Opinion ID: 77212
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Testimony of Witnesses

Text: (1) Huger's Testimony 7 All four Appellants contend that the district court erred in excluding the testimony of co-conspirator Celestine Huger, the Social Security Administration employee who was one of the leaders of the overall scheme. 2 Ndiaye notes that the theory of the Government at trial was that Huger was an integral part of and mover of the alleged conspiracy. The Government's key witness, Matar Fall, testified that he met Huger at a flea market, where they initially discussed their scheme. Fall testified that Huger wanted him to pay her money for bringing individuals to her to receive social security documents so that they might ultimately receive their Social Security cards, and Fall also indicated that Huger had received money for each transaction in the conspiracy. 8 Ndiaye alleges that rather than calling Huger as a witness, she was woodshedded by the Government. When counsel subpoenaed Huger, the Government filed a motion to exclude her testimony on the ground that it would be collateral to the proceeding. The district court ruled that the testimony would, in fact, be excluded. Huger was then called by Ndiaye so that he might proffer her testimony. Her testimony, as proffered, would have included the following: (1) Huger was told by Fall that she was trapped and would have to follow his instructions; (2) She initially helped Fall get his social security documents; (3) At first she did not believe what she was doing was illegal but later became aware that it was; (4) Money was not discussed but was merely paid to her; (5) Fall wanted her to do twenty cases a day, but she only wanted to do five; (6) She told agents of the Government, when they came to her, that she was being blackmailed by Fall; (7) Fall made comments on more than one occasion that could be interpreted as threats after Huger told him she was tired of being involved with him; (8) Huger had never heard of 185 Mitchell Street (the address for the salon that Ndiaye owned); and (9) Fall wanted to date Huger. 9 When proffered evidence is of substantial probative value, and will not tend to prejudice or confuse, all doubt should be resolved in favor of admissibility. United States v. Todd, 108 F.3d 1329, 1332 (11th Cir.1997) (internal quotations omitted). In Todd, this Court determined that a district court abused its discretion in excluding testimony which went directly to the issue of intent. See id. at 1334. 10 Despite having heard the proffer, the district court excluded the testimony in this case as collateral. Ndiaye contends that the testimony was relevant, and indeed critical to his defense. It would have served to impeach Fall, the crucial witness against the Appellants. It would have also demonstrated that Fall was a manipulative, if not threatening individual who would do what he needed in order to accomplish his goals. Most importantly, the testimony would have supported Ndiaye's defense that Fall was the only one orchestrating where and to whom the fraudulent documents were going. This would have been consistent with Ndiaye's theory that Fall or others instructed those who applied for documents to use the 185 Mitchell Street address without the Appellant's knowledge or consent. 11 Sumbodo 3 notes that a defendant has a Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him. Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 404, 85 S.Ct. 1065, 1068, 13 L.Ed.2d 923 (1965). He contends that the effective confrontation of a witness necessarily includes a right to impeach the witness with conflicting evidence. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 403, relevant evidence is admissible unless its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Sumbodo contends that Huger's testimony would have impeached Fall's testimony about profits. Her testimony would have supported Sumbodo's claim that he did not keep any portion of the fees. 12 Diaw alleges that if allowed to testify, Celestine Huger could have impeached Matar Fall on matters that, though appearing to be minor, were substantial building blocks in the prosecution of Ms. Diaw based upon their comparison to other minimal evidence of her conspiracy. 4 Diaw further notes that at the time of the trial in this case, Huger had already pled guilty to her participation in the crime and had been cooperating with the Government. 