Opinion ID: 752949
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: What Defendant Must Show

Text: 16 We next consider decisional law. Prior to 1995, circuit courts disagreed about whether the government or the defendant bore the responsibility of showing the defendant's intent and ability to produce the alleged quantity of drugs. See United States v. Argencourt, 996 F.2d 1300, 1307 n. 10 (1st Cir.1993) (discussing disagreement). The language at the heart of this disagreement was found in Application Note 12, following the statement just quoted in the preceding section. That language read, where the court finds that the defendant did not intend to produce and was not reasonably capable of producing the negotiated amount, the court shall exclude from the guideline calculation the amount that it finds the defendant did not intend to produce and was not reasonably capable of producing. Amendment 518, U.S.S.G.App. C at 342. In Hendrickson, we decided that under this language, the burden of proof rested on the government. See Hendrickson, 26 F.3d at 332, 345. 17 In 1995, the language of Application Note 12 was changed to provide 18 If, however, the defendant establishes that he or she did not intend to provide, or was not reasonably capable of providing, the agreed-upon quantity of the controlled substance, the court shall exclude from the offense level determination the amount of controlled substance that the defendant establishes that he or she did not intend to provide or was not reasonably capable of providing. 19 U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1, comment. (n.12); Amendment 518, U.S.S.G.App. C at 342 (emphasis added). 20 The repeated use of the phrase, the defendant establishes, strongly suggests that for a district court to calculate a base offense level lower than that called for by the government's proof, the defendant must produce some evidence of his or her lack of intent or capability. We hinted at this in Desimone when we stated that where a defendant disavows a prior representation of his intent and ability to obtain narcotics, the sentencing court must consider those contradictory statements in its assessment of the defendant's capability and intent. 119 F.3d at 229. 21 The explanatory text included in the amendment says nothing to undermine our conclusion. The reason for the amended commentary was that [d]isputes over the interpretation of this application note have produced much litigation. Amendment 518, U.S.S.G.App. C at 344. This statement is then followed by a string citation of cases from eight circuits, not including this Circuit. Those cases demonstrate a lack of consensus as to where the burden of proof to establish intent and ability lies. See, e.g., United States v. Tillman, 8 F.3d 17, 19 (11th Cir.1993) (burden on government); United States v. Smiley, 997 F.2d 475, 480-81 n. 7 (8th Cir.1993) (acknowledging circuits' discord and suggesting burden on defendant); United States v. Barnes, 993 F.2d 680, 683-84 (9th Cir.1993) (burden on defendant); United States v. Rodriguez, 975 F.2d 999, 1008 (3d Cir.1992) (implicitly assigning burden to government); United States v. Christian, 942 F.2d 363, 368 (6th Cir.1991) (burden on defendant); United States v. Richardson, 939 F.2d 135, 142-43 (4th Cir.1991) (finding no evidence of ability in the record, but not deciding which side has burden); United States v. Ruiz, 932 F.2d 1174, 1183-84 (7th Cir.1991) (burden on government); United States v. Bradley, 917 F.2d 601, 605 (1st Cir.1990) (burden on government). 22 It is important to recognize that the amendment to Application Note 12 does not answer the question of who carries the ultimate burden of proof with respect to intent or ability. Somewhat ironically--considering why the new language was inserted--this silence fails to explain exactly what dispute the amendment is designed to address, or in what way the dispute is to be resolved. With the amendment giving no strong direction, we do not see it as requiring us to rule differently than we did in Hendrickson and Desimone. 23 Instead, we interpret the amendment to impose some burden of production on a defendant, requiring him to respond with more than counsel's argument that his client lacked intent and ability. In this case, the district court suggested defendant's own testimony as a potential source of evidence, but other possibilities may exist. In any event, we conclude that a defendant has the burden to respond to evidence produced by the prosecution, which the sentencing court uses in determining a base offense level, although the ultimate burden of proof with respect to intent and ability rests with the government. III Whether the Burdens Have Been Met 24 We pass now to an analysis of whether the respective burdens have been discharged. Since no one disputes including in Shitrit's sentence the 400 ecstasy pills sold in October 1995, we limit analysis to the roughly 4,400 pills involved in the December 11, 1995 shipment. A. Quantity of Pills 25 Defendant's conversation with Israel Hazut on December 11, 1995 clearly establishes that the agreed-upon quantity was 4,440 playboy pills. Further, approximately 4,400 playboy pills were seized and sent to a lab for testing. Defendant does not contest the actual number of pills sent to New York. Thus, the government has adequately proven how many pills were involved in the shipment. B. Defendant's Intent and Ability 26 The main evidence submitted on defendant's intent and ability to sell a controlled substance--the taped conversations--satisfy the preponderance of the evidence standard of proof. Two different admissions by Shitrit of his intent to sell genuine playboy pills to Hazut are found in the tapes. One is his statement during the December 7, 1995 telephone call that he sent 10 sample pills to Hazut. The other is his statement during the December 11, 1995 telephone call that he mailed 4,440 pills, scheduled to arrive that same day. 27 The Hendrickson court equated intent with agree. See 26 F.3d at 333 ([T]he Government was required to prove that the conspirators intended to produce, i.e., agreed to produce, such amounts.). In that case, the defendant at one time merely proposed to transport an amount of heroin from Nigeria, and his original sentence incorporated that amount even though he never initiated or followed through on that plan. We found insufficient evidence of intent and remanded for resentencing. See id. at 341. In contrast, Shitrit plainly agreed in his two phone calls with Hazut to ship thousands of playboy pills to New York City, and in fact sent two packages. While we certainly would not expect to hear Shitrit confess to his buyers that he was purposefully sending counterfeit drugs so as to defraud them, we cannot ignore that on their face, these statements by defendant indicate an intent to sell a controlled substance. Moreover, negotiations ordinarily constitute reliable admissions as to a defendant's intent to produce a particular quantity of narcotics in the course of a conspiracy. Desimone, 119 F.3d at 229. 28 In addition, defendant sold and admits to selling on an earlier occasion 400 genuine playboy pills, which sale was included in the indictment. The lab report and defendant's own admission before the magistrate judge at the time his guilty plea was entered corroborate his involvement in that illegal drug sale. The district court also emphasized--and rightfully so--the significance of defendant having called Michel El on the night of December 11, 1995 to warn him that the package of 4,440 pills was hot. The thrust of the conversation is that Shitrit called ahead to avoid implicating himself, Hazut, and El in an illegal drug sale. 29 Taken together, the above evidence satisfies the government's burden of showing that defendant believed the playboy pills contained the drug ecstasy. See United States v. Oviedo, 525 F.2d 881, 882-83 & n. 4 (5th Cir.1976) (summarily dismissing defendant's claim that insufficient evidence existed to establish his belief that sham heroin was in fact genuine heroin after noting that defendant had secreted the substance in his apartment and negotiated to sell heroin to an undercover agent).