Court Opinion

ID: 9460529
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 21:53:32.285463+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:36:40.138304
License: Public Domain

SWYGERT, Chief Judge
(dissenting).
I dissent on the single ground that the trial judge clearly did not comply with Rule 30 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to the prejudice of the defendants, depriving them of a fair trial.
The facts briefly restated are as follows. Defendants were part of a conspiracy to burglarize a savings and loan association in Summit, Illinois. Although their efforts were aborted, they were indicted and convicted of conspiracy to attempt to enter the bank and the substantive crime of attempting to enter the bank. At trial, defendants admitted that they set out to burglarize the bank, but that they retreated from such an intention before they were arrested. They denied that either of them had taken any action to break into the bank, specifically they claim that neither had drilled a hole in the lock of the building. A co-conspirator, Ernest Kelly, testified that the defendant Sweeney did, in fact, drill a hole in the lock of the bank door. *711It is undisputed that the defendants did unload burglary tools intended to be utilized before they decided to call a halt to their actions.
With respect to the events surrounding the noncompliance with Rule 30, the following should be considered. In conference prior to the final summations, the trial judge stated that the following instruction tendered by defendants would be given:
The word “attempt” used in my instructions means a substantial step toward the completion of an act. Merely preparing to do something is not an attempt.
Later in the conference, defendants’ counsel objected to one of the Government’s proposed instructions because the instruction failed to distinguish between attempt and preparation. The judge responded that any such defect in the Government’s instruction would be cured by the above instruction submitted by defendants.
Relying on what turned out to be a misrepresentation, counsel for defendants argued to the jury the distinction between attempt and preparation and requested that the jury pay particular attention to defendants’ instruction. Counsel stated:
[W]hen you listen to the instructions that the judge gives you, I want you to pay particular attention to a distinction and I think the court will draw between an attempt and just preparation. I think that the court will tell you that preparation is not an attempt. A person can be ready to do something, but unless he actually tries to make the entry, that is not an attempt. I would like you to listen closely for that instruction. .
During the charge to the jury the instruction in question was not given in full. Thereafter counsel for defendants objected but to no avail.1 Counsel had been given no prior notice that their tendered instruction would be rejected by the court. Indeed, the notice counsel had received was to the effect that the jury would be given the instruction.
The judge’s action was clearly contrary to the procedure required by Rule 30 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. That rule provides in relevant part:
The court shall inform counsel of its proposed action upon the requests [for jury instruction] prior to their arguments to the jury, but the court shall instruct the jury after the arguments are completed. .
Notwithstanding the majority’s claim that “the . . . object of the rule . is to require the judge to inform the trial lawyers in a fair way of what the charge is going to be” and that “the degree of specificity required by the rule, . . . need not be great,” the rule vests no discretion in the judge to act in a way that is tantamount to virtual noncompliance with its directives. That is, this is not a question of degree as the majority would have it. Rather, the trial judge completely and unequivocally failed to comply with the rule, in that he did not inform counsel prior to the jury argument that he was going to reject a portion of their tendered instruction.
This noncompliance was error. The error involved, it is contended, must be found to be prejudicial such that a reversal is warranted. To this end, the majority adopts the following test for prejudicial impact: “The standard usually described is whether the party was unduly and unfairly prevented from making his argument to the jury or was substantially misled by the court’s ac*712tions or inaction in formulating his arguments.” Whitlock v. United States, 429 F.2d 942, 946 (10th Cir. 1970). Although the majority acknowledges the difficulties in the distinction between attempt and preparation, it fails to perceive how defense counsel could be substantially misled in formulating an argument to the jury due to the judge’s not giving the full instruction as he indicated in conference. The majority seemingly justifies its finding of no prejudice by arguing that the jury through a process of “negative implication” would have considered the defense of mere preparation by reason of what the judge charged in defining attempt and from that the majority reasons that it is “inconceivable that notification of the alteration in the instruction would have affected the tenor of the defense argument.”
