United States v. Pina-Aboite

97 F. App'x 832
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedMay 11, 2004
Docket04-2055
StatusUnpublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 97 F. App'x 832 (United States v. Pina-Aboite) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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. Pina-Aboite, 97 F. App'x 832 (10th Cir. 2004).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

PER CURIAM.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unani *834 mously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.

Martin Pina-Aboite appeals the district court’s order of continued detention pending appeal by the government of the court’s order granting defendant’s motion to suppress. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3145(c), and we affirm.

I.

Mr. Pina-Aboite and his co-defendant, Mr. Sepulveda, 1 were arrested in May 2003 after a police officer turned a routine traffic stop into a search of the car, which ultimately resulted in the seizure of ten pounds of methamphetamine. After the arrest, Mr. Pina-Aboite was ordered detained pending trial. Mr. Pina-Aboite did not contest this detention and it is not the subject of this appeal. On June 11, 2003, Mr. Pina-Aboite was indicted and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and with the substantive offense, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A).

During the pre-trial process, Mr. Pina-Aboite filed a motion to suppress the evidence arguing that it was found as the result of an unconstitutional search and seizure. The court granted the motion. The government moved for reconsideration, which the court granted. Mr. Pina-Aboite then moved for reconsideration, and the district court ultimately went back to its original ruling and granted the motion to suppress. The government appealed the suppression order. •

The district court then held a hearing on the issue of Mr. Pina-Aboite’s release pending appeal. After the hearing, the court ordered the continued detention of Mr. Pina-Aboite pending appeal because it found that there was “a serious risk that [Mr. Pina-Aboite] would flee and that no condition or set of conditions could reasonably assure [Mr. Pina-Aboite’s] future appearance before the Court.” Aplt.App., Ex. H.

II.

An appeal from a detention order pending a government appeal is controlled by 18 U.S.C. §§ 3143. That statute provides that a court should treat a defendant in this situation according to § 3142. See 18 U.S.C. § 1343(c). Accordingly, the district court was obligated to detain defendant if it found that no “condition or combination of conditions [would] reasonably assure the appearance of [the defendant] as required and the safety of any other person and the community.” 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e).

Section 3142(e) includes a rebuttable presumption in favor of detention if certain criteria are met. The relevant portion of the statute states:

Subject to rebuttal by the person, it shall be presumed that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of the community if the judicial officer finds that there is probable cause to believe that the person committed an offense for which a maximum term of imprisonment *835 of ten years or more is prescribed in the Controlled Substances Act....

18 U.S.C. § 3142(e). In this case, the district court found that the rebuttable presumption applied.

The burden of production on the defendant to overcome the presumption is not a heavy one, but the defendant must produce some evidence. United States v. Stricklin, 932 F.2d 1353, 1354-55 (10th Cir.1991). Even if the presumption is overcome, the presumption remains a factor in the district court’s detention decision. Ultimately, the burden of persuasion is always on the government. Id. Mr. Pina-Aboite did produce some evidence to overcome the presumption, which led the court to consider the factors in § 3142(g) to complete his detention determination.

The § 3142(g) factors are: (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense charged, including whether the offense is a crime of violence or involves a narcotic drug; (2) the weight of the evidence against the person; (3) the history and characteristics of the person; and (4) the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community that would be posed by the person’s release.

We review de novo mixed questions of law and fact concerning the detention decision. United States v. Cisneros, 328 F.3d 610, 613 (10th Cir.2003). We review the district court’s findings of fact for clear error. Id.

A.

Mr. Pina-Aboite argues on appeal that the district court should not have considered the evidence that it suppressed when determining whether the rebuttable presumption in § 3142(e) applies and when determining whether the weight of the evidence favored Mr. Pina-Aboite or the government, see § 3142(g)(2).

The district court applied the presumption in favor of detention in § 3142(e). Mr. Pina-Aboite argues that this was error because there is no admissible evidence to support a probable cause finding because of the suppression order. The probable cause determination, however, was made when Mr. Pina-Aboite was initially indicted. The grand jury indictment of Mr. Pina-Aboite is sufficient to establish probable cause that he has committed a federal drug offense carrying a maximum prison term of ten years or more. See United States v. Stricklin, 932 F.2d 1353, 1355 (10th Cir.1991). Mr. Pina-Aboite confuses the district court’s ruling on the admissibility of evidence at trial with the determination that there was probable cause that he committed the offense. The suppression order does not impact the probable cause determination, and the district court properly applied the presumption.

Under § 3142(g)(2), the district court must consider the weight of the evidence against the person as a factor in the detention determination.

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97 F. App'x 832, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-pina-aboite-ca10-2004.