United States v. Patterson

135 F. App'x 469
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit·Decided June 15, 2005·No. Nos. 04-4324, 04-4325·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

In two cases that this Court heard in tandem, the defendant-appellant, Asha Patterson, appeals from two judgments of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York: 1) a July-28, 2004, judgment convicting Patterson, pursuant to a jury verdict, on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm,- in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2), and one count of making false statements to a federal probation officer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2), and sentencing him principally to a total of seventy-eight months’ imprisonment (No. 04-4324); and 2) a July 28, 2004, judgment convicting Patterson of violating the terms of his supervised release and sentencing him principally to ten months’ imprisonment, to run consecutively to the seventy-eight months imposed for his separate criminal conviction (No. 04-4325). Patterson appeals as to his criminal conviction and sentence, and appeals as to his conviction — but not his sentence — for the supervised release violation.

As to the criminal case, Patterson argues that his conviction should be overturned because (1) the judge erred in denying him a suppression hearing pursuant to Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978), and in not suppressing evidence obtained as a result of the search of his car and storage units; (2) the proceedings violated the Speedy Trial Act; and (3) the evidence presented was insufficient to support a conviction as to the first count. Regarding his sentence, Patterson (1) challenges the constitutionality of the Sentencing Guidelines in light of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004) —in particular, the district court’s judicial fact-finding in connection with sentencing enhancements; (2) claims that the court erred in sentencing him to sixty months’ imprisonment on Count Two because it erroneously grouped the two counts; and (3) argues that the court abused its discretion by failing to depart downward based on his family circumstances. As to his conviction for violating the terms of his supervised release, Patterson argues that the delay in holding the revocation hearing violated Fed.R.Crim.P. 32.1 and his constitutional due process rights.

Criminal Conviction

Standards of Review

We review the legal questions involved in a motion to suppress de novo, and accept the district court’s factual determinations, absent clear error, “view[ing] those facts in the light most favorable to the government.” United States v. Casado, 303 F.3d 440, 443 (2d Cir.2002). Thus, in the context of a challenge to an affidavit supporting a search warrant, we review de novo whether the untainted elements of the affidavit were sufficient to find probable cause, United States v. Awadallah, 349 F.3d 42, 65 (2d Cir.2003), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 125 S.Ct. 861, 160 L.Ed.2d 781 (2005) , and review for clear error determinations of whether, in making certain statements in the affidavit, a person acted with deliberate or reckless disregard for the truth, id. As for speedy trial issues, we review legal questions de novo and factual findings for clear error. United States v. Gaskin, 364 F.3d 438, 450 (2d Cir.2004), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 125 S.Ct. 1878, 161 L.Ed.2d 751 (2005). Regarding sufficiency of the evidence, “[w]e review such challenges de novo, ” viewing the evidence as a whole and in the light most favorable to the government, and deferring to credibility assessments by the [472] jury. United States v. Jones, 393 F.3d 107, 111 (2d Cir.2004).

Suppression Hearing

Affidavits supporting search warrants are presumed to be valid. See Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 171, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978). But a defendant is entitled to a hearing regarding the truthfulness of the factual statements made in an affidavit supporting a request for a search warrant if he or she meets a two-part test: 1) “the defendant makes a substantial preliminary showing that a false statement knowingly and intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth, was included by the affiant in the warrant affidavit,” id. at 155-56, 98 S.Ct. 2674, and 2) the allegedly false statement is “necessary to the finding of probable cause,” id. at 156, 98 S.Ct. 2674. “If, after setting aside the allegedly misleading statements or omissions, the affidavit, nonetheless, presents sufficient information to support a finding of probable cause, the district court need not conduct a Franks hearing.” United States v. Salameh, 152 F.3d 88, 113 (2d Cir.1998), cert. denied sub nom. Abouhalima v. United States, 525 U.S. 1112, 119 S.Ct. 885, 142 L.Ed.2d 785 (1999); see also United States v. Pitera, 5 F.3d 624, 627 (2d Cir.1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1131, 114 S.Ct. 1103, 127 L.Ed.2d 415 (1994).

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