13 Diaw alleges that during the trial, a witness testified that Fall had told her that he was going to send his wife to the Social Security office to expedite that witness's documents. Diaw further notes Fall also testified that he had sent his wife to the Social Security office on one occasion. When he was confronted with the specific Social Security card application, however, Fall testified that he was familiar with his wife's handwriting and the application was not signed by his wife. Diaw contends that if allowed to testify, Huger could have also refuted the offered testimony by testifying that she could recognize Malene Diaw and that Diaw did not bring someone else's Social Security card application to her for processing. Huger's testimony would, therefore, have served to cast doubt on Fall's accusation that he had sent his wife to the office to help with the witness's documents. 14 Based on the foregoing, Diaw contends that Huger's testimony would have been relevant and should not have been excluded pursuant to the Rule 403 balancing test. Diaw asserts that the exclusion of this testimony was prejudicial to her efforts to establish her lack of involvement in this crime. 15 The Government contends that the proffer of Huger's testimony demonstrated that it was irrelevant, as the impeachment of Fall was on a collateral matter. Federal Rule of Evidence 608(1)(b) provides in pertinent part: Specific instances of the conduct of a witness, for the purpose of attacking or supporting the witness' character for truthfulness . . . may not be proved by extrinsic evidence. See also United States v. Marino, 277 F.3d 11, 24 (1st Cir.2002) (A matter is collateral if the matter itself is not relevant in the litigation to establish a fact of consequence, i.e., not relevant for a purpose other than mere contradiction of the in-court testimony of the witness.) (internal quotations omitted). The Government further alleges that even if the testimony should have been allowed, Ndiaye and Sumbodo have failed to show prejudice and Diaw and Aimasiko have failed to show plain error. Even where an abuse of discretion is shown, non-constitutional evidentiary errors are not grounds for reversal absent a reasonable likelihood that the defendant's substantial rights were affected. United States v. Range, 94 F.3d 614, 620 (11th Cir.1996). The Government further argues that allowing defense counsel to pursue impeachment on a wholly collateral matter or matters would have confused the issues and misled the jury. Therefore, the exclusion of the testimony was within the district judge's discretion under Rule 403. 16 The Government notes that Huger testified in her proffer that she never met Ndiaye and did not know him. Moreover, she knew nothing about Fall's middlemen. Accordingly, the Government contends that Huger could provide no additional information about the scheme as it pertained to Ndiaye or any of the defendants on trial. The areas in which Fall's and Huger's testimony differed had no relevance to the participation in or knowledge of the conspiracy by the defendants on trial. Significantly, counsel for each of the defendants was able to thoroughly cross-examine Fall as to the facts of the conspiracy. Thus, there was no violation of a right to confrontation. 17 As for Sumbodo's argument regarding the issue of whether Sumbodo participated in the conspiracy to make a profit, the Government contends that there was no testimony proffered by Sumbodo to indicate that Huger had any knowledge concerning the prices Fall charged to customers of various nationalities. Counsel for Sumbodo cross-examined Fall concerning what he charged Indonesian customers. Consequently, the Government contends that even if this Court finds that the district court should have allowed Huger to testify, the Appellants were not prejudiced by that court's evidentiary ruling. 18 Ndiaye notes that the Government acknowledges that Huger processed the SSNs based on fraudulent immigration documents . . . provided by Fall. He contends, therefore, that Huger was an integral part of the conspiracy. Ndiaye alleges that not only was the testimony of Huger relevant and not collateral, it was crucial to his defense. Huger would have testified that Fall alone solicited or even pressured her to participate in the fraudulent scheme. Moreover, Huger would have testified as to threats made by Fall, such as when he allegedly said that she would wish that [she] never walked the streets if she did not continue to participate in the scheme. Huger also would have testified that she had never been to Ndiaye's address at 185 Mitchell or even heard of this address prior to counsel's question. 19 Ndiaye contends that Huger's testimony would have done much more than simply demonstrate that Matar Fall is a manipulative individual. Ndiaye reiterates that, most importantly, the testimony would have bolstered his defense that Fall was the only one orchestrating where and to whom the fraudulent documents were going, given that his defense to the charge of the conspiracy was that Fall, or others, instructed those who applied for documents to use the 185 Mitchell Street address without Ndiaye's knowledge or consent. 