Court Opinion

ID: 9478507
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 06:50:44.823254+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:46:28.012485
License: Public Domain

KRUPANSKY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
Because the majority has ignored Supreme Court precedent and this circuit’s pronouncements and has incorrectly applied the doctrine of corroboration as it applies to unsolicited admissions, I respectfully dissent.
A federal grand jury had charged the defendant, G. Timothy Marshall (Marshall), on April 11,1986 in a five count indictment: one count charged defendant with conspiring with another individual unknown to the grand jury with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute it, and distribution of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(a)(1) and 846 (West 1981); the second count charged that the defendant had knowingly and intentionally distributed cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(a)(1); and the last three counts charged that Marshall had knowingly and intentionally used a telephone to facilitate acts constituting a felony on three separate occasions in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(a)(1) and 843(b).
Testimony elicited from witnesses during Marshall’s jury trial disclosed the following factual scenario. On June 28, 1985, Marshall had a serendipitous encounter with Robert Peluso (Peluso), an undercover FBI informer, at Cici’s Restaurant in Parma, Ohio. During the course of the meeting, Marshall advised Peluso that his cocaine supplier was not making scheduled deliveries, and inquired if Peluso could secure between one and a half and two pounds of cocaine for him.
Peluso reported his conversation with Marshall to an FBI agent who directed Peluso to continue his contact with the defendant. On September 18, 1985, Peluso visited Marshall’s law office, and advised Marshall that he could sell him one-half pound of cocaine for $900 an ounce or any lesser amount for $1200 per ounce. Marshall told Peluso that he would confer with one of his friends to determine how much cocaine would be purchased and he would recontact Peluso. The conversation was recorded by Peluso.
After the passage of two weeks, Peluso received a message on his telephone pager from the defendant requesting that Peluso contact him. Peluso thereupon called Marshall from a telephone booth, at which time Marshall told him that he was desirous of buying cocaine as soon as Peluso could accommodate him.
On November 12,1985, Peluso again met with Marshall in his law office, recording the conversation with a concealed device. At that time, Peluso supplied Marshall with a two gram sample of cocaine, and advised him that he had set aside one pound of the cocaine for sale to Marshall at a price of $1200 per ounce. In response to Marshall’s inquiry, Peluso assured him that the cocaine was uncut. Marshall again advised that he would discuss the sale with his friends.
Peluso asked Marshall if he could distribute as much as a pound of cocaine. Marshall indicated that he would do so if he could contact his distribution contact. Marshall then made a telephone call to an unidentified individual, advising the person of the availability of the cocaine and arrang*1289ing a meeting for that evening.1
The next day, November 13, 1985, the two met again in the defendant’s office; Peluso again recorded the conversation that transpired. During the ensuing conversation, Marshall made the following statement which the jury could have credited as demonstrating that he had distributed the two grams of cocaine which Peluso had given to him on November 12th. “But had, had an opportunity that uh this one person they did it through a can.... Yeah it just, the taste was there but the hit wasn’t but it could have been because it was the can cause they didn’t have [a pipe].” (emphasis added).
A short time later, Marshall requested additional cocaine from Peluso, stating “that was good enough for what you do for me, what for an eight for me, so I can give it to my one guy, let him try it.” Later that same day, Peluso informed Marshall that he could not obtain any additional samples of cocaine. Marshall directed Peluso to hold one-half a pound of cocaine for him.
Peluso next contacted Marshall on November 22nd in the defendant’s office, at which time Peluso advised the defendant that his supplier was back with another supply of cocaine. After discussing the amount of cocaine that was available, Marshall offered to purchase a small amount. After negotiating the price for various quantities, they agreed that if Peluso should obtain the cocaine, he would contact Marshall by telephone at the Iron Horse Restaurant. Later that evening, Peluso called Marshall at the Iron Horse Restaurant as previously planned, and arranged a meeting within a half hour at the Sweetwa-ter Cafe. During the meeting, Peluso agreed to provide one-half pound of cocaine for Marshall, for which Marshall would pay within one week to ten days after delivery. The payment arrangements were unacceptable to Marshall and the offer was rejected. Peluso and Marshall had no further contact after November 22, 1985.
