Opinion ID: 167150
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: additional issues raised by mr. schultz

Text: 114 Mr. Schultz argues that the Government lacked sufficient evidence to support his conviction for deprivation of rights under color of law because the testimony of Ms. Gutierrez and Mr. Mitchell was contradictory in several respects. 18 Claims of insufficiency of the evidence are reviewed de novo. United States v. Pulido-Jacobo, 377 F.3d 1124, 1129 (10th Cir.2004). Evidence is sufficient to support a conviction if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, a reasonable jury could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Hien Van Tieu, 279 F.3d 917, 921 (10th Cir.2002). 115 Mr. Schultz does not dispute that the witnesses, despite their disparate recollection of non-material details, provided testimony which, if believed, satisfied each element of the crimes for which he was convicted. Essentially, then, Mr. Schultz's argument amounts to an attack on Ms. Gutierrez's and Mr. Mitchell's credibility. This argument must be rejected. To the extent that the evidence conflicts, we accept the jury's resolution of conflicting evidence and its assessment of the credibility of witnesses. United States v. Owens, 70 F.3d 1118, 1126 (10th Cir.1995) (quotations omitted); see also United States v. Washita Const. Co., 789 F.2d 809, 816-17 (10th Cir.1986) (rejecting sufficiency of the evidence argument based on inconsistencies in testimony of government witnesses).
116
117 Bureau of Prisons policy requires correctional officers routinely to videotape any calculated use of force on an inmate. The warden reviews the videotapes to ensure that the officers follow the appropriate procedures during the use of force. The tapes are retained for up to two years and then destroyed in the ordinary course of business. If an incident is serious and has been referred for possible criminal investigation, the tape might be retained, placed into evidence, and controlled more closely. 118 Beginning in July 2001, the defendants made several requests for the tapes created on April 5 and 6, 1996 during forced-cell moves of Pedro Castillo, the inmate whom Mr. LaVallee and Mr. Schultz were convicted of abusing. After each request, the BOP responded that the tapes no longer existed. Mr. Schultz made one last request for the tapes shortly before his sentencing. This time, the Government responded to the request by producing the tape created on April 6, 1996, the day after the incident giving rise to Mr. Schultz's and Mr. LaVallee's convictions. 119 The tape shows Mr. Castillo slashing at his chest and legs, attempting to draw blood. Mr. Schultz approaches the cell and instructs Mr. Castillo to put his hands through the food gate so that he can be handcuffed. Mr. Castillo complies and Mr. Schultz enters the cell to fasten a chain around Mr. Castillo's waist. Mr. Schultz then escorts Mr. Castillo to the x-ray room without incident. Mr. Schultz moved for a new trial, arguing that the Government suppressed favorable and material evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). 120 When the Government withholds evidence on demand of a defendant which, if made available, would tend to exculpate him, it violates the due process rights of that defendant. Brady, 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194. The Government's good faith is not relevant. Id. While we ordinarily review a district court's denial of a motion for a new trial for an abuse of discretion, when the motion is based on an alleged Brady violation, we review the district court's decision de novo. See United States v. Combs, 267 F.3d 1167, 1172 (10th Cir.2001). To establish a Brady violation, a defendant must demonstrate (1) the prosecution suppressed evidence,[ 19 ] (2) the evidence was favorable to defendant, and (3) the evidence was material. United States v. Quintanilla, 193 F.3d 1139, 1149 (10th Cir.1999). There is no dispute in this case that the prosecution suppressed evidence within the meaning of Brady. We therefore concentrate our analysis on the remaining two factors. 121 Evidence is favorable to the defendant if it constitutes either exculpatory or impeachment evidence. Smith v. Sec'y of N.M. Dept. of Corrs., 50 F.3d 801, 825 (10th Cir.1995). Mr. Schultz argues that the evidence is favorable to him because it shows Mr. Castillo cutting at his chest and legs to draw blood. According to Mr. Schultz, this casts doubt on the Government's theory of the case — that the defendants fabricated a reason to move Mr. Castillo from his cell to beat him — and supports his defense that Mr. Castillo was in fact trying to injure himself the previous day. He also argues that it is favorable because it shows Mr. Schultz and Mr. Castillo interacting without incident. The Government counters that this tape does not rebut their theory of the case — inmate Castillo was a known self-mutilator and the Government's theory was that the defendants falsely claimed that he had been cutting himself on April 5 precisely because it was a plausible explanation for entering his cell. In this regard, the tape is consistent with the Government's evidence. We need not conclusively resolve whether this evidence was favorable to Mr. Schultz, however, because we find that it was not material to his guilt. 