Opinion ID: 358732
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Objections to the Underlying Conviction

Text: 27 In seeking to have his conviction vacated as well as his sentence, defendant first argues that the indictment was fatally vague. Since the indictment itself referred to all the elements of the crime, described the firearm as a .38 caliber pistol and stated that it had been transported from Springfield, Massachusetts to St. Louis, Missouri, the contention that the indictment should have been dismissed is frivolous. See United States v. Slatton, 388 F.2d 676, 677 (6th Cir. 1968); United States v. Lent, 432 F.2d 440 (4th Cir. 1970); Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 7(c)(1). As the defendant virtually admits in his brief (Br. 10), the Government's bill of particulars, which described the weapon in further detail and stated the date of the shipment in interstate commerce, was sufficient to advise the defendant of the evidentiary details of the offense, even if the indictment did not. See United States v. Branan, 457 F.2d 1062, 1063-1064 (6th Cir. 1972). Defendant's argument that the indictment was not sufficiently specific to provide double jeopardy protection is similarly meritless in light of the fact that the entire record of a trial can be used in adjudicating a double jeopardy claim. See Russell v. United States, 369 U.S. 749, 764, 82 S.Ct. 1038, 8 L.Ed.2d 240; United States v. Henry, 504 F.2d 1335 (10th Cir. 1974). 28 The defendant also assails the trial court's conduct at the voir dire on the ground that Judge Morgan should have inquired of prospective jurors whether they had previously served as jurors in criminal trials and whether defendant's prior felony conviction might prejudice them against him. We have recently held that it is within a trial court's discretion whether to ask the jurors about prior jury service. United States v. Staszcuk, 502 F.2d 875, 882 (7th Cir. 1975); 517 F.2d 53, 60 n.20 (7th Cir. 1975) (En banc ), certiorari denied, 423 U.S. 837, 96 S.Ct. 65, 46 L.Ed.2d 56. 29 As to the district judge's failure to interrogate the jurors about defendant's prior felony, the voir dire shows that he first read the jurors the brief indictment which states that defendant had been convicted on November 14, 1960, of a crime punishable by a prison term of one year. Shortly thereafter, without expressly mentioning defendant's prior felony, he asked the jurors seven questions with respect to their possible prejudice. Our reading of the transcript satisfies us that although asking at least some specific questions may be the better practice (see United States v. Dellinger, 472 F.2d 340 (7th Cir. 1972), certiorari denied, 410 U.S. 970, 93 S.Ct. 1443, 35 L.Ed.2d 706), this use of a series of questions following reference to defendant's conviction cannot be termed an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Rojas, 537 F.2d 216, 219 (5th Cir. 1976), certiorari denied,429 U.S. 1061, 97 S.Ct. 785, 50 L.Ed.2d 777; United States v. Brewer, 427 F.2d 409 (10th Cir. 1970); United States v. Windsor, 417 F.2d 1131 (4th Cir. 1969). 14 30 Defendant next claims that the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion to strike the testimony of Special Agent Russell C. Koch of the Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, when he failed to produce the handwritten reports of his meetings with defendant. The district judge apparently credited testimony at the voir dire that the typewritten summary produced through regular procedures contained all the material that had been contained in the original handwritten notes, and the Assistant United States Attorney advised the court that after the notes were typed, they were discarded. Therefore, under this Circuit's decision in United States v. Harris, 542 F.2d 1283, 1292 (7th Cir. 1976), certiorari denied, 430 U.S. 934, 97 S.Ct. 1557, 51 L.Ed.2d 779, defendant received all that was required under the Jencks Act. 31 As in Harris, we recognize that all the circuits are not in accord with that holding, at least as it applies to the notes of F.B.I. agents. Although the majority view appears to be the one stated in our Harris opinion (see United States v. Martin, 565 F.2d 362 (5th Cir. 1978); United States v. Smaldone, 544 F.2d 456 (10th Cir. 1976), certiorari denied, 430 U.S. 967, 97 S.Ct. 1648, 52 L.Ed.2d 358; United States v. Hurst, 510 F.2d 1035, 1036 (6th Cir. 1976); United States v. Mechanic, 454 F.2d 849, 856 (8th Cir. 1971), certiorari denied, 406 U.S. 929, 92 S.Ct. 1765, 32 L.Ed.2d 131; United States v. Fioravanti, 412 F.2d 407 (3d Cir. 1969), certiorari denied, Panaccione