Opinion ID: 3002091
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Introduction at Trial of Court’s

Text: Suppression-Hearing Statements Blanchard next challenges the introduction at trial of certain statements originally made by the trial judge at a pretrial suppression hearing, styling his argument in terms of both judicial bias and prosecutorial misconduct. Before turning to the merits of Blanchard’s arguments on this point, some additional background is necessary. As already discussed, at trial, Marshall Jr. offered testimony that was damaging to his father’s case. With respect to the firearms charge, he testified that his father owned all but one of the firearms seized from the porch area of the Roberts residence (the “porch firearms”), that his father directed him to remove those firearms from the residence in 2001 and return them in late 2004, and that his father enjoyed unfettered access to the porch area after September or October 2004. And with respect to the methamphetamine manufacturing charge, Marshall Jr. testified that he noticed certain physical changes in his father, including weight loss and facial sores, in late 2004. He also testified regarding his discovery of certain items in the Roberts residence, including the off-white substance that later tested positive for ephedrine, that led to the search of Blanchard’s two residences and his subsequent arrest. At the grand jury hearing nearly one year before trial, in April 2005, Marshall Jr. had offered testimony largely consistent with his eventual trial testimony. With respect to the porch firearms, he testified that Blanchard owned them and had ordered Marshall Jr.’s removal of them from the Roberts residence in 2001; because Lori No. 07-2780 17 (Blanchard’s ex-wife and Marshall Jr.’s mother) had moved out of the house, Blanchard, a convicted felon, could no longer plausibly deny possession by attributing ownership to her. Thus, Marshall Jr. and his father moved the guns to a family friend’s place of business. When that friend died in 2004, Marshall Jr. testified, he obtained a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card so that he could retrieve the firearms and return them to the Roberts residence while allowing his father, in the event that the firearms were discovered by authorities, to plausibly deny ownership/possession (distinct concepts which Blanchard may have incorrectly conflated). However, following the grand jury hearing, at a pretrial suppression hearing on November 15, 2005, Marshall Jr. offered a remarkably different version of events. He testified that the porch firearms originally belonged to his mother but had passed down to him when she left the Roberts residence; his father was not part of the purported chain of ownership. In addition, Marshall Jr. testified that he removed those firearms from the Roberts residence in 2001 and returned them in 2004 of his own volition, without prompting or direction from his father. Finally, he testified that in late 2004, the porch area of the Roberts residence served as his “apartment,” and he enjoyed exclusive access to that area by keeping it locked and maintaining possession of the only keys. In short, after testifying at the grand jury hearing that his father both owned and controlled the porch firearms, Marshall Jr. testified at the suppression hearing that his father did not own, control, or even have physical access to them. 18 No. 07-2780 When Marshall Jr. altered his story at the November 15 suppression hearing, the government (unsurprisingly) confronted him with his inconsistent grand jury testimony. On cross-examination, the government reminded Marshall Jr. that he was under oath and asked whether he would like to alter his testimony in light of his previous grand jury testimony. Q. Do you want to change your testimony at all in reference to your testimony that this house had a separate apartment under your sole control and that these guns were yours? Do you want to alter that testimony at all? A. I, I’m not sure. I don’t, I don’t understand. ... Q. Do you want to be—do you want to persist in stating that this house had been sectioned off to where there’s an area—I believe [defense counsel] referred to it as an apartment of yours that you had sole access to and that these guns were, were yours? Do you want to persist in that testimony? A. Yes. (Suppression Hr’g Tr. 85-86.) The government then confronted Marshall Jr. with specific portions of his prior inconsistent testimony, including his indication that his father owned the porch firearms. The government also reminded Marshall Jr. of his testimony that, in order to protect his father (a convicted felon) in the event that the firearms were discovered by authorities, he and his No. 07-2780 19 father had jointly removed the firearms from the Roberts residence in 2001 and then returned them in 2004, only after Marshall Jr. had procured an FOID card. During the course of this questioning, the court occasionally interjected its own questions, seeking clarification of Marshall Jr.’s answers. The trial judge’s comments that are the subject of Blanchard’s current challenge came in response to a defense counsel objection in the midst of this cross-examination. Defense counsel objected when the government pointed out that Marshall Jr. had never described the Roberts residence porch area as his exclusively controlled “apartment” at