122 Evidence is material to the defendant if it creates a reasonable probability that, `had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.' Scott v. Mullin, 303 F.3d 1222, 1230 (10th Cir.2002) (quoting United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985)). A `reasonable probability' is a `probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.' Id. (quoting Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). Mr. Schultz argues that there is a reasonable probability that had the videotape been disclosed he would have been acquitted because it defies common sense to believe that Mr. Castillo would cooperate with Mr. Schultz if Mr. Schultz had abused him the previous day. 123 To the contrary, the District Court found, and we agree, that the videotape is consistent with the fact that Mr. Castillo was beaten the previous day and does not cast sufficient doubt on the fact that Mr. Schultz participated in that abuse. The Government presented evidence at trial that on April 5 Mr. Castillo was beaten in the kidney area. The video shows Mr. Castillo's abdomen wrapped in bandages consistent with the area of beating. Further, the video shows Mr. Castillo moving somewhat gingerly, which is also consistent with testimony that he was abused the previous day. That the video shows Mr. Schultz and Mr. Castillo interacting without incident does not undermine our confidence in the outcome of the trial. As the District Court noted, [i]t is a fact of life that in a prison setting, prisoners are forced to interact on a daily basis with the correctional officers, even those officers that may have mistreated or abused the prisoners. The tape merely shows Mr. Castillo cooperating with the officers the day after the assault and as such, it has little bearing on what occurred the previous day. Cf. Engberg v. Wyoming, 265 F.3d 1109, 1118 (10th Cir.2001) (evidence that creates a mere possibility of a different result does not meet the standard for reasonable probability). We therefore hold that the evidence was not material and, as such, Mr. Schultz's due process rights were not violated. 124 Mr. Schultz also argues that the Government's destruction of the April 5, 1996 videotape violated his due process rights and warrants a new trial under California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479, 104 S.Ct. 2528, 81 L.Ed.2d 413 (1984). Mr. Schultz did not raise this issue to the District Court. Accordingly, we review the District Court's failure sua sponte to realize that the destruction warranted a new trial only for plain error. Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b); United States v. McDonald, 933 F.2d 1519, 1524 (10th Cir.1991). 125 For the government's destruction of evidence to rise to the level of affecting a defendant's due process rights under California v. Trombetta, the evidence `must both possess an exculpatory value that was apparent before the evidence was destroyed, and be of a nature that the defendant would be unable to obtain it by other reasonably available means.' United States v. Pearl, 324 F.3d 1210, 1215 (10th Cir.2003) ((quoting Trombetta, 467 U.S. at 489, 104 S.Ct. 2528)). In addition, the defendant must show that the government acted in bad faith. Id. (citing Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 58, 109 S.Ct. 333, 102 L.Ed.2d 281 (1988)). 126 Even if Mr. Schultz could show that the exculpatory value of the video was apparent before the video was destroyed, he fails to show that the tape was destroyed in bad faith. He argues that the failure of the Government to preserve the tape undermines the only reason the tape was created in the first place and it was therefore done in bad faith. To the contrary, there is unrebutted testimony that these tapes, used to ensure that the correctional officers used the proper procedures during forced-cell moves, were routinely destroyed in the ordinary course of business approximately two years after their creation. Mr. Schultz notes that the Government first became aware that Mr. Castillo was beaten when it spoke with Ms. Gutierrez in February 2000, nearly four years after the incident. When the defendants made their first request for the video in 2001, it had already been destroyed. Therefore, Mr. Schultz has failed to establish the District Court plainly erred in not granting a new trial on its own initiative due to the Government's bad-faith destruction of exculpatory evidence.
