Court Opinion

ID: 9955886
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-29 18:00:43.715673+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:15:40.478243
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-60227             Document: 54-1         Page: 1       Date Filed: 03/29/2024

           United States Court of Appeals
                for the Fifth Circuit                                     United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                   Fifth Circuit
                                    ____________                                   FILED
                                                                            March 29, 2024
                                     No. 23-60227
                                                                             Lyle W. Cayce
                                    ____________
                                                                                  Clerk

United States of America,

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

Jamarius Roscoe,

                                             Defendant—Appellant.
                    ______________________________

                   Appeal from the United States District Court
                     for the Northern District of Mississippi
                            USDC No. 4:19-CR-101-1
                   ______________________________

Before Richman, Chief Judge, and Graves and Wilson, Circuit
Judges.
Per Curiam:*
       Jamarius Roscoe appeals the revocation of his supervised release. He
argues the district court violated his right to confront adverse witnesses by
considering hearsay during his revocation hearing. Because Roscoe has not
demonstrated that the error affected his substantial rights, we affirm.

       _____________________
       *
           This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-60227         Document: 54-1       Page: 2   Date Filed: 03/29/2024

                                 No. 23-60227

                                        I
       In July 2020, Jamarius Roscoe pleaded guilty to receiving ammunition
while under a felony indictment. He was sentenced to thirty-three months of
imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Shortly after his term of
supervised release commenced, Roscoe was arrested on four counts of
attempted murder in Moorhead, Mississippi. He also tested positive for
fentanyl, marijuana, and benzodiazepines. Based on these two violations of
his terms of supervision—a new violation of law and use of a controlled
substance—the United States Probation Office filed a petition to revoke
Roscoe’s supervised release.
       At the revocation hearing, Roscoe admitted to using a controlled
substance but denied the allegations of attempted murder. To establish the
new violation of law, the Government presented the testimony of Moorhead
Police Department Chief Frederick Randle, who assisted with the attempted-
murder investigation, to establish the new violation of law.
       According to Chief Randle, on September 26, 2022, Moorhead police
received a call about a shooting in which four people were wounded. During
the investigation, several witnesses—including the victims—informed law
enforcement that the shots came from the passenger side of a blue Nissan
Altima or Maxima. Witnesses also reported seeing the blue vehicle speeding
away from the scene, but they were unable to identify the vehicle’s
occupants. Law enforcement was told the blue vehicle had damage on the
left rear side of the vehicle.
       Roscoe’s girlfriend reported to law enforcement that she had received
calls that Roscoe had been involved in the shooting. She further informed
them that Roscoe was in possession of her blue Nissan Altima on the date of
the shooting. Video footage from her home later revealed Roscoe exiting the
passenger side of the vehicle that evening. The police subsequently searched

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                                       No. 23-60227

the vehicle and discovered a 40-caliber spent round similar to four of the shell
casings found at the crime scene. Officers took photographs of the vehicle,
the crime scene, the shell casings, and the video footage. These photographs,
as well as Chief Randle’s testimony, were admitted into evidence at the
revocation hearing without objection.
        At the close of arguments, the district court first noted that Roscoe
had made it just four months before he violated the terms of supervision by
using multiple controlled substances.               The court then addressed the
attempted-murder allegations. The court observed there was no proof that
Roscoe committed the September 2022 shooting but concluded the
Government sufficiently connected him to the crime to establish a violation
of his terms of supervision. The district court revoked Roscoe’s supervised
release and resentenced him to the maximum allowable sentence of twenty-
four months of imprisonment and twelve months of supervised release.
Roscoe timely appealed.1
                                              II
        Due process affords defendants in supervised release revocation
proceedings the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses unless
there is a specific finding of good cause for not allowing confrontation.2
When making this good-cause determination, the district court must

