United States v. Charles E. Webster and Bobby Nelson

960 F.2d 1301
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJune 10, 1992
Docket91-1487
StatusPublished
Cited by79 cases

This text of 960 F.2d 1301 (United States v. Charles E. Webster and Bobby Nelson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth 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. Charles E. Webster and Bobby Nelson, 960 F.2d 1301 (5th Cir. 1992).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Charles Webster and Bobby Nelson were convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Webster was also convicted of money laundering and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug offense. They appeal their convictions and their sentences, arguing that the district court made numerous errors throughout the trial and sentencing. We affirm their convictions, but vacate and remand their sentences to allow the district court to determine the amount of drugs each defendant knew or reasonably should have foreseen was involved in the conspiracy.

I. BACKGROUND

Charles Webster and Bobby Nelson were tried together on a seven-count indictment. Both were charged with conspiring to distribute, and possess with intent to distrib *1304 ute, controlled substances. The remaining six counts were brought against Webster only. Five counts charged him with instances of money laundering and one count charged him with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense. The jury found the defendants guilty as charged after a six-day trial.

Webster owned a building in Amarillo which housed a restaurant known as the Cotton Club. He leased the restaurant to Nelson, who operated it. Both Webster and Nelson sold drugs (including cocaine, marijuana, Preludin and Dilaudid) from various locations, including inside and outside the building that housed the Cotton Club, as well as the adjacent building, their vehicles, their residences, and a car wash.

In October 1988 the county sheriffs department executed a search warrant for the building next to the Cotton Club and for Webster’s vehicle. Under a bench in front of the building, the search uncovered a plastic bag with two glass bottles containing Dilaudid and Preludin tablets. The search of Webster’s car revealed the following items: a .22 caliber pistol and a marijuana cigarette in the trunk, and a tupperware container in the front seat, which contained a billfold with Webster’s driver’s license and credit cards, a plastic drinking cup with Webster’s fingerprints, a ledger, a loaded .357 magnum, and a baggie containing 55.47 grams of cocaine. A December 1988 search of the Cotton Club turned up a freezer bag, containing marijuana and cocaine, and a number of small plastic baggies contained in a larger plastic bag. A search of Webster’s residence resulted in the seizure of a glass crack pipe from under the seat of his Mercedes (where he had been seated), cocaine, $30,215 in cash, $44,000 in savings bonds, several firearms, a set of electric scales, and thousands of small zip-lock baggies. The district court denied Webster’s motion to suppress the evidence resulting from the search of his residence.

Six days after the trial was over, the defendants moved for a new trial on the ground of juror incompetence and misconduct. Accompanying the motions for a new trial was an affidavit of an alternate juror who stated that one of the jurors suffered from a hearing impairment throughout most of the trial, and repeatedly asked other jurors to repeat what had been said. The court heard testimony from the alternate juror, as well as from additional witnesses, and ultimately denied the motion.

II. DISCUSSION

A. New Trial for Juror Misconduct/Incompetency

Webster and Nelson argue that the trial court should have conducted a fuller investigation into jury misconduct and incompetence, or should have granted them a new trial. The district court held two hearings on the defendants’ motion for a new trial. At those hearings, the court heard testimony, elicited by the defendants, from an alternate juror (Hathcock), and from a government agent with whom Hathcock had previously cooperated in an undercover capacity in a different matter. The government called the court security officer who served as bailiff during the trial (Glen Parrot), the district court clerk during the trial (Sharon Sauls), Hathcock’s estranged wife (Patty Hathcock), and an acquaintance of the Hathcocks’ (Celia Forbis) to testify at the second hearing on motion for new trial. Following those hearings, the court denied the defendants’ motion for a new trial, finding that Hathcock’s testimony was not credible.

Hathcock testified that one of the jurors (McGill) had trouble hearing during the trial. Parrot testified that, at one point during the trial, a number of the jurors expressed difficulty hearing Nelson’s attorney, but that no individual juror indicated a particular problem hearing during the course of the trial. He testified that he later asked if anyone was having difficulty hearing, and the jurors indicated they were no longer having any trouble. The other witnesses testified regarding Hathcock’s credibility and his acquaintance with one of the defense lawyers.

*1305 McGill evidently was suffering from an allergy which caused her sinuses to fill and her ears to block. The trouble first appeared during voir dire, when McGill informed the judge that she was having trouble hearing what was going on. At that point the court informed her that if she was selected as a juror she would be seated in the jury box, closer to the proceedings. For the remainder of the voir dire, however, the judge invited McGill to move to a seat which would place her closer to the lawyers and the judge. After taking a closer seat, McGill was asked by the prosecutor whether she could hear adequately. McGill replied that she could, “sometimes.” The judge informed McGill that if she had trouble hearing, she should inform the court, to which McGill replied: “My ears are really stopped.” The judge responded, “All right,” and the voir dire continued. Evidently, neither side attempted to exclude McGill from the jury for cause or otherwise. In fact, the issue of McGill’s hearing did not arise again until after the trial and verdict, when the defendants submitted their motion for new trial.

The defendants argue that the district court did not adequately respond to their motion for new trial. They contend that the court should have engaged in further questioning, including interviews of the jurors, in order to ascertain McGill’s ability to follow the proceedings and whether or not her actions (asking other jurors what had been said) constituted juror misconduct. They cite United States v. McKinney, 429 F.2d 1019 (5th Cir.1970) {McKinney I), for the proposition that the court should have gone further than it did. The defendants contend that McKinney I imposes a strict procedure, which a judge must follow whenever a new trial motion alleges juror misconduct. The procedure would include a “full investigation” to determine whether the misconduct occurred, and if so, whether it was prejudicial. In any event, the judge must set forth any findings with adequate specificity for meaningful appellate review. McKinney I, 429 F.2d at 1026.

This argument ignores the fact that we repudiated McKinney I on rehearing. United States v. McKinney, 434 F.2d 831, 833 (5th Cir.1970), cert. denied, 401 U.S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
960 F.2d 1301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-charles-e-webster-and-bobby-nelson-ca5-1992.