United States v. Robinson

255 F. Supp. 3d 199
District Court, District of Columbia·Decided June 15, 2017·No. Criminal Action No. 16-98 (CKK)·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge

In this criminal action, Defendant Ivan L. Robinson is charged with 61 counts of knowingly and intentionally distributing a controlled substance, oxycodone, by writing prescriptions for that drug outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), as well as 18 U.S.C. § 2. Defendant is also charged with two counts of money laundering and aiding and abetting. Now before the Court are numerous motions in limine addressing a wide range of evidentiary issues.

In Defendant’s [66] Motion in Limine No. 1 to Limit Testimony by Dr. Mark Romanoff Regarding Patients Not Named in Indictment and Legal Standards, Defendant moves the Court under Federal Rules of Evidence 401, 402, 403, and 404(b) to preclude the government’s proposed expert witness, Dr. Mark E. Romanoff, from testifying as to the files of patients who were not named in the Superseding Indictment. Defendant also asks the Court to preclude Dr. Romanoff from testifying as to whether Defendant “failed to meet.the legal requirements of the Controlled Substances Act in prescribing outside the legitimate practice of medicine” because it is a “legal conclusion” that “goes beyond the bounds of appropriate expert opinion.” Defi’s Mot. at 1. Upon consideration of the pleadings,1 the relevant legal authorities, and the record as a whole, the Court will GRANT-IN-PART and DENY-IN-PART Defendant’s first motion in limine, as set forth in more detail below.2 If there are any practical issues with complying with this Memorandum Opinion and Order, the parties should bring those to the Court’s [202]*202attention at the June 26,2017 Status Hearing. ■■

I. DISCUSSION

. Defendant’s first motion in limine raises two distinct questions: (A) whether evidence regarding patients other than those listed in the Superseding Indictment is admissible, and (B) whether Dr. Romanoff should be allowed "to testify as to “legal standards.” The Court will address each in turn. '

A. Patients Not Named in the Superseding Indictment

'With respect to Defendant’s motion to exclude evidence regarding patients other than those named in the Superseding Indictment, the government’s response is two-fold. First, the government contends that with respect to the- drug distribution counts in the Superseding Indictment, this evidence would be properly admissible under Rule 404(b) to show intent or absence of mistake. Second, the government contends that with respect to:-the money laundering counts in the Superseding Indictment; evidence that Defendant made money from selling illegal prescriptions to patients, regardless of-whether they-are named in'the separate drug distribution counts,- is" admissible evidence of an essential part of the government’s case in chief, and not “other crimes” evidence under Rule 404(b). The admissibility of the evidence with respect to the different claims in this case must be analyzed separately.

1. Drug Distribution Counts

First, the Court finds that evidence regarding patients not specifically named in the Superseding Indictment is admissible under Rule 404(b) with respect to the drug distribution counts, but will limit that evidence under Rule 403 such that the government shall not offer evidence of Defendant’s “practice as a whole,” Def.’s Mot. at 2, which includes approximately 1,800 patients.3 In this context, it is helpful to begin by explaining the legal framework for the claims in this case. Section 841(a)(1) states that “[e]x-cept as authorized by this subchapter, it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally ... to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance.” 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The government contends that Defendant, a nurse practitioner, violated this statute when he issued a number of prescriptions for- oxycodone. It has long been settled that section 841 applies to registered health care professionals like Defendant. See United States v. Moore, 423 U.S. 122, 124, 96 S.Ct. 335, 46 L.Ed.2d 333 (1975) (“registered physicians can be prosecuted under s 841 when their activities fall outside the usual course of professional practice.”). With respect to such individuals, who are legally allowed to distribute controlled substances under certain circumstances, the prohibition means that “[a] prescription for a controlled substance to be effective must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by an individual practitioner acting in the [203]*203usual course of his professional practice.” 21 C.F.R. § 1306.04. Prescriptions outside these bounds — such as the 61 alleged prescriptions issued to 11 patients named in the Superseding Indictment — are illegal.

The standard for determining whether a prescription is issued within the usual course of professional practice is an objective one. See United States v. Tobin, 676 F.3d 1264, 1283 (11th Cir. 2012) (holding that “whether a prescription is made in the usual course of professional practice is to be determined from an objective, and not subjective, viewpoint”); United States v. Smith, No. CRIM 05-282 MJD/JJG, 2006 WL 3702656, at *3 (D. Minn. Dec. 14, 2006) (“Based on extensive case law, the Court concludes that the law requires an objective standard for the phrase ‘usual course of professional practice.’”) (citing cases). Despite the use of the word “his” in section 1306.04, the government is not required to prove that Defendant was acting outside the usual course of Defendant’s own practice, but instead that he was acting outside the usual course of a generalized, objective professional practice when he issued the charged prescriptions. See United States v. Smith, 573 F.3d 639, 648 (8th Cir. 2009) (holding that “it was not improper to measure the ‘usual course of professional practice’ under § 841(a)(1) and § 1306.04 with reference to generally recognized and accepted medical practices and not a doctor’s self-defined particular practice.”); United States v. Norris, 780 F.2d 1207, 1209 (5th Cir. 1986) (rejecting argument that “the use of the word ‘his’ in the regulation requires the government to prove that he prescribed the drugs for a purpose that was contrary to [defendant’s] own standards of reasonable medical practice.”).- As such, the Court clarifies for the record that with respect to the' counts brought under section 841, which relate only to 61 prescriptions issued to 11 patients, the government is not required to prove the nature of Defendant’s overall practice.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

United States v. Robinson, 255 F. Supp. 3d 199 (D.D.C. 2017).

255 F. Supp. 3d 199 (United States v. Robinson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. Michel
District of Columbia, 2023