v. U. S., 396 U.S. 837, 90 S.Ct. 97, 24 L.Ed.2d 88), the Ninth and District of Columbia Circuits have indicated that destruction of an agent's handwritten notes might violate the Jencks Act. See United States v. Harris, 543 F.2d 1247 (9th Cir. 1976); United States v. Harrison, 173 U.S.App.D.C. 260, 524 F.2d 421 (1975). Even if we were to adopt the D.C. Circuit's approach prospectively, however, no sanctions would be appropriate based on the lack of showing of negligence or bad faith and the considerable evidence of guilt adduced at trial. Id. at 273, 524 F.2d at 434. Although we therefore need not reach the Jencks Act question, apart from the interpretation of the statute we fail to understand why in the normal course these notes should not be retained so that, as Judge Sneed has written, the question of whether an otherwise producible statement is useful for impeachment can be left to the defendant instead of to the witness whom the defendant seeks to impeach. United States v. Johnson, 521 F.2d 1318 (9th Cir. 1975). Happily, we were advised at oral argument that agencies are adopting the practice of retaining the agents' handwritten notes. 15 32 Defendant next urges that the district court did not properly handle alleged jury exposure to newspaper publicity about this case. After the jury had retired to deliberate, defense counsel called the court's attention to a Peoria newspaper article of that date stating that defendant had pleaded guilty to a murder charge in 1960 and had received a 25-year sentence. Pursuant to agreement with counsel, the district judge polled the jurors after they returned the guilty verdict, and all indicated they had not read or heard about that article. 33 After the verdict had been returned, two jurors told the trial judge that a third juror told them of a newspaper account of the case before jury deliberations had commenced. Consequently, the district judge conducted separate interviews with the jurors In camera. The juror who supposedly told other jurors about reading the newspaper article advised Judge Morgan that she had not read any accounts of the trial until the day after the verdict was returned, and each juror also stated that there had been no discussion by any juror during the deliberations about any news accounts as to defendant, and that none of them knew what crime had been the basis of defendant's previous felony conviction. It was the district court's function, not ours, to assess the jurors' credibility. Based thereon, he decided that no impropriety had occurred. 16 This satisfied the procedure outlined in Margoles v. United States, 407 F.2d 727, 735 (7th Cir. 1969), certiorari denied, 396 U.S. 833, 90 S.Ct. 89, 24 L.Ed.2d 84. 34 While Rule 43(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure did not require that defendant or his counsel be present during these interviews because the verdict already had been returned, defendant argues that his counsel's presence should have been required in order to assure a vigorous inquiry. Because defendant did not show or apparently even seek a hearing to try to show prejudice, and in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt, we agree with the Fifth Circuit that while inviting counsel would have been the better practice, the error was harmless. United States v. Parker, 549 F.2d 998, 1000 (5th Cir. 1977). 35 Finally, defendant submits that he was entrapped as a matter of law on the ground that the whole idea for the sale of a gun by defendant was implanted in his mind by informant Durine. Obviously, however, defendant was not entrapped into receiving the firearm, the crime with which he is charged, but rather was assertedly entrapped into selling the firearm, a crime with which he is not charged. It is worth noting that assuming the Government's involvement in the sale might provide a theoretical basis for quashing the evidence obtained by the sale and thus rendering the firearm inadmissible (cf. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441; Hampton v. United States, 425 U.S. 484, 493, 96 S.Ct. 1646, 48 L.Ed.2d 113 (Powell, J., concurring)), that theory would be inapplicable here. As we read the record, the jury was presented with evidence that defendant initiated the sale rather than the Government agent, was instructed by the judge on entrapment (apparently without objection), and therefore must have chosen to believe Special Agent Koch's version of the events. 36 The judgment below is vacated and the cause is remanded so that defendant may receive a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment instead of the five years previously imposed. 37