United States v. Pasciuti

803 F. Supp. 499, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14799, 1992 WL 234915
District Court, D. New Hampshire·Decided August 24, 1992·No. 1:91-mj-00001·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

FUSTE, District Judge, Sitting by Designation.

This case is a multi-count criminal prosecution against sixteen remaining defendants, for a continuing criminal enterprise and drug'conspiracy. Several firearms violations are also charged. The indictment mentions that defendants, some of which allegedly belong to the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club, influenced other motorcycle groups and together distributed large quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), • and mescaline, Schedule I or II controlled substances, in New Hampshire and other places. The government claims that the drug business generated substantial profits laundered through legitimate businesses and that drugs were supplied as a reward to loyal conspirators and denied to those failing to perform as expected. The indictment mentions the use of threats, intimidation, beatings, and other forms of violence in defense of and to protect the drug business, the thwarting of investigative efforts by law enforcement, the threatening of witnesses and jurors, and the possession of weapons to accomplish the above.

On June 17, 1992, we granted the government’s motion requesting an anonymous jury. See Order dated June 17, 1992, Docket Document No. 560, and Order, United States v. John Courtois, CR-91-63-04-S, dated July 13, 1992, Docket Document No. 675. In these orders, we left both the bases for our ruling and the specifics of its implementation for a future occasion. The ruling was announced in early June 1992 so that the parties would know as soon as possible of the court’s intention to proceed with . an anonymous jury. Defendant Charles Pasciuti filed a motion for reconsideration of the court’s order on July 30, 1992. See Docket Document No. 740. We deny defendant’s motion for reconsideration and now expand on the reasons behind our order granting the government’s’ motion for an anonymous jury.

*500 Although the First Circuit has not had occasion to rule on the standards a trial court should apply in determining whether to empanel an anonymous jury, 1 the Second and Third Circuits have reviewed numerous district court decisions with respect to this issue. See United States v. Paccione, 949 F.2d 1183, 1191-93 (2d Cir.1991) (and cases cited therein); United States v. Scarfo, 850 F.2d 1015, 1021-26 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 910, 109 S.Ct. 263, 102 L.Ed.2d 251 (1988). In Paccione, the court opined:

In general, the court should not order the empaneling of an anonymous jury without (a) concluding that there is strong reason to believe the jury needs protection, and (b) taking reasonable precautions to minimize any prejudicial effects on the defendant and to ensure that his fundamental rights are protected.

949 F.2d at 1192 (citations omitted). See also United States v. Edmond, 730 F.Supp. 1144, 1145 (D.D.C.1990) (a balance must be maintained between “the interests of the criminal justice system — protecting the jurors and their families from violence, actual or threatened, and shielding the jurors from the potential taint of extensive trial-related publicity — and____ the defendants’ interests — conducting a meaningful voir dire to permit the intelligent exercise of their peremptory challenges and retaining their presumption of innocence”). The court in Paccione went on to review Second Circuit case law and summarized the various combinations of factors found to provide a sufficient basis for the empanelment of an anonymous jury.

Sufficient reason for empaneling an anonymous jury has been found to exist where, for example, the defendants “were alleged to be very dangerous individuals engaged in large-scale organized crime who had participated in several ‘mob-style’ killings,” and there was “strong evidence of defendants’ past attempts to interfere with the judicial process, and defendants were alleged to be part of a group that possessed the means to harm jurors,” United States v. Thomas, 757 F.2d 1359, 1364-65 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 819 [106 S.Ct. 66, 88 L.Ed.2d 54] (1985); or where the defendants have been charged with grand jury tampering and the trial is expected to attract publicity, United States v. Vario, 943 F.2d 236, 240 (2d Cir.1991), cert. denied, [— U.S. —] 112 S.Ct. 882 [116 L.Ed.2d 786] (1992); United States v. Persico, 832 F.2d 705, 717 (2d Cir.1987) (warranted by history of violence and willingness to corrupt and obstruct justice, together with expectation of extensive publicity), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1022 [108 S.Ct. 1995, 100 L.Ed.2d 227] (1988); or where the defendant has a history of attempted jury tampering and a serious criminal record, United States v. Tutino, 883 F.2d 1125, 1132-33 (2d Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1081 [110 S.Ct. 1139, 107 L.Ed.2d 1044] (1990); or where there had been extensive pretrial publicity and there were abundant allegations of dangerous and unscrupulous conduct, United States v. Barnes, 604 F.2d 121, 141 (2d Cir.1979), cert. de *501 nied, 446. U.S. 907 [100 S.Ct. 1833, 64 L.Ed.2d 260] (1980).

Paccione, 949 F.2d at 1192. See also Scarfo, 850 F.2d at 1021-26 (defendant’s link to organized crime coupled with threats to government witnesses and past actions, including murders and attempted bribery of judges and prospective witnesses, provide a sufficient basis to émpanel anonymous jury).

The government proffers various reasons for the necessity of empaneling an anonymous jury. (Docket Document No. 424). First, the government argues that all of the defendants are present, former or prospective members of or closely associated with the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club (“HAMC”), an organization with a reputation for violence and organized criminal activity. Also, according to the prosecution, HAMC members have a long history of intimidating witnesses, intimidating jurors, and interfering with the judicial process and have, in fact, attempted to intimidate and threaten with violence government witnesses in the present case. Also, the government argues that, as this case has generated a significant amount of pretrial publicity, it is likely that there will be substantial media coverage during the trial, heightening the possibility that juror identities will be publicized, potentially exposing them to interference and harassment by criminal elements or by the public. 2 Finally, the prosecution. suggests that defendants’ right to a fair trial will also be protected through the use of an anonymous jury in that those individuals or groups in conflict with HAMC may seek to encourage a guilty verdict through juror harassment or intimidation.

The government also filed an affidavit and' exhibits in support of its motion for an anonymous jury. Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) Clyde R.W.

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United States v. Pasciuti, 803 F. Supp. 499, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14799, 1992 WL 234915 (D.N.H. 1992).

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