United States v. Robert William Green

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[PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 14-12830
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 3:14-cr-00007-RV-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff–Appellee,
versus
ROBERT WILLIAM GREEN,
Defendant–Appellant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Florida
________________________
(September 29, 2017)
ON PETITION FOR REHEARING
Before JORDAN and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges, and ROBREÑO,∗ District
Judge.
∗
Honorable Eduardo C. Robreño, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania, sitting by designation.
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JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judge:
In light of this Court’s en banc decision in United States v. Vail-Bailon, 868
F.3d 1293 (11th Cir. 2017), we hereby vacate our prior panel opinion, published at
842 F.3d 1299, and substitute it with the following opinion, which has been revised
only in Section II.D. Accordingly, Defendant’s motion for panel rehearing is
denied as moot.
A jury convicted defendant Robert Green of being a felon in possession of a
firearm or ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The district court
sentenced Defendant to 262 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised
release. Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence. After careful review, we
affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Facts
In early 2013, Defendant was charged with various state offenses. While on
pre-trial release, Defendant wore a court-ordered GPS monitoring bracelet that
reported his location to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. On April 3, 2013,
the Sheriff’s Office discovered that Defendant was no longer wearing the GPS
bracelet. A week later, several officers went to the home of Jodi Simmons, where
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they believed they would find Defendant,1 to arrest him. Initially, Ms. Simmons
denied that Defendant was inside, but she gave the officers permission to enter the
trailer and search for him. When they entered the master bedroom, the officers
discovered a man’s camouflage jacket hanging on the bedpost. The jacket was a
large jacket and Jodi Simmons was not a large person. On the floor next to the
bed, and on the same side of the room as the closet, the officers observed a pair of
men’s shoes. On a nearby nightstand, the officers saw a firearm loaded with .22
caliber ammunition, two pipes of the type typically used to smoke
methamphetamine, a camouflage bag, and a washcloth. The camouflage bag
contained a digital scale, .6 grams of methamphetamine, .22 caliber ammunition,
and empty plastic baggies of the type used to hold drugs or ammunition. On the
floor of the bedroom, near the man’s jacket and pair of shoes, the officers also
found a blue bag containing tools and ingredients used to manufacture
methamphetamine, as well as more .22 caliber ammunition. The blue bag
contained an identification card in the blue bag that did not belong to Defendant or
Simmons.
Confronting Simmons with their belief that Defendant was in fact in the
trailer, Simmons said, “He went that way,” and pointed the officers back toward
the master bedroom. An ATF agent who had accompanied the deputies to the
1
GPS data showed Defendant’s presence at Simmons’s trailer every day he wore the GPS
bracelet except March 13 and March 14.
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trailer found Defendant hiding in in the master bedroom closet under a pile of
clothes. He was wearing no shoes.
Defendant resisted arrest and struggled with the officers, but eventually they
were able to handcuff and place him in a patrol car. While Defendant was seated
in the car, the ATF agent opened the car door and knelt down to speak to
Defendant, reading to him Miranda rights and indicating that he wanted to talk to
Defendant about the firearm that had been discovered. Defendant told him that he
had only recently acquired the gun, having traded some methamphetamine for it.
A local deputy, who had been summoned to transport Defendant to the jail, was
standing at the back of the car at the time, but did not overhear the conversation
between Defendant and the ATF agent. Several months later, when the same ATF
agent transported Defendant from local custody to federal court on the present
charge, Defendant volunteered to the agent that the firearm discovered in
Simmons’s trailer was not his, but that instead he owned only a BB gun.
B. Procedural History
The Government charged Defendant with being a felon in possession of a
firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).2 In support of
2
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) states:
It shall be unlawful for any person . . . who has been convicted in any court of[] a
crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year . . . to ship or
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Defendant’s alleged felon status, the indictment listed 12 prior felony convictions.
Before trial, Defendant stipulated to being a convicted felon. Accordingly, the
district judge redacted the indictment to remove the listing of Defendant’s 12 prior
convictions in the copy of the indictment to be submitted to the jury. Over
Defendant’s objection, however, the district judge declined to remove the
following sentence in the indictment: “For each of these crimes, ROBERT
WILLIAM GREEN was subject to punishment by a term of imprisonment
exceeding one year.”
Also before trial, the Government notified Defendant that it planned to
introduce Defendant’s 2006 Florida conviction for being a felon in possession of a
firearm or ammunition under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Defendant moved
in limine to exclude the evidence because the conviction resulted from a plea of
nolo contendere. After a lengthy colloquy with counsel, the district judge denied
Defendant’s motion and admitted Defendant’s prior conviction.
Nonetheless, pursuant to a request by defense counsel and a stipulation
between the parties, the jury was informed only that Defendant had been convicted
of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and that the ammunition in
question was shotgun shells. The district judge then gave the jury the standard
transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce,
any firearm or ammunition . . . .
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cautionary instruction regarding Rule 404(b) evidence, explaining to them that they
could not consider the above evidence to decide if Defendant had committed the
acts charged in the indictment, but instead they must first find beyond a reasonable
doubt from the other evidence whether Defendant had committed those acts. The
court instructed that if the jury first found that Defendant had committed the
charged acts, then it could consider the prior conviction to decide whether
Defendant had the state of mind or intent necessary to commit the charged act.
At the close of the Government’s case, Defendant moved for a judgment of
acquittal. He argued that the Government’s evidence was insufficient to show that
he had actual or constructive possession of the firearm or ammunition. Regarding
his confession, Defendant asserted that it was unreliable, uncorroborated by the
other evidence, and therefore insufficient to establish constructive possession. The
district judge denied Defendant’s motion. The jury returned a guilty verdict.
The United States Probation Office prepared a Presentence Investigation
Report (PSR). The PSR set an adjusted base offense level of 28. Based on a
lengthy and violent criminal record, Defendant had 26 criminal history points.3
The PSR also recommended that Defendant be sentenced under the Armed Career
Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), based on the existence of four prior
qualifying Florida convictions: (1) aggravated assault with intent to commit a
3
The Sentencing Guidelines criminal history chart tops out at 13 points.
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felony; (2) resisting an officer with violence; (3) third-degree felony battery; and
(4) felony battery causing great bodily harm. The ACCA enhancement resulted in
a total offense level of 34. With a criminal history category of VI, the PSR yielded
a sentencing range of 262 to 327 months’ imprisonment.
Defendant objected to the ACCA classification, arguing that his two felony
battery convictions were not categorically violent and questioning whether the
PSR’s descriptions of the facts underlying the two convictions were drawn from
Shepard documents. In response, the Government provided the statutory basis,
charging document, and judgment for each conviction. The district court overruled
Defendant’s objection and sentenced Defendant to 262 months’ imprisonment.
Defendant now appeals his conviction and sentence.
II. DISCUSSION
On appeal, Defendant argues that the district court erred by (1) denying his
motion for a judgment of acquittal; (2) refusing to change the word “crimes,” in the
indictment’s reference to Defendant’s prior convictions, to the singular “crime”;
(3) admitting evidence of his 2006 conviction under Rule 404(b); and (4)
sentencing him under the ACCA.
A. Judgment of Acquittal
Defendant argues that the district court erred by denying his motion for a
judgment of acquittal. “We review de novo the denial of a motion for judgment of
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acquittal, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and
drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the jury’s verdict.” United States v.
Martin, 803 F.3d 581, 587 (11th Cir. 2015). “The issue is not whether a jury
reasonably could have acquitted but whether it reasonably could have found guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (quoting United States v. Thompson, 473 F.3d
1137, 1142 (11th Cir. 2006)).
