Court Opinion

ID: 9467606
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 01:52:23.491147+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:25.818561
License: Public Domain

TANG, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The critical inquiry is whether any rational trier of fact could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt when “all of the evidence ” is considered in the light most favorable to upholding the conviction. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); United States v. Kipp, 624 F.2d 84, 84 (9th Cir. 1980). “[TJhis inquiry does not require a reviewing court to ‘ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” Jackson, 443 U.S. at 318-19, 99 S.Ct. at 2789, quoting Woodby v. INS, 385 U.S. 276, 282, 87 S.Ct. 483, 486, 17 L.Ed.2d 362 (1966). Rather, it is for the trier of fact “fairly to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts.” Id.
The majority acknowledges this standard, yet, in my view, draws reasonable inferences in favor of Kirk. While the evidence is consistent with Kirk’s theory, it is also consistent with the Government’s theory. A trier of fact reasonably could conclude that the DOJ and Kirk delayed discovery and formulated statements as they did because they did not want Pratt and others to learn that the DOJ had no records. In order to keep that information from Pratt, they also kept it from the court, leading the court to believe records did exist and delaying the discovery. It is reasonable to conclude that the statements deliberately were phrased to convey the desired misinformation without expressly lying to the court.
In reviewing the record as a whole, I find that Kirk’s pervasive lack of candor amounts to a contumacious obstruction of the administration of justice, and I thus would affirm on the sufficiency of the evidence question. I agree with the district court’s comments in this case: “Honesty and integrity should be paramount in the dealings of all attorneys with fellow attorneys and with the court. Otherwise we reduce justice to a battlefield with no holds barred.”