Opinion ID: 1433971
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Were the judicial rulings in Marks and Peoples Bank made in connection with any business, transaction, or series of transactions of the AOC?

Text: In order for section 666 to apply, the bribe must be offered or accepted in connection with any business, transaction, or series of transactions of the agency receiving federal funds. 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B), (2). Thus, the key inquiry on this issue is whether Whitfield and Teel's decisions in Marks and Peoples Bank were connected with the transactions or business of the AOC. Although this court has yet to address the reach of 666 in this particular respect, we note that at least one federal district court has dismissed an indictment brought under similar circumstances. See United States v. Frega, 933 F.Supp. 1536, 1542-43 (S.D.Cal.1996), aff'd in part, rev'd in part on other grounds, 179 F.3d 793 (9th Cir.1999). In Frega, an attorney and two state judges were charged with violating section 666 for a scheme in which the attorney allegedly bribed the judges in exchange for favorable rulings in cases pending in their courts. Id. at 1538. The district court dismissed the section 666 count of the indictment because it failed to allege that federal funds were corruptly administered, were in danger of being corruptly administered, or even could have been corruptly administered. Id. at 1543. As the Frega court observed, § 666 was intended to protect the integrity of federal funds, and not as a general anti-corruption statute.... Of course, state judges could be subject to § 666 in certain circumstances. For example, if the state court system received federal funding for the purpose of appointing counsel in death penalty habeas proceedings, and a state court judge accepted a bribe in exchange for appointing a particular attorney as habeas counsel, § 666 would clearly be implicated, even if the actual funds used to pay counsel were state funds. Id. at 1542-43. The related cases of United States v. Massey, 89 F.3d 1433 (11th Cir.1996), and United States v. Castro, 89 F.3d 1443 (11th Cir.1996), illustrate the point made by the district court in Frega. In those cases, the defendants were convicted under section 666 for their role in a bribery scheme in which state judges accepted kickbacks from attorneys in exchange for appointments as special assistant public defenders, an arrangement which garnered the attorneys (and ultimately the judges) significant fees at the expense of the county (which was a recipient of federal funds, in excess of 90 million a year). Castro, 89 F.3d at 1447-48, 1454; Massey, 89 F.3d at 1436-37. A review of the record in this case makes clear that, insofar as Whitfield and Teel may have been agents of the AOC, their role as such had nothing to do with their capacity as judicial decisionmakers. As stated above, the purpose of the AOC is to assist in the efficient administration of the nonjudicial business of the courts of the state. Miss.Code Ann. § 9-21-1 (1972) (emphasis added). As a fundamental matter, Whitfield and Teel's role in presiding over Marks and Peoples Bank involved the judicial business of the Mississippi courts. If Minor had bribed Whitfield or Teel in exchange for their appointment of a friend or family member as a law clerk or secretary, then section 666 might have been implicated in this case. As it stands, however, the bribes that Whitfield and Teel accepted in conjunction with their handling of Marks and Peoples Bank clearly had no connection with any business, transaction, or series of transactions of the AOC. See 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B), (2). In its supplemental brief, the Government does not deny that appellants raised this point at trial in their Rule 29 motions for a judgment of acquittal. However, the Government protests that appellants failed to raise this issue on appeal. As a general rule, a party waives any argument that it fails to brief on appeal. See FED. R.APP. P. 28(a)(9)(A); Procter & Gamble Co. v. Amway Corp., 376 F.3d 496, 499 n. 1 (5th Cir.2004). However, this court has recognized an exception to this rule whereby we will consider a point of error not raised on appeal when it is necessary to prevent a miscarriage of justice. United States v. Montemayor, 703 F.2d 109, 114 n. 7 (5th Cir.1983). Indeed, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure grant us the authority to reverse a conviction on the basis of plain error, even though the defendant has not raised the issue on appeal. FED.R.CRIM.P. 52(b) (A plain error that affects substantial rights may be considered even though it was not brought to the court's attention.). As the Supreme Court has observed: `In exceptional circumstances, especially in criminal cases, appellate courts, in the public interest, may, of their own motion, notice errors to which no exception has been taken, if the errors are obvious, or if they otherwise seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.' Silber v. United States, 370 U.S. 717, 82 S.Ct. 1287, 1288, 8 L.Ed.2d 798 (1962) (quoting United States v. Atkinson, 297 U.S. 157, 56 S.Ct. 391, 392, 80 L.Ed. 555 (1936)). In Silber the Court reversed a conviction on an issue that it recognized was not presented to the Court of Appeals and was not briefed or argued in this Court. Id. Similarly, in United States v. Musquiz, 445 F.2d 963, 966 (5th Cir.1971), we reversed a conviction for insufficient evidence on a basis not urged below or on appeal, stating We notice this error on our own motion, as we think we are required to do when the error is so obvious that failure to notice it would `seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.' (quoting the above passage from Atkinson quoted in Silber ). See also, e.g., United States v. Gonzalez, 259 F.3d 355, 359 (5th Cir.2001) (We may raise an issue sua sponte `even though it is not assigned or specified' when `plain error is apparent,' quoting United States v. Pineda-Ortuno, 952 F.2d 98, 105 (5th Cir.1992)). [15] We believe that this case presents just such an exceptional circumstance. Whitfield's and Teel's role as presiding judges in Marks and Peoples Bank had no connection with any business, transaction, or series of transactions of the AOC. See 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B), (2). Therefore, by its own plain language, section 666 applies neither to Whitfield's and Teel's acceptance of bribes nor to Minor's offering of bribes in connection with those cases. The Government has cited no authority supporting a contrary conclusion. As such, we hold that the district court committed plain error when it denied appellants' Rule 29 motions for judgment of acquittal on the section 666 counts of the indictment.

Appellants assert that the jury instructions were inadequate because the district court failed to require the Government to prove an explicit quid pro quo in connection with the bribery-related charges. We review a district court's jury instructions for abuse of discretion. United States v. Freeman, 434 F.3d 369, 377 (5th Cir.2005). In doing so, [w]e consider whether the instruction, taken as a whole, `is a correct statement of the law and whether it clearly instructs jurors as to the principles of law applicable to the factual issues confronting them.' Id. (quoting United States v. Daniels, 281 F.3d 168, 183 (5th Cir.2002)). As we have already disposed of the counts related to section 666, we consider the district court's bribery instruction only insofar as it relates to the alleged scheme to deprive the state of Mississippi of its intangible right to Whitfield's and Teel's honest services. In United States v. Brumley, we held that, in order to convict for the federal crime of depriving a state of the honest services of one of its officials, a federal prosecutor must prove that conduct of a state official breached a duty respecting the provision of services owed to the official's employer under state law. 116 F.3d 728, 734 (5th Cir.1997) ( en banc ). However, we were careful to note that, in order to constitute a federal crime, the state statute must concern something close to bribery and that the mere violation of a gratuity statute ... will not suffice. Id. Consistent with that opinion and at the request of all parties, the district court based its definition of bribery in the jury charge on the Mississippi offense of bribery, which prohibits giving things of value to an official with intent to influence his vote, opinion, action or judgment on any question, matter, cause or proceeding which may be then pending, or may be thereafter subject to vote, opinion, action or judgment of the official. Miss.Code Ann. § 97-11-11 (1972). Specifically, the jury charge read as follows: In order to prove the scheme to defraud another of honest services through bribery, the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the particular defendant entered into a corrupt agreement for Paul S. Minor to provide the particular judge with things of value specifically with the intent to influence the action or judgment of the judge on any question, matter, cause or proceeding which may be then or thereafter pending subject to the judge's action or judgment. Additionally, when discussing the mens rea necessary to convict appellants, the district court instructed the jury as follows: You've heard evidence about rulings that then Judge Whitfield and then Judge Teel made on civil cases in which Mr. Minor's law firm represented civil plaintiffs. Such evidence bears on whether the defendant judges had any specific intent to violate the law. That is, a specific intent to take a bribe. In addressing this question, you may consider whether the rulings were accompanied by the judges' honest belief in the law and facts of a particular case rather than a corrupt purpose. This jury charge was also consistent with the language of the Fifth Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions on Bribery of a Public Official under 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(1) and Receiving Bribe by Public Official under 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(2), which require the jury to find that the defendant gave something of value ... corruptly with intent to influence an official act (bribery) or accepted something of value ... corruptly in return for being influenced in his performance of an official act (receiving a bribe). See FIFTH CIRCUIT PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS (Criminal Cases) §§ 2.12, 2.13 (2001). Appellants do not contest the district court's incorporation of the Mississippi definition of bribery in the jury charge. Rather, they claim that, because the loan guarantees were made in the context of the Whitfield and Teel's electoral campaigns, their constitutional right to free political speech is at stake in this case. See Fed. Election Comm'n v. Wis. Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 127 S.Ct. 2652, 2676, 168 L.Ed.2d 329 (2007) (recognizing that contributing money to, and spending money on behalf of, political candidates implicates core First Amendment protections). As such, appellants assert that the Government was required to prove something more than mere bribery under Mississippi law  namely, that there was an explicit quid pro quo involving a specific official act identified at the time that Minor arranged and guaranteed the loans from Peoples Bank. See McCormick v. United States, 500 U.S. 257, 111 S.Ct. 1807, 1815-17, 114 L.Ed.2d 307 (1991). Appellants claim that, by failing to sufficiently require a quid pro quo exchange, the district court allowed the jury to convict them for acts that essentially amounted to gratuity, not bribery. See United States v. Sun-Diamond Growers of California, 526 U.S. 398, 119 S.Ct. 1402, 1406-07, 143 L.Ed.2d 576 (1999). In their proposed jury instructions, appellants requested that the district court instruct the jury that: (1) the thing of value must be given in order to influence or induce a specific official act; (2) a financial transaction is not a bribe unless at the time of the transaction Mr. Minor intended it to cause or accomplish some specific official action by the judge which, at the time of the transaction, was identified by Paul Minor; and (3) [a] corrupt intent exists only if there is a specific quid pro quo for the official to engage in a specific official act in exchange for the thing of value.... Vague expectations of some future benefit are not sufficient to make a payment a bribe. In McCormick, the Supreme Court held that a conviction under the Hobbs Act for extortion under color of official right requires a showing of an explicit quid pro quo when the alleged illegal payments take the form of campaign contributions. 111 S.Ct. at 1817. The Court expressed concern that [t]o hold otherwise would open to prosecution not only conduct that has long been thought to be well within the law but also conduct that in a very real sense is unavoidable so long as election campaigns are financed by private contributions and expenditures. Id. at 1816. Thus, to prove a violation under the Hobbs Act, the Government is required to prove that the payments are made in return for an explicit promise ... to perform or not to perform an official act. Id. In Evans v. United States, the Supreme Court clarified that no overt act is required on the part of the official, because the offense [of extortion under color of official right] is completed at the time when the public official receives a payment in return for his agreement to perform specific official acts. 504 U.S. 255, 112 S.Ct. 1881, 1889, 119 L.Ed.2d 57 (1992) (emphasis added). Therefore, to establish a quid pro quo, the Government need only show that a public official has obtained a payment to which he was not entitled, knowing that the payment was made in return for official acts. Id. McCormick and Evans left open the question of what level of specificity is required to prove a quid pro quo in regard to the  quo  or agreed-upon official act. In United States v. Tomblin, a bribery case involving campaign contributions, we observed that [t]he government need not prove the occurrence of the quid pro quo; proof of the agreement will suffice. 46 F.3d 1369, 1380 (5th Cir.1995) (citing Evans, 112 S.Ct. at 1889). In support of this proposition, we cited with approval to the Second Circuit's decision in United States v. Coyne , which held that the `government does not have to prove an explicit promise to perform a particular act made at the time of payment. Rather, it is sufficient if the public official understands that he or she is expected as a result of the payment to exercise particular kinds of influence ... as specific opportunities arise.' Id. at 1381 n. 19 (quoting United States v. Coyne, 4 F.3d 100, 114 (2d Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1095, 114 S.Ct. 929, 127 L.Ed.2d 221 (1994)). Similarly, while noting that the generalized hope or expectation of ultimate benefit on the part of the donor does not constitute a bribe, the Fourth Circuit has observed that the government need not show that the defendant intended for his payments to be tied to specific official acts. United States v. Jennings, 160 F.3d 1006, 1013-14 (4th Cir. 1998) (internal quotations and citations omitted). The Jennings court went on to explain that all that must be shown is that payments were made with the intent of securing a specific type of official action or favor in return. For example, payments may be made with the intent to retain the official's services on an `as needed' basis, so that whenever the opportunity presents itself the official will take specific action on the payor's behalf. This sort of `I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' arrangement constitutes bribery because the payor made payments with the intent to exchange them for specific official action. Id. at 1014 (emphasis in original) (internal citations omitted). Thus, in the wake of McCormick and Evans, this circuit and others took the position that a particular, specified act need not be identified at the time of payment to satisfy the quid pro quo requirement, so long as the payor and payee agreed upon a specific type of action to be taken in the future. Appellants argue that these cases were abrogated by the Supreme Court's subsequent decision in Sun-Diamond. See 119 S.Ct. at 1406-07, 1411. In that case, the defendant trade association was charged under the federal gratuity statute, 18 U.S.C. § 201(c)(1)(A), for giving various gifts to the Secretary of Agriculture in exchange for his influence in shaping federal regulations affecting the trade association's interests. Id. at 1405. Although describing [the] two matters before the Secretary in which respondent had an interest, the indictment did not allege a specific connection between either of them  or between any other action of the Secretary  and the gratuities conferred. Id. The defendant argued that it could not be convicted under the gratuity statute without a showing that it had offered the allegedly illegal gratuities in exchange for specific official acts. See id. at 1406. To place this argument in context, the Supreme Court outlined the distinction between the related offenses of gratuity and bribery, both of which are contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201: The distinguishing feature of each crime is its intent element. Bribery requires intent `to influence' an official act or `to be influenced' in an official act, while illegal gratuity requires only that the gratuity be given or accepted `for or because of' an official act. In other words, for bribery there must be a quid pro quo  a specific intent to give or receive something of value in exchange for an official act. An illegal gratuity, on the other hand, may constitute merely a reward for some future act that the public official will take (and may already have determined to take), or for a past act that he has already taken. Id. The Court took issue with the portion of the jury charge in Sun-Diamond suggesting that § 201(c)(1)(A), unlike the bribery statute, did not require any connection between respondent's intent and a specific official act. Id. The Court rejected the Government's position that the gratuity statute reaches any effort to buy favor or generalized goodwill from an official who either has been, is, or may at some unknown, unspecified later time, be in a position to act favorably to the giver's interests. Id. at 1407 (emphasis in original) (internal quotations and citations omitted). Instead, the Court concluded that the language of the gratuity statute seems pregnant with the requirement that some particular act be identified and proved. Id. Thus, the Court ultimately held that in order to establish a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201(c)(1)(A), the Government must prove a link between a thing of value conferred upon a public official and a specific `official act' for or because of which it was given. Id. at 1411. Appellants ask this court to extend Sun-Diamond 's reasoning to apply in the context of deprivation of honest services through bribery. In United States v. Kemp, the Third Circuit did just that. 500 F.3d 257, 281 (3rd Cir.2007), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 1329, 170 L.Ed.2d 138 (2008) (finding that Sun-Diamond 's discussion of the quid pro quo required for bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201(b) is equally applicable to bribery in the honest services fraud context). Nevertheless, the Third Circuit determined that the jury charge in question met the standard laid out by the Supreme Court in Sun-Diamond. Id. The contested portion of the district court's jury instruction in Kemp stated that where there is a stream of benefits given by a person to favor a public official, ... it need not be shown that any specific benefit was given in exchange for a specific official act. Id. (internal citation and quotations omitted). In concluding that this was an accurate statement of the law, the court observed that [t]he key to whether a gift constitutes a bribe is whether the parties intended for the benefit to be made in exchange for some official action; the government need not prove that each gift was provided with the intent to prompt a specific official action. Id. at 282 (citing Jennings, 160 F.3d at 1014). In United States v. Kincaid-Chauncey, the Ninth Circuit agreed with the Third Circuit that, in a prosecution for honest services fraud, [w]hen the government's theory is that a public official accepted money in exchange for influence, ... at least an implicit quid pro quo is required. 556 F.3d 923, 943 (9th Cir.2009) (citing Kemp, 500 F.3d at 281-82). The court observed that bribery requires a link between the item of value received and an understanding that the public official receiving it is to perform official acts on behalf of the payor when called upon. Id. at 943. The court cited to Sun-Diamond as an example of the Supreme Court's imposition of a nexus requirement in a similar context. Id. However, the court went on to note that the district court need not use the words ` quid pro quo ' when it instructs the jury so long as the essential idea of give-and-take is conveyed. Nor need the implicit quid pro quo concern a specific official act. Id. (internal citations omitted). In United States v. Ganim, a case involving federal program bribery, extortion, and honest services fraud through bribery, the Second Circuit took a different tack to arrive at the same result. See 510 F.3d 134, 144-50 (2nd Cir.2007), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 1911, 170 L.Ed.2d 749 (2008). Like the Third Circuit in Kemp and the Ninth Circuit in Kincaid-Chauncey, the Ganim court rejected the contention that the benefits received must be directly linked to a particular act at the time of agreement. Id. at 145, 148-49; see also United States v. Abbey, 560 F.3d 513, 519 (6th Cir.2009) (holding that, in order to prove extortion, the Government did not need to assert a direct link between [the official's] receipt of property and an explicit promise to perform a specific, identifiable act of improper influence when the gift was given.) However, in contrast to the Third and Ninth Circuits, the Ganim court concluded that Sun-Diamond had no application outside of the illegal gratuity context. 510 F.3d at 145-47, 150. [16] In reaching this conclusion, the court distinguished Sun-Diamond based on that case's heavy reliance on the particular language of the gratuity statute, which criminalizes payments for or because of any official act.  