United States v. Brown , 52 F. App'x 612 ( 2002 )


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  •                           UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,               
    Plaintiff-Appellant,
    v.                               No. 01-4799
    BRUCE ELLIOT BROWN,
    Defendant-Appellee.
    
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,               
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    v.                               No. 01-4829
    BRUCE ELLIOT BROWN,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,               
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    v.                               No. 01-4998
    BRUCE ELLIOT BROWN,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    
    Appeals from the United States District Court
    for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
    Malcolm J. Howard, District Judge.
    (CR-00-165-HO)
    Submitted: November 20, 2002
    Decided: December 12, 2002
    Before NIEMEYER, LUTTIG, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.
    2                     UNITED STATES v. BROWN
    No. 01-4799 vacated and remanded, No. 01-4829 affirmed, and No.
    01-4998 vacated by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    COUNSEL
    Frank D. Whitney, United States Attorney, Anne M. Hayes, Assistant
    United States Attorney, Scott L. Wilkinson, Assistant United States
    Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. Thomas P. McNa-
    mara, Federal Public Defender, George Alan DuBois, Assistant Fed-
    eral Public Defender, Jeanette Doran Brooks, Research and Writing
    Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
    Local Rule 36(c).
    OPINION
    PER CURIAM:
    These consolidated appeals concern the jury’s conviction of Bruce
    Elliott Brown on eleven counts of bankruptcy fraud, see 
    18 U.S.C. § 152
     (2000), for which Brown received a 54-month sentence. In No.
    01-4799, the United States appeals the district court’s grant of
    Brown’s motion for acquittal as to Count One. In his cross-appeal
    from his conviction, No. 01-4829, Brown challenges the district
    court’s admission of testimony from one of his former attorneys under
    the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege. In No. 01-
    4998, Brown challenges the district court’s civil contempt order based
    on his invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-
    incrimination during a bankruptcy proceeding held following his con-
    viction. While we affirm Brown’s conviction and sentence in No. 01-
    4829, we vacate the district court’s orders in No. 01-4799 and No. 01-
    4998 and remand for further proceedings.
    In No. 01-4799, the United States challenges the district court’s
    grant of Brown’s motion for acquittal as to Count One, which charged
    UNITED STATES v. BROWN                         3
    Brown and his initial attorney, Ryan Dyson, with making fraudulent
    statements in Brown’s petition to have Dyson appointed as counsel in
    Brown’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. Because the jury acquit-
    ted Dyson of Count One, the district court determined that "this
    inconsistency in the verdict as to Count One evidences the insuffi-
    ciency of the evidence presented by the Government as to this count."
    (JA 1066). However, although a jury’s verdict may be vacated if there
    is insufficient evidence to support it, United States v. Hopkins, ___
    F.3d ___, 
    2002 WL 31375593
    , at *6 (4th Cir. 2002) (No. 01-4581),
    that assessment "should be [made] independent of the jury’s determi-
    nation[]" that the evidence was insufficient as to another defendant.
    See United States v. Powell, 
    469 U.S. 57
    , 67 (1984) (emphasis
    added). Because we find there was sufficient evidence to support
    Brown’s conviction on Count One independent of its determination
    as to Dyson, we vacate the court’s order granting Brown’s motion for
    acquittal as to that count and remand for further proceedings.
    In No. 01-4829, Brown contests the district court’s order allowing
    the attorney Brown retained to replace Dyson, Nelson Harris, to tes-
    tify about statements Brown made related to the bankruptcy proceed-
    ing. Although Brown’s statements were indeed subject to the
    attorney-client privilege, we will not reverse the court’s determination
    that the crime-fraud exception to that privilege applied "absent a clear
    showing of abuse of discretion." In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 
    33 F.3d 342
    , 349 (4th Cir. 1994) (internal quotations omitted). Because
    the United States’ proffer indicated that Brown intended to use the
    bankruptcy proceeding as a shield from creditors while concealing as
    much of his assets as possible from the bankruptcy trustee, we find
    the court properly determined that Brown was still actively trying to
    defraud his creditors when he retained Harris and that his statements
    to Harris bore a sufficiently close relationship to that scheme. See
    Chaudhry v. Gallerizzo, 
    174 F.3d 394
    , 403 (4th Cir. 1999). Accord-
    ingly, the district court properly admitted Harris’ testimony, and we
    affirm.
    Finally, in No. 01-4998, Brown challenges the district court’s civil
    contempt order issued following Brown’s invocation of his Fifth
    Amendment privilege in the continuation of his bankruptcy proceed-
    ing following his conviction. As the Government concedes, a defen-
    dant may invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege in any subsequent
    4                     UNITED STATES v. BROWN
    proceeding related to the underlying conviction until that conviction
    becomes final, including any appeals. See Mills v. United States, 
    281 F.2d 736
    , 741 (4th Cir. 1960). Brown therefore had "just cause" to
    refuse to comply. See 
    28 U.S.C. § 1826
    (a) (2000). For that reason, we
    vacate the civil contempt order entered by the district court.
    Accordingly, we vacate the district court’s order in No. 01-4799
    granting Brown’s motion for acquittal as to Count One, vacate its
    civil contempt order in No. 01-4998, and affirm Brown’s conviction
    in No. 01-4829. These appeals are remanded to the district court for
    further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We dispense with
    oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
    presented in the materials before the court and argument would not
    aid the decisional process.
    No. 01-4799, VACATED AND REMANDED
    No. 01-4829, AFFIRMED
    No. 01-4998, VACATED
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 01-4799, 01-4829, 01-4998

Citation Numbers: 52 F. App'x 612

Judges: Niemeyer, Luttig, Motz

Filed Date: 12/12/2002

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/6/2024