United States v. Miranda

248 F.3d 434, 56 Fed. R. Serv. 1242, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 6473, 2001 WL 388088
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedApril 17, 2001
Docket19-50094
StatusPublished
Cited by253 cases

This text of 248 F.3d 434 (United States v. Miranda) 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. Miranda, 248 F.3d 434, 56 Fed. R. Serv. 1242, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 6473, 2001 WL 388088 (5th Cir. 2001).

Opinions

ROBERT M. PARKER, Circuit Judge:

Rosalinda Miranda, Abel Espinoza, Rigoberto Rodriguez, Oscar Rodriguez, and Hector Espinoza appeal their convictions and sentences for drug related offenses. We affirm all the convictions, affirm the sentences of Rosalinda Miranda, Abel Espinoza, Rigoberto Rodriguez, and Hector Espinoza, vacate Oscar Rodriguez’s sentence, and remand his case for resentenc-ing.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A large-scale investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the Dallas Police Department into the distribution of cocaine and marijuana in the Dallas, Texas area led to a nineteen-count federal indictment against twenty-one individuals. The indictment alleged, in pertinent part, that from May 1996 until June 1997, Appellants (1) conspired to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine, and cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 856; (2) distributed or possessed cocaine and cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841; and (3) used a telephone to facilitate the distribution of cocaine and cocaine base. Appellants, all related to one another by blood or marriage, sold drugs primarily out of crack houses or “trap” houses. They did a high volume of small quantity sales, typified by “dime rocks” of cocaine — $10 rocks with an estimated weight of .125 grams.

Appellants were jointly tried, along with Roberto Garcia, in July 1998. After a two- and-a-half-week trial, the jury returned a verdict acquitting Garcia and finding the remaining defendants (Appellants) guilty on all counts. The district court overruled Appellants’ objections to the Pre-Sentence Investigation Reports (“PSRs”) prepared by the United States Probation Office, adopted the PSRs’ findings and sentencing recommendations and sentenced Appellants as follows:

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DISCUSSION

A. Motion for Severance

Rosalinda Miranda moved to sever her trial from the trial of her co-defendants claiming that the other defendants could raise defenses inconsistent and antagonistic to her own, and that she would be prohibited from calling them as witnesses. She also stated that she would be prejudiced by the spillover effect of evidence incriminating her co-defendants. The government filed a response, arguing that joinder was permitted under Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 8 and 14. The district court denied the motion, finding that Rosalinda Miranda had not demonstrated compelling prejudice or shown that a limiting instruction would not protect her interests. We review the district court’s denial of severance for abuse of discretion. Zafiro v. United States, 506 U.S. 534, 539, 113 S.Ct. 933, 122 L.Ed.2d 317 (1993).

We have noted that “persons indicted together should be tried together, especially in conspiracy cases.” United States v. Neal, 27 F.3d 1035, 1045 (5th Cir.1994) (citations omitted). However, separate trials should be granted when “there is a serious risk that a joint trial would compromise a specific trial right of one of the defendants, or prevent the jury from making a reliable judgment about guilt or innocence.” Zafiro, 506 U.S. at 539,113 S.Ct. 933.

We are not convinced that Rosalinda Miranda suffered undue prejudice as the result of spillover of evidence offered against her co-defendants. The district court clearly instructed the jurors to give separate consideration to the evidence as to each defendant. The jury is presumed to have been able to follow these instructions and, indeed, its finding of “not guilty” as to Garcia demonstrates the validity of that presumption. Neal, 27 F.3d at 1045 (stating that “the jury’s ‘not guilty’ verdicts as to some defendants demonstrate that the jurors followed the district court’s instructions and considered the evidence separately as to each defendant").

Likewise, we find no merit in Rosalinda Miranda’s claim that she was prejudiced by being denied the opportunity to challenge statements made in taped phone conversations because her co-defendants did not take the stand at trial. While not entirely clear, Rosalinda Mi[440]*440randa appears to be claiming that, had she been able to cross-examine her co-defendants, they would have testified that she was not the “Rosa” that was mentioned in the phone conversations. To warrant severance based on the exculpatory testimony of a co-defendant, a defendant must show “(1) a bona fide need for the testimony; (2) the substance of the testimony; (3) its exculpatory nature and effect; and (4) that the co-defendant would in fact testify if the severance were granted.” United States v. Nutall, 180 F.3d 182, 187 (5th Cir.1999) (citing United States v. Broussard, 80 F.3d 1025, 1037 (5th Cir.1996)). Rosalinda Miranda failed to show that any of her co-defendants would have in fact testified at her trial if severance were granted or that their testimony would have been exculpatory.

We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Rosalinda Miranda’s motion for severance.

B. Evidentiary Rulings

Appellants challenge the district court’s admission of evidence in two separate instances during trial. We review evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Parsee, 178 F.3d 374, 379 (5th Cir.1999).

1. Drug transactions that pre-dated the indicted conspiracy

At trial, the government introduced the testimony of Gracie Martinez, who testified that she had bought drugs from Abel Espinoza sometime “around 1989, 1990, 1991.” Abel Espinoza objected, arguing that the government had failed to make the necessary pretrial disclosures regarding the introduction of evidence of Abel Espinoza’s prior bad acts, and that the testimony concerned events prior to the dates of the indicted conspiracy.

The district court admitted the evidence, finding that Martinez’s testimony was background information and therefore not subject to Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). In the alternative, the district court determined that the probative value of the evidence outweighed its possible prejudice and that the evidence went to intent and was thus admissible under Rule 404(b). See United States v. Beechum, 582 F.2d 898 (5th Cir.1978).

On appeal, Abel Espinoza focuses solely on whether the testimony can withstand a Beechum analysis, arguing that the government failed to inform him of its intention to present extrinsic evidence of his prior bad acts and that Martinez’s testimony resulted in undue prejudice. Abel Espinoza also claims that the district court did not adequately articulate its Beechum analysis findings and that the limiting instruction was inadequate to protect his rights.

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Bluebook (online)
248 F.3d 434, 56 Fed. R. Serv. 1242, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 6473, 2001 WL 388088, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-miranda-ca5-2001.