United States v. Arcadipane ( 1994 )


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  • USCA1 Opinion








    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

    _________________________

    No. 94-1342

    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

    Appellee,

    v.

    PHILIP G. ARCADIPANE,

    Defendant, Appellant.

    __________________________

    APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

    FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

    [Hon. Rya W. Zobel, U.S. District Judge] ___________________

    __________________________

    Before

    Selya, Circuit Judge, _____________

    Bownes, Senior Circuit Judge, ____________________

    and Stahl, Circuit Judge. _____________

    __________________________

    Willie J. Davis, with whom Davis, Robinson & White was on ________________ ________________________
    brief, for appellant.
    Robert E. Richardson, Assistant United States Attorney, with ____________________
    whom Donald K. Stern, United States Attorney, was on brief, for _______________
    appellee.

    _________________________

    November 23, 1994
    _________________________



















    SELYA, Circuit Judge. Defendant-appellant Philip G. SELYA, Circuit Judge. _____________

    Arcadipane appeals his conviction on multiple counts of mail

    fraud and making false statements. In the last analysis, the

    plethora of arguments that he advances, though ably presented,

    signify nothing of consequence. Accordingly, we affirm.

    I. BACKGROUND I. BACKGROUND

    In April of 1988, while working for the United States

    Postal Service, appellant suffered a job-related psychiatric

    disability. He eventually filed a claim for benefits with the

    Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) of the United

    States Department of Labor (DOL). He received his first

    disability check in February of 1989, retired from the Postal

    Service eight months later, and continued to receive disability

    payments thereafter.

    Prior to the onset of his disability, appellant had

    been repairing firearms and reloading shell casings as a for-

    profit sideline. In connection with its initial processing of

    the disability claim, OWCP wrote to him in June of 1988

    requesting information about extra-curricular employment

    activities. After consulting with counsel, appellant explained

    that his sideline business had been reorganized and that he was

    no longer gainfully employed in it.1 OWCP did not press the

    point at that time.

    In 1990, 1991, and 1992, OWCP requested appellant, in
    ____________________

    1Appellant informed OWCP that his wife now owned the
    business; that it was not operating profitably; and that, when he
    assisted her at all, he did so without remuneration.

    2












    conjunction with his ongoing receipt of compensation benefits, to

    complete Form 1032. This is a standardized form designed to

    obtain historical information regarding benefit recipients'

    income from sources such as employment and self-employment. OWCP

    uses the data to compute benefit levels.

    On September 7, 1990, after again consulting with

    counsel, appellant submitted a completed Form 1032 to OWCP. He

    made similar submissions on September 7, 1991, and August 20,

    1992.2 Each time he stated that he "had not been employed for

    the previous twelve months," and that he "had been unemployed

    during the previous fifteen months."

    In 1992, DOL launched an investigation of appellant's

    business activities. In May, an agent posing as a purchasing

    officer for an out-of-state police department contacted appellant

    and, after some negotiations, ordered 20,000 rounds of

    ammunition. The "purchaser" arranged to pick up the order at

    appellant's home. Upon his arrival, however, he whipped out a

    search warrant instead of a requisition, combed the premises, and

    seized various incriminating business records (including income

    tax returns).

    Soon thereafter, a federal grand jury returned a 31-

    count indictment against appellant. Twenty-eight counts charged

    mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1341 (1988), on the theory

    that appellant had wrongfully obtained money through the mails

    ____________________

    2Each form, by its terms, covered "the 12 months prior to
    the date of [the benefit recipient's] completion and signature."

    3












    (specifically, 28 monthly disability checks) by "falsely

    [claiming] that [he] was not employed and that [he] was

    unemployed." The remaining three counts charged appellant with

    making false statements (one for each Form 1032 that he submitted

    to OWCP) to the effect that he was "unemployed".

    A jury convicted appellant on all counts, and OWCP

    suspended benefit payments. This appeal ensued.

