Opinion ID: 2996638
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis

Text: Falcon argues the district court erred in enhancing his sentence for being an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor of the drug conspiracy. We will reverse a district court’s decision to enhance a sentence only if it was clearly erroneous. United States v. Matthews, 222 F.3d 305, 307 (7th Cir. 2000). The Sentencing Guidelines provide that a defendant’s sentence may be enhanced two levels if he or she was an “organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor” of the criminal activity. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(c). Factors for the court to consider when making this determination include the defendant’s (1) exercise of decision-making authority; (2) participation in committing the offense; (3) recruitment of accomplices; (4) degree of participation in planning or organizing the criminal activity; (5) degree of control or authority exercised over others involved in the criminal ac- 6 Nos. 02-3905 & 02-3906 tivity; and (6) the nature and scope of the illegal activity. Id. § 3B1.1, cmt. 4; United States v. Noble, 246 F.3d 946, 953 (7th Cir. 2001). Falcon argues that the enhancement was in error because he played no greater role in the enterprise than any of his co-defendants. Falcon primarily disputes testimony indicating that he directed Valdovinas’s actions and that Valdovinas was not on equal footing with Falcon. Testimony by Valdovinas and Agent Smith, however, indicated that Valdovinas served as a messenger for Falcon, and that Falcon instructed Valdovinas to accompany Falcon on trips to sell drugs. That testimony also established that Falcon provided the cocaine to be sold illegally and provided a car with a secret compartment in which to hide the drugs. On the whole, the district court found the trial testimony sufficient to establish Falcon’s role as an organizer of a criminal activity and these facts do not leave us with “the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” United States v. Carrera, 259 F.3d 818, 826 (7th Cir. 2001); see Noble, 246 F.3d at 954; United States v. Sierra, 188 F.3d 798, 803-04 (7th Cir. 1999); United States v. Mustread, 42 F.3d 1097, 1103-04 (7th Cir. 1994). Therefore, we affirm the district court’s decision to enhance Falcon’s drug sentence for his leadership role in the enterprise.
Falcon argues that the district court should have granted a hearing on his claim of prosecutorial vindictiveness because the government brought the separate illegal reentry charge only after he filed motions to exclude the government’s expert witness testimony and to sanction the prosecuting attorney. Falcon also contends the government failed to provide a sufficient explanation for the timing of the complaint. We review the district court’s legal conclusions de novo and its findings of fact for clear error. United Nos. 02-3905 & 02-3906 7 States v. Bullis, 77 F.3d 1553, 1558 (7th Cir. 1996). A vindictive prosecution claim arises when the government pursues prosecution in retaliation for the exercise of a protected statutory or constitutional right. United States v. Monsoor, 77 F.3d 1031, 1034 (7th Cir. 1996); see also Bullis, 77 F.3d at 1558 (“A prosecution is vindictive and a violation of due process if undertaken to punish a person because he has done what the law plainly allowed him to do.”) (quotations omitted). To obtain the evidentiary hearing Falcon seeks, he must offer sufficient evidence to raise a reasonable doubt that the government acted properly in bringing the illegal reentry charge. Monsoor, 77 F.3d at 1034. To raise a reasonable doubt as to the propriety of charges added before trial, a defendant “must affirmatively show through objective evidence that the prosecutorial conduct at issue was motivated by some form of prosecutorial animus, such as a personal stake in the outcome of the case or an attempt to seek self-vindication.” Bullis, 77 F.3d at 1559. The affirmative showing is necessary because a prosecutor’s pretrial decisions, including the choice to seek increased or additional charges, are presumed valid. United States v. Spears, 159 F.3d 1081, 1086 (7th Cir. 1998); Bullis, 77 F.3d at 1559; see also United States v. Goodwin, 457 U.S. 368, 384 (1982). Such pretrial decisions are presumed valid because “[a] prosecutor should remain free before trial to exercise the broad discretion entrusted to him to determine the extent of the societal interest in prosecution.” Goodwin, 457 U.S. at 382. Although there are limited circumstances where a defendant is entitled to a presumption of vindictiveness, those cases ordinarily arise after trial, following the defendant’s exercise of his right to de novo review. Id. at 376-377; see, e.g., Blackledge v. Perry, 417 U.S. 21 (1974) (finding a presumption of prosecutorial vindictiveness where the prosecutor pursued enhanced charges after the defendant exercised his right to a trial de novo); North 8 Nos. 02-3905 & 02-3906 Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711 (1969) (finding a presumption of vindictiveness where a judge imposed a more severe sentence after a new trial). When the government brings additional charges before trial, but after the defendant exercises a procedural right, evidence of suspicious timing alone does not indicate prosecutorial animus. See Bullis, 77 F.3d at 1559. As observed in Goodwin: [A] defendant before trial is expected to invoke procedural rights that inevitably impose some “burden” on the prosecutor. Defense counsel routinely file pretrial motions to suppress evidence; to challenge the sufficiency and form of an indictment; to plead an affirmative defense; to request psychiatric services; to obtain access to government files; to be tried by jury. It is unrealistic to assume that a prosecutor’s probable response to such motions is to seek to penalize and to deter. 457 U.S. at 381. Only if a defendant can present evidence other than or in addition to timing will the burden shift to the government to come forward with proof that the motivation behind the charge was proper. Bullis, 77 F.3d at 1559. Falcon’s sole support for his vindictive prosecution claim is the allegedly suspicious timing of the illegal reentry complaint. The charge arrived on the heels of the following circumstances: (1) Falcon’s motion in limine to exclude the government’s expert witness testimony; (2) Falcon’s motion for sanctions, which arose out of the government’s failure to adequately respond to Falcon’s request for a bill of particulars; and (3) the hearing on the motion for sanctions where the district court judge strongly admonished the prosecuting attorney for failing to abide by court-set deadlines. Based on this chain of events, Falcon posits that the prosecuting attorney filed the illegal reentry charge to Nos. 02-3905 & 02-3906 9 retaliate against Falcon for pursing his rights through pretrial motions. Here, the motion in limine and the motion for sanctions are procedural in nature. Without additional evidence that the prosecuting attorney harbored ill will against Falcon, the timing of the illegal reentry charge is not enough to shift the burden to the government or require a hearing. The government responded to Falcon’s vindictive prosecution claim by explaining that the illegal reentry charge was legitimate and pursued to fully punish Falcon for his aborted bribery attempt. Although the district court did not have to reach the government’s reasons for filing the complaint since Falcon did not meet his evidentiary burden, it did not clearly err in crediting the government’s explanation. It is undisputed that the charge had merit; the defendant had been previously deported twice. Further, Falcon offered no explanation other than timing for the government’s action, failing to cast doubt on the government’s justification.