To prove that Defendant violated § 922(g)(1), the Government had to show
(1) that Defendant knowingly possessed a firearm or ammunition, (2) that
Defendant was a convicted felon, and (3) that the firearm or ammunition was in or
affecting interstate commerce. United States v. Palma, 511 F.3d 1311, 1315 (11th
Cir. 2008). Defendant contests only the first element: his knowing possession of
the firearm and ammunition.
The parties agree that Defendant did not have actual possession of the
firearm or ammunition at the time the officers found him: Defendant was in the
closet, and the gun and ammunition were nearby. “[But] [t]he government need
not prove actual possession in order to establish knowing possession; it need only
show constructive possession through direct or circumstantial evidence.” United
States v. Beckles, 565 F.3d 832, 841 (11th Cir. 2009) (quoting United States v.
Greer, 440 F.3d 1267, 1271 (11th Cir. 2006)). A defendant constructively
possesses a firearm or ammunition if he (1) is aware of or knows of the firearm’s
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or ammunition’s presence and (2) has the ability and intent to exercise control over
that firearm or ammunition. United States v. Perez, 661 F.3d 568, 576 (11th Cir.
2011) (per curiam). “However, a defendant’s mere presence in the area of [an
object] or awareness of its location is not sufficient to establish possession.”
Beckles, 565 F.3d at 841 (quotation marks and citation omitted).
Here, a rational trier of fact could conclude that Defendant had both
(1) knowledge of the presence of the firearm and ammunition in the bedroom
where he was found and (2) the ability and intent to exercise control over the
firearm and ammunition, as required to establish constructive possession. As to
the first prong of the constructive possession test, the evidence reasonably permits
an inference that Defendant knew that the firearm and ammunition were present in
Simmons’s bedroom. Defendant had spent significant time in Simmons’s home in
the weeks preceding his arrest. In fact, GPS data derived from the ankle bracelet
worn by Defendant from March 12 through April 2, 2013 placed Defendant at
Simmons’s residence every day he wore the bracelet except for March 13 and
March 14. Hiding in the closet under a pile of clothes when arrested, Defendant
was in the same room as the firearm, which was in plain view on the nightstand. In
fact, it appeared that Defendant had recently been in or near the bed next to the
nightstand because, based on the shoes on the floor and his shoeless state when
found, he had apparently beaten a hasty retreat to the closet upon the arrival of the
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officers. Plus, given Defendant’s admission to the arresting officer that the firearm
on the nightstand was his, one could obviously assume that he knew where he had
put the gun. Thus, the above facts clearly support the jury’s finding that Defendant
was aware of the presence of the firearm and ammunition.
Regarding the second prong of the constructive possession test, the same
facts recited above bolster an inference that Defendant had the ability and intent to
control the gun and ammunition. The loaded gun was on a nightstand next to the
bed where Defendant’s shoes were placed; the bag containing ammunition and
drug paraphernalia were nearby. As noted, Defendant admitted to Officer Brent
Carrier that the firearm was his. Accordingly, a jury could reasonably infer that
Defendant had previously exercised control over the seized firearm, and
maintained the ability to continue to do so.
Defendant argues, however, that his admission was uncorroborated and
therefore should not have been considered under United States v. Micieli, 594 F.2d
102, 107–09 (5th Cir. 1979).4 This argument is unpersuasive. Micieli repeats the
familiar rule that “a confession [must] be corroborated in order to sustain a
conviction; a defendant cannot be convicted solely on the basis of his own
admission.” Id. at 108. The Micieli court emphasized, however, that “extrinsic
evidence of a corroborative nature” can be used to establish the admission’s
4
In Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc), we adopted as
binding precedent all decisions of the former Fifth Circuit handed down before October 1, 1981.
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credibility. Id.; see also Smith v. United States, 348 U.S. 147, 156 (1954) (“One
available mode of corroboration is for the independent evidence to bolster the
confession itself and thereby prove the offense through the statements of the
accused.”). Here, as in Micieli, extrinsic evidence substantiates Defendant’s
admission that he engaged in a drugs-for-firearm transaction. As recited above, the
circumstances surrounding his arrest suggest Defendant’s connection to the
firearm. Drug paraphernalia, methamphetamine, and .22 caliber ammunition were
also in close proximity to Defendant. Thus, Defendant’s admission was properly
considered. In combination with all the other circumstantial evidence of
Defendant’s knowing possession of the firearm and ammunition, the jury could
reasonably find constructive possession. Accordingly, the district judge correctly
denied Defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal.
B. The Indictment’s Reference to Multiple Felonies
Because Defendant stipulated that he had a prior felony conviction, the
district court removed from the indictment the list of Defendant’s 12 prior felony
convictions, before giving the indictment to the jury. Over Defendant’s objection,
however, the district court refused to change the word “crimes” to “crime” in the
following sentence of the indictment: “For each of these crimes, ROBERT
WILLIAM GREEN was subject to punishment by a term of imprisonment
exceeding one year.” The district court explained that it would be improper to re-
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word the indictment and that doing so would falsely suggest to the jury that
Defendant had only one prior conviction.
On appeal, Defendant argues that the indictment’s reference to “crimes”
(plural, rather than singular) was prejudicial, because it allowed the jury to infer
that Defendant had more than one felony conviction, and irrelevant, because a
single felony would have satisfied the convicted-felon element of the § 922(g)
offense.
We review a district court’s evidentiary rulings under an abuse of discretion
standard. Aycock v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 769 F.3d 1063, 1068 (11th Cir.
2014). “A district court abuses its discretion ‘if it applies an incorrect legal
standard, applies the law in an unreasonable or incorrect manner, follows improper
procedures in making a determination, or makes findings of fact that are clearly
erroneous.’” Id. (quoting Brown v. Ala. Dept. of Transp., 597 F.3d 1160, 1173
(11th Cir. 2010)). To the extent that the district court based its determination on an
interpretation of the Federal Rules of Evidence, our review is de novo. Doe No. 1
v. United States, 749 F.3d 999, 1003 (11th Cir. 2014).
Defendant cites two cases in support of his argument that the district court
abused its discretion in refusing to redact the indictment’s references to
Defendant’s previous “crimes.” Defendant first points to Old Chief v. United
States, 519 U.S. 172, 174 (1997), which, in the context of a trial on a § 922(g)
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prosecution, addressed the question “whether a district court abuses its discretion if
it . . . admits the full record of a prior judgment, when the name or nature of the
prior offense raises the risk of a verdict tainted by improper considerations, and
when the purpose of the evidence is solely to prove the element of [a] prior
conviction.” The Supreme Court answered that question in the affirmative,
concluding that the district court abused its discretion by admitting the record of a
specific conviction in the face of the defendant’s general stipulation that he had a
prior felony conviction. Id. at 191–92. In other words, the stipulation to the fact of
a prior felony conviction sufficed, and gilding the lily with information concerning
the details of that conviction was error. But Old Chief did not examine the issue
presented here, which is whether a defendant willing to stipulate to the fact of a
prior felony conviction is unfairly prejudiced when the indictment reveals, through
its use of the plural word “crimes,” that the defendant has more than one prior
felony conviction, albeit the nature or number of those convictions is not stated.
Thus, while Old Chief’s focus on avoiding unnecessary prejudice informs our
analysis, it is not dispositive.
The second case Defendant relies on is United States v. Dortch, 696 F.3d
1104 (11th Cir. 2012). That decision is also helpful, but ultimately not controlling.
In Dortch, the district court gave the jury an unredacted copy of the indictment,
which listed several of the defendant’s previously undisclosed felony convictions.
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Id. at 1110. On review, we held that even assuming the district court erred, any
error was harmless. Id. at 1111. Because Dortch was limited to harmless error
review, however, this Court did not decide whether it would have been error had
the jury been informed only that the defendant had more than one conviction,
without any elaboration on the nature of those convictions. Thus, even had we
reached the merits in Dortch, the error alleged in that case differs from that alleged
here, which is, whether, when the defendant has stipulated to being a convicted
felon, there should typically be no need to indicate that he may have sustained
more than one prior conviction.