The majority attempts to distinguish defendants’ main authority, Wright v. United States, 339 F.2d 578 (9th Cir. 1964), as being inapposite. I submit it is indeed apposite. In Wright the court forewarned defense counsel that he might not receive an instruction on his theory of the case while in the instant action counsel was not put on notice that his theory of the case would be rejected; counsel had no reason to suspect that his theory of. defense would not be utilized since the court had represented that it would. The Wright court rejected the Government’s contention that the error committed was harmless stating:
Nor can we say that the error may be disregarded as not affecting appellant’s substantial rights. Rule 52(a), Fed.R.Crim.P. Because the court failed to clearly inform, counsel of its ruling on his requests, counsel’s closing argument was based upon a theory of defense which the court rejected, or at least ignored, in its subsequent instructions. We cannot say that this did not impair the effectiveness of counsel’s argument and hence of appellant’s defense. Carbo v. United States, 314 F.2d 718, 745-746 (9th Cir. 1963), and Watada v. United States, 301 F.2d 869, 870 (9th Cir. 1962), are not to the contrary, for in neither case did it appear that the failure of the court to comply with Rule 30 affected the content of counsel’s argument. 339 F.2d at 580 (emphasis added).
The trial judge’s failure in Wright was “to clearly inform counsel of its ruling” while in the instant action the trial judge failed to totally inform counsel of its ruling. Moreover, as in Wright the tenor of defense counsel’s argument was affected in that counsel argued a theory of defense to the jury on which he was not given the operative instruction previously promised. Had defendants received notice prior to argument that the court was going to reject counsel’s theory of defense on preparation, counsel would have been afforded an opportunity to recast the thrust of his argument.
The majority’s attempt to diminish the underlying holding in Loveless v. United States, 104 U.S.App.D.C. 157, 260 F.2d 487 (1958), is likewise unpersuasive. Loveless demonstrates the need to gauge the impact of the trial court’s failure to follow Rule 30 on the decision-making process of the jury. As previously noted, relying on the trial judge’s representation, defense counsel here made statements to the jury requesting that they give due attention to the judge’s charge on preparation. The court’s failure to subsequently give such charge in full after counsel said it would, undermined the credibility of defense counsel and consequently could have had an incalculable detrimental effect on the merits of his clients’ defense. Hodges v. United States, 243 F.2d 281, 284 (5th Cir. 1957).2 More important. *713the failure of the court to draw the distinction, after counsel had said it would, might possibly create an impression in the jurors’ minds that the distinction was immaterial to their determination of the issues of fact. See United States v. Fernandez, 456 F.2d 638, 644 (2d Cir. 1972). As the court stated in Loveless, under “the circumstances of this case the least that could have been done to comply with this important rule was to afford counsel an opportunity to re-open and argue the issue . . . . ” 260 F. 2d at 488. On the basis of the foregoing I would hold that defendants have made out a sufficient showing of prejudicial error warranting a new trial.3
Moreover, I am not convinced that an affirmative showing by defendants of *714prejudice is necessary to render a violation of Rule 30 reversible error. In dealing with violations of the explicit and mandatory directions of Rule 30 the Fifth, Fourth, and Third Circuits have fashioned a rule that noncompliance with Rule 30 warrants reversal unless it appears affirmatively that the defendant was not prejudiced. See Hodges v. United States, 243 F.2d 281, 283-284 (5th Cir. 1957); Lovely v. United States, 169 F.2d 386, 391 (4th Cir. 1948); United States v. Schartner, 426 F.2d 470, 479-480 (3d Cir. 1970). In Hall v. United States, 378 F.2d 349 (10th Cir. 1967), the court went so far as to hold that failure to comply with one of the mandatory provisions of Rule 30 merited automatic reversal without the necessity for any showing of prejudice. Without passing on the wisdom of the Tenth Circuit’s holding that prejudice need not be shown, I would subscribe to a standard that in effect creates a presumption of prejudice in favor of the defendant due to the trial judge’s failure to follow Rule 30. Proof of prejudice is often a difficult task for although one can subjectively sense the prejudicial impact of this kind of error, it is quite another thing to articulate this intuition in cogent, objective terms. In such circumstances it is proper to draw the presumption in favor of prejudice to the defendant especially when it is considered that the error emanates from events strictly within the realm of objective determination and does not touch on subjective matters of judgment. The mandatory provisions of Rule 30 create rather simple and quite explicit procedures for the trial judge to follow; they leave no room for exception. Accordingly, failure to adhere to those provisions should create a presumption of prejudice which could only be overcome through an affirmative showing that the violation of Rule 30 does not result in prejudice to a defendant.

