United States v. Small

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
PUBLISH
September 15, 2005
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Nos. 04-1188, 04-1157, 04-1148,
04-1168, 04-1161, 03-1513,
WILLIE JAMES SMALL, ALVIN
04-1201, 04-1503
GREEN, a/k/a MEL DOG,
THEOLIAN LLOYD, SAMMY LEE
WOODS, GEORGE MELVIN
MURRAY, TOMMY JONES,
DWAYNE VAN DYKE, DAWAN
EUGENE SMITH,
Defendants-Appellants.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Colorado
(D.C. No. 01-CR-214-D)
Matthew C. Golla, Assistant Federal Public Defender (Raymond P. Moore,
Federal Public Defender, John T. Carlson, Research and Writing Attorney, with
him on the briefs), Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant Willie James
Small.
Michael G.A. Williams, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant Alvin Green,
a/k/a/ Mel Dog.
John Henry Schlie, Law Office of John Henry Schlie, P.C., Centennial, Colorado,
for Defendant-Appellant Theolian Lloyd.
Wade H. Eldridge, Wade H. Eldridge, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-
Appellant George Melvin Murray.
Robert T. McAllister, Robert T. McAllister, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for
Defendant-Appellant Tommy Jones.
James C. Murphy, Assistant United States Attorney (John W. Suthers, United
States Attorney, William J. Leone, Acting United States Attorney, Kathleen
Tafoya, Assistant United States Attorney, Guy Till, Assistant United States
Attorney, with him on the briefs), Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Submitted on the briefs:
Ronald Gainor, Longmont, Colorado, adopted Defendant-Appellant Willie
Smalls’ brief, for Defendant-Appellant Sammy Lee Woods.
Dennis W. Hartley, Dennis W. Hartley, P.C., Colorado Springs, Colorado, for
Defendant-Appellant Dwayne Van Dyke.
Frank Moya, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant Dawan Eugene Smith.
Before MURPHY, McWILLIAMS, and HARTZ, Circuit Judges.
MURPHY, Circuit Judge.
I. INTRODUCTION
Defendants-appellants Willie Small, Alvin Green, Theolian Lloyd, Sammy
Lee Woods, George Murray, and Tommy Jones were convicted in United States
District Court for the District of Colorado of various drug offenses arising out of
a large-scale crack cocaine distribution conspiracy operating in the Denver area.
Defendants-appellants Dwayne Van Dyke and Dawan Eugene Smith pleaded
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guilty to offenses arising out of the same drug conspiracy. Appellants now appeal
various aspects of their convictions and sentences. This court previously
consolidated the appeals of Small (No. 04-1188), Green (No. 04-1157), Lloyd
(No. 04-1148), Woods (No. 04-1168), Murray (No. 04-1161), and Van Dyke (No.
04-1201). We now further consolidate the appeals of Jones (No. 03-1513) and
Smith (No. 04-1503) with the above cases and affirm the convictions and
sentences of all appellants except for Murray. As to Murray, this court remands
the case for resentencing in accordance with the Supreme Court’s opinion in
United States v. Booker, 125 S. Ct. 738 (2005). 1
II. BACKGROUND
In September 2000, FBI Special Agent Todd Wilcox of the Metro Gang
Task Force (“Task Force”) received information from an informant that
defendant-appellant Willie Small was engaged in the large-scale distribution of
crack cocaine in the Denver metropolitan area. Between September 2000 and
January 2001, Wilcox directed the informant to conduct nine controlled purchases
of crack cocaine from Small and his associates while wearing a body wire.
Wilcox utilized the informant until her identity was revealed in an unrelated case.
1
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously to grant the parties’ requests in United States v. Van Dyke (No. 04-
1201), and United States v. Smith (No. 04-1503), for a decision on the briefs
without oral argument. Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). As to these
two appeals, the case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
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The informant was then moved out of state and no longer used in the
investigation.
Over the next several months, the Task Force continued to investigate
Small’s organization using other investigative techniques, including visual
surveillance, video cameras, pen registers, and trap-and-trace devices. On March
28, 2001, Wilcox applied for a wiretap on Small’s cellular phone pursuant to Title
III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C.
§§ 2510-2522. The affidavit in support of the wiretap application consisted of an
exhaustive 100-page summary of the investigation, setting forth the reasons why
the investigative techniques used by the Task Force up to that point were unable
to meet the investigation’s objectives. A United States district judge granted the
application, and on April 20, 2001, also authorized a second wiretap on Small’s
home phone. The district judge subsequently extended the cellular phone wiretap
twice on April 27, 2001, and May 25, 2001, and extended the home telephone
wiretap once on May 18, 2001. The wiretaps remained in place until the close of
the investigation in June, 2001. The FBI then simultaneously executed numerous
search and arrest warrants against suspected members of the drug conspiracy.
Small, Green, Lloyd, Woods, Murray, Jones, Van Dyke, Smith, and
nineteen other co-defendants were charged in a seventy-seven count second
superseding indictment filed in United States District Court for the District of
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Colorado. Count I of the indictment charged most of the defendants, including all
appellants in this case, with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to
distribute crack cocaine weighing more than fifty grams, in violation of 21 U.S.C.
§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(iii), and 21 U.S.C. § 846. The remainder of the counts
charged individual defendants with various other drug, weapons, and money
laundering offenses.
Defendants moved to suppress the evidence obtained pursuant to the court-
ordered wiretaps. After five days of evidentiary hearings, the district court
denied the motions. Most of the defendants, including appellants Van Dyke and
Smith, then pleaded guilty in exchange for a dismissal of some of the charges
against them. Van Dyke pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute
more than fifty grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and
(b)(1)(A)(iii). He was sentenced to 175 months’ imprisonment. Smith pleaded
guilty to use of a telephone to facilitate a drug felony in violation of 21 U.S.C.
§ 843(b). He was sentenced to forty-eight months’ imprisonment, the statutory
maximum sentence.
Green, Lloyd, Woods, Murray, and other co-defendants filed motions for
separate trials in the district court. After a hearing, the court denied the motions.
The court did, however, order a separate trial for Jones. Jones waived his right to
a trial by jury and was tried in a two-day bench trial at which the government
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introduced evidence from the wiretaps on Small’s telephones. The court found
Jones not guilty of conspiracy, but guilty of using a telephone to facilitate a drug
felony, and aiding and abetting the distribution of more than five grams of crack
cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)(iii), and 18 U.S.C. § 2.
He was sentenced to concurrent 140-month and 48-month sentences.
The remaining seven defendants, including appellants Small, Green, Lloyd,
Woods, and Murray, were tried together in a jury trial lasting from September 22,
2003, to November 13, 2003. Small, Green, Lloyd, and Woods were convicted on
Count I as well as on other drug charges. Murray was acquitted on Count I but
convicted of distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than five
grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(iii),
and use of a telephone to facilitate a drug felony.
Because Small and Green each had at least two prior felony drug
convictions, they were sentenced to mandatory terms of life imprisonment on
Count I pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A). Lloyd and Woods each had one
prior felony drug conviction and were sentenced to the statutory minimum term of
240 months’ imprisonment on Count I pursuant to the same provision. All four of
these defendants also received concurrent sentences on their remaining counts of
conviction. Murray, who was acquitted on Count I, was sentenced to concurrent
sentences of 150 months and 48 months.
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III. DISCUSSION
A. Motions to Suppress
1. Franks Challenges
To obtain a wiretap pursuant to Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968, the government must follow special procedures set forth
in 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522. See United States v. Green, 175 F.3d 822, 828 (10th
Cir. 1999). One requirement of the statute is that the government must present a
written application to a federal judge establishing that the wiretap is necessary.
18 U.S.C. § 2518(1); Green, 175 F.3d at 828. Before granting the application, the
judge must find that the affidavit establishes necessity by showing that “normal
investigative procedures have been tried and have failed or reasonably appear to
be unlikely to succeed if tried or to be too dangerous.” 18 U.S.C. § 2518(3)(c);
Green, 175 F.3d at 828.
Small, Green, Lloyd, Woods, and Jones argue that the issuing judge’s
finding of necessity was tainted by inaccurate and misleading statements in
Special Agent Wilcox’s wiretap application and supporting testimony. This court
reviews alleged misrepresentations and omissions in a wiretap application under
the standard for challenges to search warrants developed by the Supreme Court in
Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 155-56 (1978). See Green, 175 F.3d at 828.
Under this standard, the defendant must show that any misstatements were made
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knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly, and that the erroneous information was
material to the district court’s finding of necessity. Id. The defendant bears the
burden of overcoming the presumption that the district court’s wiretap
authorization was proper. Id. at 828-29.
In response to appellants’ allegations of inaccuracies, the district court held
five days of hearings before issuing a written order denying the motions. See
United States v. Small, 229 F. Supp. 2d 1166, 1208 (D. Colo. 2002). The court
concluded that the allegedly false statements identified by appellants were either
not inaccurate or were not made intentionally or with reckless disregard for the
truth. Id. at 1191-1203. The court further concluded that the identified
statements were not material to the issuing court’s finding of necessity. Id. This
court reviews the district court’s factual findings for clear error and its legal
rulings de novo. Green, 175 F.3d at 829.
a. Small’s Profits from Drug Sales
Appellants first argue that Wilcox’s affidavit incorrectly stated that Small
earned $18,000 per week selling crack cocaine. Wilcox derived the $18,000
figure from a taped conversation between Small and the confidential informant in
which he believed he heard that figure used. At the suppression hearing,
however, Wilcox admitted that his understanding of the conversation was
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incorrect. The government now concedes that what Small actually said was, if he
could sell eighteen ounces of crack cocaine per week, he could make $7000. 2
Appellants contend that the error must have been intentional or reckless
because the tape was so unclear that Wilcox could not possibly have believed that
he understood what Small was saying. After listening to the recorded
conversation, the district court concluded that the tape was “well-nigh
incomprehensible.” Small, 229 F. Supp. 2d at 1191 n.7. 3 The court further found,
however, that Wilcox verified the contents of the conversation with the
confidential informant prior to including the information in the affidavit. Id. at
1191. The court therefore concluded that Wilcox “was, at most, negligent or
committed an innocent mistake by including the $18,000 figure.” Id. In light of
the fact that Wilcox’s understanding of the tape’s meaning was corroborated by
the informant’s first-hand account of the conversation, the district court’s
conclusion that Wilcox merely committed an innocent mistake was not clearly
erroneous.
Appellants attempt to discredit Wilcox’s explanation by pointing to the
testimony of the confidential informant, who stated she could not remember
2
Appellants challenge even this reduced figure, arguing that the tape is
insufficiently clear to understand what Small actually said.
3
Appellants nevertheless admit that “it is perhaps possible to hear Mr.
Small say something like ‘I do 18 a week.’”
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verifying the $18,000 figure with Wilcox. The mere fact that the informant could
not remember the exact content of her conversation with Wilcox, however, does
not in any way contradict Wilcox’s testimony. The informant instead attributed
her inability to recall her conversation with Wilcox to the significant time that
had elapsed since that meeting. Furthermore, the district court found Wilcox’s
testimony credible, and declined the government’s offer to present the testimony
of two police officers who witnessed the informant’s conversation because it
concluded that such testimony was unnecessary. Credibility determinations are
uniquely “within the province of the district court” and are not subject to question
here. United States v. Jurado-Vallejo, 380 F.3d 1235, 1238 (10th Cir. 2004)
(quotation omitted). 4
Appellants further argue that Wilcox misled the district court by
representing that the size of Small’s drug organization had been corroborated by
4
Appellants stress that Wilcox did not remove the erroneous $18,000 figure
before submitting his affidavit for the second wiretap and the affidavits for
extensions of both the first and second wiretaps, despite the fact that the evidence
gathered by that time did not support the assertion that Small was distributing
such large quantities of crack cocaine. The district court found, however, that
Wilcox’s failure to remove the figure was neither intentional nor reckless.
Wilcox stated in his affidavits in support of the wiretap extensions and testified at
the suppression hearing that Small had complained that he was experiencing a
slowdown in his business. For this reason, it would not have been surprising to
see a smaller than expected quantity of drugs being dealt by Small. Appellants
cite no evidence to disprove the veracity of Wilcox’s explanation. Accordingly,
the district court’s finding was not clearly erroneous.
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the confidential informant’s controlled purchases of crack cocaine. Appellants
cite the following exchange that occurred in an in camera meeting regarding the
application for the first wiretap order:
THE COURT: What you indicate in this affidavit is that this is
a very large operation involving literally millions of dollars.
AGENT WILCOX: Based on what he has told our informant,
which is corroborated by the amount of crack that we have purchased
using the confidential informant, he’s on parole, and he’s still
generating a whole lot of money distributing crack cocaine.
Appellants argue that Wilcox’s response to the court’s question suggested that the
informant’s purchases of crack cocaine corroborated the fact that Small’s drug
organization “involved literally millions of dollars,” when in fact the informant
purchased a much smaller amount of drugs from Small.
Appellants’ interpretation of Wilcox’s statement is not supported by the
record. Wilcox told the district court only that the informant’s controlled
purchases corroborated that Small was generating “a whole lot of money”
distributing crack cocaine, a fact that was undoubtedly true. See Small, 229 F.
Supp. 2d at 1199 (concluding that Small was “a large scale distributor of crack
cocaine”). Wilcox never claimed that the informant personally purchased huge
quantities of drugs from Small, and any such inference from Wilcox’s statements
would have been unwarranted. In fact, the affidavit set forth the specific
quantities of crack cocaine purchased by the informant and the district court was
therefore fully able to evaluate the extent to which the purchases corroborated the
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size of Small’s drug organization. Because nothing in Wilcox’s statement was
false, the district court did not err in denying the motion to dismiss on this
ground. 5
b. The Value of Small’s Mercedes-Benz
Appellants argue that Wilcox’s affidavit misleadingly alleged that Small’s
1992 Mercedes-Benz had “an original purchase price of $93,500.” Although
appellants concede that this statement was literally true, they claim it was
misleading because Small purchased the car used and on credit for significantly
less than that amount. The affidavit, however, noted that the car was a 1992
model year, so any reasonable reader would have assumed that it was no longer
worth its original purchase price at the time the affidavit was filed in 2001.
Furthermore, there is no reason to think that the price Small originally paid for his
car was in any way material to the district court’s finding that the wiretap was
necessary. The identified statement in the affidavit merely related the results of
FBI records checks related to Small. The district court therefore did not err in
rejecting this argument.
5
Jones also argues that the affidavit deceptively omitted the fact that asset
searches did not reveal substantial assets in Small’s name. As noted by the
district court, however, the affidavit accurately mentions the only result of an
asset search involving Small, which was the information relating to the original
purchase value of Small’s Mercedes-Benz. Jones does not identify any other asset
searches conducted by the government that were omitted from the affidavit.
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c. Threats to the Informant’s Safety
Appellants next argue that Wilcox misled the court into believing that the
confidential informant was physically at risk from Small. They cite the following
in-chambers exchange:
THE COURT: Is there actual physical danger to your–to your
informant or to the people that are involved here that you would hope
to use as confidential sources?
AGENT WILCOX: Definitely. The one confidential informant
has been moved out of state, so at least temporarily, for now, nobody
knows where he is–or she is. But as stated in the affidavit, Willie
Small told the informant that–or words to the effect that why he only
deals with a close-knit group of people is because, you know,
he’s–he’s been arrested before and he wants to know of the person,
whoever it is, that may, you know, inform on him. And the
implication was so he would know who they are so he could do
something about it.
Appellants claim that Wilcox’s statements suggested that the informant was
moved out of state due to threats from Small, when in fact she was moved for
reasons unrelated to the Small case.
The affidavit, however, is not misleading because it clearly states that the
informant was moved because her identity had been disclosed in a separate case.
Nothing in Wilcox’s statements in chambers contradicts the affidavit on this
point. Nor did Wilcox ever state or imply that there were any actual threats from
Small against the informant. His statement to the judge was limited to an
assertion that Small had told the informant he had been arrested before, and that if
anyone informed on him he wanted to know who that person was. The fact that
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Small made this statement was also contained in the affidavit and is not disputed
by appellants. Wilcox interpreted Small’s statement as an implied threat against
anyone who informed against him, but the district court, supplied with all relevant
information, was free to disagree with Wilcox’s interpretation.
