United States v. Jeff Livingston

725 F.3d 1141, 2013 WL 4007541, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 16320
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedAugust 7, 2013
Docket11-10520
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 725 F.3d 1141 (United States v. Jeff Livingston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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. Jeff Livingston, 725 F.3d 1141, 2013 WL 4007541, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 16320 (9th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

CHRISTEN, Circuit Judge:

Jeff Livingston appeals his convictions for mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341) and theft by an officer or employee of a gaming establishment on Indian lands (18 U.S.C. § 1168(b)). Livingston argues that, in prosecutions under § 1168, the government must prove the gaming establishment is actually located on Indian lands. Because this purported element of the offense was not alleged in the indictment or included in the jury instructions, Livingston maintains that his conviction must be reversed. Livingston also argues that the indictment did not adequately allege mail fraud and that the jury instructions did not correctly define “intent to defraud.” Finally, Livingston argues the district court erred by admitting evidence of prior acts pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b).

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We conclude the location of the gaming establishment is not an element of the offense under 18 U.S.C. § 1168(b) and that the indictment adequately alleged mail fraud and theft by an officer or employee of a gaming establishment on Indian lands. We see no error in the jury instructions or in the admission of the prior acts evidence under Rule 404(b). We affirm Livingston’s convictions.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Statutory Background

Section 1168 provides criminal penalties for officers, employees, or licensees who steal from gaming establishments “operated by or for or licensed by an Indian tribe pursuant to an ordinance or resolution approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission.” 18 U.S.C. § 1168(b). The statute is titled “Theft by officers or employees of gaming establishments on Indian lands.”

Section 1168 is part of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”). Pub.L. No. 100-497, 102 Stat. 2487 (1988). IGRA regulates tribal gaming activity on Indian lands. 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701(1), 2701(3), 2702(2), 2702(3). To facilitate IGRA’s objectives, Congress established the National Indian Gaming Commission (“Commission”). 25 U.S.C. §§ 2702(3), 2704.

*1144 IGRA requires that an Indian tribe have a Commission-approved gaming ordinance or resolution before offering certain classes of gaming activity. 25 U.S.C. § 2710(b), (d). Even though IGRA “limits tribal gaming to locations on ‘Indian lands,’ ” N. Cnty. Cmty. Alliance v. Salazar, 573 F.3d 738, 741 (9th Cir.2009), a proposed ordinance need not specify the location of a proposed gaming establishment, id. at 746, and the Commission is not obligated to make an Indian lands determination as part of the process of approving a proposed ordinance, id. at 748.

B. Factual and Procedural Background

Livingston was the general manager of the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino from May 2005 through January 2008. Chukchansi Gold is owned and operated by the Picayune Ranchería of the Chukchansi Indians. Chukchansi Gold’s gaming ordinance was approved by the Commission “for gaming only on Indian lands.”

Livingston was indicted in July of 2009 on two counts of theft by an officer of a gaming establishment on Indian lands under 18 U.S.C. § 1168(b). The original indictment alleged that Livingston used a Chukchansi Gold credit card to purchase a personal vacation and to make a down payment on a personal vehicle. Before trial, Livingston orally moved to dismiss the indictment. He argued the government would be unable to prove Chukchansi Gold was operated pursuant to a Commission-approved ordinance because it would be unable to prove that Chukchansi Gold is actually located on Indian lands. The district court denied the motion to dismiss because it was unclear what the government would be able to prove at trial. The first jury deadlocked.

Before the case was re-tried, Livingston moved again to dismiss the indictment on the same general grounds. The district court’s order denying the second motion to dismiss reviewed the title history of the relevant land and concluded that Livingston had not met his burden of showing that the government would be unable to prove that Chukchansi Gold was operated pursuant to a Commission-approved ordinance. But the district court also ruled that, at trial, the government would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Chukchansi Gold casino is located on Indian lands. In ruling that this proof would be required, the district court apparently reasoned that Chukchansi Gold’s ordinance was approved “for gaming only on Indian land.”

The government filed a superseding indictment in September 2010 alleging a third violation of § 1168(b) based on Livingston’s use of a Chukchansi Gold credit card to purchase sports and music memorabilia. It also alleged six counts of mail fraud. Livingston moved to dismiss the superseding indictment on the ground that it was insufficiently specific with respect to the mail fraud counts. He also renewed his argument that the indictment should be dismissed because it did not allege that the Chukchansi Gold casino is on Indian lands. The district court concluded the mail fraud counts were alleged with sufficient specificity and that the location of the casino is not a separate element of § 1168(b). The case went to trial a second time and a jury convicted Livingston on all counts.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Sufficiency of the Indictment

On appeal, Livingston argues the superseding indictment was insufficient because it did not allege that the Chukchansi Gold casino is on Indian lands, did not provide adequate notice of one of the alleged violations of § 1168(b), and did not *1145 provide sufficient notice of the mail fraud charges.

We review the sufficiency of an indictment de novo. United, States v. Milovanovic, 678 F.3d 713, 719 (9th Cir.2012) (en banc).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
725 F.3d 1141, 2013 WL 4007541, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 16320, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jeff-livingston-ca9-2013.