Opinion ID: 757025
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Motions to Suppress Materials Seized from Ajaj

Text: 17 Ajaj claims that Judge Duffy should have suppressed the terrorist materials seized from him at Kennedy Airport. He maintains that the materials were obtained and then held pursuant to an illegal grand jury subpoena. Ajaj's argument has no merit. 18 On October 6, 1992, Ajaj pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Raggi, J.) to one count of passport fraud. After the guilty plea, Judge Raggi ordered the government to return Ajaj's belongings or to come forward with a reason for failing to do so. 19 On December 22, 1992, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York served a grand jury subpoena on Ajaj calling for production of many of the terrorist materials seized at Kennedy Airport. Although the subpoena purported to be a subpoena ad testificandum, it was accompanied by a duces tecum rider that specified the materials Ajaj was ordered to produce. When Ajaj's counsel in the passport fraud case inquired whether the subpoena really sought Ajaj's testimony as well as the evidence listed in the rider, the government explained that the subpoena sought only the specified evidence. Ajaj did not move to quash the subpoena. 20 After Ajaj learned that the government was planning to introduce the terrorist materials in the World Trade Center bombing trial, he moved to suppress the materials held pursuant to the grand jury subpoena. Ajaj argued that the subpoena was illegal since: (1) Ajaj could not have been under investigation when the subpoena was issued because it was issued after the completion of the passport fraud case but before the World Trade Center was bombed; and (2) the subpoena was a subpoena ad testificandum, not a subpoena duces tecum. Judge Duffy denied Ajaj's motion to suppress, finding that the use of the subpoena was proper. Ajaj renews his claim on appeal. 21 It is improper for the government to use a grand jury subpoena 'for the sole or dominant purpose of preparing for trial.'  United States v. Sasso, 59 F.3d 341, 351 (2d Cir.1995) (quoting United States v. Leung, 40 F.3d 577, 581 (2d. Cir.1994)). However, [w]here there [is] some proper dominant purpose for the postindictment subpoena ... the government is not barred from introducing evidence obtained thereby. Id. at 351-52. A grand jury subpoena is presumed to have a proper purpose, and the defendant bears the burden of showing that the grand jury has exceeded its legal powers. See United States v. R. Enterprises, Inc., 498 U.S. 292, 300-01, 111 S.Ct. 722, 112 L.Ed.2d 795 (1991). A defendant must present particularized proof of an improper purpose to overcome the presumption of propriety of the grand jury subpoena. See United States v. Mechanik, 475 U.S. 66, 75, 106 S.Ct. 938, 89 L.Ed.2d 50 (1986). 22 Ajaj failed to present any proof that the government misused the grand jury subpoena. He maintains that the subpoena had no legitimate purpose because in December 1992, when the subpoena was issued, his passport fraud prosecution was over and the World Trade Center had not yet been bombed. He therefore posits that he could not have been under investigation when the subpoena was issued and therefore that the sole purpose of the subpoena was to circumvent Judge Raggi's order for the return of the materials. 23 The government presented evidence that demonstrated a proper purpose for the grand jury subpoena. It consisted primarily of an affidavit from the Assistant United States Attorney who prepared the subpoena, explaining that the materials seized from Ajaj were used in a joint FBI-NYPD investigation of terrorism. The affidavit further noted that the subpoena was not connected to the Eastern District passport fraud case. This evidence established that the subpoena had a proper purpose. See Sasso, 59 F.3d at 352. 24 While the government should not have ignored Judge Raggi's order to return Ajaj's belongings or to explain its reasons for failing to do so, any relief that Ajaj was entitled to seek would have been some sort of remedial order directed to the entity that violated Judge Raggi's order--the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. Ajaj did not seek such an order. The subsequent grand jury proceeding in the Southern District of New York was a wholly independent investigation into terrorist activity. Such an investigation was clearly within the province of the Southern District grand jury. See, e.g, Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665, 668, 92 S.Ct. 2646, 33 L.Ed.2d 626 (1972) (grand jury can investigate  'merely on suspicion that the law is being violated, or even because it wants to assure that is not'  (citation omitted)). With respect to the Southern District investigation, Ajaj has not met his burden of showing that the government's use of the grand jury was improper. Accordingly, he has not overcome the presumption of regularity applicable to grand jury proceedings. See Leung, 40 F.3d at 581. 25 Ajaj also argues that the subpoena was somehow illegal because it purported to be a subpoena ad testificandum when it actually was a subpoena duces tecum. Ajaj fails to explain why the subpoena was invalid because of this technical error. A subpoena ad testificandum may order a person to bring objects with him for the use of the grand jury. See 2 Charles Alan Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure § 274, at 150 (2d ed.1982). On its face, the subpoena issued to Ajaj appeared to request both his presence and the production of physical evidence. Although it turned out that Ajaj's testimony was superfluous, the subpoena was not improper because the grand jury requested production of Ajaj personally in addition to the terrorist materials. See id. at 151. 26 Moreover, Ajaj suffered no prejudice as a result of the mischaracterization of the subpoena. The rider made it clear that the subpoena sought the terrorist materials Ajaj brought into the United States. Moreover, when Ajaj's counsel inquired whether the subpoena sought testimony from Ajaj, the government explained that it did not. Thus, the government's inadvertence did not prejudice Ajaj, and was not grounds to suppress the evidence held pursuant to the subpoena.