Appellants contend Wilcox’s statement was contradicted by the informant’s
later testimony that she did not feel threatened by Small. Although the informant
did testify to this effect, she also recognized that she would have been in danger
if her identity as an informant was ever disclosed to Small. Based on this
testimony, the district court concluded:
While [the informant] denied having received a specific threat of
actual harm from Defendant Small or his associates during the time
she was an informant, she also indicated she had significant general
fear that someone, including Defendant Small and his associates,
might seek to harm her if they discovered she was an informant.
Indeed, so great was [the informant’s] concern about possible
recriminations or harm that she was the one to initiate a discussion of
the topic with Government agents.
Small, 229 F. Supp. 2d at 1196 (citation omitted). The district court’s conclusion
on this point was not clearly erroneous, and the court therefore did not err in
concluding that Wilcox’s statements were neither deceptive nor misleading.
d. The Feasibility of Introducing an Undercover Agent or
Informant
Jones argues that the government exaggerated the difficulty of introducing
an undercover agent or a second informant into Small’s drug organization. In
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particular, Jones argues that (1) Wilcox failed to inform the court that the
confidential informant had known Small for several years prior to the
investigation and therefore could have been used to introduce an undercover agent
or informant to Small; and (2) the affidavit did not inform the court that African-
American officers could have been used to infiltrate Small’s organization. Jones
contends that these alleged omissions undermine the government’s showing of
necessity because they falsely imply that traditional investigative techniques
would have been ineffective.
In his first affidavit, Wilcox stated that he had considered the possibility of
placing an undercover agent, but rejected this possibility because any evidence
obtained would have been duplicative of evidence gathered by the confidential
informant. As noted by the district court, “[d]espite [the informant’s] dealings
with the inner circle of Defendant Small’s Organization, [she] was not able to
describe the full scope of the Organization nor was she able to provide
investigators with any knowledge of the Organization’s suppliers.” Id. at 1181.
The government is not required to attempt to introduce other agents or informants
in a case where this technique is unlikely to produce any additional evidence. See
United States v. Bennett, 219 F.3d 1117, 1122 (9th Cir. 2000) (noting that the
wiretapping statute “does not mandate the indiscriminate pursuit to the bitter end
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of every non-electronic device . . . to a point where the investigation becomes
redundant or impractical” (quotation omitted)).
In addition, the affidavit stated that Small was reluctant to engage in drug
transactions with people he did not know, and once became angry when a third
party attempted to introduce him to a stranger. According to Wilcox, the
informant told him “it was common knowledge in the dope community that if you
purchase narcotics from Small and want to continue purchasing narcotics from
him you don’t bring anyone new to meet with him.” For this reason, when the
government asked the confidential informant whether she would be willing to
introduce an undercover agent or additional informant to Small, she refused to do
so. Jones has failed to establish that the identified omissions from the affidavit in
any way undermine the government’s position that introducing another officer or
informant would have been both unnecessary and unreasonably difficult.
Jones further argues that the affidavit falsely stated that two members of
the conspiracy, Dachaun Davis and Keyonna Davis, could not be “flipped”
because they were Small’s children, when in fact they were not his children. The
district court addressed this argument and concluded that it was specious. Small,
229 F. Supp. 2d at 1198. As noted by the district court, Wilcox informed the
judge prior to issuance of the first wiretap order that although Small referred to
Dachaun and Keyonna Davis as his son and daughter, he did not specifically know
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the nature of their relationship with Small. The court further noted that “the
record is replete with instances where Defendant Small referred to Dachaun and
Keyonna Davis as his son and daughter.” Id. Jones does not attempt to explain
how the district court’s findings on this point were clearly erroneous.
e. Omission of Certain Evidence
Jones argues that the affidavit omitted the results of several additional
investigative techniques used by the government. He contends that the affidavit:
(1) failed to report any of the results or lack of results obtained from the use of
video surveillance of the area outside Small’s home; and (2) omitted the names of
twenty individuals identified through the use of the pen register and trap-and-
trace devices. He also contends that the affidavit falsely stated that trash runs
could not be employed in the investigation because “[s]urveillance has not seen
any of the known participants in the Small organization actually take the trash to
one of the dumpsters,” when in fact surveillance video revealed one instance in
which Small discarded trash in a dumpster.
Jones fails to identify any evidence obtained or potentially obtainable from
these investigative techniques that would have obviated the need for a wiretap.
Wilcox’s affidavit asserted that surveillance techniques, although useful, were
insufficient to identify all the members of the drug conspiracy or to locate Small’s
suppliers. It further asserted that pen registers and trap-and-trace devices were of
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limited usefulness because they could not identify the parties to the conversation
or differentiate between legitimate calls and calls for criminal purposes. Finally,
the affidavit stated that trash runs were considered and rejected because finding
traces of narcotics in the trash, the most likely kind of evidence to be obtained
from this investigative technique, “would not provide any additional useful
information that would lead to the full nature and scope of the drug conspiracy.”
Jones does not challenge the affidavit’s asserted limitations on the utility of any
of these investigative techniques. He has therefore failed to demonstrate that the
alleged omissions and inaccuracies in any way undermined the district court’s
finding of necessity.
2. Other Challenges to the Wiretap Application
a. Oath or Affirmation Requirement
The wiretap statute requires that an application for a wiretap order “shall be
made in writing upon oath or affirmation.” 18 U.S.C. § 2518(1). Defendant-
appellant George Murray argues that the wiretap application did not conform to
this requirement because the government submitted an unsworn courtesy copy of
the materials in support of the application to the authorizing judge the day before
the scheduled hearing on the application. The final version was submitted to the
judge at the hearing the following day. Murray alleges that in approving the
wiretap application, the authorizing judge relied on the unsworn courtesy copy
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rather than the final version of the application. He argues that the judge’s
reliance on the unsigned courtesy copy does not satisfy the “oath or affirmation”
requirement of § 2518(1). See id. § 2518(10)(a)(ii).
Murray’s contention is meritless. Given that the government fully complied
with the oath or affirmation requirement by submitting a sworn final version of
the application, it is irrelevant that the government also submitted an unsworn
courtesy copy to the court. Furthermore, Murray’s contention that the judge
relied exclusively on the prior unsworn version in authorizing the wiretap is not
supported by the record. Although the judge did review the courtesy copy of the
application prior to the hearing, the judge also established at the hearing that the
two versions were substantially identical. In the few instances in which the
versions were different, the judge carefully reviewed the modifications prior to
making a decision on the order. The record is therefore clear that the district
court relied on the final version of the application in granting the wiretap order. 6
6
Murray notes that the courtesy copy is not in the record and alleges that it
was shredded by the government. He appears to insinuate that in doing so the
government may have concealed differences between the two versions of the
wiretap application that were never revealed to the issuing court. As the district
court noted, however, Murray has not explained how the final version of the
application was materially different from the courtesy copy. See United States v.
Small, 229 F. Supp. 2d 1166, 1205 (D. Colo. 2002). In light of the district court’s
determination that the two versions of the application were substantially identical,
and Murray’s failure to demonstrate that the court’s determination was clearly
erroneous, it is immaterial that the courtesy copy is not in the record. In addition,
(continued...)
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b. Omission of the Authorizing Official
Small argues in his opening brief that the wiretap statute requires
suppression of the wiretap evidence because the order granting the wiretap did not
identify “the person authorizing the application” as required by the wiretap
statute. 18 U.S.C. § 2518(4)(d). 7 Instead of naming a particular person as
required by the statute, the district court’s wiretap order noted only that the
necessary approval had come from “a duly designated official of the [United
States Department of Justice] Criminal Division.” In his reply brief, Small
concedes that this court’s decision in United States v. Radcliff disposes of this
argument. 331 F.3d 1153, 1160 (10th Cir. 2003). In Radcliff, this court held that
a failure to specifically name the authorizing official at the Department of Justice
did not warrant suppression of wiretap evidence because such an error
“constituted a technical defect that did not undermine the purposes of the statute
or prejudice Defendant.” Id. As in Radcliff, there is no dispute here that the
6
(...continued)
Murray has not shown that the final version of the application was in any way
legally deficient, and has therefore failed to demonstrate that any modifications
theoretically concealed by the government could have been material to the district
court’s finding of necessity.