127 During the investigation that led to Mr. Schultz's indictment, FBI investigators questioned Mr. Castillo. Mr. Castillo told the investigators that he was beaten by several correctional officers around the first of April 1996. Though he could not recall all of the officers' names who participated in the abuse, he did state that all the officers who took part in the forced-cell move committed the abuse. He did not identify Mr. Schultz by name. Since Mr. Schultz was on duty that night, however, the Government began investigating him. Several of Mr. Schultz's coconspirators identified him as a participant. In February 2001, the Government filed a superceding indictment against Mr. Schultz for the abuse of Mr. Castillo. He was tried and convicted over two years later in June 2003. 128 Mr. Castillo was incarcerated until May 2002. During this time, Mr. Schultz never attempted to interview Mr. Castillo about his allegations of abuse. Nor did Mr. Schultz attempt to locate Mr. Castillo after his release but prior to trial. Mr. Castillo was not a witness at trial. After Mr. Schultz was sentenced to 41 months' imprisonment in November 2003, however, he employed a private investigator to locate Mr. Castillo; the investigator found Mr. Castillo within six weeks. After finding him, the investigator showed Mr. Castillo a photo of Mr. Schultz and asked whether Mr. Schultz ever beat him. Mr. Castillo responded that Mr. Schultz had not done so and that, in fact, Mr. Schultz had treated him with dignity and respect. 20 Mr. Schultz filed a motion for a new trial, which the District Court denied. 129 Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33 authorizes a district court to grant a new trial if the interests of justice require one. United States v. Quintanilla, 193 F.3d 1139, 1146 (10th Cir.1999). We review rulings on a motion under Rule 33 for an abuse of discretion. Id. We apply a five-part test to determine whether newly discovered evidence warrants a new trial. Id. at 1147. The defendant must show: 130 (1) the evidence was discovered after trial, (2) the failure to learn of the evidence was not caused by [his] own lack of diligence, (3) the new evidence is not merely impeaching, (4) the new evidence is material to the principal issues involved, and (5) the new evidence is of such a nature that in a new trial it would probably produce an acquittal. 131 Id. 132 The District Court denied Mr. Schultz's motion for several reasons. First, the court found that Mr. Schultz did not use due diligence in attempting to locate Mr. Castillo before trial. Second, the court determined that Mr. Castillo's statements constituted only impeachment evidence because previous statements he had made to the FBI were inconsistent with his current statements. Last, the District Court concluded that there was not a reasonable probability that the evidence would result in an acquittal if Mr. Schultz was to be given a new trial. Because we agree that Mr. Schultz failed to exercise due diligence in discovering the evidence before trial, we need not address whether Mr. Castillo's testimony is merely impeaching or whether there is a reasonable probability that it would result in an acquittal. 133 Due diligence does not require that a defendant exercise the highest degree of diligence possible to locate evidence prior to trial; only reasonable diligence is required. United States v. Allen, 554 F.2d 398, 403 (10th Cir.1977). This requirement prevents defendants from keeping an evidentiary trump card in the event of a conviction. Quintanilla, 193 F.3d at 1147. Mr. Schultz does not dispute that he made no attempt to interview Mr. Castillo before trial. Nor can he argue that he was unable to interview Mr. Castillo before trial, as Mr. Castillo was incarcerated for a full fifteen months after the Government filed the superceding indictment against Mr. Schultz. Rather, he contends that the standard for diligence should be lowered because the Government produced misleading reports that indicated Mr. Castillo had identified him as one of the abusers. As support for this proposition he cites our decision in United States v. Sinclair, 109 F.3d 1527, 1532 (10th Cir. 1997) in which we refused to apply the Seventh Circuit's lower standard for evaluating the fifth prong of the test — that is, when newly discovered evidence would likely produce an acquittal after a subsequent trial. We stated: 134 [W]e are unwilling to apply the Larrison possibility standard when, as here, the allegedly false testimony is merely impeaching. We recognize that the possibility standard applied in Larrison and subsequent cases might be appropriate when the government has knowingly, recklessly, or negligently offered false testimony. However, Mr. Sinclair has not alleged, nor does the record show, that the government knowingly, recklessly, or negligently used Dallas Woods's testimony about his school attendance. We therefore conclude that the Larrison possibility standard should not be applied under the circumstances in this case. 135 Id. at 1532 (citing Larrison v. United States, 24 F.2d 82 (7th Cir.1928)). 136 Mr. Schultz argues that the Government knowingly, recklessly, or negligently offered misleading documents and that such conduct should lessen his due diligence requirement. We decline to adopt such an approach. The requirement of reasonable diligence adequately accounts for any misconduct by the Government. Moreover, the reports from the interviews of Mr. Castillo do not falsely claim that Mr. Castillo identified Mr. Schultz personally. They merely state that Mr. Castillo alleged that he was beaten by all the officers who participated in the forced-cell move — and Mr. Schultz admits that he participated in that process. We therefore find no abuse of discretion on the part of the District Court in denying Mr. Schultz's motion for a new trial.
137 Last, Mr. Schultz argues that the prosecution, knowing that the April 5, 1996 videotape of Mr. Castillo's forced-cell move was destroyed in the ordinary course of business, misrepresented to the jury that the defendants destroyed the tape as part of their conspiracy to deprive Mr. Castillo of his constitutional rights. 21 138 It does appear that part of the Government's pre-trial theory of the case was that the conspirators destroyed the tape to cover up any evidence of abuse. At trial, however, the only statement that Mr. Schultz complains of with respect to the defendants' alleged destruction of the tape came in closing argument when Mr. Blumberg said that the removal of the video camera was a fake. (emphasis added). This statement in no way indicates that Mr. Schultz destroyed the tape inside the camera. Rather, it references Mr. Schultz's role in the conspiracy — his job was to knock over the video camera so that it would not record the ensuing abuse. Because Mr. Blumberg did not argue before the jury that the defendants destroyed this evidence to cover up their crime, Mr. Schultz's argument is simply without merit.