Opinion ID: 714872
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The court's reference to Defendant's refusal to testify

Text: 24 Appellant argues that several times during the sentencing proceedings, as well as during the post-sentencing hearing, the court impermissibly took notice of the fact that Defendant chose not to testify to rebut McGowan's and Stickman's testimony, and that the court incorrectly decided that Defendant had waived his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by pleading guilty. For example, at one point the court stated: 25 Normally in a case like this a defendant does not have to take the witness stand certainly because it violates his right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of our Constitution. We don't have that in this case, and the reason we do not have that in this case, Mr. Garcia waived his right under the Fifth Amendment when he came in and under oath chose to admit his drug distribution.... 26 (IV R.O.A. 199-200.) 27 We agree with Defendant that the court erred in concluding that the Fifth Amendment did not continue to protect Defendant during sentencing because such testimony could have subjected him to further criminal liability. 8 [T]he availability of the privilege does not turn upon the type of proceeding in which its protection is invoked, but upon the nature of the statement or admission and the exposure it invites. U.S. v. Rogers, 921 F.2d 975, 979 (10th Cir.) (citing In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 49, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 1455, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967)), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 839, 111 S.Ct. 113, 112 L.Ed.2d 83 (1990). Accordingly, [t]here is no question but that the Fifth Amendment does offer protection in the sentencing process. U.S. v. Jones, 640 F.2d 284, 287 (10th Cir.1981). See also Rogers, 921 F.2d at 979 (noting that a defendant does not lose his Fifth Amendment protection by reason of his conviction of a crime); Estelle v. Smith, 451 U.S. 454, 462-63, 101 S.Ct. 1866, 1872-73, 68 L.Ed.2d 359 (1981) (holding Fifth Amendment applicable to penalty phase of a capital murder trial). Furthermore, Fifth Amendment protection continues during sentencing even when the defendant has pled guilty to a crime. U.S. v. Lugg, 892 F.2d 101, 102-03 (D.C.Cir.1989). 28 However, constitutional errors do not necessarily require reversal of a conviction. U.S. v. Perdue, 8 F.3d 1455, 1469 (10th Cir.1993). 9 In Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967), the Supreme Court held that a federal constitutional error can be ignored if the court is able to declare a belief that it was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. 386 U.S. at 24, 87 S.Ct. at 828. Although some constitutional errors can never be dismissed as harmless, see Rose v. Clark, 478 U.S. 570, 577-78, 106 S.Ct. 3101, 3105-06, 92 L.Ed.2d 460 (1986), 10 the Supreme Court has held that the harmless error doctrine applies to a prosecutor's improper comments on a defendant's silence at trial in violation of the Fifth Amendment Self-Incrimination Clause, Chapman, 386 U.S. at 24-26, 87 S.Ct. at 828-29 (finding there that the government had not established that such constitutional error was harmless). Similarly, we will uphold a sentencing court's determination of drug quantity despite a court's error that a defendant waived his self-incrimination rights if, absent the court's error, it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the court would have imposed the same sentence. See Chapman, 386 U.S. at 24-27, 87 S.Ct. at 828-30; U.S. v. Hasting, 461 U.S. 499, 510-11, 103 S.Ct. 1974, 1981-82, 76 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983) (applying the harmless error test to a prosecutor's error in commenting before the jury on the defendant's refusal to testify or to put on refutation evidence). 29 In conducting harmless error analysis, we review the record de novo. 11 Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U.S. 279, 295, 111 S.Ct. 1246, 1257, 113 L.Ed.2d 302 (1991). Having done so in this case, we conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the court would have reached the same determination of drug quantity, possession of a firearm and role as a supervisor absent its error in considering Defendant's failure to testify. Both Stickman and McGowan testified that Defendant dealt between one-half to a full pound of cocaine a week. The informants also testified that Defendant had possessed a gun and that he had supervised a number of other distributors. In determining Stickman and McGowan to be reliable regarding these statements, the court placed emphasis on the fact that their testimony, offered a week apart in the absence of each other's presence, substantially corroborated each other's testimony, as well as the Presentence Report. The court also considered the fact that McGowan testified under oath regarding information that could incriminate him with further criminal charges as well as Mr. Baker's report that several law enforcement officers considered McGowan to be credible. We therefore believe that the court could have relied on the informants' testimony to establish the higher drug quantity and enhancements independent of any relevance it placed on Defendant's failure to testify. Furthermore, although Defendant's counsel sought to impeach McGowan's general credibility, there is nothing in the record to suggest either that 499 grams of cocaine was not a very conservative estimate of the volume of cocaine dealt by the Defendant or that McGowan and Stickman lied when they testified regarding Defendant's possession of a gun and supervision of other distributors. Thus, all of the evidence in the record supports the district court's findings, even though we disregard the district court's reference to the Defendant's failure to testify himself at the sentencing proceedings. 12 30