7
The statute requires that the wiretap application must be authorized by
“[t]he Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, or
any Assistant Attorney General, any acting Assistant Attorney General, or any
Deputy Assistant Attorney General or acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General
in the Criminal Division specially designated by the Attorney General.” 18
U.S.C. § 2516(1).
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applications were authorized by an appropriate individual within the Department
of Justice and that this authorizing individual was identified by name in the
wiretap application. 8 The failure to name the official in the wiretap order itself
therefore did not result in prejudice to appellants. For this reason, Small is
correct that Radcliff effectively forecloses this argument on appeal.
B. Jury Issues
1. Motion for Mistrial or to Strike the Venire
Green, Lloyd, and Murray argue that the district court erred in denying
defendants’ motion for a mistrial or for a new venire based on the statements of a
potential juror during voir dire. In response to the court’s question to the member
of the venire about whether he could be fair and impartial to both sides, the
venireperson responded “[p]erhaps.” He then stated:
The drug industry is full of violence, tremendous amounts of
violence, people are killed every day in this country due to [] the
drug industry and [] its attributes, if you will.
I also know that we have seven defendants here that have
been–I make no judgment about them at this point, but that was
culled down from 27, I believe, so there’s a larger group. . . .
. . . I walked into this courtroom, I noticed there’s about ten
large burly U.S. marshals in attendance with earphones, and I assume
they’re probably armed. So my concern is over security. My security
and the security of my family. . . . So I am going to have a concern
if I feel at all that . . . my family could be put in jeopardy over my
8
The application identifies the authorizing official as John C. Keeney,
Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, who had been
specially designated by the Attorney General.
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decisions in this case. I am not prejudging anybody in the case, but
if I were to judge and make a judgment that some people might not
be happy with, I am concerned about safety.
The district court asked the venireperson if he was saying that he was
“concerned that a U.S. marshal may pull out a gun and use it in the courtroom.”
The venireperson answered:
I’m really not concerned about my safety here. But I am
somewhat concerned about my safety leaving this. You know, people
know me, they see me, they can, you know, they can certainly
identify me, they can certainly find out where I live, what I do, where
I work, that sort of thing. I know that my concern revolves around
the fact that I know the drug industry is a huge industry, there’s a lot
of money that changes hands in the drug industry. There’s a huge
amount of violence, not just addicts, but people within the drug-
selling industry shooting each other. And creating, you know, hugely
violent situations. It may be the largest creator or cause of violence
in our country today, and I don’t want to become part of it, to be
quite honest with you.
The court then reminded the venireperson about the presumption of
innocence, and inquired whether he had “already decided that the defendants are
guilty, even before [hearing] any evidence.” The venireperson replied:
Absolutely not. If there is a[n] effect from my concerns, the
effect would be probably to decide more in the favor of the defense
in that I wouldn’t want to tick somebody off who might, you know,
decide to act upon that situation.
I don’t know these gentlemen. All I’m telling you, Your
Honor, is that I know of the drug industry, I know it is huge, and I
know it is violent. And I’m looking, I guess, for perhaps you to tell
me that, you know, this doesn’t happen, these kinds of things don’t
happen, . . . people don’t go after jurors if they are found guilty by a
jury.
-22-
The court responded:
Well, it’s not my role to assuage anyone’s concerns. If you
have concerns, you have them. . . .
. . . But I’m concerned that you may have some paranoia here
that I can’t address and I’m concerned that you may somehow use
that in an unfair way to reach a result not based on the evidence. The
role of a juror is to base a decision solely on the evidence and to put
aside all these factors that you apparently have in your head. Can
you put those factors aside and base your decision in this case solely
and exclusively on the evidence you hear in court and my instructions
of law?
The venireperson replied: “I believe so. And if I became concerned that
I’m getting some kind of indications that my safety might be at risk, I would tell
you about that at that time.” The court then stated:
I want you to tell me this because if you don’t feel comfortable
sitting in an environment such as this and if that discomfort somehow
leads you to believe you couldn’t be fair and impartial, I want you to
tell me that. And I guess that’s why I’m pushing you a little more on
this.
To this, the venireperson answered: “I think at this point, yes, I can be fair and
impartial.” The district court then moved on to other issues.
Based on this exchange, defense counsel moved for a mistrial and to strike
the venire on the ground that the potential juror’s statements had “tainted [the]
entire pool.” The district court denied the motion. The court did agree, however,
to defendants’ request to explain the presence of the marshals in the courtroom to
the venire. The court noted for the venire that “[t]he reason there are more U.S.
marshals present than most trials is that we have seven defendants on trial,” and
-23-
admonished that “the existence of the U.S. marshals should not be construed,
interpreted by any of you as any indication that there’s violence about to occur in
the courtroom, or that there’s anything inherently violent about these defendants
or that there’s anything improper about it.” Appellants argue that the district
court erred in denying the motion and in failing to inquire regarding the effect of
the venireperson’s statement on the remaining panel members.
The district court “has broad discretion in conducting the voir dire
examination” because it “is in the best position to judge the effect which improper
statements might have upon a jury.” United States v. Gibbons, 607 F.2d 1320,
1330 (1979). The court’s ruling on a motion for mistrial based on improper
statements during voir dire will therefore be disturbed only on a clear showing of
abuse of discretion. Id. In reviewing the district court’s decision, this court asks
whether the defendant’s right to a fair and impartial jury was violated by the
potentially prejudicial statement. Id. at 1331.
The district court in this case did not abuse its discretion in denying
appellants’ motion for a mistrial or to strike the venire. Any prejudice that may
have resulted from the statement of the venireperson was adequately addressed by
the district court’s explanation of the presence of the marshals in the courtroom.
Nor did the district court abuse its discretion in declining to question the other
members of the panel. Although this court has sometimes cited the district
-24-
court’s questioning of the remaining panel as a factor to consider in deciding
whether the district court abused its discretion, it has never required such
questioning after every potentially prejudicial statement. See United States v.
Black, 369 F.3d 1171, 1177 (10th Cir. 2004); see, e.g., United States v.
McKissick, 204 F.3d 1282, 1299-1300 (10th Cir. 2000) (concluding that the
court’s cautionary instruction was sufficient to cure any possible prejudice
resulting from the remarks of a venireperson). Defense counsel in this case did
not request questioning of the individual panel members, and expressed a desire
to avoid highlighting the exchange to the rest of the panel. 9 Especially in light of
defense counsels’ tactical decision not to request questioning of the panel, this
court cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in failing to do
so.
2. Failure to Question Jurors Regarding Potential Prejudice
Green argues that his due process rights were violated when the district
court failed to question the jury regarding allegedly prejudicial issues overheard
by one of the jurors during a lunch break. The juror brought to the court’s
attention that she had overheard defense counsel speaking about the case and
9
Counsel at oral argument disclaimed any desire to have the remainder of
the panel questioned, stating that “if we had asked the court to inquire of the
other members of the panel how they felt, candidly, Your Honor, I thought we
would get in a deeper hole than we were already in.”
-25-
using Green’s name. In questioning outside the presence of the rest of the jury,
the juror told the court: “I heard something about a gun. About somebody
wearing a suit for the last time. Something about the gun wasn’t found until after
they searched for the drugs or something to that manner.” She further admitted
telling at least two other jurors that she had overheard the conversation. The
following colloquy then occurred:
THE COURT: Did you tell them anything about the specifics
of what you overheard?
JUROR: No, I did not.
THE COURT: Okay. So to the extent you talked to a couple
jurors, you just said you heard things, but didn’t tell them what you
heard.
JUROR: Correct.
THE COURT: Are you sure about that?
JUROR: Correct.
Later in the questioning, the court again brought up the subject of whether the
juror had related any of the content of what she had overheard to the other jurors:
THE COURT: Did you say anything to the other jurors about
the specifics of what you’ve shared with us right now?
JUROR: No.
After giving defense counsel the opportunity to question the juror, the court
decided in an “abundance of caution” that the juror should be excused. The court
denied, however, defense counsels’ requests to question other members of the jury
on what they knew about the overheard conversation. The court concluded that,
-26-
based on the juror’s statements, the remainder of the jury had not been exposed to
any prejudicial information. The court stated:
I’m not going to question the other two [jurors] because she said in
several ways that she didn’t communicate this to anyone else. And
there isn’t a basis in the record for me to ask anything of the other
jurors what they heard. I believe this woman is being honest when
she said all she said to the others is that she heard some things and
didn’t tell them what it was. And that’s not enough for them to be
tainted.
