Opinion ID: 346995
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Bolts' Appeal

Text: 20 Bolts' first contention is that the trial court erred in denying his motions for severance. He contends that being tried jointly with Hicks was prejudical to his (Bolts') cause under Fed.R.Crim.P. 14, 1 because of the mass of evidence against Hicks, whereas Bolts was charged only in the conspiracy count, under which only two of the overt acts alleged in the indictment referred to him. In this regard, he complains that the testimony of the coconspirators Bandy and Norris also prejudiced him. Appellant's argument on prejudicial joinder is without merit. 21 The grant or denial of a motion for severance rests in the sound discretion of the trial judge, and his ruling will not be disturbed on appeal, absent an abuse of discretion. E.g., United States v. Smith, 5 Cir., 1977, 550 F.2d 277, 283; United States v. Morrow, 5 Cir., 1976, 537 F.2d 120, 134. In considering a claim like this, we start with the general rule that persons jointly indicted should be tried together. Morrow, supra, 537 F.2d at 136. In Morrow we resolved essentially the same issue against the position here urged by appellant. A claim of disparity of evidence i.e., the assertion that the quantity of evidence against one defendant was de minimis in relation to the evidence introduced against one or more codefendants and that the disparity resulted in prejudice justifies severance only in the most extreme cases, and only where the prejudice flowing from a joint trial is clearly beyond the curative powers of a cautionary instruction. Id. at 136-37. Here an adequate cautionary instruction was given, and we perceive no prejudice so extreme as to have denied Bolts a fair trial. See id. at 137. Accordingly, we find no error in the judge's refusal to sever Bolts' trial. 22 Bolts' second contention is that the district court erred in refusing to give the jury an accomplice instruction proposed by Bolts. The proposed instruction 2 would have charged, inter alia, that Bolts' position was that the Government witnesses Bandy and Norris testified against him for reasons of self-interest. That instruction would have also reminded the jury at that point in the total charge that Bolts asserted his innocence and that, if the jury believed the two witnesses were untruthful, the jury could disregard their testimony and could acquit Bolts if there was no remaining testimony against him. The charge proposed by Bolts was not a neutral statement of the law, but was argumentative. The court instructed the jury on considering, in the weighing of the testimony, the interest of witnesses, in general, and their relationship to the parties. Furthermore, the court gave a specific instruction on accomplice testimony 3 which correctly stated the law and was sufficient. United States v. Muncy, 5 Cir., 1976, 526 F.2d 1261; see United States v. Johnson, 5 Cir., 1977, 553 F.2d 901. 23 Appellant Bolts also argues that the court erred in refusing to permit him to elicit testimony from Janet Hicks. Bolts sought to call her as a witness after her case had been severed from the case at bar. Bolts' counsel had previously been advised outside the jury's presence that Janet Hicks would assert both the fifth amendment privilege and the spousal privilege if she was called as a witness by Bolts. Accordingly, the court granted the motions of appellant Joe Dee Hicks and of Janet Hicks that the latter not be put on the stand. When thereafter Bolts called Janet Hicks as a defense witness, the court advised the jury that she would not appear because of procedural reasons. 24 Appellant Bolts here contends that he was thus denied the right to compulsory process for obtaining witnesses and the right to effective assistance of counsel. He makes three arguments in this regard. First, he asserts that he was prejudiced by being permitted to call Mrs. Hicks as a witness and then not being permitted to question her, without a sufficient explanation being issued to the jury. However, appellant called Mrs. Hicks with full awareness that she would assert the fifth amendment and spousal privileges. He cannot now complain of prejudice from a situation of his own making. His second argument is that he was prejudiced insofar as he was denied testimony which he anticipated would have been helpful to his cause. This contention is also without merit. Bolts has no constitutional right to compel Mrs. Hicks to take the stand and testify when it was known in advance that she intended to assert the fifth amendment privilege. United States v. Lacouture, 5 Cir., 1974, 495 F.2d 1237, cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1053, 95 S.Ct. 631, 42 L.Ed.2d 648; see United States v. Gloria, 5 Cir., 1974, 494 F.2d 477, cert. denied, 419 U.S. 995, 95 S.Ct. 306, 42 L.Ed.2d 267. Our conclusion is supported, moreover, by Mrs. Hicks' intended assertion of the spousal privilege. Cf. San Fratello v. United States, 5 Cir., 1965, 340 F.2d 560. Bolts' third argument on this issue is that he should have been able to elicit from Mrs. Hicks on the stand and in the jury's presence her exercise of privilege, if she had declined to testify. This contention is without merit. See United States v. Tuley, 5 Cir., 1977, 546 F.2d 1264; Lacouture, supra. The court acted not only properly but wisely. 25 Next, we consider Bolts' contention of insufficiency of evidence. It is well settled that on appellate review of a conspiracy case, only slight evidence is necessary to connect a particular defendant with the conspiracy, once the existence of the conspiracy is established by independent evidence. United States v. Alvarez, 5 Cir., 1977, 548 F.2d 542; United States v. De La Fuente, 5 Cir., 1977, 548 F.2d 528; United States v. Binetti, 5 Cir., 1977, 547 F.2d 265; Morrow, supra. The thrust of appellant's argument on this issue appears to go to the proof that he knowingly or intentionally became a member of the conspiracy alleged in Count I of the indictment. We thus need not belabor the existence of the conspiracy, which was amply proven, in any event, by the other independent evidence about the couriers' narcotics trafficking activities under the leadership of appellant Hicks. We therefore turn to the evidence in the record implicating Bolts. 