        _____________________
        1
            See Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(1)(A).
        2
         See, e.g., Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 489 (1972); United States v. Kersee, 86
F.4th 1095, 1098 (5th Cir. 2023) (“[B]ecause a ‘person’s liberty is at stake’ in revocation
proceedings, due process entitles the defendant to a ‘qualified right to confront and cross-
examine adverse witnesses.’” (quoting United States v. Grandlund, 71 F.3d 507, 509-10 (5th
Cir. 1995))); United States v. Jimison, 825 F.3d 260, 263 (5th Cir. 2016) (“The
confrontation right in these nontrial proceedings that nonetheless may result in a
deprivation of the defendant’s liberty is governed by the Due Process Clause.” (citing
Morrissey, 408 U.S. at 481-82)).

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                                       No. 23-60227

“balance[] the [releasee’s] interest in confronting a particular witness against
the government’s good cause for denying it.”3 However, “district courts are
not required to make such a finding sua sponte.”4 Absent an objection on
confrontation grounds, “the district court has no reason to know it should be
balancing a defendant’s confrontation interest against the government’s
interests.”5
        On appeal, Roscoe contends the district court erred by admitting out-
of-court statements regarding the September 2022 shooting in violation of
his due process right to confront adverse witnesses against him. As Roscoe
concedes, because he did not raise this claim of error in the district court, our
review is limited to plain error.6 To establish plain error, Roscoe must show
“(1) an error or defect not affirmatively waived; (2) that is ‘clear or obvious,
rather than subject to reasonable dispute’; and (3) that affected his
substantial rights.”7 If he can show all three, we may exercise our discretion
to correct the error only if it “seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public
reputation of judicial proceedings.”8

        _____________________
        3
          United States v. Kindred, 918 F.2d 485, 486 (5th Cir. 1990) (quoting Farrish v.
Miss. State Parole Bd., 836 F.2d 969, 978 (5th Cir. 1988)).
        4
         United States v. McDowell, 973 F.3d 362, 366 (5th Cir. 2020) (noting “[t]here is
no authority requiring a specific good-cause finding in the absence of an objection”).
        5
           Id.; see also United States v. Mendoza, 414 F. App’x 714, 718 (5th Cir. 2011) (per
curiam) (unpublished); United States v. Little, No. 21-20056, 2021 WL 3011951, at *3 (5th
Cir. July 15, 2021) (per curiam) (unpublished).
        6
          See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b); Holguin-Hernandez v. United States, 140 S. Ct.
762, 764 (2020); United States v. Williams, 847 F.3d 251, 254 (5th Cir. 2017).
        7
         United States v. Ponce-Flores, 900 F.3d 215, 217 (5th Cir. 2018) (quoting Puckett v.
United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009)).
        8
          Molina-Martinez v. United States, 578 U.S. 189, 194 (2016) (quoting United States
v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 736 (1993)).

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                                         No. 23-60227

        The crux of Roscoe’s argument is that hearsay was the sole basis for
the revocation of his supervised release. But, as noted by the Government,
“that is not a true depiction of the proof presented in court.” The district
court revoked Roscoe’s supervised release after finding by a preponderance
of the evidence that Roscoe violated two conditions of his supervision—use
of a controlled substance and a new violation of law. While hearsay certainly
was offered to establish the latter violation,9 under plain error review, Roscoe
“must demonstrate that [this error] ‘affected the outcome of the district
court proceedings.’”10 For two reasons, Roscoe has not met that burden.
        First, in addition to the challenged hearsay, non-hearsay evidence
connected Roscoe to the September 2022 shooting: photographs of the crime
scene, suspect vehicle, shell casings, and video footage.11 This evidence was
admitted without objection. Moreover, Chief Randle—as a member of the
investigation team—had personal knowledge of how the criminal
investigation unfolded. The portions of Chief Randle’s testimony that were
based on his personal knowledge did not implicate Roscoe’s due process right