This court reviews for abuse of discretion the district court’s decision on
how to handle allegations of juror misconduct or bias. United States v. Bornfield,
145 F.3d 1123, 1132 (10th Cir. 1998). In this case, the court took the
precautionary step of dismissing the juror in question. The court also gave
defense counsel the opportunity to examine the juror, who steadfastly maintained
that she had not related the content of the overheard conversation to any of the
other jurors. Given that there is absolutely no evidence that any prejudicial
information reached the remainder of the jury, the district court did not abuse its
discretion in denying defense counsels’ request to question the other jurors.
Similarly, in the absence of evidence that the jury was exposed to prejudicial
information, the district court did not abuse its discretion in failing to give a
cautionary instruction.
C. Motion to Sever
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Defendant-appellant George Murray argues that the district court erred in
denying his motion to sever his trial from that of his co-defendants. He argues
that he was prejudiced by a joint trial with co-defendants who were alleged to
have been much more serious players in the drug conspiracy and who each had
multiple prior felony drug convictions. Murray contends that he was incarcerated
for the majority of the duration of the alleged conspiracy and purchased relatively
small quantities of crack cocaine compared to the other defendants.
This court reviews the trial court’s denial of severance for an abuse of
discretion. United States v. Hack, 782 F.2d 862, 870 (10th Cir. 1986). “In
deciding on a motion for severance, the district court has a duty to weigh the
prejudice resulting from a joint trial of co-defendants against the expense and
inconvenience of separate trials.” Id. The preference in a conspiracy trial is that
persons charged together should be tried together. Id. at 871. To establish an
abuse of discretion, a defendant must make a strong showing of actual prejudice.
Id. at 870.
Murray’s only argument that he was prejudiced is that the evidence against
his co-defendants was stronger than the evidence against him. Even assuming
this is true, however, “[n]either a mere allegation that defendant would have a
better chance of acquittal in a separate trial, nor a complaint of the ‘spillover
effect’ from the evidence that was overwhelming or more damaging against the
-28-
co-defendant than that against the moving party is sufficient to warrant
severance.” Id. (citation omitted). Rather, to show prejudice a defendant must
show that “there is a serious risk that a joint trial would compromise a specific
trial right, or prevent the jury from making a reliable judgment about guilt or
innocence.” Zafiro v. United States, 506 U.S. 534, 539 (1993). Murray has not
made this showing. On the contrary, the jury’s acquittal of Murray of the
conspiracy charge demonstrates that it was capable of separating the evidence
against him from the evidence against his co-defendants. Furthermore, the
district court gave a limiting instruction, which the Supreme Court has sanctioned
as an alternative to the more drastic remedy of severance. Id. at 539. Because
Murray fails to demonstrate actual prejudice resulting from the district court’s
denial of his motion, he cannot show that the district court abused its discretion.
-29-
D. Sufficiency of the Evidence
1. Alvin Green and Theolian Lloyd
The jury convicted Small, Green, Lloyd, and Woods of Count I, which
charged the defendants with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to
distribute crack cocaine weighing more than fifty grams. On appeal, both Green
and Lloyd argue that there was insufficient evidence for the jury to convict them
of the conspiracy alleged in the indictment. In evaluating a sufficiency of the
evidence challenge to a charge of conspiracy:
[T]he question whether there existed evidence sufficient to establish
a single conspiracy is one of fact for the jury to decide. When
reviewing the jury’s decision, we must view all of the evidence, both
direct and circumstantial, in the light most favorable to the
government, and all reasonable inferences and credibility choices
must be made in support of the jury’s verdict.
United States v. Evans, 970 F.2d 663, 671 (10th Cir. 1992) (quotation omitted).
As this court noted in Evans, “the restrictive standard of review for a sufficiency
of the evidence question provides us with very little leeway” in conducting this
review of the evidence. Id.To prove conspiracy, the government must show: (1) that two or more
people agreed to violate the law, (2) that the defendant knew at least the essential
objectives of the conspiracy, (3) that the defendant knowingly and voluntarily
became a part of it, and (4) that the alleged co-conspirators were interdependent.
Id. at 668. Green and Lloyd argue only that the government failed to establish the
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fourth requirement, that of interdependence. Although the evidence at trial
showed that each defendant was involved in dealing crack cocaine with Small, “a
single conspiracy does not exist solely because many individuals deal with a
common central player.” Id. at 670. “What is required is a shared, single
criminal objective, not just similar or parallel objectives between similarly
situated people.” Id. On the other hand, “[a] defendant need not have knowledge
of all the details or all the members of the conspiracy and may play only a minor
role in the conspiracy.” United States v. Mendoza-Salgado, 964 F.2d 993, 1005
(10th Cir. 1992) (quotation omitted). The government need only prove by direct
or circumstantial evidence “that the defendant knew at least the essential
objectives of the conspiracy, and the defendant knowingly and voluntarily became
part of it.” Id. (quotation omitted).
In Evans, this court examined a similar challenge to the sufficiency of the
evidence made by several defendants in a large drug conspiracy case. Evans, 970
F.2d at 668. In concluding that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the
convictions of three of the defendants, the court focused on evidence of frequent
drug transactions among the defendants and their co-conspirators, and evidence
that the defendants attended discussions related to drug sales. Id. at 672-73. The
court concluded that this evidence was sufficient to establish that the defendants
knew the nature of the criminal enterprise and shared its objective. Id. In
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contrast, the court found insufficient evidence as to one defendant because the
evidence showed only a single purchase of crack cocaine, without any indication
that the drugs were resold for profit, and because there was no evidence that the
defendant attended meetings where other drug transactions were discussed. Id. at
673. The court emphasized the relatively minor nature of the single drug
transaction, and noted that “proof of the existence of a buyer-seller relationship,
without more, is inadequate to tie the buyer to a larger conspiracy.” Id.(quotation and alteration omitted).
This court’s decision in Evans highlights the importance of two kinds of
evidence in evaluating a sufficiency of the evidence challenge to a drug
conspiracy conviction. First, evidence establishing that a defendant purchased
drugs on multiple occasions and for the purpose of resale, as opposed to a one-
time purchase for personal use, is an indication that the defendant was aware of
and shared common goals with the larger conspiracy. See id. As this court has
noted, “[w]here large quantities of narcotics are being distributed, each major
buyer may be presumed to know that he is part of a wide-ranging venture, the
success of which depends on performance by others whose identity he may not
even know.” United States v. Watson, 594 F.2d 1330, 1340 (10th Cir. 1979).
Second, evidence showing that the defendant attended meetings or was privy to
-32-
information regarding the scope of the criminal conspiracy is also relevant for the
same reasons. Evans, 970 F.2d at 673.
a. Sufficiency of the Evidence as to Green
Both kinds of evidence identified in Evans are present as to Green. The
trial evidence showed that Green was a major source of supply for Small’s drug
operation, that he traveled to California for the purpose of obtaining large
quantities of drugs for Small, and that Small was dependent on Green to supply
the operation. Evidence that a defendant is a major supplier of drugs is sufficient
in infer knowledge of the broader conspiracy. See United States v. Dickey, 736
F.2d 571, 584-85 (10th Cir. 1984). Furthermore, the evidence showed that Green
discussed the conspiracy’s drug sales with Small, and that he provided equipment
and assistance in converting the powder cocaine to crack cocaine. This evidence
suggests that Green was privy to information regarding the nature and objectives
of the criminal conspiracy. Based on this evidence, a jury could reasonably have
concluded that Green was interdependent with Small’s entire drug organization.