the grand jury hearing, contending that this did not tend to impeach Marshall Jr. The court overruled that objection, and offered the following explanatory commentary: I believe it is [impeachment]. The Court finds it to be impeachment. The Court finds this witness not to be credible and that the testimony he has given today is not credible. The Court’s had a chance to observe the manner and demeanor of his testimony. The manner and demeanor on direct was very assertive. . . . I determined that I would ask some questions. And as soon as I began questions about the ownership of the guns back in 2001—of course, I have no knowl- edge of the grand jury testimony—all of a sudden, the demeanor began changing dramatically, how he hangs his head, how he looks, how his facial mannerisms changed; and it was very obvious 20 No. 07-2780 to me after 13 years of being a criminal lawyer and 17 years of being a judge—30 years of being experienced—that his answers all of a sudden became deceptive, less than credible. And, of course, now [the prosecutor] has asked him specific questions that lead me to the undeni- able conclusion that he has not been credible and, because he knew that his answers that he was giving were not the same answers he had given to the grand jury in April. (Suppression Hr’g Tr. 92-93.) And at the conclusion of the cross-examination, the government asked, “So would it be accurate to say . . . that the testimony you’ve given today under oath before this Court has been false and misleading?” (Id. 100.) The court intervened, interposing a Fifth Amendment objection on Marshall Jr.’s behalf. Following the conclusion of the November 15 hearing, Marshall Jr. had time to ponder the comments of the court and the government, and he became concerned that his testimony might lead to legal trouble; soon thereafter, he contacted the government’s case agent to express his concern. They agreed that Marshall Jr. would meet with the case agent and the prosecutor at the government’s office, and that meeting took place a few days later. At that meeting, the case agent and the prosecutor advised Marshall Jr. that they believed he had testified untruthfully at the suppression hearing and that he could face perjury charges. Marshall Jr. agreed to provide a tape-recorded statement correcting those portions of his November 15 testimony that had been untruthful. No. 07-2780 21 On December 12, 2005, at a follow-up hearing to complete argument on Blanchard’s pending suppression motions, the court allowed the government to reopen cross-examination of Marshall Jr. On the reopened crossexamination, Marshall Jr. recanted those portions of the November 15 testimony that had contradicted his grand jury testimony. For example, Marshall Jr. testified that his father owned almost all of the porch firearms, that his father directed the 2001 removal and 2004 return of those firearms, and that his father enjoyed unfettered access to the porch area beginning sometime around October 2004 (when Marshall Jr. relocated his bedroom to another part of the house). Marshall Jr. also testified that, following his grand jury testimony, his father had not-so-subtly pressured him to change his testimony, telling him that the guns were his and that the porch area was his “apartment.” As previously noted, at trial, Marshall Jr. testified on behalf of the government and offered a version of events consistent with his grand jury testimony and his testimony at the December 12 hearing. In addition, he explained that he had testified untruthfully at the November 15 hearing, and that on cross-examination that day, the government had exposed discrepancies between his testimony and his prior grand jury testimony. He further testified that, following the November 15 hearing, he discussed his concerns about having testified untruthfully with his mother. Then, he explained, he contacted the government to express his concern that he might have gotten himself into trouble by testifying untruthfully, hoping to “resolve the issue.” Marshall Jr. further testified that he was recalled to the stand at the December 12 hearing, and at 22 No. 07-2780 that time, he corrected those portions of his November 15 testimony that were untruthful. As might be expected, defense counsel then sought to impeach Marshall Jr.’s testimony by showing his incentive to cooperate with the government based upon his fear of prosecution for perjury. First, defense counsel asked whether, following the November 15 hearing, anyone from the government initiated contact with Marshall Jr. either before or as he left the courtroom, and he indicated that they did not. Defense counsel then asked whether, at Marshall Jr.’s meeting with the case agent and the prosecutor, the government told him that he could be charged with perjury for lying under oath, and he indicated that they did. He also testified that they discussed potential penalties, including a fine and jail time. Marshall Jr. acknowledged the “cloud of a perjury charge” that followed these conversations and his desire to obtain “some mercy for what [he] did” by cooperating with the government. On redirect, the government immediately sought to clarify who had first suggested that Marshall Jr.’s testimony at the November 15 hearing may have been untruthful. When Marshall Jr. responded, “The judge and you,” the prosecutor was not satisfied; he asked Marshall Jr. if