    II. ANALYSIS II. ANALYSIS

    Appellant has advanced several asseverations in support

    of his appeal. We deal with them seriatim. ________

    A. OWCP's Authority. A. OWCP's Authority. ________________

    Appellant maintains that his convictions under the

    false statement statute cannot stand.3 He constructs the

    following syllogism: (1) inasmuch as he was totally disabled

    during the time frame covered by the indictment, his situation is

    controlled by 5 U.S.C. 8105(a) (which provides in relevant part

    that, when an employee's "disability is total, the United States

    shall pay the employee during the disability monthly monetary
    ____________________

    3The false statement statute provides:

    Whoever, in any matter within the
    jurisdiction of any department or agency of
    the United States knowingly and willfully
    falsifies, conceals or covers up by any
    trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or
    makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent
    statements or representations, or makes or
    uses any false writing or document knowing
    the same to contain any false, fictitious or
    fraudulent statement or entry, shall be
    [punished as provided].

    18 U.S.C. 1001 (1988).

    4












    compensation"), (2) section 8105 does not specifically authorize

    DOL to prod benefit recipients to report earnings from employment

    and self-employment;4 and, therefore, (3) the government had no

    authority to request the information that it now asserts

    appellant falsely supplied. He adds, moreover, that because 5

    U.S.C. 8105 did not authorize the solicitation of earnings

    information, he had no way of knowing that section 1001 applied

    to Form 1032, and thus did not receive fair warning that

    inscribing false statements on the form could subject him to a

    federal criminal prosecution. We do not find either facet of

    this argument persuasive.

    1. Lack of Authority. It seems self-evident that 1. Lack of Authority. ___________________

    section 1001 is intended to promote the smooth functioning of

    government agencies and the expeditious processing of the

    government's business by ensuring that those who deal with the

    government furnish information on which the government

    confidently may rely. To this end, section 1001 in and of itself __ ___ __ ______

    constitutes a blanket proscription against the making of false

    statements to federal agencies. Thus, while section 1001

    prohibits falsification in connection with documents that persons

    ____________________

    4Appellant contrasts section 8105 with a sister statute
    which specifically provides that:

    The Secretary of Labor may require a
    partially disabled employee to report his
    earnings from employment or self-employment,
    by affidavit or otherwise, in the manner and
    at the times the Secretary specifies . . . .

    5 U.S.C. 8106(b) (1988).

    5












    are required by law to file with agencies of the federal

    government, see, e.g., United States v. Dale, 991 F.2d 819, 828- ___ ____ _____________ ____

    29 (D.C. Cir.) (involving a fraudulent application for a

    Department of Defense security clearance), cert. denied, 114 S. _____ ______

    Ct. 286, 650 (1993), its prohibitory sweep is not limited to such

    documents. The statute equally forbids falsification of any

    other statement, whether or not legally required, made to a

    federal agency. See United States v. Meuli, 8 F.3d 1481, 1485 ___ _____________ _____

    (10th Cir. 1993) (explaining that section 1001 "prohibits false

    statements whether or not another law requires the information be

    provided"), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 1403 (1994); United States _____ ______ _____________

    v. Kappes, 936 F.2d 227, 231 (6th Cir. 1991) (explaining that ______

    section 1001 itself provides "clear statutory authority to

    justify holding [persons] to the reporting requirement"); United ______

    States v. Olson, 751 F.2d 1126, 1127 (9th Cir. 1985) (per curiam) ______ _____

    (holding that section 1001's prohibition of false statements is

    not restricted to those that are submitted pursuant to some

    (other) specific statutory requirement); see also United States ___ ____ _____________

    v. Corsino, 812 F.2d 26, 31 (1st Cir. 1987) (holding sub silentio _______ ___ ________

    to same effect).

    Applying this rationale to the case at hand, we

    conclude that the "lack of authority" issue is a red herring.

    Under section 1001, the government does not need to show that it

    had some particular extrinsic authority to request the

    information falsely provided by the defendant. Consequently,

    whether DOL or OWCP had the specific statutory authority to seek


    6












    employment and self-employment data from appellant is irrelevant

    to the validity of the convictions under review.