Three of our sister circuits have addressed this issue. The Eighth Circuit has
held that “it is not error to allow the government to introduce more than one
conviction in a case where only a single conviction is necessary to make the case,”
even when a defendant stipulates to having a felony conviction. United States v.
Garner, 32 F.3d 1305, 1311 (8th Cir. 1994). Even more to the point at issue here,
the Eighth Circuit has also held that a district court does not err by requiring that a
defendant stipulate to the existence of “one or more felony offenses” “to avoid
misleading the jury into believing [the defendant] had only one prior conviction.”
United States v. Einfeldt, 138 F.3d 373, 376 (8th Cir. 1998) (explaining that “there
was nothing unfair about the court’s form of stipulation,” which was intended to
avoid “mislead[ing] the jury as to [the defendant’s] criminal history”). Thus, the
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Eighth Circuit presumably would allow a district court to submit to the jury an
indictment that references a defendant’s prior “crimes” despite the fact that the
defendant stipulated to being a convicted felon.5
The Seventh Circuit has taken the opposite approach, cautioning that
“indictments and evidence should not make the jury cognizant of any prior
convictions beyond those necessary as an element of the offense.” United States v.
King, 897 F.2d 911, 913 (7th Cir. 1990); accord United States v. Wilson, 922 F.2d
1336, 1339 (7th Cir. 1991) (“The indictment read to the jury, however, correctly
listed only one of [the defendant’s] three prior convictions.”). The Seventh Circuit
suggested that the district court erred by “introducing evidence in the form of a
stipulation that King had been convicted of felonies on three prior occasions.”
King, 897 F.2d at 913. Evidence of one conviction was sufficient when the
defendant had stipulated to having a prior felony. Id. Ultimately, however, the
court upheld the defendant’s conviction on harmless error review. Id. at 914.
The Fifth Circuit has taken a similarly dim view of allowing evidence of
additional convictions when a defendant has stipulated to being a convicted felon.
In United States v. Quintero, 872 F.2d 107, 111 (5th Cir. 1989), the defendant
5
In an unpublished opinion, the Third Circuit reached a similar conclusion. See United States v.
Lofton, 393 Fed. App’x 872, 873–74 (3d Cir. 2010). But the defendant in that case did not
object, so the Third Circuit’s review was for plain error. Id. (“[The defendant] has not referred
us to a single relevant legal authority definitively holding that the government’s introduction of
more than one prior conviction to prove the first element of a § 922(g)(1) charge constitutes error
per se, and we know of no such authority.”).
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argued that the indictment’s reference to his three prior convictions for “violent
felonies” was prejudicial. 6 In response, the Government argued that it was free to
allege more than one prior felony conviction to establish that the defendant was a
convicted felon for purposes of § 922(g). Id. The Fifth Circuit held that because
the defendant had stipulated to having a prior felony conviction, which is all that is
necessary to prove the second element of a § 922(g) offense, “evidence regarding
[the defendant’s] two additional felony convictions was both unnecessary and
irrelevant, and should not have come before the jury.” Id. at 111. Nevertheless,
the court credited the Government’s argument that any error was harmless because
“[v]iewing this record as a whole, . . . the trial court’s error in admitting evidence
of [the defendant’s] additional convictions had little, if any, influence on the jury’s
verdict.” Id. at 113.
We conclude that the approach adopted by the Seventh and Fifth Circuits
strikes a more prudent balance under Federal Rule of Evidence 403 in the mine run
of cases, and when redaction is requested by the defendant. Accordingly, we
conclude that the district court should have granted Defendant’s request to redact
the indictment to remove any reference to “crimes” (plural), given that Defendant
had stipulated to having a prior felony conviction. First, a district court has the
6
But it may be that the jury was given a great deal more information than just the fact that the
defendant had three violent felony convictions because the opinion also suggests that the district
court admitted certified copies of the three convictions. See id. at 112.
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power to redact an indictment to avoid unfair prejudice. Cf. Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(d)
(“Upon the defendant’s motion, the court may strike surplusage from the
indictment or information.”); United States v. Adkinson, 135 F.3d 1363, 1376 (11th
Cir. 1998) (“A redaction of an indictment is permissible so long as the elements of
the offense charged are fully and clearly set out in what remains.”).
Second, the indictment’s reference to Defendant’s previous “crimes” was, in
Rule 403 parlance, cumulative, with the potential to unfairly prejudice Defendant.
It was cumulative insofar as the word “crime” would have established the
convicted-felon element of the § 922(g) offense with the same force as the word
“crimes.” As for unfair prejudice, unnecessarily communicating to a jury that a
defendant has multiple convictions, which could mean two convictions or dozens
of convictions, increases the risk of unfair prejudice. Thus, “the evidence
regarding [Defendant’s] additional felony convictions added very little to the case
against him,” Quintero, 872 F.2d at 112, while at the same time creating a risk that
the jury would “declar[e] guilt on a ground different from proof specific to the
offense charged.” Old Chief, 519 U.S. at 180. We therefore conclude that the
district court should have agreed to Defendant’s request that it redact the
indictment. Nevertheless, reversal is not warranted if, as the Government
contends, the failure to redact was harmless. And we conclude that it was harmless
here.
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As discussed above, the Government presented significant circumstantial
evidence that Defendant knowingly possessed a firearm and ammunition. To
repeat, Defendant, who had violated a court order by removing his court-ordered
GPS tracker device and who was obviously trying to evade the watchful eyes of
law enforcement, had spent significant time at Simmons’s home, which was the
place where the firearm and ammunition were found. When law enforcement
officers found him at Simmons’s home, he was hiding, shoeless, in a closet in the
same room where the loaded firearm was lying in plain sight on a nightstand, along
with methamphetamine pipes and a camouflage bag containing ammunition,
methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia. In the same room, officers found a
pair of men’s shoes and a man’s camouflage jacket. To cap all this off, Defendant
subsequently admitted to having traded methamphetamine for the firearm in
Simmons’s home. Given all this evidence, we conclude that any reference to prior
crimes, in the plural, was harmless.
Further, the sentence at issue in the indictment did not state that Defendant
had previously committed 12 felonies; it simply said that he had been convicted of
“crimes.” Nor did the indictment indicate what types of felonies Defendant had
been convicted of or when Defendant had been convicted.7 See Old Chief, 519
7
Indeed, when it came time to admit, as Rule 404(b) evidence, the judgment on one of
Defendant’s prior felonies, the district court accommodated Defendant’s concerns by redacting
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U.S. at 185 (“[E]vidence of the name or nature of the prior offense generally
carries a risk of unfair prejudice to the defendant.”). Finally, the district court
instructed the jury that the indictment was not evidence of guilt. Accordingly, the
district court’s refusal to change the word “crimes” to “crime” in the indictment
was harmless and not a ground for reversal.
C. Use of Nolo Plea to Prove Rule 404(b) Prior Act
1. Background
Under Rule 404, evidence of a defendant’s prior crimes or bad acts may be
admitted for purposes other than proving a defendant’s bad character or general
propensity to commit a crime. Fed. R. Evid. 404(a)(1). Rule 404(b) provides:
Evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not admissible to prove a
person’s character in order to show that on a particular occasion the
person acted in accordance with the character. . . . This evidence may
be admissible for another purpose, such as proving motive,
opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of
mistake, or lack of accident . . . .
Generally, “[w]e review for an abuse of discretion a district court’s admission of
evidence of a defendant’s prior bad acts under Rule 404(b).” United States v. Holt,
777 F.3d 1234, 1266 (11th Cir. 2015).
Before trial, the Government notified Defendant that it planned to introduce,
as prior act evidence pursuant to Rule 404(b), the judgment showing Defendant’s
extraneous information contained in the judgment, including a second conviction for assault that
was memorialized in the judgment. See discussion infra.