The jury convicted the defendant on the second count, for distribution of cocaine, and on the third, fourth and fifth counts, charging use of a telephone to facilitate a felony. The jury acquitted Marshall on count one, the conspiracy charge. The defendant timely appealed his convictions.
The majority has concluded that Marshall’s conviction on the substantive count of distributing cocaine must be reversed and remanded for a new trial because the government had relied solely upon the uncorroborated statements made by the defendant to the FBI informant, Peluso. The majority has relied upon the general rule that the admissions of a criminal defendant which were obtained subsequent to the completion of a criminal act must be corroborated by some independent evidence to insure the reliability of that defendant’s statements. See, e.g., Opper v. United States, 348 U.S. 84, 90, 75 S.Ct. 158, 163, 99 L.Ed. 101 (1953). In the instant case, the majority has concluded that because Marshall’s conviction for distribution of cocaine on November 12, 1985 relied upon statements which the defendant made to Peluso on November 13th, during the perpetration of the criminal acts, the teachings of Opper and its progeny would dictate that Marshall’s conviction of the distribution charge be reversed and remanded for a new trial.
*1290The requirement that statements made by a criminal defendant be corroborated applies only to statements made after the criminal activity has been concluded. See Opper, 348 U.S. at 90, 75 S.Ct. at 163 (“We think that an accused’s admission of essential facts or elements of the crime, subsequent to the crime, are of the same character as confessions and that corroboration should be required.”) (emphasis added); United States v. Trombley, 733 F.2d 35, 37 (6th Cir.1984) (“The Supreme Court further held in Smith v. United States, 348 U.S. 147, 155, 75 S.Ct. 194, 198, 99 L.Ed. 192 (1954) that the corroboration rule was applicable not only to confessions but also to mere admissions where the admission is made after the fact_”) (emphasis added). This circuit has recognized that admissions made “before, or during the commission of, a crime ... need not be corroborated.” United States v. Pennell, 737 F.2d 521, 537 (6th Cir.1984) (emphasis added), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1158, 105 S.Ct. 906, 83 L.Ed.2d 921 (1985). “The rationale underlying this rule is that out-of-court admissions occurring after a crime has been completed are less reliable than similar admissions made beforehand.” Pennell, 737 F.2d at 537.
The rule requiring corroboration of statements made after the fact stems from the need to avoid convictions based on confessions induced or coerced during police investigations, or on other involuntary statements made during that stressful and confused time. Smith v. United States, 348 U.S. 147, 153, 75 S.Ct. 194, 197, 99 L.Ed. 192 (1954). In contrast, admission made while the crime is in progress bear none of these indicia of unreliability.
Government of the Virgin Islands v. Hoheb, 777 F.2d 138, 142 (3rd Cir.1985). In the case at bar, Marshall was charged not merely with distribution of cocaine, but also with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine during the period of time from June 28, 1985 until November 22, 1985.
