Opinion ID: 202748
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Length of Trial

Text: 161 Appellants argue that the sheer length of the trial and the repetitive nature of the government's evidence denied them due process. In denying appellants' motions for judgment of acquittal on these grounds, the district court devoted more than ten pages of its seventy-seven page opinion to a thorough examination of this issue. We largely agree with its analysis. Thus, we merely summarize its conclusions here and note only a few additional points. 162 The trial lasted for fifteen months and the prosecution's case lasted far longer than appellants' case. However, appellants bore much of the responsibility for the length of the trial. They either requested or agreed to several continuances after the trial began. 42 In response to the jury's request that the trial occur five days per week, they requested that trial occur only four days per week. Moreover, much of the time devoted to the government's case consisted of the vigorous and lengthy cross-examination to which the defense subjected government witnesses. Finally, nearly all of the witnesses testified in Spanish and required the use of interpreters, which contributed significantly to the length of the trial. 43 163 The government's presentation was not repetitive. For example, although Enriquez (the senior vice president of the mortgage department) and Kareh (the assistant vice president of the construction loan department) both testified at length about the same projects, Kareh offered more detailed information about the loans themselves, while Enriquez provided insight into appellants' knowledge about the loans and whether appellants provided certain information to the Board. Although appellants can point to instances in which the same story was told more than once, such repetition often encompassed new and relevant details, and was not unduly frequent given the complexity of the violations alleged and the length of the trial. 164 Finally, there is no indication that the length of the trial and the arguably cumulative nature of the evidence affected the outcome of the trial in any way. In fact, the jury convicted the four appellants while acquitting Enrique Gutiérrez on all counts, which suggests that the jury was able to carefully weigh the evidence against each defendant. See United States v. LiCausi, 167 F.3d 36, 49 (1st Cir.1999)(explaining that a jury's acquittal of one defendant on two counts indicates that it was not prevented from making reliable judgments about guilt or innocence). Given appellants' failure to demonstrate any prejudice resulting from the length of the trial, we find no due process violation under these circumstances.