20 Ndiaye also alleges that the Government's reliance on Marino, 277 F.3d at 24, is misplaced. He contends that case is inapposite for a couple of reasons. First, the witness in Marino was not involved in the case, as Huger was in this case, but was merely a witness to the charge of attempted murder against Marino. See id. at 23-24. Moreover, Ndiaye asserts that the charges against that defendant, conspiracy to commit murder and various RICO violations, were actually collateral to the witness's involvement in any prior drug dealing; thus, such testimony was properly excluded. See id. We agree that because of the different factual scenarios between the cases, the First Circuit's analysis in Marino is not applicable to this case. 21 Based on the foregoing, therefore, Ndiaye alleges that the proffered testimony of Huger was neither collateral nor irrelevant. Accordingly, the probative value of that testimony substantially outweighs the dangers of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, possibility of misleading the jury, consideration of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of evidence under Rule 403. Ndiaye notes that this Court has observed that excluding evidence under Rule 403 is an extraordinary remedy that should be used only sparingly since it permits the trial court to exclude concededly probative evidence. United States v. Chandler, 996 F.2d 1073, 1101 (11th Cir.1993). 22 Sumbodo alleges testimony that impeaches the relevant testimony of the star Government witness and lead defendant is not a collateral matter. He contends that Huger's testimony would have impeached Fall about his conspiratorial relationships, his conduct during the conspiracy, and his profits from the conspiracy. Sumbodo notes, moreover, that Fall and Huger were the organizers of the entire conspiracy. Fall may have lied about his relationship with Huger and his own conduct in the conspiracy. However, the defendants were still barred from calling Huger to impeach Fall. 23 Sumbodo claims that one of the critical issues in his case is whether he profited by assisting other Indonesian applicants. The jury would reasonably construe a profit motive as evidence of knowledge, criminal intent, or even deliberate indifference. Sumbodo's sentence was also enhanced because of this profit motive. Sumbodo contends that the only evidence that he acted for profit was the testimony of Fall, who claimed that he charged the Indonesian applicants less than the fee charged by Sumbodo. The Government asserted at trial that Sumbodo profited by keeping the additional fee. Sumbodo claims that Huger would have impeached Fall's testimony about the profits he obtained from applicant fees. Moreover, Huger's testimony would have verified that Fall was lying about his own profits. Fall attributed substantial profits to Huger that were actually kept by him. Sumbodo contends that this testimony would have necessarily supported Sumbodo's contention that he was unaware of the conspiracy and that Fall kept all of the profits from Indonesian applicants. 24 There is little question as to why the Government sought to exclude the testimony of Celestine Huger. Matar Fall was a crucial Government witness and her testimony would have no doubt portrayed him as a manipulative, if not threatening individual. The district court determined that it would disallow the testimony because [Huger] would only testify as to collateral matters. Much of the testimony, as proffered by Ndiaye, does appear to relate to collateral matters. It is difficult to see how some of the testimony — specifically Fall's alleged threats and blackmail, his desire to pursue a personal relationship, Huger's initial belief that what she was doing was not illegal, and the number of cases she wanted to do per day, as opposed to how many Fall wanted her to do — would have been relevant to any issue raised by these Appellants, except that it would have portrayed the Government's star witness in a negative light. Ndiaye and the other Appellants had the opportunity to accomplish this in cross-examining Fall. At the hearing when Huger's testimony was proffered, the only questions asked by counsel for the Government were whether Huger knew or recognized Amadou Fall Ndiaye. Huger responded that she did not know the name and had never seen Ndiaye. 25 The most relevant portion of Huger's proffered testimony would appear to be her statement that she had not heard of 185 Mitchell Street, the address for the salon that Ndiaye owned with his wife and where certain documents were sent. Huger would have testified that she was unfamiliar with any of the addresses on the documents submitted. Ndiaye contends this would have bolstered his defense that Fall was the only one determining where and to whom the fraudulent documents were going. Moreover, Ndiaye contends this would have been consistent with his defense to the charge of conspiracy that Fall or others instructed those who applied for Social Security numbers to use the 185 Mitchell Street address without Ndiaye's knowledge or consent. 