Opinion ID: 668585
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Douglas Jones

Text: 35 Doug Jones, one of Hiawatha's premier salespersons, contends that his conviction was the product of multiple errors on the part of the trial court. We find his claims unpersuasive and affirm his conviction. 36 1. Prosecutorial Misconduct. In the course of their investigation of Hiawatha, federal agents conducted a telephone interview with Mark Paton, a former Hiawatha distributor from Aylmer, Ontario. According to the notes of the investigating officer, Paton said that after he had purchased a distributorship from Jones but before he received the machines, Jones asked him to appear on Hiawatha's behalf at upcoming trade shows in Toronto and Montreal. Because the Toronto show predated his receipt and installation of the Hiawatha machines, Paton agreed only to speak in support of Hiawatha's general treatment of him despite Jones's urgings to make loftier representations. 37 Invoices subpoenaed from Hiawatha's offices revealed later, however, that Paton's machines were in fact installed approximately one week before the Toronto show. To reconcile the discrepancy, government attorneys conducted a second interview with Paton in which he confirmed that the invoice dates were correct and that his earlier statements had been inaccurate. Subsequent to this interview and in response to Jones's request, the government forwarded summaries of all interviews conducted by FBI agents in this case. Included was a copy of the agent's notes from the first telephone interview with Paton. No communication about the second interview was made. 38 At trial, Paton, testified on direct that his Hiawatha machines had been installed for approximately one week before his first trade show appearance. Paton was then cross-examined about his earlier contradictory statement. On redirect, the government elicited details about the second interview in which Paton admitted that the prior statement had been incorrect. Claiming that this was the first time he had been informed of this interview, Jones's attorney moved for a mistrial based on the prosecutor's failure to disclose exculpatory information. After the matter was fully argued, the trial judge decided that a mistrial was not necessary and that any prejudice could be corrected by thorough cross-examination. 39 Jones argues that the government's failure to disclose Paton's retraction of his first statement was a violation of the prosecution's constitutional obligations under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). More specifically, he claims that the recanted statement was the only evidence of fraud on Jones's part and thus by not disclosing Paton's retraction, the government prevented Jones from adopting the best possible theory of defense. Under the Brady doctrine, we inquire as to whether the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense and if so whether there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A 'reasonable probability' is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3383, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985). Evaluating Jones's claim under this standard, we hold that the government's failure to disclose the substance of Paton's second interview did not rise to the level of a Brady violation and consequently the trial court's refusal to declare a mistrial was not erroneous. 40 Jones overemphasizes the significance of the date when Paton's machines were installed. The record reveals that Jones asked Paton to claim that each of his machines had a track record of earning an average of $30 to $40 per week. Regardless of whether Paton received the machines one week before the trade show or one week after, the fact remains that what Jones asked Paton to say was false. In light of this, Paton's second interview with the government did not produce exculpatory evidence, but served only to clarify a discrepancy in the evidence. 41 Even if the retraction were exculpatory, the government's failure to forward it to the defense was not so egregious that it rendered the result of the trial questionable. The basis of the Brady doctrine is the preservation of a fair trial. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976). Here, the evidence which Jones insists was so exculpatory was brought out by the government in its direct examination. The jury was not kept from hearing this evidence. Jones's response is that had he known of the recantation, he would have been able to present a defense that was completely consistent with Jones's innocence. The absurdity of this argument is self-evident. If Jones decided to go to trial based on a theory other than innocence of the crime, his conviction might be justified on the grounds of sheer stupidity. Furthermore, Jones's ignorance of the government's second interview with Paton should not have affected his defense at all. Jones was in possession of the Hiawatha invoices which demonstrated that the machines were installed prior to the Toronto show. Had Paton insisted on his direct that he did not have the machines until after the show, Jones could have offered into evidence the invoices to prove otherwise. Finally, even if Paton's testimony is disregarded, the evidence against Jones was still sufficient for a jury to convict him. Representations which he made to lure persons into purchasing distributorships, particularly in the California sales effort, were completely false and alone could have supported his conviction. 