United States v. Carman

341 F. App'x 345
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided August 11, 2009·No. Nos. 08-50188, 08-50236·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM *

John Alan Carman appeals his conviction for conspiracy to kidnap a person in a foreign country in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 956, and the government cross-appeals as to the sentence. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(b). We affirm Carman’s conviction, vacate the sentence, and remand for resentencing.

1. We review de novo the district court’s denial of Carman’s motion for acquittal under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29. See United States v. Johnson, 357 F.3d 980, 983 (9th Cir.2004). We agree with the district court that, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, as we must, any rational juror could have found the essential elements of § 956 beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The prosecution presented ample circumstantial evidence of an agreement between Carman and George Lane. See United States v. Corona-Verbera, 509 F.3d 1105, 1117 (9th Cir.2007) (“[Cjircumstantial evidence that the defendants acted with a common goal is sufficient also to prove agreement....”); United States v. Iriarte-Ortega, 113 F.3d 1022, 1024 (9th Cir. 1997) (“[M]ost conspiracy convictions are based on circumstantial evidence, and we allow juries to draw inferences as to the existence of an agreement from the defendants’ conduct.”).

There was also sufficient evidence that Carman intended to kidnap KAM for ransom. Although Carman urged the jury to draw a different inference from this evidence, the jury could have reasonably inferred intent to kidnap. See United States v. Kranovich, 401 F.3d 1107, 1112-13 (9th Cir.2005) (“[W]e must respect the exclusive province of the jury to determine the credibility of witnesses, resolve evidentiary conflicts, and draw reasonable inferences from proven facts, by assuming that the jury resolved all such matters in a manner [347] which supports the verdict.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).

We also reject Carman’s contention that the evidence is insufficient because Eloy Fernandez lacked credibility. Fernandez’s qualifications were not “so shoddy that a verdict of acquittal should have been directed.” United States v. Tam, 240 F.3d 797, 806 (9th Cir.2001) (internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, the jury heard the numerous attacks on Fernandez’s credibility, including his criminal history and strong incentive to testify favorably for the government, and nonetheless believed him. Under such circumstances, we cannot “upset the jury’s credibility determination.” United States v. Leung, 35 F.3d 1402, 1405 (9th Cir.1994).

We agree with the district court that the prosecution adequately rebutted Carman’s claim that he was entrapped into committing the offense. Any rational juror could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the government did not induce the kidnapping and that, even if it did, Carman was predisposed to commit the crime. See United States v. Davis, 36 F.3d 1424, 1430 (9th Cir.1994).

2. We review de novo Carman’s void-for-vagueness challenge to § 956. See United States v. Rodriguez, 360 F.3d 949, 953 (9th Cir.2004). Carman’s arguments are without merit. The jurors were not “free to define kidnapping as they wished.” The district court instructed the jury as to the definition of kidnapping based on the definition set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a). Moreover, an ordinary citizen would consider the conduct alleged in the indictment to fall within the statutory definition. Finally, the district court explicitly used the term “unlawfully” in defining the elements of the offense; thus, the jury could not have convicted Carman under the statute for lawfully arresting KAM. We therefore conclude that § 956 is not unconstitutionally vague as applied to Carman. See Davis, 36 F.3d at 1433-34; see also United States v. Sutcliffe, 505 F.3d 944, 953-54 (9th Cir.2007).

3. We review de novo the district court’s interpretation of U.S.S.G. § 2A4.1, and review for abuse of discretion its application of this provision to the facts. See United States v. Holt, 510 F.3d 1007, 1010 (9th Cir.2007). We hold that the district court committed procedural error in failing to apply the six-level upward adjustment under U.S.S.G. § 2A4.1(b)(l), and that this error was not harmless. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 993 (9th Cir.2008) (en bane) (“It would be procedural error for a district court ... to calculate incorrectly ... the Guidelines range .... ”); see also United States v. Smith, 561 F.3d 934, 942 (9th Cir.2009) (en banc) (“Because ‘the sentence imposed ... [was] a result of an incorrect application of the Guidelines,’ and we cannot say that ‘the error did not affect the district court’s selection of the sentence imposed,’ a ‘remand is required under § 3742(f)(1).’ ” (alterations in original) (quoting Williams v. United States, 503 U.S. 193, 202-03, 112 S.Ct. 1112, 117 L.Ed.2d 341 (1992))).

Carman concedes that the district court erred in applying Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). Because the § 2A4.1 adjustment could not have increased Carman’s penalty beyond the statutory maximum of life imprisonment, 18 U.S.C. § 956(a)(2)(A), Apprendi was not implicated. See 530 U.S. at 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348.

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United States v. Carman, 341 F. App'x 345 (9th Cir. 2009).

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Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Williams v. United States
503 U.S. 193 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Apprendi v. New Jersey
530 U.S. 466 (Supreme Court, 2000)
United States v. Wai Chong Leung
35 F.3d 1402 (Ninth Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Dale Alan Johnson
357 F.3d 980 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
United States v. Rafael Rodriguez
360 F.3d 949 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
United States v. Michael Kranovich
401 F.3d 1107 (Ninth Circuit, 2005)
United States v. Carty
520 F.3d 984 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Corona-Verbera
509 F.3d 1105 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Smith
561 F.3d 934 (Ninth Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Sutcliffe
505 F.3d 944 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Holt
510 F.3d 1007 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)