26 We believe that the better course would have been to allow Huger's testimony. Even though Huger would have testified that she was unfamiliar with the 185 Mitchell Street address, however, we are unable to see how this would have helped Ndiaye's defense to the conspiracy charge. Huger's proffered testimony would not have refuted Fall's testimony that six fraudulently obtained Social Security cards were mailed to Ndiaye's business at 185 Mitchell Street or that he picked up customers referred by Ndiaye from that same address. Other evidence linking Ndiaye to the conspiracy came from two customers, Ndao and Leye, who testified that Fall picked them up at Ndiaye's hair braiding shop and took them to apply for Social Security numbers. While the evidence against Ndiaye on the conspiracy charge may not have been overwhelming, the fact that Huger did not know about the connection to his business address would have been of little assistance. In short, we conclude that the district court's exclusion of Huger's testimony as to Ndiaye was not an abuse of discretion. 27 Sumbodo also preserved his objection to the district court's ruling that Celestine Huger's testimony was collateral. There is a dispute between Huger and Fall regarding how much Huger was paid. According to Huger, Fall decided how much he would pay her. Huger stated that Fall paid her an average of $800 to $1,000 per week and never paid her more than $1,500 for one week. Fall testified that Huger had demanded and received payments of $2,500 per week. 28 Sumbodo contends that Huger's testimony would have impeached Fall about his conspiratorial relationships, his conduct during the conspiracy, and his profits during the conspiracy. Sumbodo further claims that the only evidence he acted for profit was the testimony of Fall, who stated that he charged the Indonesian applicants less than the fee charged by Sumbodo. The Government alleged that Sumbodo profited by keeping the additional fees. Sumbodo asserts that because Huger stated that Fall attributed substantial profits to her that were actually kept by Fall, Huger's testimony would have demonstrated that Fall was lying about his own profits. Sumbodo claims this would have necessarily supported his defense that he was unaware of the conspiracy and that Fall kept all of the profits from the Indonesian applicants. 29 There is nothing in Huger's proffered testimony presented by Ndiaye which indicates that she had knowledge of any arrangement regarding how Fall and Sumbodo would divide profits, and Sumbodo did not proffer any testimony regarding Huger's knowledge of the conspiracy. Accordingly, there is nothing in the record which indicates that Huger had any knowledge regarding the prices that customers of various nationalities were charged. Moreover, Huger did not even know Sumbodo. Therefore, we are unable to see how her testimony would have assisted Sumbodo's defense to the conspiracy charge except that, as we previously noted, it would have perhaps portrayed Fall as a person of questionable character. Additionally, Sumbodo's counsel had the opportunity to cross-examine Fall regarding the amount that he charged the Indonesian customers. 30 It is also worth noting that there was testimony in addition to that of Fall which supported Sumbodo's conspiracy conviction. Sasikin testified that Sumbodo had told him that Fall was his Boss, and that Fall made fake visas that were to be submitted with customers' Social Security applications. Sasikin also stated that Sumbodo informed him who to talk to and how to proceed when he went to the Social Security office. 31 We are unable to see how Huger's testimony would have impeached Fall about his conspiratorial relationships, his conduct during the conspiracy, and his profits during the conspiracy. Because Huger apparently had little or no knowledge about these topics, her testimony would have likely demonstrated only that Fall was a person of questionable character. Accordingly, the district court's exclusion of Huger's testimony as to Sumbodo was not an abuse of discretion. 32 Diaw and Aimasiko also allege that the district court erred in excluding Huger's testimony. We do not correct an error that a defendant failed to raise in the district court, unless it is an error that is plain and affects substantial rights. See United States v. Ramirez, 426 F.3d 1344, 1358 (11th Cir.2005). If those conditions are satisfied, we may correct only those errors which affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Id. (internal quotations omitted). Diaw and Aimasiko are unable to establish that the exclusion of Huger's testimony constituted plain error. 