        _____________________
        9
          Roscoe does not specify which parts of Chief Randle’s testimony implicated his
right to confrontation. Rather, he appears to treat all evidence presented at the revocation
hearing as hearsay. The Government agrees that some portions of Chief Randle’s
testimony introduced hearsay. Indeed, Chief Randle testified as to out-of-court statements
made by various witnesses and parties related to the case.
        10
             Puckett, 556 U.S. at 135 (quoting Olano, 507 U.S. at 734).
        11
           See United States v. Shaw, 769 F. App’x 139, 140 (5th Cir. 2019) (per curiam)
(unpublished) (holding other evidence besides the alleged hearsay supported a finding that
the defendant violated his supervised release); United States v. Hughes, 237 F. App’x 980,
981 (5th Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (unpublished) (observing that other evidence, including
photographs and the testifying witness’s own observations, connected the defendant to the
violation); United States v. Doss, 155 F. App’x 770, 771 (5th Cir. 2005) (per curiam)
(unpublished) (concluding the alleged confrontation violations did not affect the
defendant’s substantial rights because the challenged hearsay testimony was not the only
evidence supporting the revocation).

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                                      No. 23-60227

to confrontation.12 For example, Chief Randle watched the video footage and
identified Roscoe as one of the passengers exiting the suspect vehicle on the
day of the shooting. Likewise, the investigation team “discovered a 40-
caliber spent round in [the vehicle] that matche[d] four shell casings that
[they] got from the crime scene.” The district court permissibly weighed the
credibility of this evidence, in addition to the aforementioned photographs,
and concluded Roscoe had some connection to the September 2022 shooting.
        Second, the evidence of Roscoe’s use of a controlled substance,
including his admission that he used controlled substances, informed the
district court’s revocation decision.13 In fact, the district court specifically
identified this violation when deciding whether to revoke Roscoe’s
supervised release.14 Accordingly, even if we were to assume the district
court erred by considering hearsay during the revocation hearing, Roscoe has
not demonstrated “‘a reasonable probability that, but for the error,’ the
outcome of the proceeding would have been different.”15

        _____________________
        12
          See United States v. El-Mezain, 664 F.3d 467, 495-96 (5th Cir. 2011) (noting “[i]f
the evidence supports a finding that the witness does possess personal knowledge . . . he
may testify on that basis” even when other portions of the testimony are based on hearsay).
        13
          See United States v. Dartez, 713 F. App’x 266, 270 (5th Cir. 2017) (per curiam)
(unpublished) (emphasizing that other violations “contributed to the district court’s
decision” to revoke the defendant’s supervised release); United States v. Burnett, 537 F.
App’x 299, 303-04 (5th Cir. 2012) (per curiam) (unpublished) (concluding the defendant’s
admitted violations of his supervised release further supported the district court’s
revocation decision).
        14
          When deciding whether Roscoe violated his terms of supervised release, the
district court observed: “[Roscoe] tested positive for fentanyl, marijuana, and
benzodiazepines . . . . And that is a violation of the terms of his supervision.”
        15
         Molina-Martinez v. United States, 578 U.S. 189, 194 (2016) (quoting United States
v. Dominguez Benitez, 542 U.S. 74, 82 (2004)).

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                                        No. 23-60227

        “All that is required for the revocation of supervised release is enough
evidence to satisfy the district judge that the conduct of the petitioner has not
met the conditions of supervised release.”16 The evidence presented by the
Government—including the photographs related to the September 2022
shooting, portions of Chief Randle’s testimony, and Roscoe’s use of
controlled substances—is sufficient to support the district court’s decision
to revoke Roscoe’s supervised release. Any error arising from the district
court’s admission of hearsay without good cause did not affect Roscoe’s
substantial rights.
                                    *        *         *
        For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM.

        _____________________
        16
        United States v. Minnitt, 617 F.3d 327, 335-36 (5th Cir. 2010) (internal quotation
marks omitted) (quoting United States v. McCormick, 54 F.3d 214, 219 n.3 (5th Cir. 1995)).

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