. The instruction as given react:
The word “attempt” used in this instruction means a substantial step toward the completion of an act. To attempt an offense means wilfully to do some act in an effort to bring about or accomplish something the law forbids to be done. This act is done wilfully if done voluntarily and intentionally and with specific intent to do something the law forbids, that is to say that purpose either to disobey or to disregard the law.

. The Second Circuit, in a different yet relevant context, on analyzing the impact of procedural error on the jury’s decision-making process has stated in language most ap-propos to the instant action that the impact of such error brings “to bear in some degree, serious, although not measurable, an improper influence upon the jury, from whose deliberations every consideration other than that of the evidence and the law as expounded in a proper charge, should be excluded.” United States v. Samuel Dunkel & Co., 173 F.2d 506, 510 (2d Cir. 1949).

. Those events however do not stand isolated for the trial judge committed further error under Rule 30 after his original failure to abide by the rule’s prescriptions. The trial judge failed to follow that portion of Rule 30 which directs that:
. . . No party may assign as error any portion of the charge or omission therefrom unless he objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating distinctly the matter to which he objects and the grounds of his objection. Opportunity shall be given to make the objection out of the hearing of the jury and, on request of any party, out of the presence of the jury.
Although the record is not absolutely clear on this point, it would appear that the trial judge failed to give defense counsel the requisite opportunity to assert an objection to the charge prior to the submission of the case for the jury’s consideration. And, as our brethren in the Sixth Circuit have held, the trial judge was required pursuant to the directives of Rule 30 “. . . to give counsel time to record objections to the charge before the case was submitted for consideration by the jury.” United States v. Nalley, 455 F.2d 259, 262-263 (6th Cir. 1972) (emphasis in original). This additional failure to comply with Rule 30 further diminished defense counsel’s ability to rectify the court’s prior error.
In a civil action, Hetzel v. Jewel Companies, 457 F.2d 527 (7th Cir. 1970), we addressed ourselves to this issue. The plaintiff in that action claimed that the trial judge failed to comply with the requirements of Rule 51 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure — the identical civil counterpart of Rule 30. Although the trial judge had informed the plaintiff well in advance of summation to the jury that plaintiff’s tendered instructions would not be given and had indeed supplied plaintiff’s counsel with a set of the instructions that were to be used, we held that the trial judge’s actions fell short of compliance with Rule 51 and as such constituted reversible error. We stated:
The requirement that the judge inform the parties prior to final argument of his action on requested instructions enables the parties to argue the instructions to the jury without being surprised when the instructions are given. . . .
The practice here, while apparently adhering to the letter of Rule 51, ran somewhat counter to the intent of the rule and contravened its purpose. We are unable to determine from the record whether the parties had adequate notice of the content of the instructions which the court intended to give. Plaintiff’s counsel contends he did not. Whatever the situation may have been, the rule contemplates more than technical compliance by mere notice to counsel prior to the closing arguments of the court's formal ruling on any request; it also contemplates that counsel be effectively informed of the content of the instructions which the court intends to give in a sufficiently specific fashion and sufficiently in advance of argument to allow counsel to argue the case intelligently. 457 F.2d at 535.
Moreover, in finding that the procedure utilized by the trial judge of requiring objections to the instructions prior to summation failed to comply with the directives of Rule 51, we held:
. . . While the technique employed here of requiring counsel to register their objections to instructions in advance of the arguments is commendable for the earliness of the notice given the judge of the parties’ objections, it does not fully satisfy the requirements of Rule 51. The rule’s requirement that counsel state their objections with specificity necessitates deferring the process of formally stating their objections until the charge has been given in its entirety. Dunn v. St. Louis-San Francisco Ry., supra [10 Cir., 370 F.2d 681]. Objections to the jury instructions must be made after the charge and before the jury begins its deliberation, therefore, so that the trial court may correct any errors in the instructions, including inadvertent ones which could not have been predicted prior to the charge. Moreover, for such objections to be made without prejudicing the jury against any party, they must be made out of its hearing, which would ordinarily require that the jury be absent from the courtroom. 457 F.2d 535 (emphasis added).