United States v. Phillip Don Scott

613 F. App'x 873
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJune 3, 2015
Docket14-14724
StatusUnpublished

This text of 613 F. App'x 873 (United States v. Phillip Don Scott) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. Phillip Don Scott, 613 F. App'x 873 (11th Cir. 2015).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Phillip Scott appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment pursuant to the Double Jeopardy Clause. In his interlocutory appeal, he argues that the district court erroneously found manifest necessity existed for a new trial where the district court determined that the trial could not be rescheduled due to the jurors’ scheduling conflicts. After careful review, we affirm.

We review the district court’s denial of a motion to dismiss the indictment for abuse of discretion. United States v. Davis, 708 F.3d 1216, 1221 (11th Cir.2013). However, if the district court’s decision to declare a mistrial was not based on manifest necessity, then the court abused its discretion by not dismissing the indictment on double jeopardy grounds. Id. We review whether there was manifest necessity for a mistrial by reviewing the entire record in the case without limiting the review to the actual findings of the trial court. United States v. Therve, 764 F.3d 1293, 1298 (11th Cir.2014). The deference given “to the district court’s declaration of a mistrial varies according to the circumstances, which include the basis for the order of mistrial and the trial judge’s exercise of sound discretion in making the decision.” Id. (quotations omitted).

The Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy Clause protects a criminal defendant from being subjected to multiple prosecutions for the same offense. U.S. Const, amend. V. Jeopardy attaches when the *875 jury is empaneled and sworn, and, “[o]nce jeopardy attaches, a defendant has a constitutional right to have his case decided by that jury, except under limited circumstances.” Therve, 764 F.3d at 1298. However, “a defendant’s valued right to have his trial completed by a particular tribunal must in some instances be subordinated to the public’s interest in fair trials designed to end in just judgments.” Id. (quotations omitted). The Double Jeopardy Clause is not violated by re-trial following a mistrial so long as the grant of mistrial is due to “manifest necessity.” See Richardson v. United States, 468 U.S. 317, 323-24, 104 S.Ct. 3081, 82 L.Ed.2d 242 (1984). Under the doctrine of manifest necessity, “district courts are permitted to declare a mistrial and discharge a jury only where, taking all the circumstances into consideration, there is a manifest necessity for the act, or the ends of public justice would otherwise be defeated.” Therve, 764 F.3d at 1298 (quotations omitted).

“[Wjhile ‘manifest necessity describes the magnitude of the government’s burden, it is not a standard that can be applied mechanically or without attention to the particular problem confronting the trial judge, and the key word ‘necessity’ cannot be interpreted literally.” Davis, 708 F.3d at 1221 (quotations and ellipsis omitted); see also United States v. Chica, 14 F.3d 1527, 1531 (11th Cir.1994) (“Whether manifest necessity exists is a fact-intensive inquiry, and is not susceptible to a mechanical formulation.” (quotations and citation omitted)). In Davis, we held that manifest necessity existed for a mistrial based on the combined effect of a district court properly dismissing a juror who could not sufficiently comprehend English and the defendant’s refusal to proceed with a jury of less than 12 members. 708 F.3d at 1224. The strictest scrutiny of a mistrial is appropriate where “mistrial is declared because of the unavailability of critical prosecution evidence or when the prosecution seeks to achieve a tactical advantage over the accused.” Therve, 764 F.3d at 1298 (quotations omitted).

Although a “high degree” of necessity is required before concluding that a mistrial is appropriate, Arizona v. Washington, 434 U.S. 497, 506-07, 98 S.Ct. 824, 54 L.Ed.2d 717 (1978), a district court does not abuse its discretion in declaring a mistrial simply because other alternatives might have been permissible, see United States v. Dominguez, 226 F.3d 1235, 1247-48 (11th Cir.2000). The district court “should consider whether any alternatives to a mistrial are available, but the failure to adopt or consider a particular alternative is not constitutional error.” Venson v. Georgia, 74 F.3d 1140, 1145 (11th Cir.1996). Manifest necessity for a mistrial can exist alongside other alternatives, so long as the record shows that the district court considered alternatives before declaring a mistrial. United States v. Bradley, 905 F.2d 1482, 1488 (11th Cir.1990). An important consideration in such an appeal “is whether the trial court carefully considered the alternatives and exercised sound discretion and did not act in an abrupt, precipitous[,] or erratic manner.” Id. Whether or not the district court consulted with the parties before declaring a mistrial is a factor that we consider in deciding whether the district court acted within its discretion, though the failure to consult is not by itself fatal to the declaration of mistrial. Abdi v. Georgia, 744 F.2d 1500, 1504 & n. 6 (11th Cir.1984). A district court is not required to make a specific finding of manifest necessity or “articulate on the record all the factors which informed the deliberate exercise of [its] discretion” so long as the record as a whole provides sufficient justification for the ruling. Washington, 434 U.S. at 517, 98 S.Ct. 824.

*876 We have thus relied on four indicators m determining whether the district court abused its discretion in granting a mistrial:

Has the trial judge (1) heard the opinions of the parties about the propriety of the mistrial, (2) considered the alternatives to a mistrial and chosen the alternative least harmful to the defendant’s rights, (8) acted deliberately instead of abruptly, and (4) properly determined that the defendant would benefit from the declaration of mistrial.

United States v. Berroa, 374 F.3d 1053, 1058 (11th Cir.2004) (quotation omitted); Fed.R.Crim.P. 26.3. We have observed that, in situations “where the required number of jurors needed to render a verdict is reduced by unforeseen circumstances, the trial court should discharge the jury and direct a retrial.” United States v. Isom,

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Related

Venson v. State of GA
74 F.3d 1140 (Eleventh Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Spence
163 F.3d 1280 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Dominguez
226 F.3d 1235 (Eleventh Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Miguel Berroa
374 F.3d 1053 (Eleventh Circuit, 2004)
Wade v. Hunter
336 U.S. 684 (Supreme Court, 1949)
Arizona v. Washington
434 U.S. 497 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Richardson v. United States
468 U.S. 317 (Supreme Court, 1984)
United States v. Robert Bradley, Norman Speck
905 F.2d 1482 (Eleventh Circuit, 1990)
United States v. Robert Davis
708 F.3d 1216 (Eleventh Circuit, 2013)
United States v. Jean Therve
764 F.3d 1293 (Eleventh Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Isom
88 F.3d 920 (Eleventh Circuit, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
613 F. App'x 873, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-phillip-don-scott-ca11-2015.