    2. Fair Warning. The second prong of appellant's 2. Fair Warning. _____________

    assignment of error posits that, because the benefits he received

    under 5 U.S.C. 8105 were not conditioned by statute upon his

    truthful completion of Form 1032, he did not receive fair warning

    that inscribing false statements on that form would expose him to

    criminal charges. Appellant's protest lacks force.

    To be sure, the Due Process Clause forbids the

    government from depriving an individual of his liberty by reason

    of specified conduct unless he is given fair warning of the

    consequences of that conduct. See Marks v. United States, 430 ___ _____ _____________

    U.S. 188, 191 (1977); United States v. Gallo, 20 F.3d 7, 12 (1st _____________ _____

    Cir. 1994). Fair warning thus requires that a criminal statute

    be sufficiently definite to apprise a person of ordinary

    intelligence that his anticipated behavior will transgress the

    law. See United States v. Barker Steel Co., 985 F.2d 1123, 1129 ___ _____________ ________________

    (1st Cir. 1993). Fair warning, however, does not mean that the

    first bite is free, nor does the doctrine demand an explicit or

    personalized warning. Although a prospective defendant is

    entitled to notice of what behavior will be deemed to infract the

    criminal code, the fair warning doctrine neither excuses

    professed ignorance of the law nor encourages deliberate

    blindness to the obvious consequences of one's actions. See ___

    Gallo, 20 F.3d at 12. _____


    7












    In this instance, appellant had ample warning because

    section 1001 is clear on its face. The Court held as much in

    United States v. Yermian, 468 U.S. 63 (1984), a case in which the _____________ _______

    defendant made false statements on a form provided by his

    employer. The employer, unbeknownst to the defendant, later

    forwarded the form to the Department of Defense. In affirming

    the defendant's conviction, the Court held that section 1001

    "unambiguously dispenses with any requirement that the Government

    also prove that [the false] statements were made with actual

    knowledge of federal agency jurisdiction." Id. at 69 (citations ___

    omitted). Under Yermian, the plain language of section 1001 _______

    constitutes a constitutionally sufficient warning.

    We think that the instant case is even stronger than

    Yermian. Here, appellant knew that Form 1032 originated with a _______

    government agency. He had every reason to believe that the

    continued receipt of government funds his disability benefits

    depended, at least in part, on his responses. Form 1032 itself

    placed appellant on notice, through a warning conspicuously

    printed on the front page of the form, that he must make honest

    answers to the questions, regardless of who would later read the

    completed document. In short, appellant's claim that he was not

    adequately forewarned rings surpassingly hollow.

    B. Variance. B. Variance. ________

    The indictment charged, inter alia, that appellant _____ ____

    falsely stated on Form 1032 that he was "unemployed." Appellant

    complains that the prosecutor told the jury that it could convict


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    not only if it found appellant to have been "employed," but also

    if it found appellant to have been "self-employed." In

    appellant's view, this is a fatal variance between the indictment

    and the proof at trial. We think that the reports of the

    indictment's demise are greatly exaggerated.

    Appellant's contention suffers from two vices. First,

    he did not raise it in the district court appellant did not

    object to the introduction of evidence regarding his self-

    employment, and never presented the alleged discrepancy between

    the charge and the evidence to the trial judge by motion or

    otherwise and he has, therefore, waived the point. See, e.g., ___ ____

    United States v. Slade, 980 F.2d 27, 31 (1st Cir. 1992) (holding _____________ _____

    that "a party is not at liberty to articulate specific arguments

    for the first time on appeal simply because the general issue was

    before the district court"); United States v. Figueroa, 818 F.2d _____________ ________

    1020, 1025 (1st Cir. 1987) (similar).