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2006 Florida conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, ammunition,
or an electric weapon. Defendant moved in limine to exclude the evidence,
arguing that because this conviction was entered based on his plea of nolo
contendere (“nolo”), the conviction was insufficient to permit a conclusion that he
actually committed the acts for which he was convicted and sentenced. The
district court denied Defendant’s motion. The Government agreed, however, to
redact the judgment to remove any reference to the felony battery on which
Defendant was also convicted, to delete words indicating that Defendant was also
convicted of possession of a firearm and electric weapon, and to delete the
sentence imposed on Defendant based on this conviction.8 Thus, the judgment
showed only that Defendant had previously been convicted of possessing
ammunition as a convicted felon. In addition, the parties agreed to stipulate that
the ammunition in question was shotgun shells, which the district court observed
would further reduce prejudice to the Defendant. Defendant now challenges the
admission of this previous conviction as Rule 404(b) evidence.
We set out a three-part test for determining whether evidence of a prior bad
act is admissible under Rule 404(b) in United States v. Miller, 959 F.2d 1535, 1538
(11th Cir. 1992) (en banc). The Miller test provides that such evidence is
8
The Government also offered to delete from the judgment any reference to the fact that
Defendant had entered a nolo plea, but Defendant insisted that this information not be redacted,
with defense counsel stating, “Well, if it’s coming in over my objection, I’d rather it show nolo
contendere rather than have them contemplating he pled guilty.”
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admissible if: (1) the evidence is relevant to an issue other than a defendant’s
character, (2) there is sufficient proof to allow a jury to find that the defendant
committed the act by a preponderance of the evidence, and (3) the evidence’s
probative value is not substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice
under Rule 403.
On appeal, Defendant argues that his prior ammunition-possession
conviction does not satisfy Miller’s second or third prongs. As to his challenge of
the third prong, we reject his contention that the probative value of this evidence is
outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice. As to the second prong, Defendant
argues that because his 2006 Florida conviction for possession of ammunition by a
convicted felon was entered based on a nolo plea, this conviction did not constitute
proof sufficient to allow the jury to find it more likely than not 9 that Defendant did,
in fact, previously possess ammunition after having achieved felon status.
In support of his argument that a nolo conviction was not properly
admissible to prove that he had actually possessed ammunition in the past,
Defendant cited the district court to Federal Rules of Evidence 410 and
9
In deciding whether the prosecution has introduced sufficient evidence to make its showing
that the defendant engaged in the prior act, the trial court need not make a finding to that effect,
but instead it “simply examines all the evidence in the case and decides whether the jury could
reasonably find the . . . . fact [at issue] by a preponderance of the evidence.” Huddleston v.
United States, 485 U.S. 681, 690 (1988).
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803(22)(A). Rule 410, whose caption is “Pleas, Plea Discussions, and Related
Statements” provides:
(a) Prohibited Uses. In a civil or criminal case, evidence of the
following is not admissible against the defendant who made the plea
or participated in the plea discussions:
(1) a guilty plea that was later withdrawn;
(2) a nolo contendere plea;
(3) a statement made during a proceeding on either of those
pleas under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 or a
comparable state procedure; or
(4) a statement made during plea discussions with an attorney
for the prosecuting authority if the discussions did not result in
a guilty plea or they resulted in a later-withdrawn guilty plea.
Fed. R. Evid. 410(a) (emphasis added).
Rule 803, which lists exceptions to the hearsay rule provides, in pertinent part:
Rule 803. Exception to the Rule Against Hearsay—Regardless of
Whether the Declarant is Available as a Witness
The following are not excluded by the rule against hearsay, regardless
of whether the declarant is available as a witness:
(22) Judgment of a Previous Conviction. Evidence of a
final judgment of conviction if:
(A) the judgment was entered after a trial or guilty plea,
but not a nolo contendere plea;
Fed. R. Evid. 803(22)(A).
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Rule 410 speaks only of a nolo plea, not a conviction pursuant to a nolo plea,
and, as discussed below, this omission has created uncertainty as to whether the
latter is also excluded from admission by the rule. Further, as to the specific
question presented in this appeal, we have no precedent deciding whether a
criminal conviction pursuant to a nolo plea can be admitted to prove a prior act
under Rule 404(b). Given that absence of controlling authority, the only on-point
case from this circuit available for the district court’s consideration was an
unpublished opinion holding that a Florida conviction based on a nolo plea does
satisfy Miller’s second prong; that is, a nolo conviction constitutes sufficient
evidence to satisfy Rule 404(b)’s proof prong. See United States v. Neufeld, 154
Fed. App’x 813, 820–21 (11th Cir. 2005) (holding that a conviction based on a
Florida nolo plea could be used as a basis for proving a similar act under Rule
404(b)).
Non-published opinions, however, do not constitute precedent. See United
States v. Izurieta, 710 F.3d 1176, 1179 (11th Cir. 2013); see also 11th Cir. R. 36-2
(“Unpublished opinions are not considered binding precedent, but they may be
cited as persuasive authority.”). Therefore, we view the question before us as one
of first impression. In deciding this question, we look first to precedent in which
we have permitted consideration of a nolo conviction; then to what we have said in
the few cases that have presented a question concerning the interaction between a
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nolo conviction and the federal rules of evidence; and finally to authority from
sister circuits concerning this question.
2. Use of Nolo Convictions, Generally
When a defendant enters a nolo plea, whether in state or federal court, that
plea typically results in the issuance of a judgment of conviction. Accordingly we
refer to such convictions as “nolo convictions.” The meaning of the word
“conviction” in a federal statute is a question of federal law unless Congress has
provided otherwise. United States v. Mejias, 47 F.3d 401, 403 (11th Cir. 1995).
As best we can determine, our Court has made no distinction between a conviction
based on a nolo plea and one based on a guilty plea or a verdict of guilt after trial.
Indeed, “[o]nce convicted, whether as a result of a plea of guilty, nolo contendere,
or of not guilty (followed by trial), convictions stand on the same footing, unless
there be a specific statute creating a difference.” United States v. Williams, 642
F.2d 136, 139 (5th Cir. Unit B 1981).
Our decision not to treat a nolo conviction any differently than a conviction
based on a guilty plea or on a verdict of guilty has been applied in several contexts.
For example, we have applied statutory sentencing enhancements that are triggered
by particular types of convictions, regardless of whether the conviction was
obtained via a nolo conviction or otherwise. See, e.g., Mejias, 47 F.3d at 404(a Florida nolo conviction is a “conviction” within the meaning of 21 U.S.C.
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§ 841(b)(1)(B), which provides a sentencing enhancement that doubles the
mandatory-minimum sentence from five to ten years for a defendant who has a
prior felony drug conviction); United States v. Maupin, 520 F.3d 1304, 1308 (11th
Cir. 2008) (a Florida nolo conviction constitutes a prior “conviction” under 18
U.S.C. § 2252A(b), a child pornography statute that prescribes a sentencing
enhancement for an individual previously convicted of a similar offense); United
States v. Drayton, 113 F.3d 1191 (11th Cir. 1997) (a Florida nolo conviction
constitutes a prior conviction for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act,
§ 924(e)).
We have treated nolo convictions the same as other types of convictions for
purposes of applying the Sentencing Guidelines. See, e.g., United States v.
Anderson, 328 F.3d 1326 (11th Cir. 2003) (a Florida nolo plea qualifies as a
“conviction” within the meaning of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(B), which triggers a
12-level sentencing enhancement for illegal aliens who are convicted of a crime
after having already been removed based on conviction of a crime); United States
v. Jones, 910 F.2d 760, 761 (11th Cir. 1990) (a Florida nolo conviction is a
“conviction” for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1, the Guidelines’ career-offender
provision). See generally United States v. Elliot, 732 F.3d 1307, 1311–12 (11th
Cir. 2013) (summarizing cases).
