Court Opinion

ID: 9478261
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 06:44:17.518654+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:46:19.568597
License: Public Domain

FAIRCHILD, Senior Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
With all respect, I conclude that it was an abuse of discretion to admit Mr. Grobe’s testimony concerning defendant’s offer to have documents falsely backdated for a different taxpayer.
I
In this case the only issue was whether the taxpayers made their agreements in January, when the documents were executed, or in December, when the documents were dated. Testimony that defendant offered to backdate documents for a different taxpayer was wholly irrelevant in establishing the correct date of the agreements at issue. Yet it presented a substantial danger of improperly influencing the jury to decide that because defendant had been willing to backdate documents falsely for someone else, he backdated them falsely in this case. The only legitimate relevance was in establishing defendant’s willfulness, and the testimony was completely superfluous in that respect. If the jury found that the agreements were made in January, and that the returns were therefore fraudulent, it could not escape finding that defendant was the architect of the fraud.
*482The danger of unfair prejudice was great, and the probative value minimal. The testimony should have been excluded under Rule 403, Federal Rules of EvidenCE. Nothwithstanding relevance to the element of willfulness, evidence is to be excluded unless it meets the balancing test of Rule 403. United States v. Shackleford, 738 F.2d 776, 779 (7th Cir.1984).
The Supreme Court recently acknowledged “concern that unduly prejudicial evidence might be introduced under Rule 404(b),” and listed as one of four sources of protection from unfair prejudice “the assessment the trial court must make under Rule 403 to determine whether the probative value of the similar acts evidence is substantially outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice. ...” Huddleston v. United States, — U.S. -, 108 S.Ct. 1496, 1502, 99 L.Ed.2d 771 (1988).
Although the trial judge, in admitting the evidence, asserted that its relevance to the issue of willfulness outweighed any unfair prejudice, there is nothing to show that his assessment was more than perfunctory. Under the other evidence in this case the jury could not have found the returns fraudulent without finding that defendant acted willfully. Rule 403 balancing “must be a principled exercise of discretion.” United States v. Beasley, 809 F.2d 1273, 1279 (7th Cir.1987); United States v. Hudson, 843 F.2d 1062, 1065 (7th Cir.1988); and United States v. Leight, 818 F.2d 1297, 1302 (7th Cir.1987).
As to the date of Quirt’s agreement to purchase, the sole evidence that the agreement had not been made in December was Quirt’s testimony, arguably impeached by his affidavit to the IRS. Defendant’s testimony that it was made in December was somewhat corroborated by the testimony of a disinterested third party who had considered a similar purchase. Thus there was virtually a one-on-one conflict in testimony, and the jury should have been free to resolve it without hearing that defendant had previously offered to backdate documents falsely for another taxpayer.
II
There is a temptation to treat the court’s limitation on Mr. Gratz’ role as counsel as de minimis, for it seems unlikely that examination by Mr. Gratz rather than Mr. Bohren would have produced a different result. In this context, however, defendant need not demonstrate prejudice. United States v. Rankin, 779 F.2d 956, 960-61 (3d Cir.1986). Wilson v. Mintzes, 761 F.2d 275, 286 (6th Cir.1985). Cf. Flanagan v. United States, 465 U.S. 259, 268, 104 S.Ct. 1051, 1056, 79 S.Ct. 288 (1984), involving denial of self-representation.
The government initially objected on the ground Mr. Gratz might be a witness, and later on what it termed ethical grounds. The court appears to have recognized only the former ground.
“In seeking to disqualify a defendant’s chosen counsel, the government bears a heavy burden of establishing that concerns about the integrity of the judicial process justify the disqualification.” United States v. Washington, 797 F.2d 1461, 1465 (9th Cir.1986).
With all respect, I conclude that the government failed to carry its burden here as to either ground of objection.
As to the first ground, the government failed to indicate any probability that it would call Mr. Gratz to testify. It had stipulated to his testimony, but found it unnecessary to introduce it. The stipulation is not in the record, but it seems clear that Mr. Gratz drew the leases for defendant and could have testified concerning their execution. Thus his testimony would have related “solely to an uncontested or formal matter and there is no reason to believe that substantial evidence will be offered in opposition to the testimony....” United States v. Johnston, 690 F.2d 638, 642 (7th Cir.1982).
Mr. Gratz had earlier represented the Koehlers in a wholly unrelated business matter, the incorporation of a laundromat. When the Koehlers were considering buying the fuel alcohol equipment through defendant, Mr. Koehler had asked Mr. Gratz about the transaction, but Mr. Gratz had said he could not represent Mr. Koehler in that matter.
*483The government did not spell out any probability that Gratz obtained confidential information in his earlier representation of the Koehlers which would have been useful if he were cross examining them on behalf of defendant in this ease, nor any other way in which his professional duty to the Koehlers arising out of the laundromat representation would or could conflict with his duty as counsel for defendant. See, for example, the type of showing successfully made in Wheat v. United States, — U.S. -, 108 S.Ct. 1692, 1695, 100 L.Ed.2d 140 (1988) and United States v. O’Malley, 786 F.2d 786, 792 (7th Cir.1986).
Instead, the prosecutor offered only vague suggestions that Mr. Gratz had gained some knowledge of the Koehler’s financial condition which might have assisted defendant (doubtless referring to the underlying transaction); and that the Koehlers would be unhappy to see Mr. Gratz act as counsel for defendant because they had “relied upon his presence at these meetings in drafting the leases ... to kind of protect them.” The Koehlers were doubtless unhappy with the outcome of their investment.
In my view of the relationship between the Koehlers and Gratz there was neither “a demonstration of actual conflict [nor] a showing of a serious potential for conflict,” and the presumption in favor of defendant’s counsel of choice was not overcome. Wheat, 108 S.Ct. at 1700.
Argument by the government and remarks by the district judge suggest the proposition that one competent counsel of choice is enough, and a defendant has no right to insist that “co-counsel” examine a witness. To the contrary, where a defendant retains more than one counsel, disqualification of one of them from full participation is a denial of Sixth Amendment rights unless adequately supported by some consideration recognized in the cases and not present here. United States v. Laura, 607 F.2d 52, 58, 61 (3d Cir.1979), Adams and Rosenn, JJ., concurring.