Id. at 146. In contrast, the court observed that the bribery-related statutes at issue in Ganim did not contain any similar language. Id. Additionally, the court determined that there was no principled reason to extend Sun-Diamond 's holding beyond the illegal gratuity context, because the Supreme Court's chief concern in Sun-Diamond was supply[ing] a limiting principle that would distinguish an illegal gratuity from a legal one. Id. at 146. However, no such limiting principle was required outside the gratuity context, because, unlike the gratuity statute, the extortion and bribery statutes require an intent to perform an act in exchange for a benefit  i.e., the quid pro quo agreement. Id. at 146-47. Therefore, by requiring that the Government prove the existence of a corrupt exchange, the bribery statutes obviated the need to demonstrate a direct link between the payments and a particular official act. Id. In summation, the court concluded as follows: Thus, now, as before Sun-Diamond, so long as the jury finds that an official accepted gifts in exchange for a promise to perform official acts for the giver, it need not find that the specific act to be performed was identified at the time of the promise, nor need it link each specific benefit to a single official act. To require otherwise could subvert the ends of justice in cases  such as the one before us  involving ongoing schemes. In our view, a scheme involving payments at regular intervals in exchange for specific officials acts as the opportunities to commit those acts arise does not dilute the requisite criminal intent or make the scheme any less `extortionate.' Indeed, a reading of the statute that excluded such schemes would legalize some of the most pervasive and entrenched corruption, and cannot be what Congress intended. Id. at 147. Although this statement was included in the court's discussion of extortion, the court indicated that the same reasoning applied in the context of honest services fraud through bribery. Id. at 146, 149-50. We begin our analysis of the instant case by noting that, rather than a single payment or transaction, this case involves two ongoing bribery schemes similar to the ones addressed in Kemp, Kincaid-Chauncey, and Ganim. By ensuring that the loans became due every six months, Minor kept Whitfield and Teel at his mercy for as long as those debts remained outstanding. And because Minor made payments on behalf of Whitfield and Teel each time the loans became due, the illegal transactions continued well after Minor initially agreed to guarantee the loans. In Teel's case, even after the loan was paid off, Minor provided Teel with valuable financial and legal assistance in connection with his state prosecution for embezzling state funds. Thus, rather than single, lump-sum bribes, this case involved two prolonged bribery schemes spanning nearly four years each. Whether we adopt the Third and Ninth Circuit's conclusion that Sun-Diamond applies in to honest services fraud but that a particular act need not be identified at the time of payment, or the Second Circuit's conclusion that Sun-Diamond does not apply to honest services fraud at all, we arrive at the same result  namely, that the district court's jury instructions in this case accurately stated the law and did not constitute reversible error. For the sake of argument, we will assume that McCormick and Sun-Diamond do apply and that a quid pro quo instruction was required in this case. In doing so, we are also willing to assume that the initial $40,000 loan guarantee to Whitfield and the $25,000 loan guarantee to Teel were campaign contributions. However, we reject any attempt to characterize the $100,000 loan guarantee to Whitfield for the down-payment on a home and the financial and legal assistance provided to Teel in connection with his state prosecution for embezzlement as having anything to do with their respective electoral campaigns. Still, even if we assume that a quid pro quo instruction was necessary because at least some of the financial transactions in question were campaign-related, we conclude that the jury charge in this case sufficiently fulfilled that requirement. See United States v. Siegelman, 561 F.3d 1215, 1225 (11th Cir.2009). The jury instructions required the Government to prove that appellants entered into a corrupt agreement for Paul S. Minor to provide the particular judge with things of value specifically with the intent to influence the action or judgment of the judge on any question, matter, cause or proceeding which may be then or thereafter pending subject to the judge's action or judgment. (emphasis added). Additionally, the jury was instructed to consider whether the rulings were accompanied by the judges' honest belief in the law and facts of a particular case rather than a corrupt purpose.  (emphasis added). Although the district court did not require the Government to prove that Minor and the judges had identified a particular case that would be influenced at the time that Minor guaranteed the loans, [17] the overwhelming weight of authority from this court and our sister circuits supports the conclusion that the law does not require such a showing from the Government. See Tomblin, 46 F.3d at 1381, n. 19 (Fifth Circuit); Abbey, 560 F.3d at 519 (Sixth Circuit); Kincaid-Chauncey, 556 F.3d at 943 (Ninth Circuit); Kemp, 500 F.3d at 282 (Third Circuit); Ganim, 510 F.3d at 145 (Second Circuit); Jennings, 160 F.3d at 1014 (Fourth Circuit). The law only requires that the Government prove the specific intent to give or receive something of value in exchange for an official act to be performed sometime in the future. See Sun-Diamond, 119 S.Ct. at 1406. This was satisfied by the portion of the jury charge requiring the Government to prove that appellants entered into a corrupt agreement and that the judges' rulings were based upon a corrupt purpose rather than an honest belief in the law and facts. Despite the district court's failure to include the actual phrase quid pro quo in the jury charge, in the instant context the instructions sufficiently conveyed the essential idea of give-and-take. See Kincaid-Chauncey, 556 F.3d at 943. Under the undisputed facts here, the jury's finding that there was a corrupt agreement necessarily entailed a finding of an exchange of things of value for favorable rulings in the judges' courts. Therefore, to the extent that a quid pro quo instruction may have been required in this case, the district court adequately delivered one.
Whitfield alleges that the district court erred by providing a conspiracy instruction that allow[ed] the jury to consider all three ... defendants together as conspirators, rather than differentiating between the alleged conspiracies charged in the indictment. Accordingly, he claims, he was denied a fair trial through the constructive amendment of the indictment. We disagree. In instructing the jury, the district court specifically distinguished between the conspiracy involving Minor and Whitfield charged in Count One and the conspiracy involving Minor and Teel charge in Count Two. The jury charge closely tracked the elements of conspiracy as set forth in Fifth Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions. See FIFTH CIRCUIT PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS (Criminal Cases) § 2.20 (2001). It is well-settled that a district court does not err by giving a charge that tracks this Circuit's pattern jury instructions and that is a correct statement of the law. United States v. Turner, 960 F.2d 461, 464 (5th Cir.1992). In addition, the district court instructed the jury to consider each count and each defendant separately in accordance with the Fifth Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions on cases involving multiple defendants and multiple counts. See FIFTH CIRCUIT PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS (Criminal Cases) § 1.23 (2001). The jury was also required to enter its verdict separately for each defendant and for each count of indictment. Accordingly, there was no error.
Whitfield claims that the Government produced insufficient evidence to establish that he knew or intended that the mails would be used to further a fraudulent scheme. The Government contends that Whitfield failed to adequately raise the issue below, therefore we should review only for a manifest miscarriage of justice. See United States v. McDowell, 498 F.3d 308, 312 (5th Cir.2007). Although the basis of Whitfield's argument below is slightly unclear, we will assume that Whitfield adequately raised this issue with the district court in his Rule 29 motion for a judgment of acquittal. We review the district court's denial of that motion de novo. See Valle, 538 F.3d at 344. Although Whitfield initially challenged his indictment for mail fraud in relation to Count Seven, which was premised upon his sending of the fraudulent promissory note to Radlauer on September 20, 2002, apparently he has abandoned this argument on appeal. Presently, Whitfield asserts that there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that he possessed the necessary mens rea to commit mail fraud in relation to the following counts of the indictment: Count Four, which was based upon the service of the summons and the complaint in the Marks case on Diamond Offshore on February 22, 1999; Count Five, which was based upon the subpoena duces tecum sent by Diamond Offshore to a witness in Marks on August 23, 1999; and Count Six, which was based upon the mailing of Minor & Associates' response to Diamond Offshore's motion for a new trial on August 3, 2000. The mail fraud statute applies to anyone who knowingly causes to be delivered by mail anything for the purpose of executing any scheme or artifice to defraud. See 18 U.S.C. § 1341. The Government is not required to prove that the defendant specifically intended for the mails to be used in furtherance of the alleged fraudulent scheme. United States v. Massey, 827 F.2d 995, 1002 (5th Cir. 1987). Rather, `[t]he test to determine whether the defendant caused the mails to be used is whether the use was reasonably foreseeable.' Id. (quoting R.A.G.S. Couture, Inc. v. Hyatt, 774 F.2d 1350, 1354 (5th Cir.1985)). Pursuant to Rule 4(c)(3) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, the circuit clerk court was authorized to issue a summons, along with a copy of the complaint, to Diamond Offshore by mail. Further, although Rule 45 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure requires that subpoena be served personally, the Government presented evidence that Diamond Offshore's attorney sent the subpoena duces tecum by mail with return receipt requested, a practice that he testified was very common and considered effective so long as opposing counsel did not object. Finally, we find it difficult to believe that, as a trial judge, Whitfield would have been unaware that litigants commonly use the mail to serve responsive motions on one another. On the whole, because we conclude that there was sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that it was reasonably foreseeable to Whitfield that the above documents would be sent by mail, we find no reversible error in the district court's denial of Whitfield's Rule 29 motion on this point.