42 2. Self-identification. Some of the government's evidence against Jones was provided by Special Agent Coy of the FBI's office in Dayton, Ohio. Coy had called a toll-free telephone number which Hiawatha had placed in a Dayton newspaper. Coy's call was answered by an answering service operator who took his name and phone number and told him that a salesperson would return his call. Coy left his office and when he returned, he found a message from Doug Jones with directions to contact Jones at the Sheraton Hotel. Coy called the number left by Jones and asked the hotel operator for Jones's room. When his call was connected, the person on the other end identified himself as Doug Jones of Hiawatha. Jones went on to explain Hiawatha's business and to make several promotional representations in support of Hiawatha distributorships. Jones's quotes on distributorship prices, his inflated estimates about the machines' average earnings, and his offer to provide Coy with a list of successful Hiawatha distributors were all typical of the Hiawatha sales pitch. The discussion ended with an agreement to talk again around June 2. On June 3, Jones called Coy and encouraged him to invest. Coy replied that he was not interested at that time. 43 Jones claims that the trial court admitted Coy's testimony into evidence without properly authenticating the source of the telephone call. He argues that the government failed to meet its burden under Rule 901 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. 3 We review a court's evidentiary decisions for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Allen, 930 F.2d 1270, 1273 (7th Cir.1991). 44 Jones correctly points out that self-identification by the speaker alone is insufficient to authenticate the source of a telephone call. United States v. Puerta Restrepo, 814 F.2d 1236, 1239 (7th Cir.1987). When coupled with the existence of circumstances indicating that the speaker was in fact the person called however, self-identification is adequate. United States v. Kingston, 971 F.2d 481, 485 (10th Cir.1992). In Kingston, loan investigators tracking down a delinquent account, called the place of business of the debtor company. A representative told the investigators to contact the defendant at a particular number. When contacted, the defendant identified himself and proceeded to discuss the account at issue. The court held that this was sufficient authentication. Id. at 485-86. 45 The circumstances in this case mirror closely those in Kingston. The contact with Jones was in response to Coy's call to Hiawatha's listed phone number. Coy was then given a number at which he was told he could reach Jones. When he called the number he asked the hotel operator to be connected to Jones. Jones identified himself and during the conversation made several representations consistent with those he made as a Hiawatha salesperson. These facts support a finding that the person Coy contacted at the Sheraton Hotel was Doug Jones. 46 3. Relief from Prejudicial Joinder. In many of Hiawatha's important sales, including the California effort, Jones was teamed up with another salesperson named Patrick Hall. Although his name was prominently mentioned in the government's case, the jury was unaware that Hall had pleaded guilty to several counts in the indictment until closing arguments when the attorney for one of Jones's codefendants, Thomas Kuebler, informed the jury of Hall's plea. At that point, Jones moved for relief under Rule 14 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure claiming that reference to Hall's plea despite the lack of any supporting evidence caused undue prejudice to his defense. 47 Jones claims that his whole theory of defense, including his decision not to testify, was predicated on the fact that no evidence of Hall's plea would be offered. He contends further that the prejudice is borne out by the fact that Jones was acquitted on the one count stemming from a transaction in which Hall was not involved and convicted on the counts in which Hall was involved. 48 If the actual conduct of a codefendant's defense unduly prejudices another defendant, the prejudiced defendant may obtain a severance if he can demonstrate that the joint trial was somehow unfair and not merely that a separate trial would have provided a better chance for acquittal. United States v. Rollins, 862 F.2d 1282, 1290 (7th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1074, 109 S.Ct. 2084, 104 L.Ed.2d 648 (1989). We will only reverse the district court's decision, however, if we find an abuse of discretion. Id. 49 We conclude that Jones has failed to demonstrate the requisite degree of prejudice from the remarks made by Kuebler's attorney. Jones neglects to mention that several of the government's witnesses testified as to misrepresentations made by Jones and Hall in their sales pitches. The fact that Jones was convicted on the same counts in which Hall was involved was because the evidence supported that finding not because of the closing remarks. Our conclusion is strengthened by the litany of instructions which cautioned the jury in its task of evaluating the evidence. Instruction # 11 stated specifically: Opening statements, closing statements, and other statements of counsel should be disregarded to the extent they are not supported by the evidence. If the jury missed that instruction, Instruction # 13 warned the jury that a guilty plea is not to be considered as evidence against the defendants. Finally, Instruction # 16 stated: Although the defendants are being tried jointly, you must give separate consideration to each defendant. Jones does not offer any reason for why the jury would have disregarded these instructions. 50 In light of the evidence linking Hall and Jones to several of Hiawatha's fraudulent activities, and given the court's cautionary instructions, it is not apparent to us that the jury's finding rested on anything other than the evidence against Jones. We conclude, therefore, that the challenged remarks made by Kuebler's counsel in his closing did not warrant severance or other Rule 14 relief.