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In contexts not involving sentencing, we have also treated nolo convictions
as we would any other conviction. See Qureshi v. INS, 519 F.2d 1174, 1175–76
(5th Cir. 1975) (deportation of an individual following a criminal conviction, under
immigration statute calling for deportation based on this type of criminal
conviction, was proper notwithstanding the fact that conviction was obtained by
way of a nolo plea).
Finally, we have treated a nolo conviction as a conviction under Federal
Rule of Evidence 609, which permits impeachment of a criminal defendant based
on a prior felony conviction. See United States v. Williams, 642 F.2d 136, 138–
140 (5th Cir. Unit B 1981) (holding that the defendant could be impeached based
on the existence of a prior felony conviction, notwithstanding the fact that the
conviction resulted from a nolo plea).
Defendant attempts to distinguish the above cases, however, arguing that
each of them addressed a statute or a rule whose applicability was triggered by a
prior conviction. Defendant argues that Rule 404(b), which permits admission of
prior-acts evidence for the purpose of showing intent, knowledge, and the like,
does not concern itself with whether the party whose intent is at issue was
convicted based on his conduct. Rather that rule requires the proponent of the
evidence to provide evidence sufficient to enable a jury to conclude, under a
preponderance standard, that the party actually committed the act at issue. Stated
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another way, although a prior nolo criminal conviction may be used in certain
contexts, that does not mean that this prior conviction may be admitted in evidence
against the defendant for all purposes.
As to Rule 404(b) specifically, Defendant does not dispute that a conviction
obtained following a guilty plea or trial verdict will meet the rule’s requirement
that the proponent of the evidence offer sufficient proof that the party against
whom the evidence is offered did what he is alleged to have done. He does
disagree, however, that one can properly infer from a nolo conviction that the party
has committed the particular act in question, given the peculiar characteristics of
such a conviction. As Defendant’s objection focuses on the interaction of Rule
404(b) with a nolo conviction, we will turn to our limited case authority relating to
that subject.
3. Our Precedent
Three of our earlier cases address related issues. In United States v.
Morrow, the former Fifth Circuit held that the Government cannot use a nolo plea
to a fraud charge to prove a defendant’s knowledge and intent in a subsequent
criminal prosecution. 537 F.2d 120, 145 (5th Cir. 1976). That case involved
admission of a judgment of conviction, under Rule 404(b), that revealed the
defendant’s previous entry of a nolo plea. In finding error, we rested our decision
on the fact that the defendant’s prior plea of nolo contendere had been disclosed,
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and disclosure of such a plea is not allowed. Id. at 144–45. We explicitly stopped
short of deciding what the outcome would have been had the document introduced
been a judgment of conviction based on, but not disclosing, the fact of a nolo plea:
“The instant case, thus, is not one where we must consider the propriety of the
Government using only a conviction that is based on a nolo contendere plea. [The
prior caselaw on which we rely expressed a] clear prohibition on the use of a plea
of nolo contendere to show knowledge and intent in a subsequent criminal
prosecution.” Id. at 145.
Five years later, in United States v. Williams, 642 F.2d 136 (5th Cir. Unit B
1981), the former Fifth Circuit addressed the use, pursuant to Federal Rule of
Evidence 609, of a prior nolo conviction to impeach a testifying criminal
defendant. We concluded that evidence of a prior nolo conviction was admissible
in this context. Part of the discussion focused on an analysis of the text of Rule
609. That rule permits, during cross-examination of a witness for the purposes of
impeachment, admission of evidence showing that the witness has been convicted
of a felony. We noted that the rule did not distinguish between convictions based
on a guilty verdict or guilty plea versus those based on a nolo plea. Id. at 138.
We further indicated that the distinction between a plea of nolo and a
conviction based on a plea of nolo is not “inconsequential.” Id. at 139. Instead,
“close examination shows, however, that there is a distinct and meaningful
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difference between the evidentiary use of a plea to a criminal charge and a
conviction of a criminal charge.” Id. Focusing on what information a nolo plea
conveys, we indicated that, for purposes of subsequent proceedings, it “admits
nothing” and “is the same as a plea of not guilty.” Id. As to the distinction
between a nolo plea and a nolo conviction, for Rule 609 purposes, we explained
that the prosecutor could impeach the testifying criminal defendant by providing
proof of the underlying conviction, but the prosecutor could not offer proof of the
nature of the plea leading up to that conviction. Id. Finally, we noted that the
difference between a nolo plea and a nolo conviction is further illustrated by “the
stated policies” of Federal Rules of Evidence 410 and 609. Id. As to Rule 410, we
noted that the latter “states that a plea of nolo contendere is not admissible in any
civil or criminal action, case, or proceeding against the person who made the plea”
and that “[n]olo pleas create a significant incentive for the defendant to terminate
the pending litigation in order to avoid admitting guilty for subsequent litigation.”
Id. (quotation omitted).
The last case in the trilogy is United States v. Wyatt, 762 F.2d 908, 911 (11th
Cir. 1985). In Wyatt, the district court admitted a judgment of conviction entered
upon a plea of nolo contendere, along with extensive evidence proving the facts
that served as a basis for that conviction. The defendant objected only to
admission of the evidence of the underlying facts. On appeal, we agreed that
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admission of the underlying evidence was proper, holding that a conviction based
on a nolo plea does not “insulate[] the underlying facts from admissibility under
Fed. R. Evid. 404(b).” Id. at 911.
As to whether there is a meaningful distinction between use of a nolo plea
and use of a nolo conviction, the opinion does not clearly address that question,
although it seems to suggest that there is. The discussion focuses on the plea, and
its value as an admission, as a matter not permitted to be disclosed: “The
government could not have used the nolo plea to ‘prove that [Wyatt] had admitted
his guilt by his plea’ and thereby meet its initial burden of proving the defendant
committed the act . . . . That would violate Fed. R. Evid. 410 and Fed. R. Crim. P.
11(e)(6).” Id. (citation omitted) (emphasis in cited case). Nevertheless, in
discussing whether Rule 410 was violated in a way that would constitute plain
error, the Court mentioned both the plea and the conviction in stating its belief that
error had occurred, although any error was not serious enough to constitute plain
error: “Although the government emphasized the nolo plea and resultant
conviction . . . out of the jury’s presence, it was not emphasized at trial.” Id. at
912. But the Court then veered back to its focus on the plea, noting that it “was
neither emphasized as an admission of guilt in front of the jury nor at closing
argument.” Id. Further, unlike another case in which plain error was found when
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the prosecutor told the jury that a nolo plea “was an admission of guilt,” the “error
here is far less egregious.” Id.The only firm take-away from the holdings in the above three cases is that
(1) it is error for a court, for Rule 404(b) purposes, to admit evidence that the
criminal defendant has previously entered a nolo plea as to the prior act in
question; (2) it is not error to admit evidence proving the underlying facts of the
purported Rule 404(b) act, even if that act was the subject of a nolo plea and
conviction; and (3) a testifying criminal defendant may be impeached with
evidence of a prior felony conviction that resulted from a nolo plea. Given the fact
that the question before us is whether a nolo conviction can be used to satisfy Rule
404(b)’s requirement of proof that a defendant committed the prior acts sought to
be admitted under the rule, none of the above principles compel a particular
outcome here. 10
4. Out-of-Circuit Authority
10
It is true that the judgment of conviction for Defendant’s prior felon-in-possession of
ammunition charge did indicate that the conviction resulted from Defendant’s entry of a nolo
plea. Under Morrow, that would normally constitute a ground for reversal. But this information
was communicated to the jury only because Defendant refused the prosecutor’s offer to delete
the reference to the nolo plea. As defense counsel noted, “Well, if it’s coming in over my
objection, I’d rather it show nolo contendere rather than have them contemplating he pled
guilty.” Accordingly, Defendant cannot fault the Government or the district court for the
reference and he has waived any claim based on its inclusion in the judgment. See United States
v. Mezzanatto, 513 U.S. 196 (1995) (holding that a defendant can waive Rule 410 protections,
which the criminal defendant did when he agreed, as a condition to engaging in plea negotiations
with the Government, that the latter could impeach him with such statements to the extent that
they were inconsistent with any later trial testimony).
