Court Opinion

ID: 9482056
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:38:57.516049+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:44.206880
License: Public Domain

FERGUSON, Circuit Judge,
dissenting in part:
It is well-established that the government must prove every element of the offense charged.
Lest there remain any doubt about the constitutional stature of the reasonable-doubt standard, we explicitly hold that the Due Process Clause protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.
Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510, 520, 99 S.Ct. 2450, 2457, 61 L.Ed.2d 39 (1979) (quoting In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 1072, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970)). To attain a conviction under the Hobbs Act, the government must prove three elements:
(1) that the defendant coerced the victim to part with property; (2) that the coercion occurred through the “wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence or fear or under color of official right”; and (3) that the coercion occurred in such a way as to affect adversely interstate commerce.
United States v. De Parias, 805 F.2d 1447, 1450 (11th Cir.1986) (citation omitted), cert. denied sub nom. Ramirez v. United States, 482 U.S. 916, 107 S.Ct. 3189, 96 L.Ed.2d 678 (1987). Here, the government has failed to present facts necessary to prove the third element, i.e., that interstate commerce was, or would potentially be, affected by Pascucci’s extortion scheme. The Supreme Court has emphasized, “[t]he charge that interstate commerce is affected is critical since the Federal Government’s jurisdiction of this crime rests only on that interference.” Stirone v. United States, 361 U.S. 212, 218, 80 S.Ct. 270, 274, 4 L.Ed.2d 252 (1960).
Clearly, the Hobbs Act does not make every act of extortion a federal crime, but only those extortions where the blackmail causes an “obstruct[ion], delay[] or [e]f-fect” on interstate commerce. 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a). I cannot agree with the majority that “the Government has shown a suffi*1040cient nexus to interstate commerce to support [Pascucci’s] conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1951.” Supra, at 1035.
As the majority notes, there is a broad congressional purpose behind the Act.
That Act speaks in broad language, manifesting a purpose to use all the constitutional power Congress has to punish interference with interstate commerce by extortion, robbery or physical violence. The Act outlaws such interference “in any way or degree.”
Stirone, 361 U.S. at 215, 80 S.Ct. at 272 (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a)). However, regardless of the breadth of congressional intent, the Act does not relieve the government of its constitutional requirement to prove every element of the crime charged. “[W]e are still a federal, not a unitary, government and, to satisfy the Act, the government still must show that an effect on interstate commerce is a reasonable probability.” United States v. Buffey, 899 F.2d 1402 (4th Cir.1990). This is not to say that Pascucci’s actions are not probably criminal. However, “[sjtates are presumably competent to prosecute extortion fully contained within the state.” United States v. Korab, 893 F.2d 212, 213 (9th Cir.1989).
The government’s argument in support of jurisdiction over Pascucci’s acts has two prongs, both focus on the interstate character of the victim’s employer. The first prong is that Gieck’s employer, Ford Motor Company, would fire the victim if informed of the extortion scheme and then have to expend its resources in retraining a new employee. The government’s second theory is that Gieck would have difficulty performing his job because of the stress inherent in being an extortion victim, thus causing an effect on interstate commerce. These arguments amount to a claim that because Pascucci’s victim was employed by a firm engaged in interstate commerce, the jurisdictional nexus is established. There is no case law support for this proposition. “[Interstate commerce must be affected by extortion, not by a result of extortion.” United States v. Mattson, 671 F.2d 1020, 1025 (7th Cir.1982) (emphasis in original). “There is nothing in [the case law] to suggest that the necessary commercial connection may be shown by producing a child of fantasy.” United States v. Brantley, 777 F.2d 159, 162 (4th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 822, 107 S.Ct. 89, 93 L.Ed.2d 42 (1986). The defense correctly notes that if this court upholds Hobbs Act jurisdiction based on the facts in this case, then virtually every act of extortion could be prosecuted under the Hobbs Act. Any victim that has a job would probably have his or her job performance affected, almost every employer must train new employees, and the vast majority of employers would be found to have business related to interstate commerce.
Such a broad, unprecedented holding is particularly inappropriate here where the alleged adverse employment repercussions are pure speculation. After citing the rule that the effect on interstate commerce may be only minimal or merely potential, see, e.g., United States v. Zemek, 634 F.2d 1159, 1173 n. 20 (9th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 916, 101 S.Ct. 1359, 67 L.Ed.2d 341 (1981), the majority then leaps to the conclusion that the government introduced evidence sufficient to prove federal jurisdiction. The majority states that if Pascucci had followed through on his threat to deliver the audio tape to Gieck’s employer, interstate commerce would have been affected. What is missing is how exactly the knowledge by Ford Motor Company of adultery on the part of one of its employees could, even potentially, affect interstate commerce. Neither the victim’s employer nor its agent was ever called to testify. In fact, there was no evidence presented which gave any indication that Ford Motor Company had ever discharged an employee based on marital infidelity.
The jurisdictional nexus here was based simply on Gieck’s testimony at trial that the extortion attempt caused him stress because he was worried about how his employer would react if the blackmail became public knowledge. This statement without more is not enough to sustain the government’s burden of proving federal jurisdiction. “The government [is] required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the natural consequences of the acts alleged in *1041the indictment would delay, interrupt or otherwise affect interstate commerce.” Mattson, 671 F.2d at 1025. No such evidence exists in this case.
Because the majority’s conclusion is not supported by any precedent in this circuit or any other court, it can only cite to United States v. Phillips, 577 F.2d 495, 501 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 831, 99 S.Ct. 107, 58 L.Ed.2d 125 (1978) to support its conclusion. However, in Phillips, the extortion scheme involved a payoff to a redevelopment agency to receive settlement of a contracting claim. This court stated, “appellants threatened the depletion of resources from a business engaged in interstate commerce. This has been consistently found an adequate jurisdictional basis.” Id. (citations omitted).
Phillips reflects this court’s adoption of the depletion of assets theory as a basis of Hobbs Act jurisdiction. Id. at 501. Under this theory, extortion which does not directly focus on interstate commerce may still be prosecuted under the Hobbs Act depending upon the source of the extorted money. This theory requires that the facts of the case demonstrate a likelihood that the victim being extorted will use money from a company involved in interstate commerce to pay the extortion. No such claim was made here.
The Fourth Circuit has considered a case with similar factual circumstances. In United States v. Buffey, 899 F.2d 1402 (4th Cir.1990), the defendant was involved in an extortion scheme based on an illicit sexual encounter. The victim was the chairman of the board and majority stockholder of a company involved in interstate commerce. In this position, the victim had easy access to corporate funds. However, the court found that because the victim was a personally wealthy individual, “[i]t is much more likely that [he] would have resorted to his readily available personal assets to satisfy any extortion demand.” Id. at 1405. Because the government could not show that the victim would actually use corporate funds instead of his own personal money, the court reversed the Hobbs Act conviction. The court concluded that “in a case such as the present one, where the evidence introduced by the government, even if believed by the jury, would not satisfy the jurisdictional predicate, the defendant is entitled to a judgment of acquittal.” Id. at 1407.
As the Seventh Circuit has warned, “[i]f a sufficient nexus were found here, [I am] unable to conceive of an extortionate transaction which would not be punishable under the Hobbs Act.” Mattson, 671 F.2d at 1025. Therefore, I would reverse Pascucci’s Hobbs Act conviction for lack of federal jurisdiction.
I concur in the remainder of the majority opinion.