Opinion ID: 74210
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Application of the Hyde Amendment to this Case

Text: 5 In calling up the Conference Report on the floor of the House, one of the conferees, Representative Rogers, summarized the changes in the Hyde Amendment language, as follows: On the Hyde provision, we have language that we believe is acceptable to all parties, that allows the recovery of attorneys’ fees in criminal cases where the defendant is acquitted where the court finds that the prosecutor acted vexatiously, frivolously or in bad faith. 143 Cong. Rec. H10918-07, H10919 (Nov. 13, 1997). The Conference Report itself had little to say on the subject, but it did note that: “The conferees understand that a grand jury finding of probable cause to support an indictment does not preclude a judge from finding that the government’s position was vexatious, frivolous or in bad faith.” 143 Cong. Rec. H10809-01, H10863 (Nov. 13, 1997). 18 Gilbert’s argument that the government’s position in prosecuting of him was “vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith” has three primary prongs. 6 First, he contends that the prosecution should never have been brought, because the statute of limitations had run before his case was ever presented to the grand jury. His contention in this regard is supported by the fact that before Gilbert was indicted his attorney communicated Gilbert’s position concerning the statute of limitations to the Assistant United States Attorney handling the case, a position that was ultimately vindicated by this Court’s decision in Gilbert I. However, in order to be eligible for fees and costs under the Hyde Amendment a successful defendant must show more than he was ultimately successful in defending against the charges brought, and that is true whether the basis of his successful defense is factual, or as in this case legal. To be eligible for fees as a result of having prevailed on a legal defense, the defendant must show that the government’s legal position was either asserted in bad faith or without any foundation or basis for belief that it might prevail. Gilbert has not shown that here. 6 In addition to the three primary prongs of Gilbert’s argument, which we discuss at more length in the text, he also argues that he should be awarded fees and costs because the Chapter 7 trustee and the United States Attorney’s Office conspired and combined to use the “in terrorem” effect of a criminal prosecution as a substitute for an unsuccessful civil proceeding. Suffice it to say that Gilbert has failed to demonstrate an adequate basis in the record for this argument. 19 The question of when the statute of limitations begins to run in a 18 U.S.C. § 152 fraudulent concealment case was an issue of first impression in this circuit at the time Gilbert was indicted and convicted and up until the time we released our decision in his appeal in Gilbert I. Before then we had never addressed that issue in any factual situation. Moreover, although some circuits had addressed the issue in other factual situations, see, e.g., United States v. Dolan, 120 F.3d 856 (8th Cir. 1997); United States v. Guglielmini, 425 F.2d 439 (2d Cir. 1970), before our decision in Gilbert I there had never been a decision anywhere in the country addressing the specific issue of when the statute of limitations begins to run in a § 152 case where a Chapter 11 proceeding has been converted to Chapter 7. We do not charge criminal defense attorneys with the duty of foreseeing future developments in the law. See Tarver v. Hopper, 169 F.3d 710, 714 (11th Cir. 1999); Spaziano v. Singletary, 36 F.3d 1028, 1039 (11th Cir. 1994). Likewise, we will not hold that prosecutors act in bad faith when they fail to anticipate how a court will decide an issue of first impression. In prosecuting crime, government attorneys are entitled to be zealous advocates of the law on behalf of their client, the people of the United States. While a prosecutor is not at liberty to strike foul blows, he may strike hard ones, and “[h]e may prosecute with earnestness and vigor – indeed, he should do so.” 20 Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88, 55 S. Ct. 629, 633 (1935). Allowing fees and costs against the Department of Justice when a conviction is reversed on a legal issue of first impression in the circuit would chill the ardor of prosecutors and prevent them from prosecuting with earnestness and vigor. The Hyde Amendment was not intended to do that. Indeed, as we have seen, the original wording of that provision was modified during the legislative process in order to prevent it from having a chilling effect on legitimate prosecutions, even those which ultimately result in acquittals. See pp. 13-14, above. Even in its earliest form, the Hyde Amendment was targeted at prosecutorial misconduct, not prosecutorial mistake. Representative Hyde spoke in terms of the government “keep[ing] information from [the defendant] that the law says [the government] must disclose,” “ hid[ing] information,” “not disclos[ing] exculpatory information,” and “suborn[ing] perjury” -- all clear examples of prosecutorial misconduct. 143 Cong. Rec. H7786-04, H7791 (Sept. 24, 1997). The changes to the amendment in the Conference Committee illustrate Congress’ intent to limit its scope. The substitution of the narrower language of “vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith” in place of the broader language about lack of substantial justification, the removal of the phrase “without foundation,” and the shifting of the burden of proof to the movant all show that Congress meant to sanction and deter 21 prosecutorial misconduct, not prosecutorial zealousness per se. See generally United States v. Ranger Electronic Communications, Inc., 22 F. Supp. 2d 667 (W.D. Mich. 1998) (holding that violation of Brady doctrine was example of bad faith justifying award of fees under the Hyde Amendment). A defendant seeking Hyde Amendment fees and costs on the basis of a legal position the government took in prosecuting him must establish that the position was foreclosed by binding precedent or so obviously wrong as to be frivolous. Gilbert has not established that and he can not establish it. He is effectively foreclosed from doing so not only because a legal issue of first impression in this circuit was involved, but also by the fact that the district judge who presided at his trial accepted the government’s statute of limitations position, the same position this Court later rejected in Gilbert I.7 Once a district court judge accepts the government’s legal position it will be extremely difficult to persuade us that the issue was not debatable among reasonable lawyers and jurists, i.e., that it was frivolous. The second prong of Gilbert’s argument that the government’s position in prosecuting him was “vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith” is based on his 7 It is worth remembering that we exercise de novo review of legal issues and it was on that basis we reversed the district court’s ruling on the statute of limitations issue in Gilbert I. See Gilbert I, 136 F.3d at 1453. We certainly did not find that the district court’s (also the government’s) contrary view on that legal issue was frivolous. 22 contention that the government withheld exculpatory evidence from the grand jury. We accept for present purposes Gilbert’s allegation that certain information and evidence favoring him was not disclosed to the grand jury, but in doing so we also accept his concession that all of the information and evidence he says should have been disclosed to the grand jury was in fact presented to the trial jury which nonetheless convicted him. To begin with, it is settled law that the prosecution is not required to include exculpatory evidence in its presentation to the grand jury. See United States v. Williams, 504 U.S. 36, 51, 112 S. Ct. 1735, 1744 (1992) (“[R]equiring the prosecutor to present exculpatory as well as inculpatory evidence would alter the grand jury’s historical role, transforming it from an accusatory to an adjudicatory body.”). The obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 1194 (1963), applies only in regard to trials, see Flores v. Satz, 137 F.3d 1275, 1278 (11th Cir. 1998), and there is no Brady violation except where there is a reasonable probability that non-disclosure would change the result of the trial, see Strickler v. Greene, 119 S. Ct. 1936, 1948 (1999). In this case, we know that the failure to disclose the information and evidence in question to the grand jury did not change the result of the trial, because with full 23 knowledge of it the trial jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Gilbert was guilty as charged in the indictment returned by the grand jury. Nothing in the text or legislative history of the Hyde Amendment indicates that Congress intended to modify the law relating to discovery in criminal cases, to expand the Brady doctrine, or to categorize as prosecutorial misconduct actions which clearly were not misconduct under existing law. Failing to disclose to the grand jury exculpatory evidence is not a basis for concluding that the government’s position in an underlying prosecution was “vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith,” at least not where, as here, the trial jury convicts with knowledge of that evidence. The third prong of Gilbert’s argument that the government’s position in prosecuting him was “vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith” concerns actions he claims the government took after he won the appeal in Gilbert I and the mandate was issued to the district court requiring dismissal of the indictment. He says that three months after that happened, the government filed a lien on his house and other property that he had mortgaged as security for the $397,000 bond he had been required to post in order to remain free pending appeal of his conviction. In other words, although the need for the security on his bond was mooted once we reversed Gilbert’s conviction and the indictment was dismissed, he alleges that the government nevertheless filed a lien on his property thereafter. 24 If Gilbert’s allegations were supported in the record, we would certainly insist upon an explanation from the government, and then we would decide whether that conduct fell within the scope of the Hyde Amendment. We need not decide that issue, however, because there is nothing in the record to support Gilbert’s allegations in this respect. He did not raise the matter in the district court, no evidence was put in the record concerning it, and we have only the assertions in Gilbert’s brief about it. Even if the issue had been raised in the district court, “[u]nsupported assertions in a brief cannot substitute for evidence in the record.” See Barnes, 168 F.3d at 436. Accordingly, because Gilbert did not raise this argument in the district court and there is no evidence in the record to support it, we will not consider it on appeal. See id. at 435. 8