In Warszower v. United States, 312 U.S. 342, 347, 61 S.Ct. 603, 606, 85 L.Ed. 876 (1941), the United States Supreme Court indicated that admissions made during the course of a conspiracy “need [not] be corroborated [because] [t]hey contain none of the inherent weaknesses of confessions or admissions after the fact.” The federal courts of appeals, including this circuit, have consistently applied the Supreme Court’s mandate in Warszower in subsequent criminal conspiracy cases. See, e.g., Pennell, 737 F.2d at 537 (“Since th[e] statement was made before the completion of the criminal acts for which he was charged [including a conspiracy count], the statement did not have to be corroborated.”) (emphasis added); see also Hoheb, 777 F.2d at 142 (“[A]dmissions made before a crime occurred need not be corroborated, and ... recent cases have extended this holding to apply to statements made during the course of a conspiracy.”); United States v. Soteras, 770 F.2d 641, 644 n. 4 (7th Cir.1985) (No corroboration required for statement “made during the course of the conspiracy rather than after it was over.... The rule of corroboration exists to prevent errors in convictions based upon untrue confessions alone, whether voluntary or in-voluntary_ The rule thus does not apply to statements made prior to or during the commission of the crime, when that danger does not exist.”) (citations omitted); United States v. Head, 546 F.2d 6, 9 (2nd Cir.1976) (“The admissions made by [the criminal defendant] in his taped conversation ... were made during the course of the alleged conspiracy, rather than after its consummation, and may be sufficient to establish [his] guilt even without corroboration.”), cert. denied sub nom. Wheaton v. United States, 430 U.S. 931, 97 S.Ct. 1551, 51 L.Ed.2d 775 (1977); Buford v. United States, 272 F.2d 483, 486 n. 1 (8th Cir.1959) (“Because appellant’s admissions in this case were made during the course of the crime rather than after its consummation, they may suffice to convict, even though they are uncorroborated, if they establish the crime charged.”). Because the admissions at issue in the instant case were made during the course of the alleged conspiracy, the Supreme Court’s holding in Warsz-ower instructs that no independent corroboration of the statements made by defend*1291ant was necessary to sustain the jury’s conviction of the defendant on the charge of distributing cocaine, and accordingly the defendant’s conviction on this count should be AFFIRMED.
Although I disagree with the majority’s conclusion regarding the need for corroboration of Marshall’s admissions during the November 12,1985 conversation, I do, however, agree with the majority’s determination that Marshall’s convictions on three counts of using a telephone to facilitate the commission of a felony must be reversed, albeit for a different reason than that expressed by the majority.2 In the case at bar, the district court failed to instruct the jury on an essential element of an offense of facilitating the commission of a felony under 21 U.S.C.A. § 843(b).3 As this court has recently observed, “[a] charge under § 843(b) ... requires ... that the government prove the commission of an underlying offense.... [T]o prove facilitation of “possession and distribution of [cocaine]” the government “must prove the completed object.” United States v. McGhee, 854 F.2d 905, 908 (6th Cir.1988) (quoting United States v. Rey, 641 F.2d 222, 224 n. 6 (5th Cir. Unit A March 30, 1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 861, 102 S.Ct. 318, 70 L.Ed.2d 160 (1981)).
Although a “prima facie case need not include proof that the defendant [himself] committed the underlying offense,” United States v. Ward, 696 F.2d 1315, 1319 (11th Cir.) (citing Rey, 641 F.2d at 227 n. 10), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 934, 103 S.Ct. 2101, 77 L.Ed.2d 308 (1983), the language of § 843(b) requires “whatever underlying offense is charged must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, even though it is not separately charged.” Rey, 641 F.2d at 224 n. 6; accord United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 60 n. 4, 105 S.Ct. 471, 474 n. 4, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984) (“[T]he Government must prove, as an element of a § 843(b) offense, the commission of the felony that the accused is charged with facilitating.”) (dictum); see also United States v. Johnstone, 856 F.2d 539, 543 (3rd Cir.1988) (“The occurrence of the underlying felony is a fact necessary to finding a violation of § 843(b).”); United States v. Watson, 594 F.2d 1330, 1342-44 (10th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Brown v. United States, 444 U.S. 840, 100 S.Ct. 78, 62 L.Ed. 2d 51 (1979); United States v. Thomas, 586 F.2d 123, 130-31 (9th Cir.1978); United States v. Hannah, 584 F.2d 27, 28-30 (3rd Cir.1987); United States v. Pierorazio, 578 F.2d 48, 50-51 (3rd Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 981, 99 S.Ct. 568, 58 L.Ed.2d 652 (1978).
