Court Opinion

ID: 9486868
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 12:02:55.382927+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:51:59.036238
License: Public Domain

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in Parts 11(A), (B), and (D) of the majority opinion, but dissent from Part 11(C) regarding the district court’s sentencing enhancement for subornation of perjury pursuant to Guideline § 3C1.1 (obstruction of justice). Whether Mary Lou Cole did in fact commit perjury is not seriously disputed. The critical question is whether Duranseau willfully obstructed or impeded justice by aiding, abetting, counseling, commanding, inducing, procuring, or otherwise willfully causing her to perjure herself. It was the government’s burden to prove Duranseau’s willful conduct, not Duranseau’s burden to negate it. The government admittedly had no evidence of any communication between Duranseau and Cole concerning her decision to testify or the substance of her testimony. The district court relied on evidence that defendant had, in the past, testified for some of his relatives and relatives had, in the past, testified and provided alibis for him. Based on that history, the district court concluded “they’re working with each other and in basically a conspiracy of procuring perjured testimony for each other.” Sentencing Tr. at 118. In my opinion, there simply was insufficient evidence for the district court to conclude that Duranseau suborned Mary Lou Cole’s perjury in this case. Accordingly, I would reverse the two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice.