United States v. McAleer ( 2000 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
AUG 1 2000
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 99-8078
(D.C. No. 96-CR-15-4-B)
JAMES L. McALEER, (District of Wyoming)
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
Before BALDOCK, Circuit Judge, MURPHY, Circuit Judge, and McWILLIAMS,
Senior Circuit Judge.
On January 26, 1996, James McAleer, his wife, Shirley McAleer, and five others,
namely, James Gilmore, his daughter, Mary Gilmore, Anthony Carta, Floyd Wise and
Lauree Wise, were variously indicted in a 21-page indictment filed in the United States
District Court for the District of Wyoming with conspiracy to launder money in violation
of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), with wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, with securities
fraud in violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 77(q)(a) and 77(x), and with mail fraud in violation of
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of
law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the
citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under
the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
18 U.S.C. § 1341. All defendants except for the one defendant, James Gilmore, were
jointly tried in a jury trial which commenced on November 4, 1996.1 All six defendants
were convicted by the jury. A motion for new trial filed by each of the six convicted
defendants was granted on the grounds that there had been prosecutorial misconduct on
the part of the prosecuting attorney who had repeatedly inquired of Mary Gilmore, in his
cross-examination of her, as to whether she had “taken the Fifth Amendment” during
certain administrative proceedings. (The government conceded error in its cross-
examination of Mary Gilmore.) The defendants in that first trial then filed motions to
dismiss the indictment on the grounds that to retry them would violate the Double
Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The district
court denied those motions and, on appeal, we affirmed. United States v. McAleer, 138
F.3d 852 (10th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 854 (1998).
James and Shirley McAleer were the only two defendants tried in the second trial
of this case, the other four defendants having entered into plea agreements with the
government. By the time of the second trial Mary Gilmore had married Anthony Carta
and both agreed to testify as government witnesses against the two McAleers.
The second jury acquitted Shirley McAleer on all counts, but convicted James
McAleer on one count of securities fraud and one count of mail fraud. James McAleer
The one defendant, James Gilmore, was not tried, he having remained in England
1
and extradition efforts having proved unsuccessful.
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was subsequently sentenced to five months of custody followed by five months of home
detention. He now appeals his conviction and the sentence imposed.
On appeal, counsel asserts three grounds for reversal: (1) prosecutorial misconduct
in closing argument to the jury deprived McAleer of a fair trial as guaranteed by the Sixth
Amendment to the United States Constitution; (2) the district court erred in allowing one
of the government’s witnesses, Donald MacPherson, an attorney, to testify concerning
various communications he had with McAleer, since such came within the attorney-client
privilege; and (3) the district court erred in limiting counsel’s cross-examination of Mary
Carta (nee Gilmore) in violation of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment.2
At oral argument of this case, counsel’s principal argument related to the court’s
limitation of his cross-examination of Mary Carta, and we shall consider that issue first.
Prior to the second trial, McAleer’s counsel filed a motion in limine in which he asked,
inter alia, as follows:
Prohibit Witnesses from Referring to the Prior Trial or the
Outcome of that Trial
Evidence regarding the outcome of the prior trial is
irrelevant and unduly prejudicial to Defendant James
2
At trial, counsel’s theory of the case was that James McAleer at all times was
acting in “good faith” and that McAleer was a “victim” of James Gilmore’s elaborate
scam in which McAleer did not in any way participate. On appeal, counsel does not
contend that the evidence is insufficient to support the jury’s verdict that McAleer was
guilty on one count of securities fraud and one count of mail fraud. Accordingly, the
chronology of events will not be recounted here. For background facts, see United States
v. McAleer, 138 F.3d 852 (10th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 854 (1998).
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McAleer. Therefore, the Defendant requests that it be
excluded from the second trial pursuant to Evidence Rules
401, 402, and 403.
The Defendant requests that all parties be ordered to
admonish each of their witnesses not to refer to the outcome
of that trial. If a witness is impeached with his or her prior
testimony from the first trial, that witness should be
admonished to only refer to their “prior testimony” without
any mention of the jury verdict or the Court’s decision to
grant the motions for new trial (emphasis added).
In a written response to counsel’s motion the government spoke as follows:
Defendant requests that all parties be prohibited from
referring to the prior outcome of the trial as being irrelevant
and the United States agrees. The United States proposes that
the language for impeaching or refreshing the recollection of
a witness be as follows: “Do you recall testifying at a prior
hearing . . . .”
The district court, prior to the second trial granted McAleer’s motion and the
colloquy between court and counsel on this matter reads as follows:
THE COURT: A hearing in the case of United States
versus McAleer and McAleer on the defendants’ motions in
limine. The first is a motion to instruct the jury on the
definitions of conspiracy and good faith. I will do that, so we
need not argue it.
The next is to prohibit witnesses from referring to the
outcome of the prior trial. I don’t think anybody is going to
do that, are they? So let’s go at it.
MR. PICO: We are going to avoid even referring to a prior
trial. We will refer at best as we can and all our witnesses
will be instructed to refer to a prior hearing because
obviously we have a full transcript of testimony here and I
think it is going to be clumsy just to say, “Didn’t you give
testimony?” I think we need to refer to some sort of a prior
hearing.
THE COURT: You can call it a hearing but not a trial.
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MR. ENGELHARD: Your Honor, if I could be heard on
that point, perhaps --
THE COURT: Well, we can’t deal with it as if it never
occurred, so it did occur so we’ve got to call it something. A
hearing is as good as any.
MR. ENGELHARD: But, Your Honor, there may be times
– and I’m not sure at this point, but I would like to leave that
matter open or at least --
THE COURT: No, it is already ruled on. That’s the
difficulty with it.3
Counsel’s argument, as we understand it, is that the district court committed
reversible error in refusing to allow him to show that Mary Carta’s “prior testimony”
occurred during the “first trial,” when McAleer, Mary Carta, and four others were all on
trial. As indicated, the district court in its pre-trial ruling ordered that any reference to
testimony given by any witness in the “first trial” be phrased as testimony given in a
“prior hearing.” In this connection, we note that it was counsel for McAleer who first
asked the district court to “Prohibit Witnesses from Referring to the Prior Trial or the
Outcome of that Trial.” Further, in that same motion, counsel asked that in impeaching a
witness by his prior testimony at the first trial “the witness should be admonished to only
refer to their ‘prior testimony’ . . . .” The government agreed and suggested that the
appropriate language for impeaching a witness or refreshing his memory would be to
ask: “Do you recall testifying at a prior hearing . . . .” It is correct that at the hearing on
McAleer’s motion in limine his counsel backed off, a bit, from his original request and at
3
At a subsequent point in the hearing on counsel’s motion in limine, counsel stated
that a reference to prior “court proceeding [as opposed to a “prior trial”] would be okay.”
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that time indicated he “would like to leave that matter open or at least . . . .” Further, the
record indicates that during his cross-examination of Mary Carta, counsel apparently
changed his mind and decided that he wanted the jury to know that Mary Carta’s “prior
testimony” occurred at a so-called “first trial,” where James McAleer, his wife Shirley,
and Mary Carta, along with her husband, Anthony Carta, and Floyd and Lauree Wise
were all on trial. At a sidebar conference during his cross-examination of Mary Carta,
counsel stated that he wanted the court “to allow me to cross-examine Miss Gilmore
[Mary Carta] on the fact that her prior testimony was in a jury trial here in court” and that
“she lied in a very similar situation while she was being tried for her own guilt . . . .” The
district court denied counsel’s request and said his prior ruling on the matter would
“stand.” Counsel’s reply was that he did not want to ask “any questions about the result
in the case” and only wanted to show that her prior testimony was given in a jury trial
with “12 people sitting in that jury box just as they are now and that she lied to them.”
In this general connection, we note that in his cross-examination of Mary Carta, counsel
did establish that her prior testimony “back on December 10, 1996” occurred “right here
in this court” at which time “she raised her right hand” and “swore to tell the truth” and
that her prior testimony was “in front of Judge Brimmer.”
As indicated, on appeal counsel argues that the district court erred in not allowing
him in his cross-examination of Mary Carta to show that her “prior testimony” occurred
during a so-called “first trial,” rather than at a “prior hearing” or “prior proceeding ,” and
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that had he been allowed to show that her “prior testimony” occurred at a “prior trial,” he
could have then argued to the jury in the second trial that Mary Carta had, in his view, at
least, lied to an earlier jury and that such supported counsel’s belief that she had lied in
her testimony before the second jury. We are not persuaded by this line of reasoning. It
is just too tenuous. In this regard, it is well to note that counsel for McAleer first raised
this issue in his motion in limine wherein he suggested that the district court at the
second trial should “admonish” a witness at the second trial “to only refer to their ‘prior
testimony’ . . . .”
We recognize that at the hearing on the motion in limine counsel hedged a bit on
his earlier request, although at that hearing counsel did indicate that referring to the prior
hearing as a prior “court proceeding would be okay.” Further, it was clearly established
on cross-examination of Mary Carta that her “prior testimony” was in a hearing, or
proceeding, where she raised her right hand and swore to tell the truth before a judge.
