Opinion ID: 3066115
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The District Court’s Partiality

Text: Appellants contend that a new trial is warranted because of the district court’s partiality, as evidenced by its improper comments and conduct. “We will reverse a trial court for excessive judicial intervention only in cases of actual bias . . . or if the judge’s remarks and questioning of witnesses projected to the jury an appearance of advocacy or partiality, and the alleged 20 Appellants further contend that the district court erred in excluding an IRS agent’s report that a prior investigation had been closed for lack of criminal intent. However, Appellants were not prejudiced, as the IRS agent testified and confirmed his conclusions regarding the lack of proof of criminal intent. Appellants also argue that the district court erred in excluding evidence concerning the amount of force used against Lori Kahre during the search. Although Appellants cited no specific ruling, it appears that the district court excluded evidence related to the searches as irrelevant and potentially prejudicial. Here too, the exclusion at issue was not prejudicial, because Lori’s testimony completely elucidated every aspect of her defense. UNITED STATES V. KAHRE 47 misconduct had a prejudicial effect on the trial.” United States v. Scott, 642 F.3d 791, 799 (9th Cir. 2011) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). “Before a jury’s verdict will be overturned because of the conduct of a trial judge in rebuking or punishing an attorney or otherwise intervening in the proceedings, it must appear that the conduct measured by the facts of the case presented together with the result of the trial, was clearly prejudicial to the rights of the party.” Id. (citation omitted). “The assessment is to be made, moreover, in light of the evidence of guilt.” Id. (citation omitted). Appellants urge the conclusion that the district court utilized prejudicial analogies when explaining its evidentiary rulings to the jury. For example, the district court explained that the silver coins could be placed into evidence, but could not be sent back with the jury for jurors to examine, just as narcotics can be placed in evidence, but not sent back with the jury. The district court analogized the chain of custody utilized in narcotics cases to the introduction of records seized from a residence. The district court also utilized what it characterized as the “ridiculous example” of an organized crime figure having a business purpose in the process of addressing whether a witness could testify regarding a possible business purpose underlying Kahre’s payroll system. Although the district court utilized analogies, its comments did not undermine Appellants’ defense. It is presumed that the jury followed the district court’s instructions that it was not to give any weight to the court’s explanatory comments. See Scott, 642 F.3d at 800. These comments do not justify a new trial, particularly in view of the strong evidence of guilt. See id. at 799. 48 UNITED STATES V. KAHRE Although Appellants complain that the district court improperly objected to the defense’s cross-examination and denigrated counsel, the record does not reflect that the district court interfered with or impeded the defense’s crossexamination at all. Contrary to Appellants’ assertion that the district court denigrated counsel by impermissibly objecting to the defense’s cross-examination, the record reflects that the district court interrupted those questions that were deemed irrelevant or inappropriate. For example, the district court interrupted defense counsel when he asked a witness if escrow could close if “the person may not have remembered signing it because they were intoxicated when they signed it[.]” The district court also interrupted a witness who was reading from documents although the witness lacked any personal knowledge of the transaction related to the documents. When defense counsel argued that government witnesses had been allowed to read from documents, the district court replied that “[t]o the extent the Government did it and nobody objected, they shouldn’t have. . . .” The other asserted instances in which the district court interrupted cross-examination similarly reflect that the district court properly intervened to frame the questioning. Appellants made no showing that the district court’s rulings in controlling the proceedings were incorrect, or that they were unable to mount an effective defense. In sum, the district court did not improperly impede Appellants’ presentation of their case. See United States v. Gurolla, 333 F.3d 944, 958 (9th Cir. 2003) (explaining that the district court’s rulings regarding cross-examination constitute reversible error only in the event the rulings resulted in the denial of a fair trial). Appellants’ assertion that the district court interrupted Loglia’s testimony and denigrated Loglia’s good faith belief in the wage payment system is similarly unavailing. During UNITED STATES V. KAHRE 49 his testimony, Loglia stated that he relied in part on Civil War era cases for his use of gold and silver coins for wage payments. The district court did not denigrate Loglia’s reliance on the case law. Rather, the district court accurately clarified that the weight the jury gave to a legal opinion admitted into evidence may be affected by changes in legal precedent. By way of example, the district court simply remarked that an individual could not rely in good faith on “Plessy v. Ferguson that used to say separate but equal was okay in schooling. . . .” The district court also did not commit reversible error when it merely observed that prior case law did not “represent the law that applies to this case, nor did it ever, by the way. It’s the effect on Mr. Loglia that counts.” Contrary to Appellants’ assertions, neither did the district court denigrate Loglia’s reliance on an IRS letter that purportedly supported the wage payment system. The government objected to admission of the letter based on its lack of authentication, and the district court innocuously remarked that it was not uncommon for government letters to be fabricated. However, the district court admitted the letter into evidence because “if [Loglia] actually got the document and relied on it, thinking it was real, that’s what counts. It’s not whether in fact it was real.” Appellants further contend that the district court impermissibly explained the government’s theory of the case when making its evidentiary rulings. Appellants fault the district court for commenting on the government’s theory that Lori Kahre acted as a straw buyer for the silver coins; that the government’s charges were based on a conspiracy; that the government’s argument was that the gold clause contracts were a sham; and that the government’s challenge to a witness was premised on the witness’s bad acts. However, 50 UNITED STATES V. KAHRE the record reflects that the district court did not impermissibly explain the government’s theory. Instead, the district court merely remarked that “[o]ne of the contentions of the Government in this case is that Ms. Kahre was simply a straw buyer and that the real owner was Mr. Kahre . . . So that’s for the jury to decide,” and that “it is the Government’s contention these people were all in conspiracy together. So I don’t know what your objection is.” In permitting testimony concerning an unindicted coconspirator, the district court simply observed that waiver of the hearsay rule was warranted “[b]ecause it’s the whole government theory the reason [the unindicted coconspirator] was doing all these chicaneries was because he was in league with [Appellants]. . . .” The district court also passively noted the government’s position that a gold clause contract utilized by Appellants was “a sham because it’s a device by which they are alleging Mr. Kahre used to avoid paying taxes. That is what they’re claiming.” In each case, the district court referred to the government’s theory as it related to evidentiary issues and clarified that it was within the province of the jury to determine the validity of the government’s theory. Thus, we conclude that Appellants are not entitled to a new trial based on the district court’s comments or conduct. Our conclusion is further supported by the strength of the government’s case, and the court’s curative instructions. See Scott, 642 F.3d at 800.