Appellants contend that they were improperly joined as defendants and that the court should have granted their motions to sever. A claim of misjoinder is a matter of law that we review de novo, but we may affirm if we find that misjoinder occurred but that the error was harmless. See United States v. Maggitt, 784 F.2d 590, 595 (5th Cir.1986). Two or more defendants may be charged in a single indictment if they are alleged to have participated in the same act or transaction, or in the same series of acts or transactions, constituting an offense or offenses. FED. R.CRIM. P. 8(b). We have held that defendants charged with two separate  albeit similar  conspiracies having one common participant are not, without more, properly joined. United States v. Welch, 656 F.2d 1039, 1049 (5th Cir. Unit A 1981). Nevertheless, in Welch we went on to hold that [w]hen otherwise separate offenses are charged as predicate acts of a substantive RICO count, they may be related to each other in such a way as to satisfy Rule 8(b). Id. at 1051; see also United States v. Manzella, 782 F.2d 533, 540 (5th Cir. 1986) (finding joinder proper even though the defendant charged with mail fraud was not indicted along with his codefendant under RICO). In this case, Whitfield and Teel were charged for their participation in two separate bribery schemes linked only by Minor's involvement in both. However, as was the case in Welch and Manzella, the bribery and wire fraud charges involving Whitfield and Teel constituted the predicate acts underlying the substantive RICO count brought against Minor. Therefore, we conclude that appellants were properly joined. Appellants also argue that joinder was prejudicial and that the district court erred in denying their motions to sever. See FED. R.CRIM. P. 14. Rule 14 provides in relevant part as follows: If the joinder of offenses or defendants in an indictment, an information, or a consolidation for trial appears to prejudice a defendant or the government, the court may order separate trials of counts, sever the defendants' trials, or provide any other relief that justice requires. FED. R.CRIM. P. 14(a). The denial of a motion to sever is reviewed under an exceedingly deferential abuse of discretion standard. United States v. Tarango, 396 F.3d 666, 673 (5th Cir.2005). We will not reverse a conviction based upon denial of a motion to sever unless the defendant can demonstrate compelling prejudice against which the trial court was unable to afford protection, and that he was unable to obtain a fair trial. Massey, 827 F.2d at 1004. We find no compelling prejudice that would warrant reversal in this case. Although the evidence in this case was both massive and complex, [i]t was not so complicated ... as to prevent the jury from separating the evidence and properly applying it only to those against whom it was offered. Manzella, 782 F.2d at 540. Moreover, as noted above in our discussion of the conspiracy instruction, the district court explicitly instructed the jury to consider each offense separately and each defendant individually. [18] See id. Limiting instructions such as these are generally sufficient to prevent the threat of prejudice resulting from unsevered trials. See Massey, 827 F.2d at 1005; see also United States v. Mitchell, 484 F.3d 762, 775-76 (5th Cir.2007), cert. denied, 552 U.S. 923, 128 S.Ct. 297, 169 L.Ed.2d 212 (2007) and ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 869, 169 L.Ed.2d 736 (2008). Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motions to sever.
Whitfield argues that the district court violated his right to a speedy trial under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161(c)(1), et seq. (2000). [19] Whether a district court has complied with the Speedy Trial Act is a matter of law subject to de novo review. United States v. Jackson, 30 F.3d 572, 575 n. 2 (5th Cir.1994). [20] The Speedy Trial Act requires that a defendant be tried within seventy days from the filing date (and making public) of the information or indictment, or from the date the defendant has appeared before a judicial officer of the court in which such charge is pending, whichever date last occurs. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1). Delays resulting from the filing and disposition of any pretrial motions are excluded from calculation. Id. § 3161(h)(1)(F). In addition, the statute excludes Any period of delay resulting from a continuance granted by any judge on his own motion or at the request of the defendant or his counsel or at the request of the attorney for the Government, if the judge granted such continuance on the basis of his findings that the ends of justice served by taking such action outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial. No such period of delay resulting from a continuance granted by the court in accordance with this paragraph shall be excludable under this subsection unless the court sets forth, in the record of the case, either orally or in writing, its reasons for finding that the ends of justice served by the granting of such continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial. Id. § 3161(h)(8)(A). As Whitfield does not claim that any non-excludable days occurred after he filed his motion to dismiss on June 1, 2006, we accordingly confine our consideration to the period between Whitfield's arraignment and the filing of his motion to dismiss. The Government filed the Third Superseding Indictment on December 6, 2005, and Whitfield was arraigned on December 20, 2005. However, in response to a pretrial motion filed by the Government, the district court also entered an ends-of-justice finding under section 3161(h)(1)(F) to allow for a thirty-day discovery period, which stopped Whitfield's speedy trial clock until January 19, 2006. Minor was not arraigned until January 6, 2006, and the district court entered a similar order excluding another thirty days, which ended on February 6, 2006. Section 3161(h)(7) excludes a reasonable period of delay when the defendant is joined for trial with a codefendant as to whom the time for trial has not run and no motion for severance has been granted. Therefore, Whitfield's speedy trial clock did not begin to run until February 6, 2006, when Minor's commenced. See United States v. Bieganowski, 313 F.3d 264, 281 (5th Cir.2002); see also United States v. Bermea, 30 F.3d 1539, 1567 (5th Cir.1994) ([T]he excludable delay of one codefendant may be attributed to all defendants.) On February 9, 2006, Minor filed a motion for continuance, arguing that two of his attorneys, who were new to the case and hired as lead counsel for the second trial, had scheduling conflicts and needed more time to prepare for trial in this manifestly complex proceeding. On February 10, with the consent of Whitfield's counsel, the district court granted the motion, delaying the trial date from March 6, 2006, until August 14, 2006. The district court stated its reasons on the record as follows: (1) to avoid the attorneys' scheduling conflicts; and (2) to give new counsel ... June and July to prepare for the upcoming trial. Whitfield claims that the district court's statement was insufficient to satisfy section 3161(h)(8)(A)'s requirement that the judge make an ends-of-justice finding on the record. We disagree. Our decisions do not require that the phrase ends of justice always be used, so long as the district court offers an acceptable reason for granting the continuance on the record. See United States v. Edelkind, 525 F.3d 388, 397 (5th Cir.2008) (holding that the district court's finding on the record that the case was complex was sufficient to satisfy section 3161(h)(b)(A)); see also Bieganowski, 313 F.3d at 282 (same). Section 3161(h)(8)(B) lays out [t]he factors, among others, which a judge shall consider in determining whether to grant a continuance under [section 3161(h)(8)(A)], including: (ii) Whether the case is so unusual or so complex, due to the number of defendants, the nature of the prosecution, or the existence of novel questions of fact or law, that it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for pretrial proceedings or for the trial itself within the time limits established by this section.     (iv) Whether the failure to grant such a continuance in a case which, taken as a whole, is not so unusual or so complex as to fall within clause (ii), ... would deny counsel for the defendant ... the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(B)(ii), (iv) (2000). We conclude that the district court's findings were sufficient under either one of the above provisions. Certainly, this case is facially and actually complex. However, even if the district court did not explicitly state as much when granting the continuance on February 10, 2006, the court's reasoning falls squarely within the factor listed in section 3161(h)(8)(B)(iv). Because the [Speedy Trial] Act excludes from the calculation of the seventy-day limit any delay resulting from the proper grant of a continuance requested by a codefendant, Bieganowski, 313 F.3d at 281, the days between the district court's February 10 order granting a continuance until August 14, 2006, and Whitfield's motion for dismissal on June 1, 2006, were properly excluded under section 3161(h)(8)(A). [21] Our holding is further buttressed by the fact that Whitfield consented to the continuance. [22] As we held in United States v. Westbrook, a defendant may not seek `to turn the benefit he accepted into an error that would undo his conviction....' 119 F.3d 1176, 1188 (5th Cir.1997) (quoting United States v. Eakes, 783 F.2d 499, 503 (5th Cir.1986)). The Speedy Trial Act entitles criminal defendants to adequate time for preparing a defense, but that right may not be used as a two-edged sword in this fashion. Id. Thus, we follow the sensible maxim that defendants ought not to be able to claim relief on the basis of delays which they themselves deliberately caused. United States v. Kington, 875 F.2d 1091, 1108 (5th Cir.1989). As Whitfield agreed to the continuance below, he is precluded from now challenging it on appeal. [23] Therefore, because (1) the district court made a sufficient ends-of-justice finding on the record; and (2) Whitfield consented to the continuance, we find no violation of the Speedy Trial Act.
