Opinion ID: 445302
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: McCONNELL'S MOTION FOR SEVERANCE

Text: 11 The appellants were indicted on June 24, 1982. On August 9, 1982, McConnell moved for a severance. His motion was supported by an affidavit from Starns who stated that if the severance was granted and Starns was tried first, he would waive his fifth amendment privilege and give exculpatory testimony at McConnell's trial. The affidavit set forth in some detail the testimony Starns would give. This motion was denied at the August 30 pretrial conference. On October 8, 1982, McConnell renewed his motion and submitted an additional affidavit from Starns indicating that Starns was willing to drop his original requirement that he be tried first and would testify on behalf of McConnell so long as the severance was granted, regardless of the order of the two trials. This renewed motion, too, was denied, on November 12, 1982, three days before trial. 12 This court made a detailed summary of its holdings applicable to severance motions in United States v. Petersen, 611 F.2d 1313, 1331 (10th Cir.1979), as follows: 13 It is axiomatic that defendants may be charged jointly in the same indictment where they are alleged to have participated in the same act or series of transactions. Rule 8(b), Fed.Rules Crim.Proc., 18 U.S.C. Defendants charged jointly in such indictments are not entitled to separate trials as a matter of right. Bailey v. United States, 410 F.2d 1209 (10th Cir.1969) cert. denied sub nom., Freeman v. United States, 396 U.S. 933, 90 S.Ct. 276, 24 L.Ed.2d 232 (1969). If prejudice either to the Government or a particular defendant is shown by the joinder, the court may, in its discretion, grant a severance of defendants or provide whatever other relief justice requires. Rule 14, Fed.Rules Crim.Proc., 18 U.S.C. In determining the merits of a motion for severance, the trial court must weigh the prejudice to a particular defendant caused by joinder against the obviously important considerations of economy and expedition in judicial administration. United States v. Walton, 552 F.2d 1354 (10th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 959, 97 S.Ct. 2685, 53 L.Ed.2d 277 (1977). Inasmuch as severance is a matter of discretion and not of right, the defendant must bear a heavy burden of showing real prejudice to his case. United States v. Parnell, supra [581 F.2d 1374 (10th Cir.1978) ]; United States v. Ready, 574 F.2d 1009 (10th Cir.1978). A decision to deny separate trials under Rule 14 will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of an abuse of discretion. United States v. Eaton, 485 F.2d 102 (10th Cir.1973).... To establish abuse of discretion more is required than that separate trials might have offered a better chance for acquittal of one or more of the accused. United States v. Knowles, 572 F.2d 267 (10th Cir.1978). Rather, it must be shown that the joinder of either defendants or offenses causes actual or threatened deprivation to an individual's right to fair trial. United States v. Butler, supra [494 F.2d 1246 (10th Cir.1974) ]. Of course, a trial court has a continuing duty to insure that prejudice does not occur, and if it does to sever defendants or offenses. Schaffer v. United States, 362 U.S. 511, 80 S.Ct. 945, 4 L.Ed.2d 921 (1960). 14 With reference to the specific kind of circumstances involved here, that is, where a defendant bases his motion for severance upon a claim that he needs a co-defendant's testimony, an analysis of the cases from several circuits discloses some incongruity with respect to the considerations deemed necessary to the evaluation of such a motion. Considering the cases together, however, the following factors appear relevant: 1) the likelihood that the co-defendant would in fact testify at the movant's severed trial and waive his Fifth Amendment privilege; 2) the significance of the testimony in relation to the defendant's theory of defense; 3) the exculpatory nature and effect of such testimony; 4) the likelihood that the co-defendant's testimony would be impeached; 5) the extent of prejudice caused by the absence of the testimony; 6) the effect of a severance on judicial administration and economy; 7) the timeliness of the motion. United States v. Parodi, 703 F.2d 768, 779 (4th Cir.1983); United States v. Johnson, 713 F.2d 633, 640-41 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 1447, 79 L.Ed.2d 766 (1984); United States v. Butler, 611 F.2d 1066, 1071 (5th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 830, 101 S.Ct. 97, 66 L.Ed.2d 35 (1980); United States v. Haro-Espinosa, 619 F.2d 789, 793 (9th Cir.1979); United States v. Finkelstein, 526 F.2d 517, 523-24 (2nd Cir.1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 960, 96 S.Ct. 1742, 48 L.Ed.2d 205 (1976); see also 1 C. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure: Criminal 2d Sec. 225, (1982). 