United States v. Saver Hodge-Balwing A/K/A Balwin Hodge

952 F.2d 607, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 30221, 1991 WL 276187
CourtCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit
DecidedDecember 30, 1991
Docket91-1508
StatusPublished
Cited by45 cases

This text of 952 F.2d 607 (United States v. Saver Hodge-Balwing A/K/A Balwin Hodge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the First 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. Saver Hodge-Balwing A/K/A Balwin Hodge, 952 F.2d 607, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 30221, 1991 WL 276187 (1st Cir. 1991).

Opinion

BOWNES, Senior Circuit Judge.

This appeal arises from the arrest of the defendant/appellant, Baldwin Farver Hodge, at the Luis Muñoz Marin Airport in Puerto Rico. A jury trial convicted Hodge for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a), importation of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 952(a), and failure to register the cocaine on the cargo manifest or supply list of the aircraft, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 955.

On appeal, Hodge raises five issues that are actually three. He, in essence, alleges that (1) the prosecutor violated discovery rules; (2) the prosecutor’s closing argument resulted in prejudice to the defendant; and (3) the above improprieties resulted in the violation of his due process rights to a fair trial. We affirm his convictions.

BACKGROUND

Hodge was en route from Trinidad to New York when his plane, American Airlines Flight 755, made a scheduled stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 3, 1990. After disembarking from the aircraft, instead of walking toward the secondary inspection area, Hodge went in the other direction. His behavior drew the attention of a United States Customs official, Enrique Carbonell, who stopped and questioned him. Carbonell conducted a search of Hodge's suitcase and found six boxes of Breeze brand detergent. He asked Hodge why he was carrying so many detergent boxes and Hodge answered that he was allergic to other detergents. Upon inspection of one of the boxes, Carbonell found a plastic bag with white powder in it. A sample of the white powder was field tested which indicated that it was cocaine.

Approximately 1,994 grams (gross weight) of cocaine were found in the boxes. A forensic chemist of the U.S. Customs Service analyzed the substance on December 7, 1990 and found a purity of 90% cocaine hydrochloride. Hodge was indicted on December 3, 1990.

DISCOVERY VIOLATIONS

Hodge contends that the district court committed reversible error by allowing the prosecutor to question Carbonell about Hodge’s allergy statement. He argues that the prosecutor violated rule 16 1 of the *609 Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in failing to disclose that Carbonell would testify as to what Hodge told him when asked why he had so many boxes of detergent. He further argues that the prosecutor’s failure to disclose the evidence violated his due process rights under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). The parties had open file pretrial discovery. During the prosecutor’s opening statement, he stated that Carbo-nell’s testimony would include his questioning of Hodge regarding the detergent boxes. The prosecutor said, “When questioned as to why he was carrying six boxes of detergent, the defendant answered that he was allergic to other types of detergent and that he bought all those six boxes in order to wash his clothes.” The defense objected to this comment on the grounds that the prosecutor was commenting on the silence of the defendant and that the prosecutor had not provided the defense with “any statement from the defendant and that’s a substantial error.” The prosecutor countered that the statement at issue was not discoverable but, in any event, it was in a case report. After defense counsel stated that it had not been given the case report, the court ordered the prosecutor to provide defense counsel with a copy of it. Defendant did not move for a continuance. Later that same day, Carbonell testified, under both direct and cross-examination, of questioning Hodge on the detergent boxes and Hodge’s response.

We review discovery violations under an abuse of discretion standard and not the harmless error standard, as suggested by both parties. See United States v. Tejada, 886 F.2d 483, 486 (1st Cir.1989); United States v. Samalot Perez, 767 F.2d 1, 4 (1st Cir.1985). We fail to see how the trial court abused its discretion in admitting Carbonell’s testimony into evidence; it ordered the prosecution to hand over the case report to defendant. Hodge has failed to bear his burden of demonstrating how he was prejudiced by the late delivery of the case report containing Hodge’s statement. Indeed, Hodge failed to ask for a continuance once specific information about Carbonell’s testimony was revealed during the prosecutor’s opening statement.

We find that Hodge’s due process argument is without merit. The Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. at 1196-97, held that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to the accused who has requested it violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment. See also United States v. Peters, 732 F.2d 1004, 1008 (1st Cir.1984) (finding that prosecutorial delay in handing over discoverable material does not violate Brady requirements). Hodge fails to explain how the evidence in question constitutes exculpatory evidence.

Hodge raises a second discovery error. He contends that the testimony of Dr. Prie-to, the contract doctor for the United States Marshal Service, should have been excluded. Dr. Prieto testified that he conducted a physical examination of Hodge and that, “According to my records as the information given by the patient, there is no known drug allergies.” Defendant objected on the grounds that the testimony was irrelevant and also violative of the physician/patient privilege. The court overruled both objections. Hodge does not raise these objections on appeal.

On appeal, Hodge argues for the first time that the court erred in permitting the government to introduce Dr. Prieto’s testimony because it violated Fed.R.Crim.P. 16(a)(1)(D). 2 In general, error may not be predicated upon the court’s rulings admit *610 ting or excluding evidence unless the defendant preserves his rights. See United States v. Griffin, 818 F.2d 97, 99 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 844, 108 S.Ct. 137, 98 L.Ed.2d 94 (1987). We can only conduct a plain error review. Id. at 100.

The court admitted Dr. Prieto’s testimony on the ground that it was relevant to confirm that Hodge was lying when he told Carbonell that he was allergic to detergents other than Breeze.

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Bluebook (online)
952 F.2d 607, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 30221, 1991 WL 276187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-saver-hodge-balwing-aka-balwin-hodge-ca1-1991.