On March 16, 2007, after the trial had commenced, Whitfield filed a Motion to Dismiss the Indictment for Prosecutorial Misconduct and Presentation of False Testimony before the Grand Jury. The district court denied the motion, and Whitfield now claims error. Whitfield contends that his Fifth Amendment due process rights were violated when the Government presented a factually incorrect indictment and elicited false testimony before the grand jury. As the Government freely admits, the indictment in this case contained a factual error concerning the effect of the fiat signed by Whitfield on February 10, 1999. The indictment charged that the fiat authoriz[ed] the immediate payment of money for medical expenses to Minor's client, Archie Marks. In actuality, the fiat merely granted an expedited hearing in Whitfield's court to set a trial date. Although no transcript of the grand jury proceedings appears in the trial record, Whitfield asserts, and the Government does not deny, that Special Agent Steve Callender of the FBI testified that the fiat was presented to Judge Whitfield in order to get payment for medical expenses. [24] FED.R.CRIM.P. 12(b)(3)(B) provides that a motion alleging a defect in the indictment must be made before trial. Failure to comply with this rule generally constitutes waiver. United States v. Cathey, 591 F.2d 268, 271 n. 1 (5th Cir.1979). However, a court may excuse a defendant's failure to timely file a motion for good cause. Id. ; FED.R.CRIM.P. 12(e). In this case, Whitfield was furnished with a copy of the indictment and a transcript of the grand jury proceedings well before trial, therefore he has no excuse for failing to move for dismissal prior to trial. See Cathey, 591 F.2d at 271 n. 1 (finding good cause for untimely motion where defendant did not receive transcript of grand jury testimony until after trial had begun). As such, we find no error in the district court's refusal to grant Whitfield's untimely motion. Further, a district court may not dismiss an indictment for errors in grand jury proceedings unless such error prejudiced the defendant[ ]. Bank of Nova Scotia v. United States, 487 U.S. 250, 108 S.Ct. 2369, 2373, 101 L.Ed.2d 228 (1988). Whether or not prosecutorial misconduct prejudiced a defendant depends on whether it affected the grand jury's decision to indict. Id. at 2378. In this case, the grand jury was presented with substantial evidence in support of the Government's allegations against Whitfield. The minor factual error concerning the effect of the fiat was inconsequential. Under the Government's theory of the case, the true significance of the fiat was not that it (eventually) allowed Marks to collect money for medical expenses. Rather, by filing the motion before Whitfield specifically, Minor signified that the time had come for Whitfield to fulfill his part of the bargain. And by issuing the fiat and setting a hearing in his own court, Whitfield understood that he was bypassing court procedure and effectively assigning the case to himself. Thus, we believe that the error in the indictment and Callender's testimony were not so significant as to substantially influence the grand jury's decision to indict Whitfield and thereby cause him prejudice. [25] See id. As Whitfield's motion to dismiss was untimely and, in any event, he was not prejudiced by the error in the indictment or grand jury testimony in question, we find no reversible error. [26]
Appellants assert that the district court erred by excusing Juror 81 based solely on her religious belief. Determinations as to the general qualifications of jurors are reviewed for abuse of discretion. United States v. McCord, 695 F.2d 823, 828 (5th Cir.1983). The district court has discretion to excuse a juror for cause when the court `is left with the definite impression that a prospective juror would be unable to faithfully and impartially apply the law.' United States v. Flores, 63 F.3d 1342, 1355 (5th Cir.1995) (quoting Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 105 S.Ct. 844, 853, 83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985)). Moreover, there is generally no basis for reversal unless appellants show that the jurors who served on the panel were not impartial. United States v. Jensen, 41 F.3d 946, 960 (5th Cir.1994). In questioning during voir dire, Juror 81 stated that her religious beliefs prevented her from passing judgment on others. As a result, the district court excused her from the jury panel, stating that [t]his court is going to respect her religious belief and not force her to violate her religious belief. This was not an abuse of discretion, see United States v. Pappas, 639 F.2d 1, 4 (1st Cir.1980), nor have appellants shown that the jury that they received was not impartial. We find no reversible error.
Appellants allege numerous points of error in relation to the district court's evidentiary rulings at trial. Apparently in an attempt to demonstrate prejudice on the part of the district court, they devote significant energy to juxtaposing the district court's rulings in the first trial with its rulings in this the second trial. As the district court was not bound in any way by its evidentiary rulings in the first trial, we consider the district court's rulings in the second trial on their own merit. We review evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion. United States v. Ollison, 555 F.3d 152, 161 (5th Cir.2009). Even if the district court errs in its evidentiary ruling, the error can be excused if it was harmless. Id.; see also FED. R.EVID. 103(a) (Error may not be predicated on a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected....). `A non-constitutional trial error is harmless unless it had substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict.' Id. at 162 (quoting United States v. Hart, 295 F.3d 451, 454 (5th Cir.2002)). Although each appellant focused on different evidentiary rulings in their briefs, many of those arguments were also adopted by their fellow appellants. For simplicity's sake, we have grouped the alleged points of error according to the briefs in which they were primarily argued.
Minor contends that the district court prevented him from rebutting criminal intent by refusing to allow testimony or otherwise admit evidence regarding the following subjects: his preexisting personal relationship with Whitfield and Teel; the prominent role of attorney contributions in Mississippi state judicial elections; his expertise in Jones Act and insurance litigation; his practice of guaranteeing loans to friends; his filing of a potentially valuable case in a court other than Whitfield's during the time of the alleged bribery scheme; and the legal correctness of Whitfield's decision in Marks and Teel's decision in Peoples Bank.
In regard to Minor's relationship with Whitfield and Teel, the only specific point of error alleged is the district court's refusal to allow Minor's office manager, Janet Miller, to testify as to whether Minor and Whitfield served together in any professional or community organizations. However, the record is replete with witness testimony and arguments by Minor's counsel highlighting Minor's long-standing relationship with both Whitfield and Teel. Therefore, even assuming the district court abused its discretion, it was harmless because the evidence on this point was cumulative.
Minor also asserts that the district court abused its discretion in refusing to admit an exhibit indicating that more than half of the contributions to the 1998 election campaigns for Mississippi chancery court and circuit court candidates originated with attorneys. However, on cross-examination, Teel's attorney elicited testimony from the Executive Director on the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance supporting the conclusion that most of the contributions to judicial candidates come from attorneys. Therefore, to the extent that this information was relevant to Minor's intent, appellants were not prejudiced by the exclusion of the exhibit.
Likewise, the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding evidence that Minor was an expert in Jones Act and insurance litigation. To the extent that it was relevant, Minor's attorney made this point when he elicited testimony from Diamond Offshore's counsel in the Marks case indicating that Minor had a very successful practice and was a very skilled and competent trial lawyer.
Minor alleges the district court abused its discretion when it prevented John Walker, a Mississippi attorney and colleague of Minor's, from testifying that Minor had guaranteed a loan for him in the past. The district court concluded that the testimony was irrelevant. We have held that evidence of noncriminal conduct to negate the inference of criminal conduct is generally irrelevant. United States v. Dobbs, 506 F.2d 445, 447 (5th Cir.1975). Moreover, even if we were to assume that the loan was relevant to Minor's intent, Andy Carpenter, the loan officer at Peoples Bank who handled the loan to Walker (in addition to the Whitfield and Teel loans), testified that Minor had guaranteed a number of loans for others, including employees and Walker's law firm. [27] Further, Miller testified that Minor often guaranteed loans to his employees, thus exhibiting a pattern of guaranteeing bank loans out of friendship. (SROA Vol. 99 at 4175). Therefore, Walker's testimony in regard to the loan guarantee would have been cumulative and appellants were not harmed by its exclusion.
Minor also claims that the district court erred in refusing to allow his attorney to elicit testimony that Minor & Associates could have, but did not, file the most significant and potentially lucrative case it was working on at the time of the alleged conspiracy in Whitfield's court. The district court excluded this evidence as irrelevant. As stated above, evidence of noncriminal activity is generally irrelevant to rebut criminal intent. See Dobbs, 506 F.2d at 447. The district court did not abuse its discretion.
