Opinion ID: 689891
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: John Scotti

Text: 46 John Scotti raises four challenges on appeal: (1) the district court improperly restricted his right of cross-examination of government witnesses; (2) the district court erred by not requiring the government to produce an FBI agent's handwritten notes of a witness interview; (3) numerous due process errors occurred; and (4) the district court failed to make the requisite findings of facts in imposing a sentencing enhancement for obstruction of justice. We address each of these issues in turn. 47
48 Scotti claims that the district court improperly curtailed his cross-examination of government witnesses and presentation of evidence. Our review of such questions is limited. As we said in United States v. Concepcion, 983 F.2d 369, 391-92 (2d Cir.1992): 49 The scope and extent of cross-examination lies within the discretion of the trial judge. The trial court may, in its discretion, preclude questions for which the questioner cannot show a good faith basis. So long as the jury has before it sufficient information to make a discriminating appraisal of the witness's possible motives for testifying falsely in favor of the government, we will uphold the trial court's exercise of its discretion. 50 (quotations and citations omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 163, 126 L.Ed.2d 124 (1993); see also United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1018 (2d Cir.1990); United States v. Tillem, 906 F.2d 814, 827 (2d Cir.1990). 51 Scotti alleges first that the district court improperly restricted him from eliciting testimony about Gary Gough's HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection and presenting testimony about Scotti's awareness of it. He argues that this evidence cumulatively would have made it seem improbable that Scotti would have risked infection by drawing blood when he punched Gough in the face, as Gough testified Scotti did. Scotti's counsel summed up the defense's theory succinctly at oral argument: I would think a reasonably intelligent person in today's society would not go around bloodying people's faces if they had AIDS. I think maybe they'd take a bat. 52 Whatever the tactics of the reasonably intelligent extortionist, Scotti's beliefs as to Gough's HIV infection and the factual basis for those beliefs were in fact relevant evidence. See Fed.R.Evid. 401. As Scotti contends, such evidence is at least somewhat probative of the occurrence (or, more precisely, the non-occurrence) of material facts: namely, the acts of violence that supplied in part the predicate for Scotti's conviction on Count Four of using extortion against Gough to collect an extension of credit. Of course, the district court could still have excluded this evidence on the grounds of prejudice, confusion, or waste of time. Fed.R.Evid. 403. 53 The chief problem with Scotti's relevance argument regarding Gough's HIV infection is that he never made it until both the prosecution and defense had rested. When the issue arose at trial, Scotti's claim for admissibility focused solely on Gough's credibility. In response to the government's objection about his inquiry into Gough's HIV infection, Scotti simply framed the issue as whether Gough g[o]t it sexually, or [is he] someone who took heroin, the needle? Since Gough's drug habits and sexual proclivities were already in evidence, examination into the source of Gough's malady was at best cumulative and at worst highly prejudicial. On those grounds, the district court was justified in excluding the evidence, especially given the risk that a juror might impermissibly discredit Gough solely because of his HIV status. If Scotti had an alternative theory of relevance, it was his burden to alert the court to it. See United States v. Pugliese, 712 F.2d 1574, 1580 (2d Cir.1983); United States v. Kelly, 556 F.2d 257, 265 (5th Cir.1977) (finding no error in excluding evidence where offeror failed to argue relevance to the court), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1017, 98 S.Ct. 737, 54 L.Ed.2d 763 (1978); 22 Charles A. Wright & Kenneth W. Graham, Jr., Federal Practice and Procedure Sec. 5166, at 69 & n. 20. Since counsel waited until both sides had rested to unveil his theory that evidence of Gough's HIV status was probative as to whether Scotti punched him in the face, it was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to deny Scotti's request to recall witnesses to explore this issue after the close of evidence. 54 Scotti also complains that the district court restricted his questioning of defense witness Al Schwendeman, a former employee of the Staten Car Service, about the drug habits and financial dealings of its principals. The relevance of the excluded testimony is not apparent to us, and such testimony, if intended for impeachment purposes, runs afoul of the rule against introduction of extrinsic evidence of prior bad acts. Fed.R.Evid. 608(b). Thus, we find that this claim lacks merit.
