United States v. Young

73 F. Supp. 2d 1014, 53 Fed. R. Serv. 264, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17323, 1999 WL 1005001
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedOctober 29, 1999
DocketCR 98-2017-MWB
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 73 F. Supp. 2d 1014 (United States v. Young) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Young, 73 F. Supp. 2d 1014, 53 Fed. R. Serv. 264, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17323, 1999 WL 1005001 (N.D. Iowa 1999).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING DEFENDANT’S MOTION IN LIMINE

BENNETT, District Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION........................................................1015

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS.......................................................1017

A. Protections And Waivability Of Rules 11(e)(6) And 410..................1017

B. Did Young Waive The Rules’ Protections?..............................1018

1. Counsel’s conflict of interest.......................................1018

2. Coercion.........................................................1019

3. Ignorance of rights ...............................................1019

a. Burch and Krilich ............................................1019

b. Eighth Circuit guidance.......................................1022

c. Was any waiver “knowing”?...................................1023

III. CONCLUSION...........................................................1025

As the Supreme Court recently observed, “A criminal defendant may knowingly and voluntarily waive many of the most fundamental protections afforded by the Constitution.” United States v. Mezzanatto, 513 U.S. 196, 201, 115 S.Ct. 797, 130 L.Ed.2d 697 (1995). Likewise, the provisions of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are “presumptively waiva-ble.” Id. The question presented here is whether the defendant did indeed “knowingly and voluntarily” waive his protections under Rule 11(e)(6) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and Rule 410 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, thereby allowing the government to present at trial a self-incriminating affidavit the defendant made pursuant to a plea agreement that has since fallen apart.

I. INTRODUCTION

On July 16, 1998, the United States filed an indictment charging defendant Leland Duane Young, along with others, with drug-trafficking and other offenses. Specifically, in Count I of the indictment, the United States charged Mr. Young with the crime of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine or to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute it, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. In Counts IV and V of the same indictment, the United States charged this defendant with separate crimes of using a “communication facility” — in this case, a telephone — in causing or facilitating the commission of the crime of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine or to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute it, in violation of *1016 21 U.S.C. § 843(b). Trial on these charges was set for September 28, 1999, then reset for October 6,1998.

Plea negotiations ensued. On the eve of trial, on October 5,1998, Young accepted a plea agreement under which he agreed to plead guilty to Count I of the indictment. That agreement also provided, inter alia, as follows:

If the defendant does breach this agreement, he faces the following consequences: (1) all testimony and other information he has provided at any time to attorneys, employees or law enforcement officers of the government, to the court, or to the federal grand jury, may and will be used against him in any prosecution or proceeding; (2) the United States will be entitled to reinstate previously dismissed charges and/or pursue additional charges against the defendant and to use any information obtained directly or indirectly from the defendant in those additional prosecutions; and (3) the United States will be released from any obligations, agreements or restrictions imposed upon it under this plea agreement.

Government’s Exhibit 1, Hearing on Motion In Limine, October 25, 1999, Plea Agreement of October 5, 1999 (the “Plea Agreement”), ¶ 11. Pursuant to the Plea Agreement, Young also executed an affidavit that included information concerning his own and other persons’ criminal activities. Government’s Exhibit 2, Hearing on Motion In Limine, October 25, 1999, Affidavit of October 5, 1998 (the “Affidavit”). The government required the Affidavit, in part, to ensure that Young would not back out of the Plea Agreement after obtaining a continuance of the trial and getting a copy of the presentence investigation report.

Performance of the Plea Agreement subsequently fell apart. Therefore, on June 16, 1999, this matter was set for trial on September 27, 1999, on all three charges against Mr. Young. The trial date was later moved to November 1, 1999, then, on October 19, 1999, the trial was rescheduled to begin on October 26, 1999. On June 17, 1999, the day after the first order resetting trial was entered, the government notified defense counsel of its intent to introduce Young’s Affidavit at trial. On October 19, 1999, pursuant to a Stipulated Discovery Order, the government again provided notice of its intent to use the Affidavit at trial.

On October 22, 1999, Young filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude the Affidavit on the ground that it was signed during plea negotiations, and therefore was inadmissible pursuant to Rule 11(e)(6) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and Rule 410 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. On October 21, 1999, having received a copy of Young’s motion in advance of its formal filing, the government resisted the motion in limine. The government asserted that paragraph 11 of the Plea Agreement specifically authorized the government’s use of the Affidavit at trial. The government argued further that the Plea Agreement constituted a valid waiver of Young’s rights under Rules 11(e)(6) and 410 not to have the Affidavit admitted at trial. Specifically, the government argued that Young’s decision to sign the Plea Agreement, and his execution of the accompanying Affidavit, were done “with full knowledge of the consequences should he later change his mind.” Memorandum In Support Of Government’s Resistance To Defendant’s Motion In Limine (Government’s Resistance Brief), p. 4. The government also notified the court, pursuant to a letter dated October 22, 1999, of its intention to seek an interlocutory appeal of this court’s ruling on the motion in limine, should the court exclude the Affidavit.

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Related

David G. Housler, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2013
United States v. Leland Duane Young
223 F.3d 905 (Eighth Circuit, 2000)
State v. Hinton
42 S.W.3d 113 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2000)
People v. Stevens
610 N.W.2d 881 (Michigan Supreme Court, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
73 F. Supp. 2d 1014, 53 Fed. R. Serv. 264, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17323, 1999 WL 1005001, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-young-iand-1999.