Opinion ID: 775590
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Motions to Sever

Text: 21 Angwin argues on appeal that the district court erred in refusing to sever the defendants' trial both because the defendants presented antagonistic defenses and because Khamis's statement violated Angwin's Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause rights under Bruton. A district court's refusal to sever a trial is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Sarkisian, 197 F.3d 966, 978 (9th Cir. 1999), cert. denied sub nom. Mikayelyan v. United States, 530 U.S. 1220, 120 S. Ct. 2230, 147 L. Ed. 2d 260 (2000). A claim that the admission of a non-testifying codefendant's out-of-court statement violated Bruton is reviewed de novo. See United States v. Peterson, 140 F.3d 819, 821 (9th Cir. 1998). Confrontation Clause violations are subject to the harmless error test. See United States v. Ortega, 203 F.3d 675, 682 (9th Cir. 2000).
22 According to Angwin, the defendants presented antagonistic defenses that warranted severing the trial. The United States counters that Khamis's defense that she was duped did not preclude the jury accepting Angwin's duress defense. 23 To warrant severance on the basis of antagonistic defenses, codefendants must show that their defenses are irreconcilable and mutually exclusive. See United States v. Sherlock, 962 F.2d 1349, 1363 (9th Cir. 1992). Defenses are mutually exclusive when acquittal of one codefendant would necessarily call for the conviction of the other.  United States v. Tootick, 952 F.2d 1078, 1081 (9th Cir. 1991); see United States v. Throckmorton, 87 F.3d 1069, 1072 (9th Cir. 1996) (noting that a defendant must show that the core of the codefendant's defense is so irreconcilable with the core of his own defense that the acceptance of the codefendant's theory by the jury precludes acquittal of the defendant). Even when defendants present antagonistic defenses, such defenses are not prejudicial per se. Zafiro v. United States, 506 U.S. 534, 538, 122 L. Ed. 2d 317, 113 S. Ct. 933 (1993); see id. at 539 (noting that a district court should grant a severance under [Federal] Rule [of Criminal Procedure] 14 only if there is a serious risk that a joint trial would compromise a specific trial right of one of the defendants, or prevent the jury from making a reliable judgment about guilty or innocence). 24 Here, there is little question that Angwin and Khamis did not present defenses that were mutually exclusive such that their defenses can be considered antagonistic. First, their theories were barely inconsistent, let alone antagonistic. Khamis claimed that there was insufficient evidence to show that she knew about the illegal activity, while Angwin argued that he acted under duress and therefore lacked the requisite criminal intent. Those defenses are not irreconcilable, as a jury could have believed that Angwin acted as he did out of fear and that Khamis was either unaware of the illegal activity or thought that she had been duped by Angwin. Indeed, courts have regularly rejected the argument that a defense based on ignorance is irreconcilable with a defense based on a lack of guilty intent such as duress. See United States v. Harris, 9 F.3d 493, 501 (6th Cir. 1993); United States v. Rocha, 916 F.2d 219, 231 (5th Cir. 1990); United States v. Farrell, 877 F.2d 870, 877 (11th Cir. 1989). 25 Second, Angwin's testimony at trial and Khamis's statement to the USBP were not incompatible. Angwin's instructions to Khamis to get in the motorhome and not to say anything could be interpreted as the domineering commands of a person engaged in a criminal enterprise, but they could also be viewed as the nervous advice of a person who had been threatened. In addition, since Khamis told the USBP that she did not see the Latino men threaten Angwin, she would not have known that Angwin was intimidated. As a result, she might have been unaware of the illegal activity or felt duped by Angwin, not knowing that he was (in his version of the events) only driving to the checkpoint to turn the aliens over to the USBP. 26 Third, Khamis did little to implicate Angwin. Khamis did not testify, and her counsel did not cross-examine Angwin or present any evidence inculpating him. The only statement Khamis's counsel made that was adverse to Angwin was his assertion in closing argument that Angwin duped Khamis. An adverse statement during a closing argument standing alone is insufficient to constitute an antagonistic defense. See United States v. Ramirez, 45 F.3d 1096, 1100 (7th Cir. 1995). Moreover, Khamis's attorney specifically reminded the jury that they could find both defendants innocent. Under those circumstances, Khamis's counsel did not act as a second prosecutor such that the district court should have severed the trial. 27 Finally, the court issued limiting instructions and separate verdict forms for each defendant to minimize any prejudice. See Zafiro, 506 U.S. at 539. 28 As a result, the defendants did not present mutually exclusive defenses such that a jury could only believe one of the defendants. The defenses presented by Angwin (duress) and Khamis (lack of knowledge) were in this factual context only minimally inconsistent, let alone antagonistic. The district court therefore did not abuse its discretion in declining to sever the defendants' trial.
