United States v. Orris

86 F. App'x 82
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 8, 2004
DocketNo. 02-3331
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 86 F. App'x 82 (United States v. Orris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Orris, 86 F. App'x 82 (6th Cir. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

QUIST, District Judge.

Defendant, Donald G. Orris, appeals his convictions for violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951, aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during and in [85]*85relation to a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), and possession of a firearm by a career criminal. 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(g), 924(e). Orris raises several issues on appeal. Upon thorough review of the record and authorities, we AFFIRM Orris’ convictions.

I. FACTS

On December 23, 2000, members of the Columbus, Ohio, Police Department SWAT and Helicopter units began surveillance of Orris. Surveillance continued from 2:30 p.m. until 9:50 p.m. and began again on December 24 at 8:00 a.m. On the morning of December 24, Orris drove to a residence on Lansing Street and picked up Michael Burgett. The two men returned to Orris’s residence on 13th Street. Orris’s girlfriend, Mary Taylor, testified that Orris-retrieved an item from the basement, which she described as a gun wrapped in a jacket. She never actually saw the gun, and Orris never identified it as such to her. Orris told Taylor that he was getting rid of the item and going back to work.

After leaving the residence, Orris and Burgett drove to various strip malls in central Ohio, stopping in several parking lots but entering none of the businesses. Eventually, they reached the Smoker’s Value store. They circled the parking lot slowly and then parked. Orris entered the store for a short time, then returned to the vehicle. Orris and Burgett circled around the area for a short time and then returned to the parking lot. Orris parked the car behind Smoker’s Value.

Burgett exited the vehicle; Orris remained in the car. Just as Burgett was about to enter the store, he pulled a mask over his face and pulled a short-barreled shot gun from under his clothes. At this point, some of the officers moved in to take Orris into custody. Inside Smoker’s Value, Burgett brandished the shotgun at the employees and customers, telling everyone to lie down. He ordered an employee to give him the money in a cigar box under the counter that contained $518. Burgett exited through a door of the business. Burgett looked in the direction of Orris’s car where police officers were arresting Orris. Burgett ran away from where the ear was parked. Burgett was shot and killed in the resulting confrontation with police.

Orris was charged with a Hobbs Act violation, 18 U.S.C. § 1951, with aiding and abetting the use, carrying, and brandishing of a short-barreled shotgun during and in relation to a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), and being an armed career criminal in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(g), 924(e). He was convicted on all three counts.

II. ANALYSIS

1. Hobbs Act Jurisdiction

Orris argues that there was insufficient evidence supporting the interstate commerce jurisdictional element for a Hobbs Act violation. Even a de minimis effect on interstate commerce is sufficient to establish the interstate commerce nexus under the Hobbs Act. United States v. Mills, 204 F.3d 669, 671 (6th Cir.2000). The government introduced evidence that the Smoker’s Value store purchased 99% of its merchandise from outside Ohio. We hold that even though the amount stolen in the robbery was not large, the Smoker’s Value store was engaged in the interstate sale of tobacco products, and the crime met the de minimis standard adopted by this court.

We find United States v. Wang, 222 F.3d 234 (6th Cir.2000), to be readily distinguishable from the instant case. Wang held that where a private individual is robbed in her own home — as opposed to [86]*86the robbery of a business entity in interstate commerce — the mere fact that $1,200 of the $4,200 stolen came from a business in interstate commerce is not sufficient to establish even a de minimis connection to interstate commerce. Id. at 240. The Wang Court explained that, where a private individual is robbed, “the required showing is of a different order than in cases where the victim is a business entity. Id. at 238 (emphasis added).

2. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Orris argues that there was insufficient evidence at trial to support his conviction. Since defendant failed to renew his Rule 29 motion at the close of all the evidence, Defendant waived any objection to the sufficiency of the evidence. United States v. Nesbitt, 90 F.3d 164, 167 (6th Cir.1996). Therefore, our review “is limited to determining whether there was a manifest miscarriage of justice.” United States v. Price, 134 F.3d 340, 350 (6th Cir.1998)(quoting United States v. Cannon, 981 F.2d 785, 789 (5th Cir.1993)). “A miscarriage of justice exists only if the record is devoid of evidence pointing to guilt.” Id. (internal quotations omitted).

Here there was no manifest miscarriage of justice. A rational jury could conclude that Orris drove Burgett to Orris’s residence where Orris retrieved the gun that Burgett used in the robbery, that Orris drove Burgett to several locations to scout out a location for the robbery, and that Orris — knowing that Burgett was going to rob the store with the gun — waited in the car, as the getaway driver, for Burgett while Burgett robbed the store. Those conclusions form a sufficient basis for a conviction under an aiding and abetting theory of liability for all three counts of conviction.

3. Shackling

Orris argues that the district court committed reversible error when it required that his legs be shackled under the defense table, which was draped with a shroud so that the shackles could not be seen. The table occupied by the prosecutors was draped in the same way. We review shackling decisions for abuse of discretion. Kennedy v. Cardwell, 487 F.2d 101, 110 (6th Cir.1973). In Kennedy, this Court held that a defendant may permissibly be shackled only upon a clear showing of necessity should shackles ever be employed and only as a “last resort.” Id. at 111. The burden “to show the necessity of any extreme physical security measures” is on the prosecution. Id. at 107.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
86 F. App'x 82, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-orris-ca6-2004.