27 Judge Duffy admitted some of the materials seized from Ajaj into evidence against all the defendants. Abouhalima argues that the admission of Ajaj's terrorist materials violated Federal Rule of Evidence 403, and his rights under the First Amendment of the Constitution. 28
29 The trial judge admitted the following terrorist materials seized from Ajaj into evidence against all the defendants: (1) a videotape of the bombing of an American embassy which also provided instruction on how to make explosives and timing devices; (2) Ajaj's handwritten notebooks on how to make explosives (including urea nitrate) and improvised weapons; (3) a videotape containing a chemistry lesson on manufacturing explosives; (4) manuals on catalysts, detonators and other bomb ingredients; (5) a document entitled Facing the enemies of God terrorism is a religious duty and force is necessary, which urged acts of terrorism against the enemies of Islam; and (6) a book entitled Rapid Destruction and Demolition, which described the destruction of buildings and contained a formula for using explosives to accomplish this end. 30 In addition, Judge Duffy admitted copies of: (1) Facing the enemies of God; and (2) Rapid Destruction and Demolition that were recovered from Abouhalima's residence. The copy of Rapid Destruction and Demolition found in Abouhalima's residence bore his fingerprint on the page containing the formula for destroying buildings with explosives. Abouhalima argues that Judge Duffy should not have admitted these terrorist materials because they were highly prejudicial and lacked probative value. He is incorrect. 31 Under Rule 403, relevant evidence may be excluded when its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Fed.R.Evid. 403. A district court is obviously in the best position to do the balancing mandated by Rule 403. See, e.g., United States v. Birney, 686 F.2d 102, 106 (2d Cir.1982). We will second-guess a district court only if there is a clear showing that the court abused its discretion or acted arbitrarily or irrationally. United States v. Valdez, 16 F.3d 1324, 1332 (2d Cir.1994). To avoid acting arbitrarily, the district court must make a conscientious assessment of whether unfair prejudice substantially outweighs probative value. Birney, 686 F.2d at 106. 32 Although it does not bear directly on the charged elements of a crime, evidence offered to prove motive is commonly admitted. See id. at 106-07. In addition, evidence that provides background information necessary to the jury's understanding of the nature of the conspiratorial agreement properly is admitted to furnish an explanation of the understanding or intent with which certain acts were performed. United States v. Daly, 842 F.2d 1380, 1388 (2d Cir.1988). 33 Where a defendant is a member of a conspiracy, all the evidence admitted to prove that conspiracy, even evidence relating to acts committed by co-defendants, is admissible against the defendant. See, e.g., United States v. Cunningham, 723 F.2d 217, 230 (2d Cir.1983). 34 The record amply demonstrates that Judge Duffy made a conscientious assessment of the proffered evidence and properly determined that unfair prejudice did not substantially outweigh the probative value of these materials. See Birney, 686 F.2d at 106. Before admitting any materials, Judge Duffy scrupulously reviewed each item and heard extensive argument from counsel. Having heard both sides, Judge Duffy excluded a number of the materials seized from Ajaj as unduly prejudicial. The materials that were admitted established the existence of the conspiracy to bomb American targets and demonstrated the defendants' intent and motivation to use violence to protest American foreign policy in the Middle East. 35 For example, the documents seized from Ajaj provided instruction on: (1) constructing bombs; (2) mixing explosives; and (3) using bombs to destroy buildings. Specific pages of these materials contained formulae for the same explosives that were used to construct the World Trade Center bomb, and Ajaj's and Yousef's fingerprints were found on those pages. Moreover, traces of those same explosives were found in the homes of, and on objects linked to, Yousef, Abouhalima, Salameh and Ayyad. Thus, the terrorist materials provided circumstantial proof of a connection among the conspirators and their familiarity with bomb making and the use of explosives. 