United States v. Thomas

272 F. App'x 479
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit·Decided April 4, 2008·No. 06-6019·Unpublished·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Trina Trezette Thomas (“Thomas”) appeals her conviction and sentence in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, on four counts of knowingly submitting false claims to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for income tax refunds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287. Because the government concedes that the district court erred by sentencing Thomas to two consecutive periods of supervised release, we REVERSE the judgment of sentence with respect to the term of supervised release and REMAND regarding only the supervised-release term. We AFFIRM the judgment of conviction and sentence in all other respects. Specifically, we uphold the district court’s denial of Thomas’s motion to dismiss the indictment for violation of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161 et seqthe grant of a six-level enhancement pursuant to United States Sentencing Guideline (“U.S.S.G.”) § 2Bl.l(b)(l)(D); the grant of a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1; and the imposition of a $10,000 fine pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5E1.2.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE

On December 16, 2004, a grand jury issued an indictment charging Thomas with one count of conspiracy to submit false claims for tax refunds to the IRS, and with eleven counts of knowingly submitting false claims. The district court granted four consecutive continuances by consent of the parties, extending the time excluded under the Speedy Trial Act from January 31, 2005 through August 12, 2005.

*481 The district court subsequently granted a series of continuances upon motions by the government, as well as one continuance by consent. First, on July 26, 2005, the government submitted a motion to continue trial on the ground that the Bureau of Prisons would not clear a cooperating witness for travel to the Western District of Tennessee because she was experiencing a high-risk pregnancy. On August 1, 2005, the district court granted the motion, making “[t]he period from August 12, 2005 through September 16, 2005 ... excluda-ble under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(B)(iv) to allow government counsel additional time to prepare.” Joint Appendix (“J.A.”) at 41 (8/1/05 Order). On August 26, 2005, the district court entered a consent order continuing the trial and excluding time under the Speedy Trial Act through November 18, 2005.

The government filed a second motion for a continuance on September 26, 2005, arguing that the pregnant witness was scheduled to deliver her baby on September 27. The Bureau of Prisons had indicated that separating the witness from her infant would constitute a hardship on the inmate’s family and that taking custody of the infant would impose a hardship on the Bureau. On October 6, 2005 the district court granted the motion, making “[t]he period from November 18, 2005 through January 13, 2006 ... excludable under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(B)(iv) to allow government counsel additional time to prepare.” J.A. at 47 (10/6/05 Order).

Third, the government submitted a motion to set date certain due to anticipated difficulties in the transporting of witnesses during the holidays, and the district court granted the motion and set the trial date for January 30, 2006. On December 20, 2005, the district court granted a continuance related to the anticipated transportation problems, making “[t]he period from January 13, 2006 through February 17, 2006 ... excludable under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(B)(iv) to allow government counsel additional time to prepare.” J.A. at 52 (12/20/05 Order).

Fourth, on January 23, 2006, upon suspicion that it had discovered Brady and Gig-lio material, the government submitted a motion asking the district court to compel Thomas to submit voice exemplars needed for evaluation of the material and requesting a continuance to conduct necessary investigation. On January 24, the district court granted the motion, making “[t]he period from February 17, 2006 through March 17, 2006 ... excludable under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(B)(iv) to allow government counsel additional time to prepare.” J.A. at 55 (1/24/06 Order).

On February 2, 2006, the government filed a motion to dismiss counts one, five, six, and seven of the indictment. J.A. at 62 (2/2/06 Mot.). On March 6, 2006, the government made its fifth motion for a continuance because the assigned Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) would be out of town on March 17 and one of the government’s witnesses would be testifying in another trial in Jackson, Mississippi. That day, the district court granted the motion, making “[t]he period from March 17, 2006 through April 14, 2006 ... excludable under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(B)(iv) to allow government counsel additional time to prepare.” J.A. at 66 (3/6/06 Order).

Thomas filed a motion to dismiss the indictment for violation of the Speedy Trial Act on April 3, 2006, and the government filed a response. The district court held a hearing on April 5, 2006, and denied the motion.

The jury reached a verdict finding Thomas guilty with respect to the original counts four, eight, ten, and twelve. The jury could not reach a verdict with respect *482 to the original counts two, three, nine, and eleven; the district judge later dismissed these counts on motion of the government. On July 26, 2006, the district court held a sentencing hearing and entered judgment, sentencing Thomas to two years of imprisonment and two consecutive three-year terms of supervised release and imposing a $10,000 fíne on Thomas. Thomas filed a timely notice of appeal.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Speedy Trial Act

We review de novo the district court’s legal conclusions in denying Thomas’s motion to dismiss the indictment under the Speedy Trial Act (“the Act”), and we review for clear error the district court’s factual findings. United States v. DeJohn, 368 F.3d 533, 538 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 988, 125 S.Ct. 510, 160 L.Ed.2d 373 (2004).

The Act provides that:

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United States v. Thomas, 272 F. App'x 479 (6th Cir. 2008).

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