    In addition to being procedurally defaulted,

    appellant's contention is substantively wanting. A variance

    occurs when the proof at trial portrays a scenario that differs

    materially from the scenario limned in the indictment. See ___

    United States v. Vavlitis, 9 F.3d 206, 210 (1st Cir. 1993); ______________ ________

    United States v. Moran, 984 F.2d 1299, 1304 (1st Cir. 1993). A ______________ _____

    variance requires reversal of a conviction only if it is both

    material and prejudicial, for example, if the variance works a

    substantial interference with the defendant's right to be

    informed of the charges laid at his doorstep. See Vavlitis, 9 ___ ________


    9












    F.3d at 210; United States v. Sutherland, 929 F.2d 765, 772 (1st _____________ __________

    Cir.), cert. denied, 112 S. Ct. 83 (1991). We afford plenary _____ ______

    review to the question of whether an asserted variance requires

    retrial. See United States v. Cardall, 885 F.2d 656, 670 (10th ___ ______________ _______

    Cir. 1989); see also 2 Steven A. Childress & Martha S. Davis, ___ ____

    Federal Standards of Review 11.32, at 125 (1992). ___________________________

    We see no cognizable prejudice here. When, as now, an

    indictment gives a defendant particular notice of the events

    charged, and the proof at trial centers on those events, minor

    differences in the details of the facts charged, as contrasted to

    those proved, are unlikely to be either material or prejudicial.

    See, e.g., United States v. Morrow ___ F.3d ___, ___ (1st Cir. ___ ____ _____________ ______

    1994) [No. 93-1463, slip op. at 14]. So it is here: self-

    employment is merely one form of employment, and a person who is

    either employed or self-employed could not be said in any

    meaningful sense to be "unemployed." Whatever slight difference

    may exist between employment and self-employment cannot support

    the weight of the claimed variance.

    We are fortified in this conclusion because the record

    makes transpicuously clear that appellant at all times understood

    his statements about both employment and self-employment to be at ____

    issue. For example, the government, in its opening discourse,

    told the jury the evidence would show that appellant "stated that

    he was not employed or self-employed . . . ." Appellant did not

    object to this assertion. He likewise did not object during the

    trial as the government placed into evidence his statements


    10












    regarding self-employment. Appellant's persistent failure to

    object belies his afterthought claim that he was misled. So does

    defense counsel's opening statement, in which he advised the

    jury:

    The gist of the charge is the fact that he is
    accused of filing on Form 1032 a statement
    that he was not employed and not self-
    employed. The government says that he was __________________________________
    self-employed, and that the answers that he _____________________________________________
    filed, indicating that he was not, deceived _____________________________________________
    the government. [Emphasis supplied.] _______________

    By like token, both attorneys discussed self-employment in their

    summations.

    To reverse a conviction on the basis of a variance we

    must find that the variance caused a defendant to be misinformed

    of the charges against him or otherwise affected his substantial

    rights. See Vavlitis, 9 F.3d at 210; United States v. Fisher, 3 ___ ________ _____________ ______

    F.3d 456, 462 (1st Cir. 1993); Moran, 984 F.2d at 1304; _____

    Sutherland, 929 F.2d at 772. Appellant's claim of variance does __________

    not come close to meeting this criterion.

    C. Materiality. C. Materiality. ___________

    In order to sustain a conviction under 18 U.S.C.

    1001, the government is required to prove not only that the

    defendant's statements were false, but also that they were

    material. See Corsino, 812 F.2d at 30; United States v. ___ _______ ______________

    Notarantonio, 758 F.2d 777, 785 (1st Cir. 1985); cf. United ____________ ___ ______

    States v. Scivola, 766 F.2d 37, 44 (1st Cir. 1985) (holding to ______ _______

    like effect in prosecution for perjury). The district court

    decided the question of materiality rather than asking the jury


    11












    to decide it. Appellant fulminates that the court erred in

    following this protocol, and suggests that determinations of

    materiality should be consigned to the jury's exclusive province.

    He is incorrect.