36 In addition, the copies of Facing the enemies of God, and Rapid Destruction and Demolition, that were recovered from Abouhalima's residence linked the conspirators. The copy of Rapid Destruction and Demolition seized from Abouhalima bore his fingerprint on the page containing the formula for destroying buildings with explosives. Under the circumstances, the fact that Ajaj and Abouhalima both possessed the same documents was probative of their relationship as co-conspirators. 37 The materials possessed by both Ajaj and Abouhalima bristled with strong anti-American sentiment and advocated violence against targets in the United States. These same themes were expressed in a letter attributed to another co-conspirator, Ayyad, that was sent to the New York Times in the aftermath of the bombing. The materials, in addition to establishing a link between the co-conspirators, evidenced the conspiracy's motive and intent to bomb targets in the United States. In addition, the materials provided the jury with background and an explanation of the understanding or intent with which certain acts were performed. Daly, 842 F.2d at 1388. 38 Furthermore, the materials had probative value in light of their similarity to the actual bombing. As Judge Duffy recognized, one videotape admitted in evidence showed a man driving a truck into a building that was flying an American flag. The building was then demolished in an explosion. The videotape thus closely resembled the actual events at the World Trade Center and provided further evidence of motive and intent. 39 The sulphurous anti-American sentiments expressed in the terrorist materials no doubt threatened to prejudice the jury against the defendants. However, Judge Duffy did not abuse his discretion by concluding that the significant probative value of this evidence was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. 40
41 Abouhalima argues also that the admission of Ajaj's terrorist materials violated Abouhalima's First Amendment rights. Ajaj's possession of the terrorist materials, Abouhalima contends, was used as the basis for an inference that Abouhalima and the other conspirators engaged in criminal acts. It is difficult to comprehend this argument since it is beyond cavil that [t]he First Amendment ... does not prohibit the evidentiary use of speech to establish the elements of a crime or to prove motive or intent. Wisconsin v. Mitchell, 508 U.S. 476, 489, 113 S.Ct. 2194, 124 L.Ed.2d 436 (1993). Neither Ajaj nor Abouhalima was prosecuted for possessing or reading terrorist materials. The materials seized from Ajaj were used appropriately to prove the existence of the bombing conspiracy and its motive. Moreover, any prejudicial effect they might have had was ameliorated by the trial court's instruction that mere possession of the literature is not illegal and that the defendants' political beliefs were not on trial.
42 Ayyad argues that admission of Ajaj's terrorist materials violated Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E). This claim is meritless because the materials were admissible for a non-hearsay purpose. 43 Federal Rule of Evidence 801(c) defines hearsay 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. Rule 801(d)(2)(E) provides that, notwithstanding the definition in Rule 801(c), a statement by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy, is equally not hearsay. Obviously, if the proffered evidence is not hearsay in the first place, under Rule 801(c), the various requirements of Rule 801(d)(2)(E) need not be met. See Anderson v. United States, 417 U.S. 211, 219, 94 S.Ct. 2253, 41 L.Ed.2d 20 (1974). 44 The terrorist materials seized from Ajaj discussed two issues: (1) the desirability of attacking enemies of Islam; and (2) how to produce and use explosives. However, the government introduced this evidence to prove the state of mind of those who harbored these materials, relevant to prove: (1) the existence of the bombing conspiracy; and (2) the conspirator's intent and motives. See Tr. 7320-21. 45 Where, as here, the statement is offered as circumstantial evidence of [a defendant's] state of mind, it does not fall within the definition given by Rule 801(c); because it was not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. United States v. Detrich, 865 F.2d 17, 21 (2d Cir.1988); see United States v. Pedroza, 750 F.2d 187, 200 (2d Cir.1984). As proof of defendants' state of mind, Ajaj's terrorist materials were not hearsay under Rule 801(c), and their failure to come within Rule 801(d)(2)(E) is of no consequence. See Anderson, 417 U.S. at 219, 94 S.Ct. 2253. 46