Green argues that the evidence at trial established the existence of multiple
conspiracies rather than the single, overarching conspiracy alleged in Count I of
the indictment, and that his role in these separate conspiracies “is confusing, at
the very least.” He further argues that because there was evidence that Small
used more than one supplier, it would have been impossible for a reasonable jury
-33-
to determine which of Small’s suppliers provided the cocaine Small eventually
distributed to his dealers on the street. As already established, however, Green
was a major source of supply for Small’s drug operation. The fact that all of
Small’s distributors may not have been aware of each other, and that some of the
drugs in the conspiracy may have come from other suppliers, is irrelevant to the
question whether Green knew the essential objectives of the conspiracy and
knowingly and voluntarily became part of it. As this court noted in United States
v. Harrison:
The goals of all the participants need not be congruent for a single
conspiracy to exist, so long as their goals are not at cross
purposes. . . . [A] single conspiracy is not transformed into multiple
conspiracies merely by virtue of the fact that it may involve two or
more phases or spheres of operation, so long as there is sufficient
proof of mutual dependence and assistance.
942 F.2d 751, 756 (10th Cir. 1991) (quotation and emphasis omitted).
Although this court has said that two competing suppliers cannot be
considered part of the same conspiracy when the evidence shows that the
conspiracy could not utilize both suppliers simultaneously, the evidence in this
case did not show that Small used one supplier to the exclusion of all others. See
id. at 756-57. The existence of multiple dealers and suppliers does not show the
existence of separate conspiracies as long as the activities are aimed at a common
goal. United States v. Ailsworth, 138 F.3d 843, 851 (10th Cir. 1998). In this
-34-
case, the evidence was sufficient to show that Green shared the common goal with
Small’s drug organization of distributing crack cocaine for profit.
b. Sufficiency of the Evidence as to Lloyd
The evidence was also sufficient for the jury to convict Lloyd on the
conspiracy count. Testimony of Lloyd’s co-defendants established that Lloyd was
a frequent customer of Small’s and that he had purchased crack cocaine from him
on at least five to ten occasions. In addition, the jury found Lloyd guilty of two
independent purchases of fourteen grams of crack cocaine from Small, and Lloyd
does not contest that the evidence was sufficient to establish these purchases. A
jury reasonably could have concluded that Lloyd was not merely purchasing these
drugs for personal consumption, but was instead furthering the objectives of the
conspiracy by redistributing the drugs for profit. See United States v. Ivy, 83 F.3d
1266, 1285-86 (10th Cir. 1996). In one conversation intercepted by the FBI
wiretap, Small and Lloyd were caught discussing the possibility of Lloyd selling
drugs in a particular location. Trial evidence also indicated that Small would
“front” drugs to others, including Lloyd, an arrangement in which Small would
provide crack cocaine on credit in exchange for payment from proceeds realized
on sale. This kind of fronting arrangement strongly suggests that Lloyd was
expected to redistribute the fronted drugs for profit.
-35-
The evidence further showed that Lloyd had at least one conversation with
Small in which they talked about other crack cocaine dealers in Small’s
distribution network. 10 Although Lloyd may not have known all the dealers
working for Small, no such knowledge is required for a showing of
interdependence as long as Lloyd knew at least the essential objectives of the
conspiracy. See Mendoza-Salgado, 964 F.2d at 1005. The jury in this case could
reasonably have concluded from the intercepted telephone conversations that
Lloyd was at least aware of the essential objective of Small’s drug network. The
jury could further have concluded that he knowingly and voluntarily advanced
that objective by receiving and selling fronted drugs on behalf of Small. See
United States v. Roberts, 14 F.3d 502, 511 (10th Cir. 1993) (recognizing that
fronting creates a situation of mutual dependence because the seller’s ability to
front drugs is dependent on his receipt of money due). Taken together and in the
10
Lloyd argues that the drug dealers discussed in this conversation were not
convicted of being a part of the conspiracy charged in Count I of the indictment
and that one of the individuals discussed, Max Cooper, was acquitted of the
conspiracy charge. Even if Cooper was not a member of the conspiracy alleged in
the indictment, however, the content of the intercepted conversation indicates that
he was distributing drugs for Small. Furthermore, the jury did convict Cooper of
using a telephone to facilitate the drug conspiracy alleged in Count I. The jury
could therefore have concluded that Lloyd’s discussion of the activities of Cooper
and others was relevant evidence of his knowledge of the broader objective of the
conspiracy–that of distributing crack cocaine for profit.
-36-
light most favorable to the government, this evidence was sufficient for a jury to
determine that Lloyd was interdependent with the rest of Small’s drug network.
2. Tommy Jones
The district court found defendant-appellant Tommy Jones guilty after a
bench trial of using a telephone to facilitate a drug felony in violation of 21
U.S.C. § 843(b), and aiding and abetting the distribution of more than five grams
of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)(iii), and 18
U.S.C. § 2. On appeal, Jones challenges his conviction under § 843(b), arguing
that it was not supported by sufficient evidence.
The evidence at trial showed that Jones and his girlfriend Danya Drew
came to Denver together and were shortly thereafter arrested for reasons unrelated
to the present criminal prosecution. Jones gave Drew the last of his money to pay
for her bond, but Jones himself was not released because of an outstanding
warrant for a parole violation in California. Drew located Willie Small’s phone
number in Jones’ address book and called him to request money for a bus ticket to
California. Small refused to help, however, until he first heard from Jones.
Later that day, Drew spoke to Jones on Small’s cellular phone, and the
conversation was captured on the FBI wiretap of that phone. Drew asked Jones,
“Would you tell Willie to, um, do something for me so I can make some money?”
Jones responded, “Um, yeah, put him on the phone.” When Small picked up the
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phone, Jones said that he needed “it” if he was sent “down there,” which the
district court interpreted to mean that Jones needed money if he was sent to the
Denver County Jail. Small offered to give Drew a quarter-ounce of crack cocaine
to sell, the proceeds of which could be used to put money into Jones’ jail account.
When Drew returned to the telephone, Jones asked her, “Hey, if he give you a
quarter, right . . . you be able to send me some money out to the county[?]” Drew
answered that she would “do anything” for Jones. Shortly after this conversation,
Small gave Drew a quarter ounce of crack cocaine. Instead of selling the cocaine
as promised, however, Drew and others smoked all the crack cocaine that night.
Based on the content of this conversation, the district court concluded that it was
Jones’ assent to Small’s proposal that resulted in Small giving the crack cocaine
to Drew.
Jones argues that, because Drew smoked all the crack cocaine without
selling any of it, the evidence does not support his conviction for use of a
telephone to facilitate the distribution of crack cocaine in violation of § 843(b).
He cites United States v. Baggett, in which this court held that § 843(b) is not
violated when the drug distribution facilitated with the use of a telephone is
solely for the purpose of personal consumption. 890 F.2d 1095, 1097-98 (10th
Cir. 1989). The holding in Baggett, however, was predicated on the fact that the
drug possession facilitated in that case did not constitute a felony. Id. at 1097
-38-
(citing 21 U.S.C. § 844(a)). Section 843(b) makes it 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.” 18 U.S.C. § 843(b) (emphasis added).
Because the simple possession at issue in Baggett was only a misdemeanor, it
could not be said that the defendant’s use of a telephone in that case facilitated a
felony. In contrast, possession of more than five grams of crack cocaine is
punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years and thus
constitutes a drug felony. See 21 U.S.C. § 844(a); 18 U.S.C. § 3559(a)(3). The
evidence that Jones facilitated Drew’s possession of that quantity of crack cocaine
was for this reason sufficient for a jury to find a violation of § 843(b).
E. United States v. Booker
Some of the appellants claim that the district court’s application of the
United States Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”) violated the Supreme Court’s
holding in United States v. Booker, 125 S. Ct. 738 (2005). In Booker, the
Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment requires that “[a]ny fact (other
than a prior conviction) which is necessary to support a sentence exceeding the
maximum authorized by the facts established by a plea of guilty or a jury verdict
must be admitted by the defendant or proved to a jury beyond a reasonable
doubt.” Id. at 756. The Booker remedial majority addressed the Sixth
-39-
Amendment error resulting from mandatory application of the Guidelines by
severing the statutory section requiring district courts to sentence within the
Guidelines range. Id. at 756-57.
There are two distinct types of sentencing errors that a court could make in
light of Booker. United States v. Gonzalez-Huerta, 403 F.3d 727, 731 (2005) (en
banc). A sentencing court could violate the Sixth Amendment “by relying upon
judge-found facts, other than those of prior convictions, to enhance a defendant’s
sentence mandatorily.” Id. Alternatively, “a sentencing court could err by
applying the Guidelines in a mandatory fashion, as opposed to a discretionary
fashion, even though the resulting sentence was calculated solely upon facts that
were admitted by the defendant, found by the jury, or based upon the fact of a
prior conviction.” Id. at 731-32. Appellants claim that the district court
committed both kinds of Booker error in sentencing them under the Guidelines.