    Materiality in a "false statement" case is a question

    of law to be determined by the court. See, e.g., United States ___ ____ _____________

    v. Daily, 921 F.2d 994, 1004-06 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 112 S. _____ _____ ______

    Ct. 405 (1991); United States v. Bullock, 857 F.2d 367, 370-71 _____________ _______

    (7th Cir. 1988); United States v. Hansen, 772 F.2d 940, 950 (D.C. _____________ ______

    Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1045 (1986); United States v. _____ ______ _____________

    Bryant, 770 F.2d 1283, 1290 (5th Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 475 ______ _____ ______

    U.S. 1030 (1986); United States v. Greber, 760 F.2d 68, 73 (3d ______________ ______

    Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 988 (1985); United States v. _____ ______ ______________

    Norris, 749 F.2d 1116, 1121 (4th Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 471 ______ _____ ______

    U.S. 1065 (1985); United States v. Elkin, 731 F.2d 1005, 1009 (2d _____________ _____

    Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 822 (1984); United States v. Abadi, _____ ______ _____________ _____

    706 F.2d 178, 180 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 821 (1983); _____ ______

    United States v. Richmond, 700 F.2d 1183, 1188 (8th Cir. 1983). _____________ ________

    We have heretofore adopted this view, see Corsino, 812 F.2d at 31 ___ _______

    n.3; see also United States v. Nazzaro, 889 F.2d 1158, 1166 (1st ___ ____ _____________ _______

    Cir. 1989) (stating in perjury prosecution "that the materiality

    of perjurious testimony is within the exclusive domain of the

    court, not the jury"), and continue to believe that it is

    correct. We recognize that one circuit has maintained a

    different stance. See United States v. Gaudin, 28 F.3d 943, 943- ___ _____________ ______

    44 (9th Cir. 1994) (en banc) (adhering to United States v. ______________


    12












    Valdez, 594 F.2d 725, 728-29 (9th Cir. 1979)), petition for cert. ______ __________________

    filed, 63 U.S.L.W. 3268 (U.S. Sept. 19, 1994) (No. 94-514) and 63 _____

    U.S.L.W. ___ (U.S. Oct. 21, 1994) (No. 94-6571). With respect,

    we consider the Ninth Circuit cases to be wrongly decided and, as

    have so many of our sister circuits, we decline to follow them.

    We conclude, therefore, that the trial court did not err in

    withholding the question of materiality from the jury.



    Appellant's fallback position is that his false

    statements did not surpass the materiality threshold. However,

    the test for materiality is not stringent:

    [M]ateriality requires only that the fraud in
    question have a natural tendency to
    influence, or be capable of affecting or
    influencing, a governmental function. The
    alleged concealment or misrepresentation need
    not have influenced the actions of the
    Government agency, and the Government agents
    need not have been actually deceived.

    Corsino, 812 F.2d at 30 (quoting United States v. Markham, 537 _______ _____________ _______

    F.2d 187, 196 (5th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1041 _____ ______

    (1977)); see also Notarantonio, 758 F.2d at 787; cf. Scivola, ___ ____ ____________ ___ _______

    766 F.2d at 44 (articulating equivalent test in perjury case).

    Here, the false statements easily qualify as material.

    Statements made on Form 1032 have a natural tendency to

    affect benefit levels. An OWCP claims examiner testified at

    trial that any reported "changes in [recipients'] employment

    activity . . . would change their entitlement to the amount of

    compensation that they [had] been receiving." Based on this

    testimony alone, the district court did not err in finding

    appellant's false statements to be material.


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    D. The Jury Instructions. D. The Jury Instructions. _____________________

    Appellant assigns error to the lower court's charge in

    two respects. First, he maintains that the court blundered when

    it refused to give his requested "good faith" instructions.

    Second, he complains that the court strayed beyond the pale in

    discussing the function of appellate courts vis-a-vis jury

    verdicts. Neither thesis withstands scrutiny.

    1. Good Faith. Appellant suggested two "good faith" 1. Good Faith. ___________

    instructions at the close of trial.5 The judge refused to adopt

    these suggestions verbatim. Appellant now asserts that the

    judge's failure to instruct the jury in accordance with the

    precise language that appellant recommended constituted

    reversible error. We think not.

