Court Opinion

ID: 9481452
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:19:23.040595+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:19.456771
License: Public Domain

NATHANIEL R. JONES, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
The district court in this case somehow understood defense counsel to say, during final arguments before the jury, that “the purpose of government is to hurt people”. The district court then twice characterized this statement as “improper” and warned defense counsel “not to do it again.” J.App. at 126. In my judgment, the remarks of the district court before the jury warrant reversal of this guilty verdict. Moreover, I would find that Smith’s letter did not constitute a “true threat” to the safety of the President or Vice President. As a result, I respectfully dissent.
I
The obligation of a district judge to remain an impartial and unbiased observer is clear. Every defendant is entitled to expect that the judge will not act as an arm of the prosecution or become an adversary. Particularly when, as in this case, an indigent, unsympathetic defendant stands accused of a serious offense, a trial judge must maintain every appearance of impartiality. In this circuit, trial judges are required to avoid “even the appearance of judicial bias.” Anderson v. Sheppard, 856 F.2d 741, 746 (6th Cir.1988). Because, in my view, the district court failed to meet this standard, I would reverse.
The fact that the offensive remarks may not have been representative of the district court’s demeanor throughout the trial is not dispositive. Equally irrelevant is the proposition that the district court’s statements were harmless error. In Sheppard, supra, we held that “the harmless error doctrine is inapplicable in cases where judicial bias and/or hostility is found to have been exhibited at any stage of a judicial proceeding.” 856 F.2d at 746-47. The district court’s unwarranted interruption of defense counsel’s closing argument imputed an anti-government motive to the defense counsel which could have impacted considerably on a juror’s deliberations, especially given the nature of the crime. As we have stated, “interference with the presentations of counsel has the potential of making a mockery of a defendant’s right to a fair trial, even in the absence of open hostility.” United States v. Hickman, 592 F.2d 931, 934 (6th Cir.1979). In addition, I fail to see how the district court’s reading of boilerplate jury instructions stating that “this Court has no opinion as to the guilt or innocence of this defendant” remedies the judicial bias which had already infected the proceedings. This is another basis to reverse and remand for a new trial.
II
I recognize that the objective standard adopted in this circuit does not require proof of an actual, subjective intent to carry out a threat. Under United States v. Vincent, 681 F.2d 462 (6th Cir.1982), “ ‘a reasonable person’ ” must “ ‘foresee’ ” that the recipient would interpret the statement as “ ‘a serious expression of an intention to inflict bodily harm upon or to take the life of the President, and that the statement not be the result of mistake, duress, or coercion.’ ” Id. at 464 (citation omitted). In order to properly evaluate whether *744Smith’s statement meets Vincent, the complete statement must be examined:
To Whom it May Concern Im fed up with President Bush. In is so call kinded gentler world but he isnt dont Anything for the American People who are poor, hungry and he doesnt want the average Joe on the street to get a minimum wage hike but he thinks he & Congress needs one hes full of Shit And I think Some one ought to Take him OUT AS IN “Death” but then we would be stuck with Quaye and god knows he isnt Any Count. I would like to kill Both of Them. Ask Secret Service About ME especially the ASS hole Agent in Miami Ron Collins we had a Run In in 1986 in Ft Lauderdale hes the one he fuck up my Life by lying To The Courts. I may be drinking Now but Im telling the Truth he And that Female bitch Assit US Attory karen what Ever Sent ME to Prison for no Reason — And They should And will pay if I have Anything To Do with it You can Take That to the bank. I Live here in The city now. Mike
The majority gives exceedingly short shrift to Smith’s argument that this letter was insufficient as a matter of law to sustain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 871, which outlaws threats against certain federal officers made “knowingly and willfully”. Closer examination of the factual record indicates to me that this case is far from clear-cut. First, the language of the letter is conditional — “Some one ought to Take him OUT” and “I would like to kill Both of Them.” (Emphasis added.) In Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705, 89 S.Ct. 1399, 22 L.Ed.2d 664 (1969), the Supreme Court reversed a conviction under section 871 for making the statement “If they ever make me carry a rifle the first man I want to get in my sights is L.B.J.” The Court held that the statement was not a true threat under section 871, in part, because of “the expressly conditional nature of the statement.” Id. at 708, 89 S.Ct. at 1402. In the instant case, the purely conditional nature of the letter is augmented by the fact that the letter does not specify a time, date, or place. United States v. Olson, 629 F.Supp. 889, 894 (W.D.Mich.1986) (verbal statement not a true threat, in part, because “no specification of time, place or date.”).
Second, Smith’s letter contained several statements expressing political opinions. In Watts, the Supreme Court stated that section 871 cases must be evaluated “ ‘against the backdrop of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.’ ” 394 U.S. at 708, 89 S.Ct. at 1401 (citation omitted). Smith’s crudely worded diatribe against the President expressed deep personal and political frustration. Before Smith is sent off to prison for nearly five years, I believe we are obligated to consider the letter as an impulsive statement of political alienation. However vituperative Smith’s tone may have been, and in light of this country’s commitment to free, frank, and unrestrained discussion of political issues, I cannot conclude that this letter constitutes an objective threat against our political leaders. See also United States v. Olson, 629 F.Supp. 889, 896 (W.D.Mich.1986) (granting motion to acquit because statement “ T am threatening the life of the President today. I will take down any fed that comes to get me’ ” not true threat; listeners knew that defendant “had neither the means nor the intent to travel over 950 miles to Washington, D.C.”).
Finally, as counsel for Smith admitted at oral argument, Smith is “a very sad figure” more in need of psychiatric counseling than a lengthy prison term. Although Smith’s competency to stand trial was not at issue on appeal, I would regard his clouded mental and emotional state as bearing on our determination that the letter was an objective, true threat. Following his bumbling, almost comic, delivery of the letter to the federal building and swift apprehension, Smith made no verbal threats. He was urged by an interviewer to seek hospitalization. Furthermore, Smith initially maintained that his purpose *745in writing the letter was to return to prison. Given these circumstances, along with the fact that the letter contains expressions of purely political opinion, I cannot conclude that the letter was a serious expression of an intent to harm the President or Vice President.
The evidence of a true threat to the two Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Florida is even more inconclusive. The letter only states that “They should And will pay”. It appears clear to me that, as a matter of law, the charges relating to the federal prosecutors is totally without foundation. I would not find that Smith “knowingly and willfully” threatened any federal officials in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871.
Ill
In my view, the district court should have granted Smith’s motion under Fed.R. Crim.P. 29 for a judgment of acquittal based on insufficiency of the evidence. Even if the district court correctly decided the Rule 29 motion, however, I believe that the district court’s statements during defense counsel’s closing argument were prejudicial and warrant a remand for a new trial. For the foregoing reasons, I dissent from the opinion of the majority.