Opinion ID: 793808
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 40 Carlton also challenges the evidence presented at his hearing on the grounds that it was insufficient to support his convictions on Specifications 1 and 2. As to Specification 1, the commission of the Ardsley robbery, he avers the district court erred by applying the preponderance standard to its findings; by giving credence to Shaw's testimony despite his mind-boggling criminal record; and by overstating the evidence corroborating Shaw's testimony. As to Specification 2, the conspiracy to commit a second bank robbery, Carlton maintains that, under any standard of proof, there was insufficient evidence to sustain a conspiracy finding because the requisite element of criminal agreement was lacking. That is to say, by presenting only evidence implicating Shaw and Carlton, the government failed to establish a conspiracy because Shaw, as a government informant, could not have formed the requisite criminal agreement with Carlton. We may dispense with these issues rather quickly, noting that we review a district court's finding of a violation of supervised release only for an abuse of discretion and its factual findings for clear error. See United States v. Marshall, 371 F.3d 42, 45 (2d Cir.2004); United States v. Thomas, 239 F.3d 163, 168 (2d Cir.2001). 41 1. Commission of the Ardsley Bank Robbery. Carlton's challenge to the proof in Specification 1 is without merit. First, as discussed above, accusations proved by a preponderance of evidence do not violate the Fifth or Sixth Amendments in the context of supervised release. Moreover, the district court acted pursuant to its statutory authority in find[ing] by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant violated a condition of supervised release, 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(3), and hence committed no error by applying that standard. 42 Second, the trial court did not err by crediting Shaw's testimony despite his lengthy criminal history. We accord strong deference to a district court's credibility determinations, particularly where that court based its findings on such determinations. United States v. John Doe # 1, 272 F.3d 116, 124 (2d Cir.2001). Here, Shaw's lengthy criminal history consisted mainly of misdemeanor convictions which the trial court apparently found of not much concern for credibility purposes. The court was entitled to do so because the government is often saddled with imperfect witnesses, and the finder of fact must evaluate their testimony despite the witnesses' shortcomings. United States v. Schneider, 395 F.3d 78, 87 (2d Cir.2005). 43 Third, the trial court was similarly entitled to deference in its finding that the other evidence—particularly Carlton's recorded conversation explicitly acknowledging his participation in the Ardsley robbery—corroborated Shaw's testimony, and appellant's attempt to disparage that court's reasoning in this regard is unpersuasive. Our own review of the record leads us to agree that the evidence was compelling. In short, there is no colorable claim of insufficient evidence with regard to Specification 1. 44 2. Conspiracy to Commit Another Bank Robbery. We turn now to Specification 2, the conspiracy to commit an additional bank robbery. To convict a defendant of such a conspiracy, the government must prove, among other things, that the person charged with conspiracy. . . knowingly joined and participated in it. . . . The agreement between the party charged and his co-conspirators is the gist of the crime of conspiracy. United States v. Jones, 393 F.3d 107, 111 (2d Cir.2004). The agreement to conspire requires that at least two culpable co-conspirators agree, and a person who enters into such an agreement while acting as an agent of the government, either directly or as a confidential informant, lacks the criminal intent necessary to render him a bona fide co-conspirator. United States v. Vazquez, 113 F.3d 383, 387 (2d Cir.1997). 45 The government conceded at oral argument that the requisite agreement was not formed between Carlton and Shaw. Instead, it proposed an altogether novel theory—one it did not propose to the district court—that the agreement occurred between unnamed and unknown co-conspirators other than Shaw. The government's brief cites as support for this argument the fact that Carlton approached Shaw with a proposed additional robbery, was captured on tape making reference to the planned robbery, and had just finished successfully completing the Ardsley robbery with three other individuals. At oral argument and despite repeated requests from the panel to marshal the facts for the specification, the government provided no additional support. Essentially, it declared that the district court must have inferred a conspiracy with unknown others because it could not have inferred a conspiracy with Shaw. 46 We find this argument unpersuasive based on the record before us. To begin with, to reason that the district court must have inferred a conspiracy with unspecified co-conspirators because it could not, consistent with the law, have found a conspiracy with Shaw, is to presume that the district court was in some way correct with regard to the conspiracy charge— i.e., that its finding was somehow supported by sufficient evidence. That of course is the question squarely before this Court, and to assume its answer is inappropriate. Further, the district court did not cite any specific evidence—nor do we discern any from the present record—to support the inference that Carlton's use of accomplices in conducting past bank robberies necessarily implies his use of co-conspirators in future robberies. In fact, the best evidence for tending to show the existence of the conspiracy, according to the government's own lawyer, suggests precisely the opposite. 47 I think the best evidence comes from the [recorded] conversation about the Wachovia Bank robbery, where Mr. Carlton says, $13,000, referring to Wachovia. He then says, We get more than that `cause there's just two of us, meaning when we do the next robbery, there's only going to be two of us. 48 Indeed, this statement by the government attorney may be construed as an implicit admission that the evidence on the second specification is legally deficient. Finally, not only did the government make clear to the district court that the sole potential co-conspirator was Shaw and fail to present any evidence otherwise; but also it raised its novel theory regarding unspecified co-conspirators for the first time on appeal, developing this theory only at oral argument before us. It is noteworthy that the federal grand jury's indictment against Carlton charging him for the Ardsley robbery (which came down after completion of Carlton's revocation hearing) does not charge him with a conspiracy to commit an additional bank robbery. 49 In sum, the present record does not support the district court's finding that appellant violated the terms of his supervised release by engaging in a conspiracy to commit an additional bank robbery. We must therefore vacate the district court's finding with respect to Specification 2 and remand for further proceedings.