15 In the present case the government concedes that McConnell made a sufficient showing that Starns would likely testify at a separate trial. It also must be admitted that McConnell's motion was timely. Although the original motion filed August 9, 1982, would not have met the initial requirement of a showing of willingness to testify because Starns conditioned his offer of testimony on his being tried first, United States v. Parodi, supra; United States v. Haro-Espinosa, supra; United States v. Ruppel, 666 F.2d 261, 268-69 (5th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 458 U.S. 1107, 102 S.Ct. 3487, 73 L.Ed.2d 1369 (1982), McConnell's renewed motion on October 8, 1982, corrected this defect sufficiently in advance of trial. 16 It may also be granted that Starns' proposed testimony, as evidenced by his affidavit, was at least significant in view of McConnell's theory of defense. Part of the government's case below rested upon circumstantial evidence of a money trial from victimized investors through Wagon Wheel and Starns to McConnell. In his affidavit, Starns stated that he 17 would testify that any money paid to or from Wagon Wheel Energy, Inc.; Wagon Wheel Energy or me to or used by James McConnell were [sic] in payment of good and valuable consideration received and not in furtherance of nor the division of the fruits of the conspiracy and scheme and artifice to defraud alleged in the indictment. 18 McConnell argues that the trial court's denial of his motion for severance, by depriving him of Starns' testimony, eliminated his only opportunity to refute the government's money trail evidence. Starns' affidavit also states that he would deny certain allegations in the indictment that McConnell made misrepresentations to investors and a petroleum engineer. 19 While the proffered Starns testimony does purport to be exculpatory, we find that it lacks substance. Starns' testimony that McConnell gave some unspecified good and valuable consideration for the money received would be little more illuminating than a simple assertion that McConnell was innocent. Nowhere in either the motions, briefs or affidavits filed in the trial court or the brief submitted on appeal is there any indication of what this valuable consideration was. Nor is there any indication of why only Starns could provide evidence of this consideration. McConnell's feeble reference to the fact that the Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to his case did not deliver any Brady material and indicated that the government's investigation did not disclose any witnesses who could give exculpatory testimony for McConnell is totally unpersuasive. It is not the government's job to provide a criminal defendant with his defensive case. It was McConnell's right and responsibility to explain to the trial court why no accountant, no attorney, no broker, no employee of Wagon Wheel, no other person and no document of any kind could substantiate the existence and indicate the nature of the consideration received in exchange for some $600,000 paid to McConnell out of funds received from investors. Even if McConnell had managed to make this explanation, the trial court would be entitled to conclude that Starns' wholly uncorroborated assertions could not have much credibility. Further, even if McConnell had given Starns and Wagon Wheel some valuable consideration and was paid in the investor funds only as a creditor, this would not contradict the charge that he benefited from and was enriched by whatever fraudulent scheme Starns through Wagon Wheel had perpetrated on the investors. 20 Starns' assertions that McConnell did not make certain misrepresentations would also have little exculpatory value given the government's allegations of numerous instances when McConnell promoted Wagon Wheel using false information and misrepresented facts about himself outside the presence of Starns. 21 Also affecting the value of Starns' testimony is the strong probability that he would be impeached were he to take the stand. Starns was convicted in federal court on eight fraud counts in November, 1973. Evidence of these convictions would have been admissible for impeachment purposes under Fed.R.Evid. 609. Further, had Starns been tried first as he requested, and had he been convicted, the fact of that conviction would also have been admissible and would have effectively nullified the exculpatory value of his testimony for McConnell. United States v. Taylor, 562 F.2d 1345, 1363 (2nd Cir.1977), cert. denied, 432 U.S. 909, 97 S.Ct. 2958, 53 L.Ed.2d 1083 (1977). 22 Based on these considerations, we find the trial court was entirely justified in considering the prejudice caused to McConnell by a denial of severance to be very small and greatly outweighed by the expense and administrative inconvenience of conducting two lengthy trials involving numerous witnesses rather than one consolidated trial. Accordingly, there was no abuse of discretion and the trial court's ruling must be affirmed. United States v. Petersen, supra. 23