1. Alvin Green and Theolian Lloyd
Green and Lloyd argue that their sentences are in conflict with Booker
because the district court found facts by a preponderance of the evidence during
sentencing. Because neither appellant raised this claim in the district court, we
review only for plain error. Id. at 732. “Under that test, before an appellate court
can correct an error not raised at trial, there must be (1) error, (2) that is plain,
and (3) affects substantial rights.” United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625, 631
-40-
(2002) (quotations and alteration omitted). “If all three conditions are met, an
appellate court may then exercise its discretion to notice a forfeited error, but
only if (4) the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of
judicial proceedings.” Id. at 631-32 (quotation and alteration omitted).
Both Green and Lloyd fail to satisfy the first prong of the plain-error test in
this case because the district court did not commit error under Booker. Both
sentences were the minimum permitted by statute given the quantity of drugs
found by the jury and appellants’ prior felony drug convictions. See 21 U.S.C.
§ 841(b)(1)(A)(iii). The quantity of drugs was alleged in the indictment and
found by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Jones, 235
F.3d 1231, 1236-37 (10th Cir. 2000) (holding that drug quantities under § 841(b)
are essential elements of the offense that must be alleged in the indictment and
found by the jury). Although the district court did make additional findings
regarding Green’s possession of a firearm and the quantities of drugs attributable
to Lloyd for a determination of the sentencing range under the Guidelines, these
findings did not increase appellants’ sentences because in both cases the high end
of the final Guidelines range was below the statutory minimum sentence. 11
11
For this reason, Lloyd’s argument that the district court erred in finding
eighty-four grams of crack cocaine attributable to him is irrelevant. Because the
fifty grams required for imposition of the statutory minimum sentence was found
by the jury, Lloyd would have been subject to the same sentence even if the
(continued...)
-41-
Furthermore, this court has previously held that “the ‘fact’ of prior
convictions . . . need not be charged in an indictment and proven to a jury.”
United States v. Moore, 401 F.3d 1220, 1223 (10th Cir. 2005).
Because the only facts necessary for appellants’ sentences were either
submitted to the jury or involved the fact of a prior conviction, the district court
did not commit constitutional Booker error. See Booker, 125 S. Ct. at 756; United
States v. Payton, 405 F.3d 1168, 1173 (10th Cir. 2005). Nor did the court commit
non-constitutional Booker error, because the court had no discretion to impose a
sentence lower than the minimum required by statute. See Payton, 405 F.3d at
1173. The district court’s sentence of Green and Lloyd was in conformity with
Booker, and these appellants accordingly cannot demonstrate that the court
committed plain error. 12
11
(...continued)
district court had not made this finding.
12
In addition to the sentences challenged by Lloyd and Green, both
appellants were also sentenced to concurrent terms of imprisonment on their other
counts of conviction. Appellants do not challenge the legality of their sentences
on these other counts under Booker, and this court declines to raise the issue sua
sponte. Likewise, where the other appellants in this case have challenged their
primary terms of imprisonment but have not challenged their sentences to lesser
concurrent terms, we decline to consider the legality of the unchallenged
sentences.
-42-
2. Dwayne Van Dyke
Unlike most of the other appellants, Van Dyke was not subjected to a
statutory minimum sentence because the government, in exchange for Van Dyke’s
cooperation, agreed not to file an information calling for the enhanced statutory
penalty. See 21 U.S.C. § 851(a)(1) (requiring an information to be filed by the
government prior to imposition of the enhanced statutory sentence).
Nevertheless, Van Dyke was still subjected to enhanced penalties pursuant to the
career offender provision in the Guidelines. See U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1 (2002). A
defendant is considered a career offender under § 4B1.1 if:
(1) the defendant was at least eighteen years old at the time the
defendant committed the instant offense of conviction; (2) the instant
offense of conviction is a felony that is either a crime of violence or
a controlled substance offense; and (3) the defendant has at least two
prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled
substance offense.
U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1(a).
Van Dyke argues that the district court’s findings regarding each of these
three requirements violated his Sixth Amendment rights under Booker. We
disagree. First, the court’s findings regarding the fact of prior convictions did not
implicate the Sixth Amendment. Moore, 401 F.3d at 1223. Furthermore, whether
the present offense and prior offenses constitute felonies that are crimes of
violence or controlled substance offenses are questions of law unaffected by the
-43-
Supreme Court’s holding in Booker. See id. at 1224-26. 13 The only fact found by
the judge potentially implicated by the Supreme Court’s holding in Booker was
the fact that Van Dyke was at least eighteen years old at the time he committed
the offense of conviction. Although the district court did find this fact in
imposing the career offender provision, Van Dyke’s Sixth Amendment rights were
still not violated because his sentence was below the maximum authorized by the
facts found by the jury. From the facts admitted in the plea agreement and the
fact of prior convictions, Van Dyke’s maximum sentence under the Guidelines
was 188 months based on an offense level of twenty-nine and a criminal history
13
Van Dyke also argues that the district court erred as a matter of law in
classifying his prior conviction for attempted escape as a crime of violence. This
court has previously held, however, that all escapes, including attempted escapes,
are by their nature crimes of violence for purposes of the Guidelines because they
inherently present a serious potential risk of physical injury to another. United
States v. Moudy, 132 F.3d 618, 620 (10th Cir. 1998) (“Every escape scenario is a
powder keg which may or may not explode into violence and result in physical
injury to someone at any given time, but which always has the serious potential to
do so.” (quotation and alteration omitted)); see also United States v. Dickerson,
77 F.3d 774, 777 (4th Cir. 1996) (holding that felony attempted escape is a crime
of violence under § 4B1.1). Furthermore, Application Note 1 of § 4B1.2(a) states
that a “crime of violence” includes “the offenses of aiding and abetting,
conspiring, and attempting to commit such offenses.” U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a) cmt.
n.1 (2002). Such commentary is “authoritative unless it violates the Constitution
or a federal statute, or is inconsistent with, or a plainly erroneous reading of,” the
guideline it interprets. Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36, 38 (1993). The
district court therefore did not err in classifying attempted escape as a crime of
violence under the Guidelines.
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category of VI. 14 After application of the career offender guideline, the
sentencing range arrived at by the district court was 262-327 months. The court,
however, granted a substantial downward departure pursuant to the government’s
§ 5K1.1 motion, sentencing Van Dyke to a term of 175 months’ imprisonment.
This sentence was below the maximum authorized by the jury’s verdict, and Van
Dyke’s sentence therefore does not violate the Sixth Amendment. See United
States v. Yazzie, 407 F.3d 1139, 1144 (10th Cir. 2005) (en banc) (noting that a
district court commits constitutional Booker error when it “makes factual findings
(other than the fact of prior convictions), and imposes a sentence above the
maximum that would apply in the absence of such findings”).
The district court did commit non-constitutional Booker error by applying
the Guidelines in a mandatory fashion. See Gonzalez-Huerta, 403 F.3d at 731-32.
This error amounts to plain error sufficient to satisfy the first two prongs of the
plain-error analysis. Id. at 732. Nevertheless, because the district court exercised
its discretion in departing downward pursuant to the government’s § 5K1.1
motion, Van Dyke cannot demonstrate that his substantial rights were affected by
14
Based solely on the drug quantity admitted in the plea agreement, Van
Dyke’s base offense level was thirty-two pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(4). In
United States v. Clark, however, this court held that downward adjustments for
acceptance of responsibility must be included in the calculation of the sentencing
range authorized by the jury’s verdict. 415 F.3d 1234, 1238-40 (10th Cir. 2005).
After a three-level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility, Van
Dyke’s base offense level was twenty-nine.
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the district court’s error as required by the third prong of the plain-error test. The
fact that Van Dyke was sentenced well below the bottom end of the Guidelines
range makes it extremely unlikely that the district court would have imposed an
even lower sentence under a purely discretionary Guidelines regime.