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Determining the circumstances under which a nolo conviction can be used as
evidence in a federal court proceeding has been a work in progress, given the
wording of Rule 410, which prohibits use of a nolo plea, but makes no mention of
a nolo conviction. Cf. Sokoloff v. Saxbe, 501 F.2d 571, 574 (2d Cir. 1974) (“[T]he
effect of a nolo plea is not governed entirely by logic; if it were, the plea might be
abolished . . . . The only relevant question is what are the limitations which the law
assures the accused that he will be entitled to invoke, if he files the plea. That is a
mere question of what the courts have decided—one alternative is no more rational
than the other . . . .”) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted).
We are aware of two courts of appeal that have considered the precise
question before us. In United States v. Frederickson, 601 F.2d 1358 (8th Cir.
1979), where the defendant was charged with making a threat against the life of the
President, the Eighth Circuit held that the district court did not err in admitting
under Rule 404(b) the defendant’s prior nolo conviction for making a false bomb
threat. Id. at 1364. Rejecting the defendant’s argument that a nolo conviction
should not have been admitted, the court saw “no reason, for the purposes of
admissibility under [Rule 404(b)], to distinguish between a judgment of conviction
based on a plea of Nolo contendere and a judgment of conviction obtained in any
other manner comporting with due process. It is well-settled that a plea of Nolo
contendere constitutes an admission of ‘every essential element of the offense (that
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is) well pleaded in the charge.’” Id. at 1365 n.10 (citing Lott v. United States, 367
U.S. 421, 426 (1961)). Frederickson, however, did not discuss Rule 410.
More recently, the Ninth Circuit has ruled to the contrary. In United States
v. Nguyen, 465 F.3d 1128 (9th Cir. 2006), the court reviewed an appeal of a
revocation of supervised release based on the federal offender’s violation of a
condition of release prohibiting the commission of any crimes. To prove that
violation, the Government introduced two convictions that the defendant had
sustained based on a nolo plea during his supervision. The court acknowledged
that Rule 410 barred only the admission of nolo pleas, not the convictions resulting
from them. Id. at 1131. Nonetheless, the court concluded that admission of the
nolo conviction should also be precluded because to do otherwise would
“produce[] an illogical result”: “Rule 410’s exclusion of a nolo contendere plea
would be meaningless if all it took to prove that the defendant committed the crime
charged was a certified copy of the inevitable judgment of conviction resulting
from the plea.” Id. As to Rule 803(22), which provides an exception to the
hearsay rule for judgments of felony conviction resulting from guilty pleas, but not
from convictions resulting from nolo pleas, the court noted that the Advisory
Committee Notes explained that the rule’s carve-out of nolo convictions was
intended to be “consistent with the treatment of nolo pleas in Rule 410.” Id. at
1131–32. Accordingly, absent the evidence provided by the nolo convictions, the
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court ruled that the Government had failed to prove that the defendant has
committed a crime. Id.
In Olsen v. Correiro, 189 F.3d 52 (1st Cir. 1999), the First Circuit echoed
some of the same concerns articulated by the Ninth Circuit about the ramifications
of a refusal to read Rule 410 as barring admission of a nolo conviction, just as it
bars introduction of a nolo plea. Id. at 60 (the “reasons for excluding the nolo plea
itself could well . . . be applicable to the conviction and sentence that result from
the nolo plea”). Nonetheless, the court acknowledged that “[t]he evidentiary rules
that exclude evidence of nolo pleas do not directly apply to the convictions and
sentences that result from such pleas.” Id. at 58. Specifically, “[t]he text of [Rule
410] does not support Olsen’s argument. Only the nolo plea itself is barred by the
relevant language of the rule.” Id. at 59.
Ultimately, though, the court found it unnecessary to pick a winner in a
contest between the policy goals and the text of Rule 410 because no policy goals
were undermined by admitting Olsen’s nolo conviction. Specifically, in the § 1983
false prosecution claim brought by Olsen, his nolo conviction was introduced to
show nothing more than the fact of a valid manslaughter conviction and sentence,
not to prove that Olsen had actually committed the manslaughter that was the
subject of the conviction. Accordingly, the court found “no reason here to expand
Rule 410 beyond the scope of its plain language, which in relevant part
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encompasses only nolo pleas.” Id. at 62. Moreover, use of the nolo conviction for
the above purpose was not inconsistent with Rule 803(22), because the conviction
was not offered for the truth of the matter asserted. Id.
Indeed, Rule 410’s prohibition of the admission of a nolo plea
notwithstanding, courts have permitted admission of a nolo conviction where the
proponent seeks admission of the judgment to show the fact of conviction or to
show something other than that the defendant was actually guilty of the crime to
which he entered a nolo plea. See, e.g., United States v. Adedoyin, 369 F.3d 337,
344 (3d Cir. 2004) (nolo conviction admissible where defendant was prosecuted
for failing to disclose felony conviction in applying for entry into the country);
Rose v. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., 219 F.3d 1216, 1220 (10th Cir. 2000) (a civil
plaintiff who was fired based on sustaining a criminal conviction in violation of
company policy could not “affirmatively use the general rule against admission of
nolo contendere pleas to prevent [Employer] from introducing the very evidence it
relied upon in making the termination decision”); Brewer v. City of Napa, 210 F.3d
1093 (9th Cir. 2000) (civil plaintiff alleging excessive force could be impeached
under Rule 609 with prior nolo convictions); Sokoloff v. Saxbe, 501 F.2d 571, 574
(2d Cir. 1974) (“Where, as here a statute (or judicial rule) attaches legal
consequences to the fact of a conviction, the majority of courts have held that there
is no valid distinction between a conviction upon a plea of nolo contendere and a
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conviction after a guilty plea or trial,” and hence the nolo conviction is admissible).
See also United States v. Vasilios, 598 F.2d 387, 390 (5th Cir. 1979) (nolo plea
may potentially be used in cross-examination to expose basis of alleged bias of
witness).
5. Conclusion
From all this, we conclude the following. To have Rule 404(b) prior act
evidence admitted, the proponent need only provide enough evidence for the trial
court to be able to conclude that the jury could find, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that the prior act had been proved.
The prosecutor can, of course, prove the prior act by calling witnesses to
testify. Or, as is often the case when the act has become the subject of a
conviction, the prosecutor can prove the act by introducing a certified judgment of
conviction. Indeed, “[i]t is elementary that a conviction is sufficient proof that [the
defendant] committed the prior act.” United States v. Calderon, 127 F.3d 1314,
1332 (11th Cir. 1997) (citing United States v. Arambula-Ruiz, 987 F.2d 599, 603
(9th Cir. 1993) (fact that the defendant was convicted of prior offense is sufficient
proof that the defendant committed the prior act).)
Obviously, a conviction based on a verdict of guilty after a trial will suffice.
A jury can convict only if it has found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt, which standard clearly exceeds the preponderance standard. Likewise, a
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conviction based on a guilty plea to the prior crime also suffices to meet Rule
404(b)’s proof requirement. Calderon, 127 F.3d at 1332 (fact that a conviction
was based on a guilty plea is inconsequential). Indeed, “a guilty plea is ‘more than
a confession which admits that the accused did various acts.’ It is an ‘admission
that he committed the crime charged against him.’” Blohm v. Comm’r of Internal
Revenue, 994 F.2d 1542, 1554 (11th Cir. 1993) (internal citations omitted).