33 We conclude that the exclusion of Huger's testimony was not an abuse of discretion. 34 (2) Limitation of Cross-examination 35 Diaw contends that she attempted to establish in her cross-examination of Special Agent Christopher Wright that her husband, co-defendant Matar Fall, in his interview with Fall on the date of his arrest, did not implicate and in fact exonerated his wife in his dealings with Huger. Diaw asserts that Agent Wright's interview of Fall contained Fall's complete vindication of his wife for using the addresses and that she had nothing to do with it. Diaw notes that neither the Government nor the district judge disputed the relevancy of the evidence. The Government objected that the matter was collateral-that Diaw's counsel could not question the agent on a matter that could be used to impeach Fall. Diaw contends that if this relevant information had been made known to the jury, she would likely not have been convicted on Count One, given that the evidence supporting a conviction was inferential. Agent Wright could have rendered credible the testimony of chief conspirator Fall. The district court ruled that the evidence to be elicited was impeaching Mr. Fall, so it is collateral. So I have to sustain the objection. 36 The denial of a defendant's Confrontation Clause right to cross-examination is examined for harmless error. See Olden v. Kentucky, 488 U.S. 227, 232, 109 S.Ct. 480, 483, 102 L.Ed.2d 513 (1988). The correct inquiry is whether, assuming that the damaging potential of the cross-examination were fully realized, a reviewing court might nonetheless say that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Id., 109 S.Ct. at 483. 37 Diaw contends that she should have been permitted to examine Agent Wright to render credible the testimony of chief conspirator Fall about his wife. She claims that the agent's testimony would have bolstered that of Fall, who testified that his wife had nothing to do with using the three addresses at issue in the case. Moreover, Agent Wright may have reiterated Fall's testimony that Diaw constantly argued with her husband regarding the questionable activity engaged in by Fall. Diaw asserts that she was deprived of the ability to establish by the agent's admission that Fall stated to Agent Wright in his post-arrest interview that he used those addresses, they were not set up by his wife, and were his own design. 38 The Government notes that there was no proffer as to what Agent Wright's testimony would have been. However, defense counsel stated he was trying to reiterate Fall's testimony that Fall was responsible for using the addresses where the Social Security cards were mailed. The Government contends this would have merely been cumulative of other evidence. A district court may limit the scope of cross-examination when appropriate. United States v. Gonzalez, 71 F.3d 819, 835-36 (11th Cir.1996). In this case, the district court did not allow Diaw to ask whether Fall told Agent Wright that he was the one responsible for the Social Security cards mailed to Diaw's business addresses, determining this matter to be collateral. 39 As the Government alleges, Fall had already testified that he chose the addresses where the cards were mailed and that Diaw did not want him to sell Social Security numbers or use her business addresses. If Fall's testimony had been inconsistent on this issue, then it would be easy to understand why Diaw would want to present Agent Wright's testimony. However, there was no difference between Fall's trial testimony and his statement to the agent upon his arrest. In both cases, Fall minimized his wife's role in the conspiracy. Accordingly, the testimony that Diaw sought to elicit from Agent Wright would have been cumulative and collateral. Any error was harmless, and it was within the district court's discretion to exclude the testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 403. 40 Ndiaye also contends that counsel sought to elicit from witnesses the facts that had earlier been related by Fall to agents in his numerous debriefings. 5 Counsel sought to elicit from Special Agent Leonard Cabe, who had testified in the Government's case, information that had earlier been related to him by Fall pertaining to Ndiaye's wife passing documents to Fall (as opposed to Ndiaye). Ndiaye also sought to elicit testimony from the agent regarding Fall's alleged statements to agents about Ndiaye's warnings to Fall about not engaging in any wrongdoing. All purported questions for Special Agent Cabe relating to Fall's statements regarding his relationship with Ndiaye's wife, her possible involvement in the offense, and inconsistent statements given by Fall were excluded. Ndiaye alleges the district court's exclusion of relevant evidence, on the ground that it was collateral, served only to insulate the witness against the damning effect of his prior statements, as well as to deny Ndiaye his constitutional rights to a fair jury trial and to confront his accusers. 