55 Agent Brian Taylor of the Federal Bureau of Investigation took notes of an interview with John Egnat and later filed a written report of that interview on FBI form FD-302. Taylor acknowledged on cross-examination that he retained his handwritten notes. While the formal interview report was disclosed to Scotti, the handwritten notes were not. Scotti made motions during and after trial for production of the notes, but the district court did not order discovery. Scotti contends that production of the notes was mandatory under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 26.2. 56 Under Rule 26.2, the court, upon motion by a party after the adverse party's witness has testified on direct examination, shall order the production by the adverse party's attorneys of any statement of the witness that is in their possession and that relates to the subject matter concerning which the witness has testified. Fed.R.Crim.P. 26.2(a). Statements for purposes of this Rule are 57 (1) a written statement made by the witness that is signed or otherwise adopted or approved by the witness; 58 (2) a substantially verbatim recital of an oral statement made by the witness that is recorded contemporaneously with the making of the oral statement and that is contained in a stenographic, mechanical, electrical or other recording or a transcription thereof; or 59 (3) a statement, however taken or recorded, or a transcription thereof, made by the witness to a grand jury. 60 Fed.R.Crim.P. 26.2(f). The procedural requirements for making a motion for production and the definition of statements essentially track those of the Jencks Act. Compare 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500(b) with Fed.R.Crim.P. 26.2(a)-(b); compare 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500(e) with Fed.R.Crim.P. 26.2(f). Cf. Fed.R.Crim.P. 26.2(f) Advisory Committee's Note, 1979 Addition (stating that Rule 26.2 places in the criminal rules the substance of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500 while also providing for production of statements of defense witnesses). 61 Because Scotti made his first motion for the notes after Agent Taylor's direct testimony, it appears that he sought the notes as Taylor's prior statement. However, the handwritten notes are not Taylor's statement within the meaning of Rule 26.2(f)(1). Absent any indication that an FBI agent signs, adopts, vouches for, or intends to be accountable for the contents of the notes, the rough notes taken in a witness interview cannot be considered the agent's statement. United States v. Gotchis, 803 F.2d 74, 77-78 (2d Cir.1986). Nor, of course, do the notes qualify as Taylor's statements under subsections (2) or (3) of Rule 26.2(f) since they are neither a substantially verbatim recording of Taylor's oral statements nor a recording of any statement by him to the grand jury. Thus, Rule 26.2 did not mandate production of the notes as Agent Taylor's statement. 62 The notes may have been discoverable as a statement by John Egnat, one of the government's witnesses. In the circumstances of this case, Scotti would have been entitled to discovery of the notes if either of two conditions obtained: (1) Egnat adopted or approved Taylor's notes as his own statement, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500(e)(1); Fed.R.Crim.P. 26(f)(1); or (2) the notes were a substantially verbatim recital of Egnat's words, even if the interview was not automatically recorded, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500(e)(2); Fed.R.Crim.P. 26(f)(2); Palermo v. United States, 360 U.S. 343, 351-53, 79 S.Ct. 1217, 1224-25, 3 L.Ed.2d 1287 (1959) (interpreting 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500(e)(2)). Even if not an exact recording, the notes would be considered a substantially verbatim recital of the witness's statement if they could fairly be deemed to reflect fully and without distortion what had been said to the government agent and thus be used to impeach the witness's testimony at trial. Id. at 352, 79 S.Ct. at 1224; United States v. Aviles, 337 F.2d 552, 556 (2d Cir.1964), cert. denied, 380 U.S. 906, 85 S.Ct. 885, 13 L.Ed.2d 794 (1965). When it is doubtful whether the notes are subject to discovery, the government should submit them to the trial court for an in camera determination; the court may in its discretion consider extrinsic evidence in deciding whether the notes qualify as a witness statement. Palermo, 60 U.S. at 354-55, 79 S.Ct. at 1225-26; United States v. Lamma, 349 F.2d 338, 340 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 947, 86 S.Ct. 407, 15 L.Ed.2d 355 (1965). 63 The defendant, however, is only entitled to production of the notes, or to a determination whether they must be produced, if he makes a timely and sufficient motion. The plain language of both Rule 26.2 and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500(a) shows that the discovery procedure therein outlined applies only to statements that must be produced after a witness testifies at the trial. United States v. Giuliano, 348 F.2d 217, 223 (2d Cir.) (upholding denial of motion under Jencks Act to produce agent's notes for use in hearing to withdraw guilty plea), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 939, 946, 1000, 86 S.Ct. 390, 406, 535, 15 L.Ed.2d 349, 354, 490 (1965); see also United States v. Sebastian, 497 F.2d 1267, 1269-70 (2d Cir.1974) (holding that court cannot compel government to turn over Jencks material at pretrial suppression hearing); United States v. Percevault, 490 F.2d 126, 131 (2d Cir.1974) (holding that court cannot compel pretrial production of Jencks material). A defendant is 64 under obligation to request production of the statement within a reasonable time proximate to the direct testimony so as to alert the district judge and the government of the nature of his request. Preferably, that request should be made immediately before, during, or immediately after the direct examination, although circumstances might permit requests at different points during the trial. 65