Finally, Minor alleges that the district court committed error in excluding the testimony of two expert witnesses, attorneys James George and Alben Hopkins, who would have testified that Whitfield and Teel decided the Marks and Peoples Bank cases correctly. In a supplemental expert report filed by Minor, George indicated that he intended to testify on the history of deliberations of the Mississippi Supreme Court during its consideration of the Marks case on appeal. The district court initially refused to certify George under FED.R.EVID. 702 and the standard laid out in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 2796-98, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), concluding that George's testimony would attempt to speculate on the mental impressions of the Mississippi Supreme Court, which were better expressed through that court's own published opinion in Marks. In offering proffer testimony, George disclosed his intent to also discuss the propriety of Whitfield's rulings in Marks. Acknowledging that the expert report did not allude to those matters, the defense nevertheless sought to elicit that testimony as rebuttal evidence. The district court refused, concluding that the correctness of Whitfield's ruling Marks was an issue in the first trial and thus was certainly expected to be a point of contention in the second trial. Therefore, by failing to disclose these matters as required under FED. R.CRIM.P. 16(b)(1)(C), the district court found that Minor could not elicit that testimony at trial. The district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding George's testimony. The court was justified in concluding that George's testimony would not assist the jury and was founded on unreliable methodology. See Daubert, 113 S.Ct. at 2796. As to George's opinion regarding the correctness of Whitfield's rulings in Marks, the district court did not abuse its discretion in preventing appellants from raising new matters that were not disclosed in George's expert report. See FED. R.CRIM.P. 16(b)(1)(C). Hopkins intended to testify that Teel had ruled correctly in Peoples Bank. The district court refused to certify Hopkins because his testimony: (1) would not help the jury in resolving the ultimate issue in the case; (2) would violate FED. R.EVID. 704(b), which prohibits expert witnesses from testifying as to the criminal intent of the defendant; (3) would ask the jury to find contrary to a holding of the Mississippi Supreme Court; and (4) was based on suspicious methodology. Appellants' briefs provide no specific arguments as to why the district court erred in excluding Hopkins' testimony. Therefore, they have waived this issue on appeal. See Procter & Gamble, 376 F.3d at 499 n. 1.
Whitfield claims that the district court erred in: (1) excluding the billing records of Richard Salloum, counsel for Diamond Offshore in Marks; (2) denying appellants access to an FBI report made after interviewing Radlauer; (3) admitting the transcript from his divorce proceeding; and (4) allowing expert testimony from Government witnesses designated as fact witnesses; (5) admitting a summary witness and summary charts offered by the Government.
Whitfield argues that the district court violated his rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment when it excluded Salloum's billing records from his representation of Diamond Offshore in Marks. A defendant is granted substantial leeway in cross-examining a witness to discover bias. E.g., United States v. Anderson, 933 F.2d 1261, 1276 (5th Cir. 1991). However, the Supreme Court has clearly stated: It does not follow, of course, that the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment prevents a trial judge from imposing any limits on defense counsel's inquiry into the potential bias of a prosecution witness. On the contrary, trial judges retain wide latitude insofar as the Confrontation Clause is concerned to impose reasonable limits on such cross-examination based on concerns about, among other things, harassment, prejudice, confusion of the issues, the witness' safety, or interrogation that is repetitive or only marginally relevant. And as we observed earlier this Term, `the Confrontation Clause guarantees an opportunity for effective cross-examination, not cross-examination that is effective in whatever way, and to whatever extent, the defense might wish.' Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 1435, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 (1986) (quoting Delaware v. Fensterer, 474 U.S. 15, 106 S.Ct. 292, 295, 88 L.Ed.2d 15 (1985) ( per curiam ) (emphasis in original)). Appellants were permitted to cross-examine Salloum as to whether he was billing Diamond Offshore for the time he spent testifying at trial. Salloum was unsure as to whether he would be charging Diamond Offshore for his time, but he did admit to billing them for his legal services in the past. The district court concluded that evidence of the precise amount that Salloum's firm was paid in Marks was irrelevant. We agree. The exact amount of fees that Salloum's firm charged its client for its services in the Marks case had little or no bearing on the proceedings below. The district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding that information from cross-examination.
Whitfield claims that the district court erred in refusing to force the Government to produce and in failing to admit into evidence a 302 report created by the FBI following an interview conducted with Leonard Radlauer during the FBI's investigation of the Whitfield loan. Whitfield contends that Radlauer's testimony at the second trial contradicted his testimony before the grand jury and at the first trial, therefore he should been allowed to use the report for impeachment. In fact, Whitfield never requested that the FBI report be admitted into evidence. Therefore, he may not now claim error in respect to the report not being admitted. [28] See Montemayor, 703 F.2d at 114 n. 7. Rather, during a recess in the cross-examination of Radlauer, Whitfield's attorney requested that the district court review the report in camera to determine whether it contained any statements that were inconsistent with Radlauer's testimony at trial. When Whitfield sought to subpoena the FBI agent, the Government provided the district court with the report. The district court reviewed the report, and, finding no discrepancies, declined to disclose its contents to the defense. Where a district court has reviewed FBI reports in camera and determined that the material was not discoverable, we review only for clear error. See United States v. Williams, 998 F.2d 258, 269 (5th Cir.1993). After reviewing the record, we find nothing to suggest that the district court's ruling was clearly erroneous. See id. Moreover, Whitfield was free to use Radlauer's sworn testimony from the previous proceedings to impeach him during cross-examination at the second trial. See FED.R.EVID. 801(d)(1). Defense counsel was also permitted to, and did, cross-examine Radlauer concerning his statements to the FBI. We find no clear error.
Whitfield asserts that the district court abused its discretion by admitting the transcript from his 1999 divorce proceedings, in which he testified falsely that he was the only guarantor on the $40,000 campaign loan and that he had not contributed the purchase of the home he shared with his then-girlfriend. Whitfield claims this evidence was irrelevant and prejudicial. We disagree. It was relevant because it helped the government establish Whitfield's culpable mental state and the pattern of deception surrounding the loans he accepted from Minor. The district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the transcript.
Whitfield argues that the district court erred in allowing Richard Salloum, Wayne Drinkwater, and Leonard Radlauer to offer expert testimony in regard to the legal and ethical issues relevant to this case when they were not designated as experts by the Government. The record reveals that the witnesses provided fact testimony, not expert testimony under FED.R.EVID. 702. Moreover, Whitfield provides no citations to the expert testimony offered by these witnesses. Accordingly, this argument is waived. See De la O v. Hous. Auth. of City of El Paso, Tex., 417 F.3d 495, 501 (5th Cir.2005).
Finally, Whitfield contends that the district court abused its discretion by admitting charts summarizing the financial transactions at issue in the case and by allowing Kim Mitchell, a summary witness for the Government, to explain those charts to the jury. FED.R.EVID. 1006 provides in part: The contents of voluminous writings, recordings, or photographs which cannot conveniently be examined in court may be presented in the form of a chart, summary, or calculation. This Court has properly expressed some reluctance to generally endorse the use of summary evidence. See United States v. Fullwood, 342 F.3d 409, 413-14 (5th Cir.2003) (The use of summary evidence serves an important purpose, but that purpose is not simply to allow the Government to repeat its entire case-in-chief shortly before jury deliberations. Moreover, there are obvious potential dangers associated with its use.). However, a district court does not abuse its discretion by admitting summary testimony where the evidence presented is voluminous and complex. See Ollison, 555 F.3d at 162. Describing the admission of summary charts and use of summary witnesses, this court has explained: Rule 1006 allows admission of summaries when (1) the evidence previously admitted is voluminous, and (2) review by the jury would be inconvenient. A summary may include only evidence favoring one party, so long as the witness does not represent to the jury that he is summarizing all the evidence in the case. Summary evidence must have an adequate foundation in evidence that is already admitted, and should be accompanied by a cautionary jury instruction. Full cross-examination and admonitions to the jury minimize the risk of prejudice. United States v. Bishop, 264 F.3d 535, 547 (5th Cir.2001) (internal citations omitted). In this case, the testimony of Mitchell and the admission of summary charts was neither cumulative nor prejudicial. The information presented to the jury synthesized bank records and checks that were properly admitted, in order to explain the voluminous records supporting the transfer of money from Minor to Whitfield and Teel. Appellants were permitted to cross-examine Mitchell fully. Whitfield does not contend that the charts were incorrect or misleading. Such evidence does not implicate this Court's concerns in Fullwood, since the exhibits and testimony were not a summary of the Government's case; instead, they summarized complex records and documents for the benefit of the jury. In addition, the district court properly instructed the jury as to the limited purposes of the summary charts, minimizing any risk of prejudice. [29] There was no abuse of discretion.
Teel claims that the district court abused its discretion by excluding a pretrial report prepared by Wayne Drinkwater while representing USF&G in Peoples Bank. The report contained Drinkwater's opinions regarding the strengths and weaknesses of USF&G's case in Peoples Bank, based upon the status of the law in Mississippi at the time, potentially damaging internal emails sent by USF&G employees, the quality of Marks' attorneys, and his view of then-Judge Teel. At trial, Teel moved to admit the report as a business record under FED.R.EVID. 803(6). The district court determined that the report was inadmissable, because it contained double hearsay in the form of Drinkwater's statements recounting the emails by USF&G employees and that the hearsay problem could not be cured through redaction. A review of the record demonstrates that appellants' attorneys were permitted to fully cross-examine Drinkwater on the substance of his pretrial report, including his impressions regarding the damaging emails discussed therein. Therefore, even assuming that the district court erred in refusing to admit the report itself, we find no harmful error substantially affecting appellants' rights.
