Opinion ID: 794243
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Burden of Proof and Standard of Review

Text: 7 To toll a statute of limitations, it is the government's burden to show that a defendant was fleeing from justice. 18 U.S.C. § 3290. In Jhirad v. Ferrandina, 536 F.2d 478, 484-85 (2d Cir.1976) ( Jhirad II ), we concluded that, in the context of an extradition proceeding, this burden can be carried by a preponderance of the evidence. See also Ross v. United States Marshal, 168 F.3d 1190, 1193-94 (10th Cir. 1999) (applying preponderance standard to interpretation of flight under § 3290 in extradition proceeding). Since then, a number of our sister circuits have ruled that a preponderance showing also satisfies the application of § 3290 to a United States criminal prosecution. See United States v. Greever, 134 F.3d 777, 781 (6th Cir.1998); United States v. Marshall, 856 F.2d 896, 900 (7th Cir.1988); United States v. Gonsalves, 675 F.2d 1050, 1054 (9th Cir.1982). As the Ninth Circuit explained, because proof of flight is not determinative of guilt, it is not fairly viewed as an element of the crime of conviction requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Gonsalves, 675 F.2d at 1054 (citing Lego v. Twomey, 404 U.S. 477, 487, 92 S.Ct. 619, 30 L.Ed.2d 618 (1972) (holding that government need only prove voluntariness of confession by preponderance of evidence and noting that guilty verdict is not rendered less reliable . . . simply because the admissibility of a confession is determined by a less stringent standard)). 8 One district court outside this circuit has ruled to the contrary, holding that § 3290 flight must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury just like any other element of the case. United States v. Owens, 965 F.Supp. 158, 163 (D.Mass. 1997). We are not persuaded. Due process demands proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which [a defendant] is charged. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970); see also Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Whether Florez fled from justice is not a fact constituting any part of the narcotics crimes with which he was charged. Rather, it is a fact that determines whether the law will toll the statute of limitations for Florez's prosecution on any non-capital crime. Thus, while proof of Florez's flight may well have been necessary to avoid a statute-of-limitations dismissal of his indictment, such flight did not thereby become an element of the charged narcotics offenses. For this reason, we conclude that the flight necessary to support § 3290 tolling is properly determined by the trial court rather than the jury. 2 Further, we join our sister circuits in holding that, in a criminal prosecution, the government carries its § 3290 burden when it proves a defendant's flight from justice by a preponderance of the evidence. 9 With this burden in mind, we review the district court's findings of fact relevant to the application of § 3290 only for clear error, and we review de novo its legal conclusion that these facts establish flight as specified by the statute. See Ross v. United States Marshal, 168 F.3d at 1193; United States v. Greever, 134 F.3d at 779; cf. United States v. Jaffe, 417 F.3d 259, 263 (2d Cir.2005) (holding that, in reviewing restitution component of sentence, issues of law are reviewed de novo and findings of fact for clear error).