involves the alleged importation of marijuana. Marijuana and drug laws in this day and age are somewhat of a controversy. There are those individuals who think that the drug laws are too strictly enforced. There are also those individuals that think the drug laws are not strictly enough enforced. 66 Now, without asking whether you have any opinions concerning the drug laws, are there any of you that feel that, whatever your opinions may be, that it would influence your conduct in acting as a fair and impartial jury just because this is a drug case? Does everybody understand what I mean? 67 Are there any of you that feel so strongly about the drug laws that you do not feel that you could base your verdict solely on the evidence, the argument of counsel, and the charge that I will give at the conclusion as to the law that you must follow? 68 (v. 30 at 54-55). 69 In response to that question, one juror indicated that he was going to try to base his verdict solely on the evidence, but that it would be a hard decision, because he disliked drugs mighty hard. (v. 30 at 55-56). While no challenge for cause followed, the juror was subsequently removed by means of a peremptory strike. (v. 30 at 68). We are satisfied that the trial court's inquiry into the juror's bias toward marijuana offenses was sufficient to create a reasonable assurance that prejudice would be discovered if present. United States v. Nell, 526 F.2d 1223, 1229 (5th Cir.1976). 70 Appellants further challenge the sufficiency of the voir dire because of the trial court's failure to inquire into potential juror prejudice against the defendants in light of the large quantity of marijuana involved. As noted earlier, during the pretrial conference the defendants were invited to submit questions for the court to ask prospective jurors; a total of 129 questions were later submitted. Not one of those proposed questions asked whether the jurors would be affected by the quantity of drugs involved in the case. We are satisfied that the general inquiry into the jurors' opinions respecting drug offenses was sufficient to disclose relevant prejudices, and that it was well within the trial court's discretion not to pursue the matter further with additional questions concerning the jurors' attitudes toward the quantity of marijuana at issue--especially in light of the fact that the defendants never requested that such a question be posed. United States v. Eastwood, 489 F.2d 818, 819-20 (5th Cir.1973) (general questions posed by the district court pertaining to juror bias sufficed for specific questions proposed by defendant but rejected by the court); United States v. Desmarais, 531 F.2d 632, 634 n. 4 (1st Cir.1976) (failure of defendant to request that specific questions be asked was relevant to a determination that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in failing to ask such questions). 71
72 As a final attack on the impaneling process, appellants challenge the trial court's inquiries and admonitions concerning the purpose and effect of a grand jury indictment, as impermissibly stripping the defendants of their presumption of innocence, by suggesting that the indictment constituted a probable cause determination of guilt. Contrary to the appellants' claims, when the two questions and comments complained of are placed in context, the trial court's discourse with veniremembers served to protect rather than to threaten the defendants' presumption of innocence. 73 In both instances, the remarks at issue were preceded by a question from the court inquiring into whether any of the veniremembers had previously served on a jury. Answers were given indicating that certain individuals had served on grand juries, which prompted the court to respond with a follow-up question: 74 Has anybody else had any either grand jury or petty jury experience? 75 All right. Which leads me to the statement that I make now. Do any of you realize that, of course, the indictment in this case is not evidence of guilt and it only represents a finding that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed by someone(?) Do each of you understand that? 76 All right. Do each of you understand that in our system the accused stands now before you innocent and remains so until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? Do each of you understand that? 77 All right. Do each of you understand that the accused need not offer any evidence, need not testify, need not say a thing and that it is on the government to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt? Do each of you understand that? Do each of you agree with that principal (sic)? 78 (v. 30 at 52-53). And again: 79 THE COURT: You were on a grand jury then. Do each of you understand the difference between a grand jury and a petit jury? Do each of you understand that a grand jury makes a finding of probable cause whereas a petit jury must be convinced by the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt before a conviction can be held(?) 80 (v. 30 at 70-71). Having evaluated the court's remarks in the context in which they arose, it is clear that the defendants' presumption of innocence and the government's burden of proof were left fully intact. See United States v. Faulkner, 488 F.2d 328, 330-31 (5th Cir.1974). 81