Accord Finch v. Vaughn, 67 F.3d 909, 914 (11th Cir.1995) (a guilty plea is an
admission of criminal conduct as well as the waiver of the right to trial).
Accordingly, had Defendant’s prior conviction been based on a plea of
guilty, that would be the end of any discussion as to whether the Government had
sufficiently proved the prior act. But Defendant’s conviction was based on a nolo
plea. And “[a] guilty plea is distinct from a plea of nolo contendere. A guilty plea
is an ‘admission of all the elements of a formal criminal charge.’ A nolo
contendere plea is instead a ‘consent by the defendant that he may be punished as
if he were guilty and a prayer for leniency.’” Blohm, 994 F.2d at 1554 (internal
citations omitted).
In deciding the impact of Federal Rule of Evidence Rule 410 on the question
before us, Rule 410 does not, as a textual matter, address a nolo conviction;
instead, it prohibits only the admission of a nolo plea. Indeed, Rule 410 implicitly
deals with the inability to use as an admission particular types of pleas or
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statements made during a proceeding or plea discussions. Further, the fact that
courts have recognized numerous instances in which a nolo conviction is
admissible for purposes of proving that a conviction occurred argues against a
reading that Rule 410 contains an absolute prohibition on the use of nolo
convictions. Finally, as to the policy argument that defendants would be loath to
enter a nolo plea if they were aware that the resulting conviction could later be
used in an unrelated criminal case as Rule 404(b) intent evidence, the
persuasiveness of that argument is greatly undermined by the existence of long and
well-settled legal precedent permitting use of a nolo conviction in ways that are
much more harmful to a defendant. For example, that a defendant’s sentence for a
subsequent conviction is subject to an enhancement, and sometimes a quite
substantial one, by admission of a nolo conviction would seem a much more
sobering prospect than the thought that it might someday be used as Rule 404(b)
evidence.
Thus, Rule 410 is an uncertain basis on which to rest a determination that a
nolo conviction is not admissible. Rule 803(22), however, provides stronger
support for an argument that a conviction based on a nolo plea should not, as a
general matter, be considered for the truth of the matter asserted. Again, Rule
803(22) provides that a prior judgment of conviction based on a nolo plea is not
included in the list of judgments that are exempt from the hearsay rule. And here
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the Government sought to admit the conviction to show that Defendant had
possessed ammunition in 2006, thereby putting admission of this evidence within
reach of that rule.
A final observation concerning analysis of this question: the Government
was required to prove the prior act of possession of ammunition by Defendant by a
preponderance of the evidence. It is conceivable that a state could require, as a
precondition to acceptance of a nolo plea, a determination by the court that the
State make a showing of defendant’s guilt that would serve to satisfy the
preponderance standard. The Government, however, has not made that argument
generally, nor specifically argued that Florida law sets such requirements. 11
11
In that vein, it appears that most states do not require the prosecutor to show a factual basis in
order for a trial court to accept a nolo plea. See David P. Leonard, THE NEW WIGMORE: A
TREATISE ON EVIDENCE: SELECTED RULES OF LIMITED ADMISSIBILITY § 5.8.3a, p. 638–39 (rev.
ed. 2002). Federal law falls within this camp; Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(3) (requiring that federal
courts find a factual basis for a guilty plea but not imposing the same requirement for a nolo
plea). But Florida has been recognized as one of a handful of states that set our procedures for
acceptance of a nolo plea that are akin to those required for acceptance of a guilty plea. David P.
Leonard, THE NEW WIGMORE: A TREATISE ON EVIDENCE: SELECTED RULES OF LIMITED
ADMISSIBILITY § 5.8.3a, p. 224 (rev. ed. Supp. 2016) (stating that Florida treats a nolo plea as it
does a plea of guilty).
Specifically, “[b]efore accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere,” a Florida judge must
“determine that the plea is voluntarily entered and that a factual basis for the plea exists.” Fla. R.
Crim. P. 3.172(a) (emphasis added); see also Starr Tyme, Inc. v. Cohen, 659 So.2d 1064, 1068
(Fla. 1995) (“[U]nlike the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which make no provision for a
judicial determination of the factual basis of a nolo contendere plea, the Florida Rules of
Criminal Procedure require the trial court to satisfy itself that there is a factual basis for such a
plea before it can be accepted. Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.172(a).” (internal footnote omitted)); cf.
Wallace v. R.V. Turner, 695 F.2d 545, 548 (11th Cir. 1983) (explaining that although a state
court judge is not constitutionally required to find a factual basis for a nolo plea, “[s]tates are free
to adopt procedural rules requiring a factual basis as Florida has done in Rule 3.172(a)”).
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Accordingly, our holding is based on what we must assume, at least for this case,
to be a generic nolo conviction and it is limited to the specific issue before us:
whether, in the context of a Rule 404(b) proffer, the Federal Rules of Evidence
preclude a traditional nolo conviction from serving as the basis for proving that the
defendant committed the particular prior act at issue. 12
Translating all the above to this case, we conclude that for purposes of Rule
404(b), Rule 803(22) precludes use of the 2006 nolo conviction here to prove that
Defendant actually possessed ammunition in 2006. Instead, the Government
should have introduced evidence proving that Defendant so possessed ammunition
on the date in question. 13 Because it did not do so, there was insufficient evidence
In addition, the Florida Supreme Court has held that a Florida nolo conviction sustained during
probation provides a sufficient basis to support revocation of that probation based on the
commission of a new crime, albeit the probationer is not precluded from asserting his innocence
of the charge to which he pled nolo prior to the court’s adjudication of the revocation violation.
Maselli v. State, 446 So.2d 1079, 108–81 (Fla. 1984) (a nolo plea “is a clearly sufficient basis for
[probation] revocation” because before a court can enter conviction based on a plea of nolo
contendere, the court “must hold a hearing and be satisfied that the plea is voluntary and that a
factual basis exists for accepting it”). As noted, however, the Government failed to argue that
the requirements imposed by Florida law as a condition to entry of a nolo plea satisfy the
preponderance of evidence standard.
12
Our holding does not extend to the use of a nolo conviction in proceedings not governed by
the Federal Rules of Evidence, such as sentencing hearings or revocation proceedings. See Fed.
R. Evid. 1101(d).
13
The PSR summarizes the facts underlying Defendant’s 2006 conviction for possession of a
firearm, ammunition or electric weapon as a convicted felon, as follows. Police responded to a
report by an individual that he had been threatened at gunpoint by two suspects. Given a
description of the vehicle in which the suspects were riding, officers located and stopped a
matching vehicle, in which Defendant was found. The individual who reported the threat
identified Defendant as the person who had pulled a gun on him and took officers to a nearby
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for the jury to be able to conclude that Defendant actually committed the prior act
at issue.
6. Harmfulness of the Admission of the Nolo Conviction
Evidentiary errors are subject to review for harmlessness. United States v.
House, 684 F.3d 1173, 1197 (11th Cir. 2012). A non-constitutional evidentiary
error does not warrant reversal unless there is a reasonable likelihood that the error
affected the defendant’s substantial rights. Id. We look to whether the error had
substantial influence and whether enough evidence supports the result apart from
the error. Id. See also United States v. Phaknikone, 605 F.3d 1099, 1109 (11th
Cir. 2010) (even if the district court abused its discretion, “[r]eversal is warranted
only if the error resulted in actual prejudice because it had [a] substantial and
injurious effect or influence in determining the jury’s verdict.” (quotation marks
and citation omitted)).