Clearly, the jury knew that the “prior testimony” did not occur at some prior informal
hearing. If the jury had learned that Mary Carta’s prior testimony occurred at a prior trial
of McAleer, the obvious next step would be what was the outcome of the trial, which all
agree would be improper. We think that, all things considered, the district court “drew
the line” in about the proper place. Under the facts and circumstances of the present
case, we perceive no particular prejudice from the court’s rulings, and any possible error
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would be harmless error.4
Counsel next argues that improper closing argument to the jury by the prosecution
dictates a reversal of McAleer’s conviction and sentence. In his final argument to the
jury the prosecuting attorney characterized certain testimony of McAleer as being a “bald
faced lie.” Counsel objected to that statement as being the prosecutor’s “personal belief”
and that such was “inappropriate.” The objection was overruled without argument. The
prosecutor then immediately thereafter suggested to the jury that the basis for his
statement was that McAleer’s testimony at trial regarding a particular matter was at odds
with a tax return for 1994 which McAleer had signed. Moments later, after the
prosecutor had concluded his argument, counsel, outside the presence of the jury,
renewed his objection to the prosecutor’s statements, arguing that the prosecutor’s
“personal belief” that McAleer lied in his testimony was improper and that the prosecutor
in his final closing argument improperly suggested that if the jury returned a “not guilty”
verdict, “then get ready for you and your friends or whoever to buy some units.”
Counsel then asked for a mistrial, or in the alternative for a “curative” instruction. The
district court denied the motion for a mistrial, but gave the following curative instruction
4
We reject counsel’s suggestion that the reasoning of the Second Circuit in United
States v. Giovanelli, 945 F.2d 479 (2nd Cir. 1991), if followed, would dictate a reversal of
the present judgment and sentence. That case presented an unusual fact situation not
presented by the instant case. In that case the Second Circuit, in holding that the
distinction between “proceeding” and “trial” was not “minimal,” tied its holding to the
“context of this case.” Id. at 493. Our case is not the factual equivalent of Giovanelli.
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to the
jury:
Ladies and gentlemen, I found it necessary to give you a
further instruction that you should take with you to the jury
room along with the other instructions to consider, and it is
this: In closing arguments, Assistant United States Attorney
Mr. Pico may have stated a personal opinion that the
defendants lied about having put their own money in the
Gilmore programs. It is improper for a prosecutor to state a
personal opinion.
Second, Mr. Pico’s reference to the McAleers’ 1994 tax
return in support of the government’s claim only relates to the
McAleers’ costs in 1994. You should rely on all the evidence
in this case to determine whether or not the McAleers paid
money to purchase units in other calendar years and any
inferences to be drawn therefrom.
Finally, any argument that you should find the defendants
guilty to stop others from continuing Gilmore-related
programs or any argument to send a message to anyone is not
a proper argument and you should disregard such argument
entirely.
We find no error in the district court’s handling of this matter. It is agreed that a
prosecutor’s expression of his personal belief that a defendant is guilty, or lying in his
testimony before the jury, is improper. However, as we read the record, the prosecutor’s
argument was that the tax return for 1994 demonstrated that McAleer was lying in some
of his testimony before the jury. In any event, in our view the curative instruction
prepared by defense counsel, which covered both matters, took care of any problem.
Neither, under the circumstances, warrants a reversal.
In his brief, counsel for McAleer also asserts that the district court erred in
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allowing Donald MacPherson to testify as a government witness, arguing that such
violated the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine and the common interest
privilege. In both of McAleer’s trials the district court overruled counsel’s objections to
MacPherson’s testimony on the grounds, inter alia, that there was no showing of the
existence of any attorney-client relationship between MacPherson and McAleer and that
the latter had disclosed many of the documents in question to numerous third parties,
thereby waiving any possible privilege. In his oral argument in this court, counsel made
no mention whatsoever of this particular matter and only argued the two matters set forth
above. Be that as it may, we are not persuaded that the district court erred in allowing
MacPherson to testify against McAleer. Nor are we persuaded by counsel’s suggestion
that there was some sort of an attorney-client relationship between MacPherson and
McAleer. MacPherson may well have been representing other persons or entities in
connection with other aspects of this wide ranging scam, but not McAleer. The district
court did not abuse its discretion.
Judgement affirmed.
Entered for the court,
Robert H. McWilliams
Senior Circuit Judge
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