United States v. Kossak

178 F. App'x 183
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedMay 4, 2006
Docket05-2424
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 178 F. App'x 183 (United States v. Kossak) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third 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. Kossak, 178 F. App'x 183 (3d Cir. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

RENDELL, Circuit Judge.

Appellant Robert Kossak was convicted at trial of conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property, and bank fraud. Before trial, Kossak filed a motion to suppress, which was denied. The District Court sentenced Kossak to 60 months imprisonment. During the sentencing hearing, before imposing sentence, the District Court calculated Kossak’s sentencing guideline range to be 57-71 months. The guideline range was calculated after resolving, among other things, two disputed sentencing issues — whether Kossak should have received a two-level upward adjustment for “mass marketing” and a two-level upward adjustment for “vulnerable victims.”

On appeal, Kossak argues that the District Court’s denial of his motion to suppress certain financial documents was reversible error. He also argues that the District Court abused its discretion in sentencing him by incorrectly calculating his sentencing guideline range. He argues that the upward adjustments for “mass marketing” and “vulnerable victims” should not have been applied. He requests that we reverse his conviction and remand the matter to the District Court for a new trial with instructions to suppress the financial documents, or, should we find that reversal is not merited, that we remand for re-sentencing. 1

I. Motion to Suppress

Kossak’s argument that the District Court erred in failing to grant his motion to suppress focuses on his claim that the government engaged in “outra *185 geous government conduct.” Kossak’s basis for this argument is that, during the FBI’s investigation, he was represented by a Delaware attorney, Joseph Kulesza, whom the FBI may also have had reason to suspect of wrongdoing in connection with the same fraudulent scheme. On the advice of his attorney, Kulesza, Kossak cooperated with the investigation, turning over various corporate financial records. Kossak now argues that these records should have been suppressed, because the government did not inform him that his attorney may also have been suspected of wrongdoing and had a potential conflict of interest. This was, Kossak argues, “outrageous government conduct” that rose to the level of violating Kossak’s Fifth Amendment right to due process. We disagree. 2

In 1952, the Supreme Court recognized that outrageous misconduct by law enforcement officers in detecting and obtaining incriminating evidence could rise to the level of a due process violation. Rochin v. California, 342 U.S. 165, 72 S.Ct. 205, 96 L.Ed. 183 (1952) (vacating conviction and dismissing indictment where police had pumped stomach of suspected drug pusher to obtain incriminating evidence). In Ro-chin, the Court said that “the proceedings by which this conviction was obtained do more than offend some fastidious squeamishness or sentimentalism about combating crime too energetically. This is conduct that shocks the conscience.” Id. at 172, 72 S.Ct. 205. In United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 431-32, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973), the Court referred to the type of conduct which violated the Due Process Clause as conduct that violates “fundamental fairness” and is “shocking to the universal sense of justice.”

In United States v. Voigt, Judge Cowen noted that “the judiciary is extremely hesitant to find law enforcement conduct so offensive that it violates the Due Process Clause.” 89 F.3d 1050, 1065 (3d Cir.1996). In United States v. Jannotti, 673 F.2d 578, 608 (3d Cir.1982) (en banc), we observed that “the majority of the Court has manifestly reserved for the constitutional defense only the most intolerable government conduct.” We cautioned that “[w]e must necessarily exercise scrupulous restraint before we denounce law enforcement conduct as constitutionally unacceptable .... Unless the behavior of the F.B.I. agents rose to the level of outra-geousness which would bar conviction, the conduct of agents of the executive branch who must protect the public from crime is more appropriately considered through the political process where divergent views can be expressed in the ballot box.” Id. at 607, 609.

In order to raise a colorable claim of outrageousness pertaining to alleged governmental intrusion into the attorney-client relationship, Kossak must demonstrate each of the three following elements: (1) the Government’s objective awareness of an ongoing personal attorney-client relationship between its informant and the defendant; (2) deliberate intrusion into that relationship; and (3) actual and substantial prejudice. See Voigt, 89 F.3d at 1067. Here, the record indicates that the Government was aware of an ongoing attorney-client relationship between Kulesza and Kossak. At issue is whether the Government deliberately intruded into that relationship and whether *186 Kossak suffered actual and substantial prejudice.

The Government’s conduct with respect to the Kulesza-Kossak attorney-client relationship falls far short of the sort of purposeful intrusion into the attorney-client relationship that would rise to the level of outrageousness. The record contains no indication that the Government extorted information from Kulesza, promised him a deal in exchange for testimony against his client, or, in any way, obtained information that was covered by the attorney-client privilege. We are aware of no authority, and Kossak has cited none, imposing an affirmative duty on the Government to inform a suspect that he has a potential conflict of interest with his attorney. 3 In addition, while the Government may well have been aware of a potential conflict of interest, there is no evidence that (1) an actual conflict existed or (2) the Government had knowledge of any such actual conflict. The Government did not subpoena Kulesza or introduce at trial any statements made by him in violation of the attorney-client privilege.

Additionally, Kossak was not prejudiced by the Government’s conduct. Kossak argues that he was prejudiced because his attorney advised him to cooperate with the Government’s investigation contrary to his interests. He argues: “Had Mr. Kulesza not been under investigation he would have counseled [Kossak] to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and not disclose documentary evidence, like the CMB and KRA spreadsheets that were not subject to grand jury subpoena.” Appellant’s Br. at 22. This argument, however, is flawed. Kossak has made no showing that the financial documents he turned over would have been protected under the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The corporate financial records at issue were not subject to this protection. See Rogers Transp., Inc. v. Stern, 763 F.2d 165, 166 (3d Cir.1985).

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Bluebook (online)
178 F. App'x 183, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-kossak-ca3-2006.