    It is a settled rule that "jury instructions are to be

    evaluated in the context of the charge as a whole, and a

    defendant has no absolute right to the use of particular

    language." United States v. Dockray, 943 F.2d 152, 154 (1st Cir. _____________ _______

    1991); accord Cupp v. Naughten, 414 U.S. 141, 146-47 (1973); ______ ____ ________

    United States v. Nivica, 887 F.2d 1110, 1124 (1st Cir. 1989), _____________ ______

    cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1005 (1990). The language that the _____ ______

    district court actually used in its charge especially certain

    language that we have set forth in the margin6 was more than
    ____________________

    5One proposed instruction dealt with generic good faith in
    completing the forms. The second referred specifically to
    appellant's good faith reliance on the advice of counsel.

    6The court framed the key question for the jury in the
    following way:


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    adequate to protect appellant's rights. The charge explicitly

    mentioned both good faith and appellant's reliance on counsel in

    the course of submitting the forms. Moreover, other parts of the

    court's instructions unambiguously put the jury on notice that

    the government had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that

    appellant knew the statements were false when made, and that he

    intended to defraud DOL by his answers. No more was exigible.

    See Dockray 943 F.2d at 155; Nivica, 887 F.2d at 1124-25; see ___ _______ ______ ___

    also New England Enters., Inc. v. United States, 400 F.2d 58, 71 ____ _________________________ _____________

    (1st Cir. 1968) (holding that a forthright instruction on

    specific intent is ordinarily a sufficient response to a

    defendant's request for a good faith instruction), cert. denied, _____ ______

    393 U.S. 1036 (1969).

    In sum, a defendant who has fully preserved his rights

    is entitled to a charge that fairly apprises the jury of the

    elements of the offense, the presumption of innocence, the burden

    and quantum of proof, and such theories of defense as may be

    supported by the evidence. He is not entitled to the nuances of

    phrasing that he finds most soothing.

    2. The Court's Comment. Appellant's final assignment 2. The Court's Comment. ____________________

    of error concerns a portion of the charge in which the court
    ____________________

    Did [the defendant] in good faith deny
    that he was employed or self-employed or has
    the government proven that he knew that the
    answer to the question was false and that he
    intended to defraud the Department of Labor?

    In this connection, the court also told the jury that "the
    defendant has offered evidence that he acted on the advice of a
    lawyer when he told the government that he was not employed."

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    said:

    You are the judges of the facts, and I
    will leave to you entirely the judgment of
    the facts. I ask you to leave to me entirely
    the judgment as to the law.

    You should also understand that if I am
    in error, there is a higher court that can
    and cheerfully will reverse me. However,
    there is no higher court that will review
    your judgment of facts. You are the only,
    the final judges of the facts in this case.

    Appellant argues that this commentary lessened the government's

    burden of proof by easing the jury's sense of responsibility.

    Being told explicitly that appellate review is available by a

    court that is prepared "cheerfully" to set aside the verdict,

    appellant reasons, makes jurors less responsible, ergo, more

    prone to convict, bolstered by the knowledge that if the

    defendant is innocent the jury's mistake likely will be repaired

    by a panel of appellate judges.

    Instructing a criminal jury about the appellate process

    is a fairly prevalent practice among trial judges. Nonetheless,

    such instructions are usually unnecessary, and we counsel against

    them unless there is some special reason to give such

    instructions in a particular case. See, e.g., United States v. ___ ____ ______________

    Greenberg, 445 F.2d 1158, 1162 (2d Cir. 1971) ("It might have _________

    been better procedure not to have told the jury . . . ``[not] to

    worry' because this court would reverse if there were error.");

    Commonwealth v. Burke, 382 N.E.2d 192, 195 (Mass. 1978) ("[I]n ____________ _____

    the absence of special circumstances, the judge should not refer

    to the appellate process."). Be that as it may, reversal does


    16












    not follow automatically merely because a trial judge succumbs to

    a bad idea. Thus, instructions anent the appellate process do

    not ordinarily constitute error as long as they are accurate.