Furthermore, as this court noted in United States v. Ollson, “once the government
moved for downward departure under § 5K1.1, the district court exercised its
discretion in both granting the motion and in deciding what degree of departure
was appropriate.” 413 F.3d 1119, 1121 (10th Cir. 2005). Although the district
court in this case granted the degree of departure recommended by the
government, the court “nonetheless retain[ed] discretion to depart to the degree it
[found] appropriate, regardless of a specific recommendation by the government.”
Id. If the court thought Van Dyke deserved an even lower sentence, it “had
undoubted discretion to reduce the sentence below what it imposed.” Id. Van
Dyke’s substantial rights were therefore unaffected by the district court’s Booker
error, and for this reason he cannot satisfy the third prong of the plain-error test.
See id. (holding a similar Booker error to be harmless).
3. Dawan Eugene Smith
Defendant-appellant Dawan Eugene Smith pleaded guilty to one count of
use of a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking crime in violation of 21 U.S.C.
§ 843(b). Like Van Dyke, Smith was not subjected to a statutory minimum
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sentence. The district court calculated Smith’s Guidelines range at seventy to
eighty-seven months based on the quantity of drugs he admitted in his plea
agreement. Because the statutory maximum for his crime of conviction was forty-
eight months under 21 U.S.C. § 843(d)(1), Smith’s Guidelines range became
forty-eight months pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5G1.1. The district court accordingly
imposed a forty-eight month sentence.
Smith appears to concede that all facts pertinent to his sentence were
admitted in the plea agreement and that therefore his sentence did not violate the
Sixth Amendment. Nevertheless, he argues that the district court violated
Booker’s remedial provision by applying the Guidelines in a mandatory fashion.
Because Smith did not raise this argument in the district court, it is reviewed here
for plain error.
Even though the district court sentenced Smith well below the bottom end
of the Guidelines range, the court under a purely discretionary Guidelines system
could have imposed an even lower sentence. The district court therefore
committed non-constitutional Booker error. Smith, however, cannot demonstrate
that his substantial rights were affected by the district court’s error as required by
the plain-error test. Smith was given a sentence substantially below the normal
Guidelines range. Because the district court is required to consider the
Guidelines in imposing a sentence post-Booker, it is unlikely that the court would
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have decided to impose an even lower sentence under an advisory Guidelines
scheme. See United States v. Sierra-Castillo, 405 F.3d 932, 936 n.2 (10th Cir.
2005). Smith has not identified any evidence in the record that would indicate
otherwise. In fact, he concedes that “[t]here is simply no way of knowing what
sentence the district court would have imposed if the [G]uidelines were advisory
rather than mandatory.” Smith has therefore failed to satisfy his burden of
“demonstrating a reasonable probability that had the district court applied the
post-Booker sentencing framework, he would have received a lesser sentence.”
United States v. Trujillo-Terrazas, 405 F.3d 814, 819 (10th Cir. 2005).
4. George Murray
Defendant-appellant George Murray was subject to a 120-month statutory
minimum sentence. Based on the district court’s findings of drug quantity at
sentencing, however, the court applied a base offense level under the Guidelines
of twenty-eight, which combined with a criminal history category of V resulted in
a Guidelines range of 130 to 162 months. The district court sentenced Murray to
150 months’ imprisonment.
The government concedes that the district court found facts that increased
Murray’s sentence under the Guidelines. The court’s Booker error was therefore
constitutional in nature. See Gonzalez-Huerta, 403 F.3d at 731. Furthermore, the
government concedes that Murray raised the issue below, and this court must
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therefore remand for resentencing unless the error was harmless. United States v.
Lang, 405 F.3d 1060, 1064 (10th Cir. 2005). Constitutional Booker error will
only be found harmless if the government can demonstrate beyond a reasonable
doubt that the error did not affect the defendant’s substantial rights. Id. at 1065.
In United States v. Dazey, this court held that there are at least two ways that a
defendant’s substantial rights may have been affected in cases of constitutional
Booker error. 403 F.3d 1147, 1175 (10th Cir. 2005). First, a defendant’s
substantial rights may be affected if “a jury applying a reasonable doubt standard
would not have found the same material facts that a judge found by a
preponderance of the evidence.” Id. Second, a defendant’s substantial rights may
also be affected if there is “a reasonable probability that, under the specific facts
of his case as analyzed under the sentencing factors of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), the
district court judge would reasonably impose a sentence outside the Guidelines
range.” Id. (footnote omitted) 15
15
United States v. Dazey, 403 F.3d 1147, 1175 (10th Cir. 2005), was
decided in the plain-error context, in which the defendant has the burden to show
an effect on substantial rights. See United States v. Vonn, 535 U.S. 55, 62-63
(2002). In the harmless-error context, it is instead the government’s burden to
show that the defendant’s substantial rights have not been affected. Id. at 62.
Other than this shift in the burden of proof, however, there is no reason to believe
that the substantial rights test for cases of plain error, as set forth in Dazey, is not
equally applicable in the context of harmless error. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a),
(b) (requiring an effect on substantial rights in cases of both harmless error and
plain error).
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At oral argument, the government contended that the district court’s error
was harmless because the court already exercised its discretion in sentencing
Murray to the middle of the Guidelines range. From this, the government
concluded that the sentence likely would have remained the same even if the
district court had been operating under an advisory Guidelines scheme. See
United States v. Lawrence, 405 F.3d 888, 908 (10th Cir. 2005) (noting that a
defendant’s sentence would likely have been the same even under an advisory
Guidelines system when the district court sentenced above the bottom of the
Guidelines range). Even if the government is correct on this point, however, its
argument at most establishes that the second alternative under Dazey has not been
satisfied in this case. This court need not even reach the second Dazey alternative
if it concludes that a jury likely would not have found the quantity of drugs
required for Murray’s sentence beyond a reasonable doubt. In United States v.
Mozee, for example, this court concluded that a defendant’s substantial rights had
been affected even though he was sentenced to the top of the Guidelines range.
405 F.3d 1082, 1091, 1092 (10th Cir. 2005). Although the defendant’s sentence
likely would have been the same or higher if the district court had been operating
under a purely advisory Guidelines regime, the defendant was still able to show
an effect on his substantial rights because the evidence in support of the
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sentencing enhancements applied by the district court was not overwhelming.
Id. 16
Here, the indictment alleged and the jury found that the quantity of drugs
involved in Murray’s offense of conviction was more than five grams of crack
cocaine. The indictment further stated that the quantity at issue was
approximately seven grams. The government argued at sentencing that the actual
quantity of drugs attributable to Murray for purposes of computing the Guidelines
sentence was forty-two grams based on Murray’s relevant conduct. Defense
counsel vigorously contested this quantity and argued that Murray was
responsible for only fourteen grams of crack cocaine or less. The district court
concluded that the government had failed to prove the forty-two gram quantity by
a preponderance of the evidence, and instead found twenty-eight grams of crack
cocaine attributable to the defendant. Other than the fact that the quantity found
In Mozee, a plain-error case, the court nevertheless concluded that it
16
would not exercise its discretion to correct the error because the defendant had
failed to show that the error seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public
reputation of judicial proceedings. United States v. Mozee, 405 F.3d 1082, 1092
(10th Cir. 2005). The court held that there was no reason to believe that a
defendant sentenced at the high end of the Guidelines range would receive a
lesser sentence if the case were remanded to the district court for resentencing.
Id. The showing of an effect on the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of
judicial proceedings, while required in the plain-error context, is not applicable to
cases of harmless error. See Vonn, 535 U.S. at 62-63. Murray’s sentence must
therefore be reversed unless the government can show that his substantial rights
were not affected by the district court’s error.
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by the district court exactly split the difference between the quantities advocated
by the government and the defendant, it is unclear from the record how the
district court arrived at this finding. We cannot say that the evidence supporting
the district court’s conclusion was so strong that a jury would have found the
same quantity beyond a reasonable doubt. We therefore conclude, based on
circuit precedent, that the district court’s factfinding by a preponderance of the
evidence affected Murray’s substantial rights, and that the constitutional Booker
error in this case was not harmless. For this reason, Murray’s case must be
remanded for resentencing.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the convictions and sentences of all appellants
except for George Murray are AFFIRMED. As to Murray, we REMAND this
case to the district court with instructions to vacate Murray’s sentence and to
resentence him in accordance with Booker.
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