29 Angwin also contends that the admission of Khamis's statement violated his Confrontation Clause rights under Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 20 L. Ed. 2d 476, 88 S. Ct. 1620 (1968), since Khamis did not testify and was not subject to cross-examination. 30 Under Bruton and its progeny, the admission of a statement made by a non-testifying codefendant violates the Confrontation Clause when that statement facially, expressly, clearly, or powerfully implicates the defendant. See Bruton, 391 U.S. at 135-36; Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200, 208, 95 L. Ed. 2d 176, 107 S. Ct. 1702 (1987) (limiting Bruton to statements that are incriminating on their face or expressly incriminating since statements that only become incriminating when linked with other evidence are inherently less prejudicial); United States v. Hoac, 990 F.2d 1099, 1105 (9th Cir. 1993) (noting that a codefendant's statement that does not incriminate the defendant unless linked with other evidence introduced at trial does not violate the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights). A statement is not facially incriminating merely because it identifies a defendant; the statement must also have a sufficiently 'devastating' or 'powerful' inculpatory impact to be incriminatory on its face. United States v. Olano, 62 F.3d 1180, 1195 (9th Cir. 1995) (quoting United States v. Wright, 742 F.2d 1215, 1223 (9th Cir. 1984), overruling on other grounds recognized by United States v. Valles-Valencia, 823 F.2d 381 (9th Cir. 1987)). 31 Angwin argues that Khamis's statement was incriminating in several ways. First, Khamis told USBP Agent Searle that she observed Angwin talking to another man while they were stopped by the side of the road and that Angwin told her to get back into the motorhome and to remain silent. Second, Khamis's statement failed to corroborate Angwin's testimony regarding the details of the real estate venture he was purportedly evaluating, thereby impeaching his testimony and negating the only legitimate explanation for his presence in the remote area. Third, Khamis's counsel used Khamis's statement to argue in his closing that Angwin duped Khamis into participating in the crime. According to Angwin, that the jury found Angwin guilty on all four counts while only finding Khamis guilty on two counts is powerful proof of the incriminating nature of Khamis's statement. 32 Angwin's second and third arguments fail as a matter of law. Khamis's failure to corroborate Angwin's testimony regarding his business activities is not facially incriminating; it is by definition only incriminating when linked with other evidence introduced at trial (namely, Angwin's testimony). That Khamis's counsel used Khamis's statement in his closing to argue that she was duped is also insufficient to make the statement facially incriminating. Her counsel's argument was not evidence introduced against Angwin. Moreover, Khamis's statement did not contain any facts that would suggest that she was duped, and her counsel's argument regarding her statement does not transform the statement itself into incriminating evidence. 33 Angwin's first argument is also unpersuasive. While Khamis did tell Searle that she saw Angwin talking to a man by the motorhome, that Angwin told her to get into the motorhome, and that Angwin told her not to say anything, none of that evidence is powerfully or clearly incriminating. Khamis's statement could support a view that Angwin planned the rendezvous, brought her along for cover, and ordered her to remain silent as part of his role in the criminal enterprise, but her statement could also simply reflect Angwin's anxiety as a person who had been threatened and who was worried about Khamis's safety. See Section II. A. 1 supra (noting that Angwin's testimony was not irreconcilable with Khamis's statement). At most, Khamis's statement was only mildly incriminating, particularly since it was consistent with Angwin's own testimony at trial. As a result, Khamis's statement does not approach the expressly inculpatory confession at issue in Bruton. 34 Even if the district court erroneously admitted Khamis's statement under Bruton, that error was harmless. To establish that the district court's error was harmless, the United States must show that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Davis, 932 F.2d 752, 761 (9th Cir. 1991) (noting that an appellate court should not reverse a conviction if substantial, independent and credible evidence of the defendant's guilt overwhelms whatever incriminating aspects inadmissible statements may have had in isolation). 35 Here, there was substantial evidence establishing Angwin's guilt. He rented and drove a vehicle with fourteen illegal aliens hidden in various compartments. He exhibited signs of nervousness such as an inability or unwillingness to maintain eye contact and a trembling in his hands. When asked by USBP Agent Mikuski whether he and Khamis were the only occupants of the vehicle, he lied, and when confronted about his story after the USBP's search revealed the aliens, Angwin stammered and stuttered and changed his story, suggesting that he was lying again. 2 The material witness Vincente-Morales also testified that the motorhome stopped right where his group had been waiting only about fifteen minutes after they arrived. Even without Khamis's statement, the United States had sufficient evidence to persuade a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Angwin was guilty. 36 Moreover, the district court issued an appropriate limiting instruction that Khamis's statement was not to be used against Angwin right before Searle testified regarding Khamis's statement. See Davis, 932 F.2d at 761 (noting that such instructions are normally sufficient to prevent prejudice to a codefendant). 37 Thus, because Khamis's statement was not facially or powerfully incriminating, the district court did not violate Angwin's Confrontation Clause rights by admitting the statement and refusing to sever the trial. Even if the district court committed error, the United States has established beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmless. 38