    See, e.g., United States v. Ferra, 900 F.2d 1057, 1060 (7th Cir. ___ ____ _____________ _____

    1990) ("Truth usually promotes the operation of the judicial

    system. Jurors need not be left to wonder about the allocation

    of tasks between trial and appellate courts."), cert. denied, 112 _____ ______

    S. Ct. 1939 (1992); see also United States v. Miceli, 446 F.2d ___ ____ _____________ ______

    256, 259-60 (1st Cir. 1971) (finding no error in an instruction

    that "merely indicated to the jury that it had no responsibility

    as to questions of law").

    Challenges to instructions regarding the function of

    appellate courts should be treated like other challenges to the

    charge: the court of appeals must examine the charge as a whole

    to determine if the judge balanced the instructions, correctly

    informed the jurors of the governing law, imbued the jurors with

    an appropriate sense of responsibility, and avoided undue

    prejudice. In this case, surveying the charge in its entirety

    persuades us that the challenged comments were unlikely either to

    have confused the jurors or to have camouflaged the solemnity of

    their task. Indeed, the judge's instruction may well have

    impelled the jury to consider its determination of facts more,

    rather than less, cautiously; after all, the judge's remarks

    about the finality of the jury's factfinding function probably






    17












    overstated the law.7 See, e.g., United States v. Loder, 23 F.3d ___ ____ _____________ _____

    586, 592-93 (1st Cir. 1994) (reversing jury verdict on grounds of

    evidentiary insufficiency). Therefore, the challenged

    instruction did not "dilute the [jury's] sense of responsibility

    but rather focus[ed] jurors on their true responsibilities."

    Ferra, 900 F.2d at 1061. _____

    III. CONCLUSION III. CONCLUSION

    We need go no further. Appellant's asseverational

    array

    lacks merit. For aught that appears, appellant was fairly tried

    and lawfully convicted. The judgment below, must, therefore, be



    Affirmed. Affirmed. ________


















    ____________________

    7This is not a case like United States v. Fiorito, 300 F.2d _____________ _______
    424 (7th Cir. 1962), in which the trial judge diminished the
    jurors' role and diluted their collective sense of responsibility
    by assuring them that, if they forgot something, "that's part of
    the game . . . . That's why we have a court of appeals . . . ."
    Id. at 426. To the contrary, the court's instruction here had ___
    precisely the opposite import.

    18






Document Info

Docket Number: 94-1342

Filed Date: 11/23/1994

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 9/21/2015

Authorities (35)

united-states-v-david-m-dale-united-states-of-america-v-michelle , 991 F.2d 819 ( 1993 )

Cupp v. Naughten , 94 S. Ct. 396 ( 1973 )

United States v. James A. Notarantonio, United States of ... , 758 F.2d 777 ( 1985 )

United States v. Alfred Scivola, Jr. , 766 F.2d 37 ( 1985 )

United States v. George Vernon Hansen , 772 F.2d 940 ( 1985 )

United States v. Yermian , 104 S. Ct. 2936 ( 1984 )

United States v. Luz Elena Valdez, United States of America ... , 594 F.2d 725 ( 1979 )

United States v. Frances Slade , 980 F.2d 27 ( 1992 )

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. A. Alvin GREBER, ... , 760 F.2d 68 ( 1985 )

United States v. Bernard P. Elkin, A/K/A "Bob Elkin," and ... , 731 F.2d 1005 ( 1984 )

United States v. George A. Moran , 984 F.2d 1299 ( 1993 )

United States v. Joseph H. Greenberg , 445 F.2d 1158 ( 1971 )

United States v. Raul Casiano Figueroa , 818 F.2d 1020 ( 1987 )

United States v. Edward E. Dockray , 943 F.2d 152 ( 1991 )

United States v. Ronald L. Olson , 751 F.2d 1126 ( 1985 )

United States v. Barry F. Bryant , 770 F.2d 1283 ( 1985 )

United States v. Dianne Sutherland, United States of ... , 929 F.2d 765 ( 1991 )

United States v. Thomas M. Kappes, III , 936 F.2d 227 ( 1991 )

United States v. Carl Fiorito, United States of America v. ... , 300 F.2d 424 ( 1962 )

United States v. Rafael Corsino , 812 F.2d 26 ( 1987 )

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