The district court did not err in admitting any of the challenged evidence offered by the Government in this case. As to the evidence that was excluded, it was either irrelevant or cumulative. To the extent that the district court may have abused its discretion, we find no harmful error that affected any substantial rights of the appellants. See Ollison, 555 F.3d at 161; see also FED.R.EVID. 103(a).
Appellants assert that the district court committed several sentencing errors. A district court's legal conclusions, including its interpretation of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (U.S.S.G. or Guidelines), are reviewed de novo. See United States v. Galvan-Revuelta, 958 F.2d 66, 68 (5th Cir.1992). This court reviews a district court's factual determinations in applying the Guidelines for clear error. United States v. Solis-Garcia, 420 F.3d 511, 514 (5th Cir.2005). There is no clear error if the district court's finding is plausible in light of the record as a whole. United States v. Cisneros-Gutierrez, 517 F.3d 751, 764 (5th Cir.2008) (quotation marks omitted). As stated above, with this decision we reverse all counts related to 18 U.S.C. § 666, including Count Two (Minor and Teel conspiracy), Count Eleven (Whitfield federal program bribery), Count Twelve (Minor federal program bribery), Count Thirteen (Teel federal program bribery), and Count Fourteen (Minor federal program bribery). Therefore, as each of the appellants has had at least one conviction overturned, we find it appropriate to remand to the district court with instructions to resentence all appellants on all remaining counts. Had the judge known these counts would no longer be involved he might have analyzed the matter differently. See United States v. Puig-Infante, 19 F.3d 929, 950 (5th Cir.1994). We note that, in case of Minor, because he received his longest sentence for his RICO conviction (one hundred and thirty-two months), remand might but will not necessarily result in a reduced sentence. However, Whitfield was sentenced to one hundred and ten months under his federal program bribery conviction and only sixty months under his convictions for conspiracy and deprivation of honest services through mail fraud. Similarly, Teel was sentenced to seventy months under his federal program bribery conviction and only sixty months under his convictions for conspiracy and mail fraud. As a result, Whitfield and Teel's sentences likely will be reduced in some fashion. Additionally, we address the following alleged points of error in order to provide some guidance to the district court on remand.
Before we consider appellants' claims of error, we address the Government's contention that any error in sentencing was harmless because the district court incorrectly applied the more lenient United States Sentencing Guidelines from 2001 rather than the Guidelines as amended in 2006. The district court concluded that, due to ex post facto concerns, he was required to sentence appellants according to the version of the Guidelines in effect at the time that appellants committed the offenses underlying the sentences being imposed. See U.S. CONST. art. I, § 9, cl. 3; see also Collins v. Youngblood, 497 U.S. 37, 110 S.Ct. 2715, 2721, 111 L.Ed.2d 30 (1990). Relying on non-binding authority, the Government contends that ex post facto clause has no application in the context of the post- Booker [30] advisory Guidelines. See United States v. Demaree, 459 F.3d 791, 795 (7th Cir.2006); United States v. Barton, 455 F.3d 649, 655 n. 4 (6th Cir. 2006); but see United States v. Turner, 548 F.3d 1094, 1098-1100 (D.C.Cir.2008); United States v. Carter, 490 F.3d 641, 643 (8th Cir.2007). We see no need to now address this point. The Guidelines are not only not mandatory on sentencing courts; they are also not to be presumed reasonable. Nelson v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 890, 892, 172 L.Ed.2d 719 (2009). The fact that district court used the 2001 Guidelines instead of the 2006 Guidelines does not necessarily mean that appellants were not prejudiced by any alleged errors in their sentencing. Thus, we now turn to appellants' arguments regarding their sentences, using 2001 Guidelines as applied by the district court to guide our analysis.
Appellants claim that the district court violated their Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury by basing their sentencing Guidelines ranges on facts not found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. This argument has no merit after the Supreme Court's decision in Booker rendering the Guidelines advisory. See United States v. Mares, 402 F.3d 511, 518 (5th Cir.2005); see also Mitchell, 484 F.3d at 776. As we explained in Mares,  Booker contemplates that, with the mandatory use of the Guidelines excised, the Sixth Amendment will not impede a sentencing judge from finding all facts relevant to sentencing. The sentencing judge is entitled to find by a preponderance of the evidence all the facts relevant to the determination of a Guideline sentencing range and all facts relevant to the determination of a non-Guidelines sentence. Id. (internal citations omitted).  Booker error occurs when the sentencing judge bound by mandatory [Guidelines] increases the defendant's sentencing range based on facts not found by the jury or admitted by the defendant. United States v. Stephens, 487 F.3d 232, 245-46 (5th Cir.2007). In this case, the district court, sentencing long after Booker, clearly understood that the Guidelines were advisory only; therefore, it did not err in finding facts relevant to sentencing.
Appellants argue that, because the jury charge permitted them to be convicted of federal offenses based upon mere gratuity and not bribery, the district court erred in using the Guideline applicable to bribery-related offenses, U.S.S.G. § 2C1.1, rather than the Guideline applicable to gratuity offenses, U.S.S.G. § 2C1.2. [31] As stated above, we conclude that the district court adequately instructed the jury on bribery. Accordingly, because the jury found appellants guilty on a theory of bribery rather than gratuity, the district court did not err in relying on U.S.S.G. § 2C1.1.
Minor and Whitfield claim that the district court erred in including the full amount of the original award in Marks ($3.75 million) in their respective loss calculations. U.S.S.G. § 2C1.1(b)(2) provides for an enhanced sentence if the value of the payment or the benefit received or to be received in return for the payment exceeds $5,000. The level of enhancement is dictated by the table in U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1. Application Note 2 of U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1 provides that the loss should be determined by the greater of the actual loss or intended loss, which is defined in relevant part as the pecuniary harm that was intended to result from the offense. The amount of the benefit to be received is a finding of fact that we review for clear error, and it need not be determined with precision. United States v. Griffin, 324 F.3d 330, 365-66 (5th Cir.2003). Before sentencing, the Mississippi Supreme Court reduced the damages award in Marks from $3.64 million to $1.64 million, 2003 Miss. LEXIS 88, at -37, 2003 WL 556438, and later vacated the district court's judgment altogether, 2007 Miss. LEXIS 237, at . As Diamond Offshore has suffered no actual loss, the presentence report (PSR) recommended that the district court use the intended loss, which the PSR concluded was the award in Marks as reduced by the Mississippi Supreme Court. The district court rejected this approach and instead determined that the intended loss was $3.75 million, which was the amount that Whitfield originally awarded to Marks before reducing the award to $3.64 million in response to Diamond Offshore's post-trial motions. As we are remanding this case for resentencing, we need not decide whether the district court clearly erred in calculating the loss associated with the Marks case. However, upon remand, we suggest that the district court might more properly rely on the actual amount awarded by Whitfield in the Marks case ($3.64 million) adjusted by taking into account a reasonable estimate of whatever intrinsic value that case may have had if litigated before an impartial judge.
The district court awarded USF&G $1.5 million in restitution, holding Minor and Teel jointly and severally liable for the full amount. We conclude that this was not error. If Teel had stayed Peoples Bank as requested until the Mississippi Supreme Court decided Omnibank, USF&G would have had no need to settle the case. Therefore, the $1.5 million restitution award was appropriate.
Minor was fined $250,000 per count for a total fine of $2.75 million. Minor contends that the district court abused its discretion by levying fines well above the range recommended in the Guidelines, which was $17,500 to $175,000. U.S.S.G. § 5H1.10 advises that the defendant's socio-economic status should not be taken into account when setting a fine. Nevertheless, the district court decided to vary from the Guidelines in order to ensure that the fine was sufficiently punitive to Minor in light of his substantial assets. 18 U.S.C. § 3572(a)(1) permits a sentencing court to consider the defendant's income, earning capacity, and financial resources when imposing a fine. Because we are remanding this case for resentencing, we need not decide whether the district court abused its discretion in setting Minor's fine. However, as we reverse three of the counts upon which the fine was based, we conclude that some level of a reduced fine on remand may be appropriate.
Minor and Whitfield argue that the district court, after initially stating its intention not to apply an obstruction of justice enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1, altered course and applied the obstruction enhancement at sentencing. To the extent that Minor and Whitfield claim that the district court committed procedural error in failing to give them sufficient notice of its intent to apply an obstruction enhancement, we presume that any such error will be corrected on remand.
