United States v. Morissett

49 F. App'x 334
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedOctober 22, 2002
DocketDocket Nos. 01-1337, 01-1511, 01-1529
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 49 F. App'x 334 (United States v. Morissett) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second 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. Morissett, 49 F. App'x 334 (2d Cir. 2002).

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgments of the District Court be and hereby are AFFIRMED.

The three defendants-appellants (“defendants”), Jean E. Morissett (“Morissett”), Delano Thomas (“Thomas”), and James Angelo Williams (‘Williams”) appeal from judgments of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, filed October 11, 2001, following a jury trial, convicting defendants of charges arising from their involvement in an airport cargo theft. All three were convicted of theft of interstate or foreign shipments by a carrier in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 659. In addition, Morissett was convicted of conspiracy to engage in the theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, and Williams was convicted of witness tampering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(1), and of obstructing the due administration of justice by creating a false alibi in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503(a). The three defendants were sentenced principally to thirty (30) months’ imprisonment, which they are currently serving, three years of supervised release, and restitution of $20,529.33. This timely appeal followed.

Morissett claims on appeal that the government deprived him of due process by introducing evidence of his participation in an uncharged armed robbery without providing notice pursuant to Fed. R. of Evid. 404(b); he also claims that his trial counsel’s failure to object to admission of this evidence constituted ineffective assistance. Thomas argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his theft conviction, that the District Court erred by allowing a witness to identify him in court, and that his sentence should not have been enhanced for obstruction of justice based on his testimony at trial. Williams claims that the District Court erred when it denied his motion pursuant to Fed. R. of Crim. Proc. 29(b) to set aside his witness tampering conviction.

Morissett’s Claims. District courts enjoy broad discretion in admitting prior act evidence under Fed. R. of Evid. 404(b). When no objection to such evidence was raised below, the District Court’s decision to admit the evidence is reviewed under the plain error standard set forth in Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 52(b). See Jones v. United States, 527 U.S. 373, 119 S.Ct. 2090, 144 L.Ed.2d 370 (1999). We find no error, much less plain error.

We have held that a District Court’s decision to admit such evidence will be reversed only for a clear abuse of discretion. United States v. White, 240 F.3d [337]*337127, 138 (2d Cir.2001); United States v. Pipola, 83 F.3d 556, 566 (2d Cir.1996). For a finding of clear abuse of discretion, the Court of Appeals must be “persuaded that the trial judge ruled in an arbitrary and irrational fashion.” United States v. Bok, 156 F.3d 157, 165 (2d Cir.1998) (quoting Pipola, 83 F.3d at 566). Even if the Court finds an abuse of discretion by the District Court, a new trial will not be ordered if “the appellate court can conclude with fair assurance that the improperly admitted evidence did not substantially influence the jury.” Hynes v. Coughlin, 79 F.3d 285, 291 (2d Cir.1996) (citations omitted).

The prosecutor in the instant case told the jury in his summation that the evidence had only been offered to show the subjective beliefs of Vernard Dunkley (“Dunkley”) regarding veiled threats from Morissett during the investigation of the Panasonic cargo heist, which had caused Dunkley to he, and not to prove Morissett’s participation in the robbery. No clarifying jury instruction was requested and, none, in the circumstances presented, was required. United States v. Miller, 895 F.2d 1431, 1439 (D.C.Cir.1990) (holding trial court is not required to sua sponte issue an unrequested jury instruction limiting the use of testimony regarding a defendant’s prior bad acts).

Morissett objects to the lack of notice regarding Dunkley’s testimony regarding the armed robbery, which he argues, prevented counsel from making a timely objection to the evidence. However, Morissett’s counsel objected to the evidence regarding the telephone call between Morissett and Dunkley, which Dunkley perceived as a veiled threat, withdrew that objection, and then did not raise any other objections to the armed robbery testimony which immediately followed. Morissett’s counsel wound up eliciting more information regarding the armed robbery on cross-examination while trying to undermine Dunkley’s credibility, including testimony that the true reason Dunkley suspected Morissett’s involvement in the armed robbery was because Dunkley had told Morissett that Dunkley was storing more than $10,000 in cash drug proceeds in his house—a statement that arguably implicated Morissett even as trial counsel unsuccessfully tried to undermine Dunkley’s credibility. Additionally, the questioning showed a deliberate, reasonable strategic choice by Morissett’s counsel to impeach Dunkley.

The evidence regarding Morissett’s involvement in the airport cargo theft was extensive and corroborated by numerous witnesses, including FBI agents, and was sufficient to support his conviction, without reference to the armed robbery. Dunnigan v. Keane, 137 F.3d 117, 127 (2d Cir.1998); United States v. Bautista, 252 F.3d 141, 147 (2d Cir.2001). The armed robbery evidence was properly admitted and the lack of notice, in our view, did not affect the outcome.

Pursuant to Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-88, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), for Morissett to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, defendant must show that trial counsel: (1) made errors; and (2) that these errors were “so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial.” Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Morissett fails to overcome the strong presumption of competence in counsel’s favor. See United States v. Aguirre, 912 F.2d 555, 560 (2d Cir.1990). Under the first prong of Strickland, “counsel is strongly presumed to have rendered adequate assistance and made all significant decisions in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment.” Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, [338]*338381, 106 S.Ct. 2574, 91 L.Ed.2d 305 (1986); Kieser v. New York, 56 F.3d 16, 18 (2d Cir.1995).

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Related

United States v. Salomon-Mendez
992 F. Supp. 2d 340 (S.D. New York, 2014)
Morissett v. United States
537 U.S. 1224 (Supreme Court, 2003)

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Bluebook (online)
49 F. App'x 334, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-morissett-ca2-2002.