United States v. Barfield

348 F. App'x 743
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedOctober 9, 2009
DocketNo. 08-2301
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 348 F. App'x 743 (United States v. Barfield) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Barfield, 348 F. App'x 743 (3d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

RENDELL, Circuit Judge.

Christopher Barfield’s appeal of his conviction and sentence presents two issues for our determination: (1) whether the District Court improperly relied on hearsay evidence to calculate Barfield’s Guidelines range; and (2) whether judicial determination of Barfield’s prior felony convictions, which increased the maximum statutory term of imprisonment, was permissible under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000).1 Because we conclude that [744]*744the hearsay evidence relied upon by the District Court possessed the requisite degree of reliability and was thus admissible, and that its determination regarding Barfield’s prior convictions was proper, we will affirm the order of the District Court.

Because we write for the benefit of the parties, we confine our discussion to the facts salient to this appeal. On June 26, 2007, Christopher Barfield robbed Fatema Cheeseborough at gunpoint. After Cheeseborough informed a friend, Matthew James, of the incident, the pair confronted Barfield. During the ensuing exchange, Barfield shot James in the stomach. Cheeseborough promptly reported the shooting to police, providing a complete description of the assailant. Cheeseborough and a second eyewitness, Sharita Wright, subsequently identified Barfield as the shooter in a photo array, and Barfield was arrested shortly thereafter. At the time of Barfield’s arrest, officers recovered a gun on defendant’s person, and a ballistics analysis linked the weapon to shells recovered from the scene of the shooting. A jury convicted Barfield of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e). At sentencing, the District Court, relying chiefly on Detective Christopher Casee’s testimony regarding statements made by Cheesebor-ough and Wright to police, determined that Barfield used or possessed a firearm or ammunition “in connection with a crime of violence”2 — specifically, the robbery and shooting of June 26, 2007 — and, accordingly, increased Barfield’s offense level from 33 to 34. See U.S.S.G. § 4B1.4(b)(3)(A). Barfield was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment, a term within the applicable Guidelines range of 262 to 327 months.

Barfield’s central contention on appeal is that the District Court’s Guidelines calculation rested on unreliable hearsay evidence, and that augmentation of his offense level under § 4B1.4(b)(3)(A) was thus improper. Factual findings relevant to a Guidelines calculation need only be proven by the government by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Grier, 475 F.3d 556, 568 (3d Cir.2007) (en banc) (applying preponderance of the evidence standard to “all facts relevant to the Guidelines”). We review factual findings underlying a Guidelines calculation for clear error, United States v. Jimenez, 513 F.3d 62, 85 (3d Cir.2008); see 18 U.S.C. § 3742(e), but exercise plenary review of questions of law, including the proper construction of the Guidelines, United States v. Helbling, 209 F.3d 226, 243 (3d Cir.2000), and the admissibility of hearsay evidence, United States v. Brothers, 75 F.3d 845, 848 (3d Cir.1996).

Hearsay evidence is admissible in sentencing proceedings, provided it has “sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy.” Brothers, 75 F.3d at 848 (quoting United States v. Sciarrino, 884 F.2d 95, 98 (3d Cir.1989)) (noting that use of hearsay in making findings for purposes of Guidelines sentencing violates neither the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 nor the Due Process Clause, but that to avoid “misinformation of constitutional magnitude,” such testimony must have sufficient indicia of reliability); United States v. Baylin, 696 F.2d 1030, 1040 (3d Cir.1982); see also U.S.S.G. § 6A1.3(a). Fac[745]*745tors bearing on the reliability of hearsay testimony include the declarant’s memory, perception, and credibility, and the presence of corroborating (or conflicting) evidence. See United States v. Miele, 989 F.2d 659, 662, 664-67 (3d Cir.1993); see United States v. Simmons, 964 F.2d 763, 776 (8th Cir.1992); United States v. Duarte, 950 F.2d 1255, 1265-66 (7th Cir.1991); United States v. Cammisano, 917 F.2d 1057, 1062 (8th Cir.1990).

Barfield contends that Cheeseborough and Wright’s statements to police, offered through Detective Casee at the sentencing hearing, lacked the requisite reliability and were thus inadmissible. Casee testified that Cheeseborough promptly filed a police report after the robbery, provided a physical description of the assailant, and identified Barfield during a subsequent photo array. Casee testified, further, that Wright also identified Barfield as the assailant in a photo array shortly after the shooting, and that Cheeseborough and Wright were steadfast in them belief that Barfield had committed the robbery and shooting.

Cheeseborough’s statements to police exhibit sufficient indicia of reliability for admission under U.S.S.G. § 6A1.3(a) and our precedents. Cheeseborough’s clear perception and memory of the incident support the reliability of her identification. Cheeseborough’s close physical proximity to Barfield, who wore no disguise, enabled her clearly to apprehend his physical features. Cheeseborough’s memory was not impaired by the passage of time; rather, Cheeseborough promptly memorialized her observations, filing a detailed police report immediately after the incident and, a few days later, identifying Barfield in a photo array. See United States v. Leekins, 493 F.3d 143, 151 (3d Cir.2007) (concluding that the “detail and internal consistency” of police report, together with the “other corroborating material,” provide sufficient indicia of the reliability); cf. Simmons, 964 F.2d at 776 (deeming unreliable testimony of addict informant with memory impairment).

Cheeseborough’s identification of Bar-field is also corroborated by other evidence. See United States v. Berry, 258 F.3d 971

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348 F. App'x 743, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-barfield-ca3-2009.