Whitfield claims that he should receive a reduced sentence based upon his acceptance of responsibility. See U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1. A district court's determination as to whether a defendant has accepted responsibility is afforded great deference on review and is reviewed under a standard that is even more deferential than a pure clearly erroneous standard. United States v. Cordero, 465 F.3d 626, 630-31 (5th Cir.2006) (internal quotations omitted). Whitfield contends that he accepted responsibility by cooperating with the FBI early in the stages of its investigation before he was indicted. However, Whitfield did not plead guilty and took his case to trial. Given the wide latitude afforded the district court on this issue, we clearly cannot say that the district court erred in refusing to find that Whitfield accepted responsibility for his crimes. However, we do note that today we reverse two of Whitfield's convictions. Thus, Whitfield was not entirely unjustified in challenging the charges brought against him in court.
Whitfield also argues that he should be granted a downward departure due to his health issues and family obligations. As he will be resentenced on remand, he may renew these arguments with the district court.
We briefly note that appellants allege that they were wrongfully selected for prosecution by the Government due to their political affiliations. These unsubstantiated allegations are tied to no specific errors below, therefore we decline to address them here. Further, after thoroughly reviewing the trial transcripts, we are convinced that Judge Wingate conducted the trial in a fair and impartial manner. Therefore, we deny appellants' request that the case be assigned to a different judge on remand.
After oral argument herein, Minor and Whitfield moved for leave to file a supplemental brief raising, for the first time, the issue of whether their prosecution under the Third Superseding Indictment was barred, in whole or in part by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, more particularly the collateral estoppel component of that clause exemplified by Ashe v. Swenson, 90 S.Ct. 1189 (1970) and Yeager v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 2360, 174 L.Ed.2d 78 (2009). We granted leave to file such briefs. [32] Whitfield's claim is based solely on the jury's 2005 acquittal of him on Count Five of the Second Superseding Indictment, a section 1343 charge based on the August 27, 2002 wire transfer by Radlauer of $118,652.42 from New Orleans to the Peoples Bank in Biloxi, Mississippi, to pay off Whitfield's loan there. Whitfield was not charged with any such offense under the Third Superseding Indictment, and hence the only possible double jeopardy claim on Whitfield's part in that respect is under Ashe 's collateral estoppel doctrine. In this connection Whitfield claims that his acquittal means that the jury found it was not proved that he entered into the charged section 1341, section 1343 or section 1346 scheme with Minor related to depriving the State of Mississippi of his honest services in the Marks v. Diamond Offshore case. Minor's claim is based solely on the jury's 2005 acquittal of him on Count Four of the Second Superseding Indictment, a section 1341 charge based on Whitfield's September 20, 2002 transmittal of his August 26, 2002 $117,013.12 note to Radlauer in New Orleans. Minor was not charged with any such offense under the third Superseding Indictment, and hence the only possible double jeopardy claim on Minor's part in that respect is under Ashe 's collateral estoppel doctrine. Minor's claim is that said acquittal means that the jury found it was not proved that he entered into the charged section 1341, section 1343 or section 1346 scheme with Whitfield related to depriving the State of Mississippi of Whitfield's honest services in the Marks case. We first conclude that these double jeopardy claims are clearly either waived or forfeited. To begin with, these claims were not raised in the trial court. [33] The Supreme Court has made it clear that failure to raise a double jeopardy defense in the trial court constitutes a waiver thereof. See Peretz v. United States, 501 U.S. 923, 111 S.Ct. 2661, 2669, 115 L.Ed.2d 808 (1991) (The most basic rights of criminal defendants are ... subject to waiver. See, e.g., ... United States v. Bascaro, 742 F.2d 1335, 1365 (C.A.11 1984) (absence of objection is waiver of double jeopardy defense), cert. denied sub nom. Hobson v. United States ... 472 U.S. 1017, 105 S.Ct. 3476, 87 L.Ed.2d 613 ... (1985); ....) [34] We have likewise so held. See, e.g., United States v. Myers, 104 F.3d 76, 79 n. 2 (5th Cir.1997); United States v. Moore, 958 F.2d 646, 650 (5th Cir.1992); Grogan v. United States, 394 F.2d 287, 289 (5th Cir. 1967). See also United States v. Scott, 464 F.2d 832, 833 (D.C.Cir.1972); FED. R.CRIM.P. 12(b)(3), 12(e). The appellants' failure to raise this issue in their original briefs in this court (or even in their reply briefs) likewise clearly constitutes a waiver or forfeiture of their contentions in this respect. See, e.g., Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 225 (5th Cir.1993); United States v. Ogle, 415 F.3d 382 (5th Cir.2005). [35] We assume, arguendo only, that the claims of Minor and Whitfield in this respect are merely forfeited, rather than waived, so that they may be reviewed for plain error under FED. R. CRIM. P. 52(b). See, e.g., United States v. Lewis, 492 F.3d 1219 (11 Cir. en banc, 2007) (reviewing under Rule 52(b) claim of double jeopardy timely raised on appeal but not raised in the district court, finding no error). In Yeager the Court stated (129 S.Ct. at 2366-67): ... Ashe [ v. Swenson ] ... held that the Double Jeopardy Clause precludes the Government from relitigating any issue that was necessarily decided by a jury's acquittal in a prior trial.... Because the only contested issue at the first trial was whether Ashe was one of the robbers, we held that the jury's verdict of acquittal collaterally estopped the state from trying him for robbing a different player during the same criminal episode .... To decipher what a jury has necessarily decided, we held [in Ashe ] that courts should `examine the record of a prior proceeding, taking into account the pleadings, evidence, charge, and other relevant matter, and conclude whether a rational jury could have grounded its verdict upon an issue other than that which the defendant seeks to foreclose from consideration.' Id. at 444, 397 U.S. 436, 90 S.Ct. 1189, 25 L.Ed.2d 469 (internal quotation marks omitted). We explained that the inquiry `must be set in a practical frame and viewed with an eye to all the circumstances of the proceedings.' Yeager goes on to hold that the jury's failure to reach a verdict on any count or counts may not be considered in determining what the jury necessarily decided by its acquittal on any other count. Id. at 2367. It is likewise clear the defendant invoking Ashe has the burden ... to demonstrate that the issue whose relitigation he seeks to foreclose was actually decided in the first proceeding. Dowling v. United States, 493 U.S. 342, 110 S.Ct. 668, 673, 107 L.Ed.2d 708 (1990). Applying the foregoing principles from the Supreme Court's opinions in Yeager and Dowling, and reviewing the record of the prior trial, including the evidence (which included no testimony from either Minor or Whitfield), jury charge, and argument of counsel, we conclude that it is certainly not clear or obviousas it must be even if the claim is not waived but merely forfeitedthat the jury at the first trial either by its acquittal of Whitfield on Count Five (section 1343 wire fraud based on Radlauer's August 27, 2002 wire transfer of funds to pay off Whitfield's loan) necessarily found that Whitfield engaged in no honest services deprivation scheme with Minor respecting the Marks case, or that by its acquittal of Minor on Count Four (section 1341 mail fraud based on Whitfield's September 27, 2002 transmittal by public carrier of his note to Radlauer) necessarily found that Minor engaged in no honest services deprivation scheme with Whitfield respecting the Marks case. The jury in the first trial was expressly instructed in both Counts Four and Five that the mailing, carrier transmittal or wiring charged had to be reasonably foreseeable to each particular defendant. That was not an uncontested issue in either count. As to Whitfield's acquittal on Count Five, relating to the Radlauer August 27, 2002 wire transfer, Whitfield's counsel in his closing jury argument specifically urged that this was not reasonably foreseeable to Whitfield. [36] Moreover, neither Whitfield nor Minor has pointed us to any specified direct evidence that Whitfield had any prior knowledge that such a wire transfer was contemplated, or of facts that would have beyond reasonable dispute established that on or before August 27, 2002 such a wire transfer was reasonably foreseeable to him. Similarly as to Minor's acquittal on Count Four, relating to the September 20, 2002 carrier transfer to Radlauer of Whitfield's promissory note, Minor's counsel was at great pains to show by cross-examination of Minor's office manager, that the Whitfield note which she typed at Minor's direction and subsequently left in Minor's mailbox, was not the same document (or a xerox or similar copy) as the Whitfield note that Radlauer received by carrier from Whitfield's law firm (and although the notes were in almost identical wording, they were in different type fonts, and that prepared by Mintor's office manager was for $119,000, while that received by Radlauer was for $117,013.12). There is no evidence of how the note form typed by Minor's office manager got from Minor's mailbox to Whitfield or his law firm. There is no evidence of any oral or written communications between Whitfield and Minor on this particular note or its transmittal. The jury may have reasonably concluded that it was not established beyond a reasonable doubt that Whitfield would reasonably foresee that some note other than what his office manager had prepared would be mailed or transmitted by carrier to Radlauer. Certainly no plain error (and indeed we believe no error at all) is shown respecting these belated double jeopardy-collateral estoppel claims. Those claims are accordingly rejected.