United States v. Doyle Fritts

557 F. App'x 476
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 27, 2014
Docket13-5047
StatusUnpublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 557 F. App'x 476 (United States v. Doyle Fritts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Doyle Fritts, 557 F. App'x 476 (6th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

BENITA Y. PEARSON, District Judge.

Doyle Stanford Fritts (“Fritts”) appeals his convictions and sentence on charges of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, distribution of oxycodone, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. For the following reasons, we affirm Fritts’s convictions and sentence.

I. BACKGROUND

An investigation by federal law enforcement authorities into drug activity in Whitley County, Kentucky, resulted in the arrest of Fritts and other individuals. After a trial, Fritts was convicted by a jury on counts of conspiracy to distribute oxyco-done, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Count 1); distribution of oxycodone, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Counts 2 and 3); and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Count 4).

After the jury’s verdict, Fritts filed a motion for a new trial and a motion for judgment of acquittal with respect to the felon-in-possession charge. The district court denied both motions. Addressing the motion for a new trial, the district court determined that Fritts’s claim of juror misconduct, namely, that jurors had slept through portions of the trial, lacked merit. In denying the motion for judgment of acquittal, the district court concluded that the evidence at trial was sufficient to establish that Fritts, a convicted felon, possessed a firearm in violation of the statute.

At sentencing, the district court adopted the findings of the presentence report and overruled Fritts’s objections. The district court varied above the recommended sentencing guideline of 140-175 months and imposed a sentence of 180 months. 1 Thereafter, the district court entered a final judgment of convictions and sentence.

Fritts timely appealed. He asserts five grounds for vacating the district court’s judgment. First, Fritts argues that the district court abused its discretion when it denied his motion for a new trial without first holding an evidentiary hearing. Second, Fritts contends that insufficient evidence was presented at trial to support his conviction for being a felon-in-possession. *479 Third, Fritts claims that the district court erred in determining his sentence because it improperly found that he had distributed 600 oxycodone pills. Fourth, Fritts maintains that the district court erred when it concluded that he possessed a firearm during a drug offense, and, on that basis, improperly applied a two-level enhancement for his drug offenses under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Sentencing Guidelines”). Fifth, Fritts argues that the district court erred when it found that Fritts possessed a firearm in connection with another felony, and, as a result, improperly applied a four-level enhancement for his felon-in-possession offense.

We have jurisdiction over Fritts’s appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Denial of Motion for New Trial

The district court’s denial of a motion for a new trial is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard. United States v. Holder, 657 F.3d 322, 328 (6th Cir.2011). Similarly, a district court’s decision not to grant an evidentiary hearing before ruling on a motion for a new trial is reviewed for abuse of discretion. United States v. Allen, 254 Fed.Appx. 475, 477 (6th Cir.2007) (citing United States v. Bass, 460 F.3d 830, 838 (6th Cir.2006)). A district court abuses its discretion “ ‘when it applies the incorrect legal standard, misapplies the correct legal standard, or relies upon clearly erro-, neous findings of fact.’ ” United States v. Pugh, 405 F.3d 390, 397 (6th Cir.2005) (quoting Schenck v. City of Hudson, 114 F.3d 590, 593 (6th Cir.1997)). Under this standard, the lower court’s decision will be reversed only if the reviewing court is “firmly convinced that a mistake has been made.” Id.

Fritts’s post-verdict motion for a new trial was supported by an affidavit from his mother, Betty Fritts, who attested that she observed jurors sleeping during various portions of the trial. On the basis of his mother’s affidavit, Fritts claims that he was denied his due process right to have a jury hear and evaluate the evidence against him. While acknowledging that the burden falls on him to demonstrate that a new trial should be granted, Fritts contends that he was “summarily stripped of his ability to meet his burden” because the district court did not hold an evidentia-ry hearing before deciding the motion. The Government responds that the district court did not abuse its discretion because Fritts failed to offer credible evidence of juror misconduct or that he was denied a fair trial.

Rule 33(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides in relevant part that “[ujpon the defendant’s motion, the court may vacate any judgment and grant a new trial if the interest of justice so requires.” “Motions for a new trial are not favored and are granted only with great caution.” United States v. Gamer, 529 F.2d 962, 969 (6th Cir.1976). A defendant in a criminal case “bears the burden of proving that a new trial should be granted.” United States v. Davis, 15 F.3d 526, 531 (6th Cir.1994); United States v. Seago, 930 F.2d 482, 488 (6th Cir.1991).

The Sixth Circuit has recognized that “[w]hen possible juror misconduct is brought to the trial judge’s attention he has a duty to investigate and to determine whether there may have been a violation of the [Sjixth [Ajmendment.” United States v. Lloyd, 462 F.3d 510, 518 (6th Cir.2006) (quotations omitted). The district court’s refusal to hold an evidentiary hearing, however, is not an abuse of discretion when there is no credible allegation of juror misconduct. Id. Indeed, the district court’s “decision on the scope of proceedings necessary to discover misconduct is *? reviewed only for an abuse of discretion” because “the trial judge is in the best position to determine the nature and extent of alleged jury misconduct-” United States v. Shackelford, 111 F.2d 1141, 1145 (6th Cir.1985). Consequently, the trial judge is entrusted with broad judicial discretion “to determine what steps, if any, are required to make certain that a jury has not been tainted.” United States v.

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557 F. App'x 476, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-doyle-fritts-ca6-2014.