26 Coconspirator Bandy testified that he had gone to Bolts' house several times with appellant Hicks, and that their purpose was either to deliver heroin or cocaine or to pick up money for narcotics that they had already delivered there. Bandy testified at one point that he did not personally make deliveries to Bolts, but that he and Hicks would take the narcotics with them in the car, with Hicks bringing the drugs into the house and Bandy waiting outside in the car. Sometimes, according to other testimony by Bandy, they both went in the house and saw Bolts. 27 The testimony of coconspirator Norris was more extensive in detailing visits to Bolts' house. One such visit occurred following Norris' return to Dallas from Bogota with a kilo of cocaine in January 1974. Norris said that he and Hicks went to Bolts' house to deliver part of that shipment, and that he had previously been there several times with heroin. On another occasion, Norris went by himself to Bolts' house to pick up, rather than to deliver, a small quantity of heroin. Usually when the two men went to Bolts' house, Norris testified, he would wait in the car while Hicks went inside. Norris testified that he did accompany Hicks inside the house with narcotics on two occasions, however, and that he saw Bolts weigh the narcotics (heroin brought back by Norris from Thailand), on what looked to Norris like postal scales. Norris also said that he saw Bolts give Hicks money both at the house and at a restaurant, although he did not know how much was involved. We said in Alvarez: 28 (T)he slight evidence rule finds its proper application where persons are clearly connected to the conspiring group or are found acting in such a manner as unmistakably to forward its purposes. In such instances, given the clandestine character of such projects, slight additional evidence suffices to base an inference that one who has been shown beyond reasonable doubt to be a participant was as well a knowing participant. . . . 29 Id., 548 F.2d at 544. Here Bolts was found not only to be clearly connected to at least three of the coconspirators, but was shown by the testimony to have engaged in acts which forwarded the purposes of the narcotics trafficking operation. The evidence was more than sufficient to support Bolts' conviction. 30 We turn finally to Bolts' last contention that the general verdict of guilty returned against him was impermissibly vague and indefinite in that it did not specify the particular substantive crime he was found guilty of conspiring to commit. He asserts a due process right under the fourteenth amendment to be advised of the particular substantive offense set forth in Count I with respect to which he is being sentenced. The contention is novel, but due consideration reveals its lack of merit. 31 Bolts was found guilty as charged with conspiracy to commit violations of several statutory provisions, to wit, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 843(b), 952, and 960. The significance of his argument is that, if he was found guilty of conspiring to violate 21 U.S.C. § 843(b) (use of a communications facility in furthering a felony in contravention of the Drug Act), the maximum applicable sentence would be four years' imprisonment, whereas if found guilty of conspiring to violate 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (manufacturing, distributing or dispensing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, distribute or dispense, a controlled substance), the maximum applicable sentence would be fifteen years' imprisonment. He argues that in light of the entire charge on conspiracy, the jury might have predicated his guilt on the act or conduct of one or more of the coconspirators in using the telephone in furtherance of the conspiracy. If so, the argument goes, he could only be sentenced to a maximum of four years' imprisonment. 32 The trial judge, in denying Bolts' motion for a new trial which was based on this contention, among others, found no lack of clarity in the jury's verdict. The court pointed out that all the evidence presented at trial with respect to Bolts went to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and that there was no evidence as to Bolts' use of the telephone nor evidence linking him to others' use of communication facilities. Appellant Bolts argues here that the trial court's solution to this issue invades the province of the jury in derogation of appellant's due process rights. 33 From an examination of the nature of the crime of conspiracy itself, it is noted that a conspiracy can have more than one objective. United States v. Beasley, 5 Cir., 1977, 550 F.2d 261. Moreover, a conspirator need not know each of the other conspirators or each part of the unlawful scheme. United States v. Netterville, 5 Cir., 1977, 553 F.2d 903; United States v. Avalos, 5 Cir., 1976, 541 F.2d 1100. Determining whether he agreed to a particular objective is thus unnecessary in a case involving a conspiracy with multiple and related criminal objectives. The basic theory of conspiracy is vicarious liability, United States v. Decker, 5 Cir., 1976,543 F.2d 1102, and once a defendant becomes associated with a conspiracy, he is responsible for all acts of it. Netterville, supra. Therefore, where the indictment charged a conspiracy to commit violations of several related statutory provisions in what was essentially one narcotics trafficking enterprise, it was unnecessary that the verdict specify the particular statutory provision which an individual defendant conspired to violate. It was enough that the jury found that he knowingly and intentionally was a member of the conspiracy. The theory of vicarious liability thus exposed him to the maximum sentence for which any of the conspirators could be charged under the conspiracy count. The general verdict and resultant sentencing herein were therefore not improper as to either Bolts or appellant Hicks, who has adopted this issue on appeal. 4 34 AFFIRMED.