United States v. Griebel

312 F. App'x 93
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedApril 14, 2008
Docket06-8054
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 312 F. App'x 93 (United States v. Griebel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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. Griebel, 312 F. App'x 93 (10th Cir. 2008).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

WILLIAM J. HOLLOWAY, Jr., Circuit Judge.

This is a direct criminal appeal challenging only the convictions. This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

*94 I

Defendant-appellant George Matthew Griebel was among 21 persons named in a thirty-two count superseding indictment filed July 13, 2005, in the federal district court, alleging violations of the controlled substances and firearms laws. Griebel was named in three of the counts. In Count One, Griebel and all 20 of the co-defendants were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine. 1 In a section of the superseding indictment detailing allegations of overt acts done in furtherance of the alleged conspiracy, the grand jury alleged that from January 2003 to December 2003, Griebel obtained “pound quantities” of methamphetamine from one of the other defendants and other persons and that during this same time he distributed methamphetamine to persons “both known and unknown to the grand jury.” Count Thirty-one charged that, from February 20, 2004 through May 27, 2005, Griebel unlawfully and intentionally used firearms during and in relation to a federal drug trafficking crime, ie., the conspiracy alleged in Count One, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A). Count Thirty-two alleged that from January 2003, through March 2004, Griebel carried firearms during and in relation to a federal drug trafficking crime, also in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A).

Griebel was convicted on all three counts after a jury trial and was ultimately sentenced to 245 months’ imprisonment on the drug conspiracy conviction, with an additional 60 months’ imprisonment on the weapons charge to be served consecutively, for a total of 305 months. 2

Neither side offers a summary of the trial evidence in its brief. We also conclude that such a summary is unnecessary to consideration of the issues raised. We note only that Griebel does not dispute the sufficiency of the government’s evidence at trial to support the convictions.

The focus of Griebel’s arguments on appeal is on the pretrial discovery provided by the prosecution, or more accurately on the limits thereof. Accordingly, a brief overview of the trial court’s handling of discovery will provide the context for our analysis.

When the first of Griebel’s co-defendants was arraigned, several months before Griebel was, 3 the court issued a discovery order to govern pretrial proceedings in the case. The order was applicable to all of the named defendants in the case. The order directed that discovery was to proceed in accordance with Fed.R.Crim.P. 16. The order also noted the government’s expressed willingness, “in its discretion,” to make immediately available to defense counsel all material subject to the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500. 4 The dis *95 trict judge made it clear, however, that he was not ordering the government to go beyond the obligations created by Rule 16, Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972), and the Jencks Act.

On the same day that defendant Griebel was arraigned, his counsel filed a discovery motion, a motion which presaged the positions taken in this appeal. In the motion, Griebel’s counsel sought, in addition to all exculpatory material covered by Brady and all material covered by Rule 16, “all statements and tape recordings” in the case, all evidence possessed by the prosecution, copies of all exhibits to be used at trial, and the names and addresses of all government witnesses, all of which Griebel asked the court to order the government to produce not later than thirty days before trial. (I R. doc. 419.)

Other motions were filed and hearings were held on them, but the pattern established in the beginning did not change: Griebel’s lawyer consistently demanded much more disclosure from the government than the law requires — while failing to support his demands with any legal authority — and direly warned that he would be unable to render effective assistance to his client if his demands were not met. The trial judge finally advised counsel this way:

These are the rules. I don’t make them up. I know you don’t like them, Mr. Goody, but run for Congress. I mean, basically I’m just going to have to apply these rules, and I know of no basis within the Tenth Circuit precedent or Supreme Court precedent certainly that would contemplate that this material would be disgorged, and I think frankly I would be abusing my discretion to do so.

V R. at 33.

Finally, we note that at this last hearing the prosecutor expressed concern that two investigators for Griebel’s attorney had intimidated two witnesses, a concern which re-enforced his reluctance to disclose more than he already had (which was more than he was required to disclose) about the government’s witnesses. The defense offered a completely different version of the investigators’ encounter with the two witnesses. But in a later sentencing hearing, the government offered testimony that one of defendant’s investigators had been charged with “witness tampering” in federal court and eventually pleaded guilty, the charge having been based on her efforts in this case. VII R. at 37-38.

II

On appeal, Griebel asserts violation of several constitutional rights — the right to due process of law, the right to confront the witnesses against him, and the right to effective assistance of counsel. Griebel contends that these constitutional violations followed from the prosecution’s withholding of pretrial discovery. Griebel’s arguments are vastly overblown, relying on broad allegations augmented by copious amounts of bombast. The arguments are not, however, supported by any reference to specific evidence that should have been disclosed nor any demonstration of how those disclosures would have been so vital to the defense that in their absence the proceedings failed to meet the standard of due process. Nor is this entreaty for a dramatic expansion of the government’s *96 discovery obligations' — obligations that as the district court noted are defined by Rule 16, Brady, Giglio

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
312 F. App'x 93, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-griebel-ca10-2008.