The Government argues that even if admission of the judgment showing
Defendant’s conviction for possessing ammunition should not have been admitted,
any error was harmless. We agree. The GPS evidence showed that Defendant
cemetery where he had seen the occupants of the vehicle stash something. Officers discovered a
shotgun loaded with shotgun shells that matched those found inside the vehicle in which
Defendant was riding.
We acknowledge that, faced with such evidence, Defendant would likely have sought admission
of only the judgment of conviction in order to prevent the jury from learning the underlying
facts. But the Government did not offer to prove those facts and Defendant was therefore not
forced to choose.
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spent a substantial amount of his time prior to his arrest on April 2 at Ms.
Simmons’s trailer. The GPS signals indicated his presence both late at night and
early in the morning, showing that he stayed overnight. Moreover, a man’s
camouflage jacket was found in the master bedroom of the trailer. Clearly, it was
not Ms. Simmons’s jacket, as she was not a large person, and the jacket was large.
There was also a man’s pair of shoes lying in the same area. When found hiding in
the closet, Defendant was wearing no shoes. There was no evidence that any other
male was living in the home. Near the shoes and jacket, on a nightstand and
immediately visible to the officers in the bedroom, was a handgun loaded with .22
caliber ammunition. Also, near the clothing were two bags containing .22 caliber
ammunition; in addition to .22 caliber ammunition, these bags contained
methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Next to the loaded gun on the
nightstand were two methamphetamine pipes. Finally, after his arrest, Defendant
acknowledged to the ATF agent that he had recently acquired the handgun by
trading methamphetamine, although several months later he did switch course on
that admission, telling the agent that the only gun he owned was a BB gun.
We conclude there was ample evidence, independent of the Rule 404(b)
conviction, to support a conclusion that Defendant was guilty of possessing the
firearm and ammunition at issue. As to whether one could conclude that admission
of this evidence had a substantial influence on the verdict, we conclude that it did
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not. The jury was necessarily aware that Defendant had a prior conviction because
he had stipulated that he did. So the fact of a prior conviction was not news to
jurors. As to the specific conviction introduced, it was a conviction based on
Defendant’s possession of shotgun shells seven years before the events underlying
the present prosecution, not possession of ammunition for a handgun.
Accordingly, while it is true that Defendant’s present charge was also for
possession of ammunition, along with possession of a firearm, his prior possession
of shotgun shells was, in the scheme of things, relatively benign when compared to
the other circumstantial evidence suggesting Defendant’s constructive possession
of the handgun located just a few feet from where he was found hiding and even
closer to items of men’s clothing that the jury could reasonably infer were his.
One can reasonably conclude that all the circumstances described above were of
far more significance to the jury in deciding whether Defendant constructively
possessed the loaded firearm and ammunition at Simmons’s trailer than was this 7-
year old conviction for possessing shotgun shells.
Moreover, the court instructed the jury that it must first conclude that
Defendant possessed the firearm and ammunition before it considered the Rule
404(b) evidence concerning his intent or lack of mistake. Finally, the 2006
conviction was not emphasized during trial or closing argument. When it was
introduced, the court immediately gave a cautionary instruction as to the proper use
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of the evidence, which was repeated in the court’s final instructions to the jury. As
to the closing argument, the prosecutor acknowledged up front that the “whole
issue” in the case was whether or not on April 10, 2013 Defendant “was in
possession of that firearm and that ammunition.” The prosecutor made only one
reference in his closing argument to the 2006 conviction, and the reference was not
provocative, but rather tepid. The prosecutor indicated that the conviction for
possession of ammunition did not suggest that “because he was convicted of that in
the past, he must be guilty of this. Certainly does not mean that, and you can’t use
it for that purpose.” Instead, the prosecutor said, the jury could consider the
conviction for “a very limited purpose, and that is whether or not the defendant had
the intent to possess those items. And I submit to you that when you consider all
of the evidence in the case, the evidence demonstrates that he had the knowledge
and the intent to take possession of the firearm and the ammunition in this case.”
Other than this isolated reference, the entirety of the prosecutor’s summation and
rebuttal argument focused on why the evidence concerning the events at the time
of the arrest made it reasonable to conclude that Defendant constructively
possessed the firearm and ammunition found at the trailer where he was staying.
For the above reasons, we conclude that admission of the 2006 conviction
was harmless.
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D. Armed Career Criminal Act Sentence
The Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1),
“prescribes a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence if a defendant is convicted of
being a felon in possession of a firearm following three prior convictions for a
‘violent felony.’” Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243, 2248 (2016).
Defendant’s PSR identified four ACCA-qualifying convictions: (1) aggravated
assault with intent to commit a felony in violation of Fla. Stat. § 784.021; (2)
resisting an officer with violence in violation of Fla. Stat. § 843.01; (3) third-
degree felony battery in violation of Fla. Stat. § 784.03; and (4) felony battery
causing great bodily harm in violation of Fla. Stat. § 784.041. The district court
concluded that Defendant had sustained at least three prior convictions for violent
felonies and the court imposed a sentence reflecting the ACCA enhancement.
Defendant appeals his sentence, arguing that his sentence should not have
been so enhanced. Defendant concedes that his convictions for aggravated assault
and resisting an officer with violence qualify as predicate offenses and that he
therefore has at least two prior predicate offenses. He contends, however, that
neither his felony battery conviction under Florida Statute § 784.03 nor his
conviction for felony battery causing great bodily harm in violation of Florida
Statute § 784.041 constitutes a “violent felony” as defined by the ACCA. Were
Defendant correct in this assertion, he would lack the three predicate crimes
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necessary for enhancement of his sentence under the ACCA. He is, however,
wrong, and the district court therefore did not err in imposing the ACCA
enhancement.
We review de novo the issue of whether a prior conviction qualifies as a
“violent felony” under the ACCA. United States v. Canty, 570 F.3d 1251, 1254
(11th Cir. 2009). The ACCA, in pertinent part, defines a “violent felony” as “any
crime” that “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical
force against the person of another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i). After issuance
of the original panel opinion in this case, our court, en banc, addressed the question
whether felony battery under Florida Statute § 784.041 has as an element the use,
attempted use, or threatened use of physical force. We concluded that it did. See
Vail-Bailon, 868 F.3d at 1308.
Vail-Bailon focused on whether Florida Statute § 784.041 constituted a
crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines. The elements clause defining a
crime of violence in the Guidelines, however, is identical to the elements clause
defining a violent felony for ACCA purposes.14 In short, having held that, for
Guidelines’ purposes, felony battery under Florida Statute § 784.041 categorically
14
The Sentencing Guidelines, in pertinent part, defines a “crime of violence” as any offense that
“has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person
of another.” U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 cmt. n.1(B)(iii) (2015). See also U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(1) (using
identical language to define “crime of violence” for purposes of the career offender provision of
the Guidelines).
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constitutes a crime of violence under the elements clause of that provision, Vail-
Bailon compels a conclusion that this statute likewise constitutes a violent felony
under the elements clause of the ACCA. See Vail-Bailon, 868 F.3d at 1298 n.8
(“The elements clause of the ACCA is identical to the elements clause of § 2L1.2.
Cases construing the ACCA’s elements clause are thus relevant to our inquiry
here.”). Accord United States v. Romo-Villalobos, 674 F.3d 1246, 1248 (11th Cir.
2012); United States v. Archer, 531 F.3d 1347, 1352 (11th Cir. 2008) (“This court
has repeatedly read the definition of a ‘violent felony’ under § 924(e) of the Armed
Career Criminal Act as ‘virtually identical’ to the definition of a ‘crime of
violence’ under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2.”).
Accordingly, because the district court correctly counted Defendant’s felony
battery conviction under Florida Statute § 784.04 as a violent felony, Defendant
therefore had at least three prior violent felony convictions and the imposition of
the ACCA enhancement was required. We thus affirm Defendant’s sentence.
III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, we AFFIRM Defendant’s conviction and
sentence.
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