In the instant case, the district court failed to instruct the jury that it was necessary to find that the underlying felony had in fact been committed in order to convict Marshall on the facilitation counts. “The failure to instruct on an essential element of an offense ... was plain error and requires reversal of the convictions.” United States v. Pope, 561 F.2d 663, 671 (6th Cir.1977) (citations omitted); see also United States v. O’Dell, 462 F.2d 224, 232 (6th Cir.1972) (“Generally the failure of a District Judge to set forth clearly one of the essential elements of :an offense creates such a significant flaw in the trial process as to require reversal of any convictions obtained for the offense involved.”); United States v. Bryant, 461 F.2d 912, 921 (6th Cir.1972) (“It is a grave error to submit the *1292case without accurately defining the offense charged and its elements.”); see generally 2 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 487, at 723 (1982).
Nor can it be assumed that the district court’s error was harmless in this instance beyond a reasonable doubt simply because the defendant was convicted of the substantive offense of distributing cocaine. “[W]hen an instruction prevents the jury from considering a material issue, it is equivalent to a directed verdict on that issue and therefore cannot be considered harmless.” Hoover v. Garfield Heights Municipal Court, 802 F.2d 168, 177 (6th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 949, 107 S.Ct. 1610, 94 L.Ed.2d 796 (1987); accord United States v. Mentz, 840 F.2d 315, 323-24 & nn. 17-18 (6th Cir.1988). In its instructions to the jury, the district court indicated that it could convict the defendant on these counts if his use of a telephone had facilitated either “a willful and intentional distribution of cocaine or a willful and intentional possession with intent to distribute [cocaine].” Because the jury returned a general verdict of guilty on the three facilitation counts, it is impossible to determine on appeal whether the jury concluded that Marshall’s actions had facilitated the distribution of cocaine for which he was tried and convicted, or the possession of cocaine for which he was neither charged nor convicted. Compare Johnstone, 856 F.2d at 545 (failure to correctly instruct jury concerning the government’s duty to prove the commission of the underlying offense under § 843(b) was harmless since the defendant was convicted of the only predicate offense charged under § 843(b)). Accordingly, the three counts of using a telephone to facilitate the commission of a felony must be REVERSED and REMANDED for a new trial.

. The majority notes that Marshall testified that he had not actually placed the telephone call, but had merely pretended to do so in order to placate Peluso and to persuade him to leave his office. The recording device, which Peluso was wearing concealed on his person, captured the "conversation" on Marshall’s end of the telephone and the government introduced this conversation into evidence at the trial. Peluso also testified that the telephone conversation had taken place. On apellate review of a criminal conviction, this court must view the evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to the government, Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); United States v. Chandler, 752 F.2d 1148, 1152 (6th Cir.1985), and must give the government the benefit of all inferences which can reasonably be drawn from the evidence. United States v. Adamo, 742 F.2d 927, 932 (6th Cir.1984), cert. denied sub nom. Freeman v. United States, 469 U.S. 1193, 105 S.Ct. 971, 83 L.Ed. 2d 975 (1985). As a consequence, this court must assume that Marshall did in fact place a telephone call from his office to an unknown individual during the November 12th meeting with Peluso.

. The majority concluded that Marshall’s conviction on the three facilitation counts must be reversed and remanded for a new trial because the charges were closely connected to the substantive count of distributing cocaine, which the majority would reverse on the basis that Marshall’s admissions to the FBI informant, Peluso, were not properly corroborated.

. The facilitation statute reads:
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to use any communication facility in committing or in causing or facilitating the commission of any act or acts constituting a felony under any provision of this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter. Each separate use of a communications facility shall be a separate offense under this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, the term “communications facility” means any and all public and private instrumentalities used or useful in the transmission of writing, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds of all kinds and includes mail, telephone, wire, radio, and all other means of communications.
21 U.S.C.A. § 843(b) (West 1981).