41 The Government notes that Ndiaye's counsel cross-examined Fall extensively about Ndiaye's role in the scheme. Moreover, Ndiaye's counsel questioned Fall about his prior statements to agents, allowing counsel to establish that Fall's statements had changed from the earlier debriefings. The Government contends that because there was substantial evidence other than Fall's testimony which supported Ndiaye's convictions, any error in excluding certain questions during the cross-examination of Agent Cabe regarding the impeachment of Fall was harmless. 42 Ndiaye further alleges that the evidence he sought to introduce was neither irrelevant nor collateral because it is entirely consistent with his defense to the charge of conspiracy that Fall, or others, instructed those who applied for documents to use the 185 Mitchell Street address without Ndiaye's knowledge or consent. He asserts, therefore, that this Court should find that the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. 43 While we believe that Ndiaye's counsel should have been permitted to cross-examine Agent Cabe about these matters, we conclude that any error in excluding this testimony was harmless. As the Government alleges, counsel was able and did cross-examine Fall about previous inconsistent statements that he made to the agents. Therefore, even though he was not permitted to question Agent Cabe about these topics, Ndiaye was able to present evidence regarding Fall's prior statements minimizing Ndiaye's role in the conspiracy. 44 We conclude that any error in excluding the testimony was harmless and was within the district court's discretion. 45 (3) Diaw's selective prosecution claim 46 Diaw claims that she was selected for prosecution as one of over 2,000 persons who were connected to and engaged in the conspiracy. Diaw sought to establish this by eliciting basic information from Special Agent Wright. The district court determined, however, that further examination of the agent regarding her connection to the conspiracy was a collateral matter not admissible under Rule 403. 47 Diaw alleges that she was singled out for no reason other than she is the wife of Matar Fall, who arranged with Huger to have thousands of social security cards issued to recipients who were not entitled to the cards, and arranged to have the cards mailed to addresses where his wife or his daughters worked and to his home. Diaw contends Special Agent Wright testified that he told Malene Diaw that the reason he had a warrant for her arrest was because of the quantity, the amount of cards that went to two businesses that were in her name and to her house. However, there were approximately 2,000 people who were not prosecuted; these are people who benefitted by paying sizable sums for cards that they knew they were not entitled to. Diaw alleges that every individual indicted, except for her, monetarily profited from the conspiracy and/or brought illegal aliens to Fall and Huger for issuance of Social Security cards. Diaw asserts that counsel sought to examine the agent at trial in order to obtain further information not available by discovery, but the district court deemed the testimony inadmissible on the ground that it was a collateral matter. 48 Diaw alleges that based on the foregoing, one can only conclude that she was prosecuted because of her marriage to Matar Fall or her foreign nationality. She contends that either of these reasons is a suspect basis for selective prosecution. 49 The Government alleges that Diaw failed to raise her selective prosecution claim before trial, as is required by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3)(A). Even if her selective prosecution claim had been properly raised, however, Diaw would be entitled to no relief. 50 As the Government alleges, to establish selective prosecution, a defendant must show that the prosecution was predicated on a constitutionally impermissible motive, such as on the basis of race or religion, or in retaliation for her exercise of constitutional rights. See United States v. Smith, 231 F.3d 800, 807-08 (11th Cir. 2000). Because Diaw argues that she was selectively prosecuted on the basis of being married to Fall, the district court did not abuse its discretion in limiting the cross-examination of Agent Wright on this issue. She also makes brief reference to being prosecuted on the basis of her foreign nationality. That argument obviously lacks merit, given that this entire case is about aliens attempting to obtain documents in order to reside in the United States. 51 We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in limiting the cross-examination of the agent.