99-1492, 99-3533, 99-3569, 99-3570 & 99-3623 U.S. v. Mansoori

Listen to this article

“The conspiracy charged in this case did take on elements of organized crime; the defendants and their unindicted co-conspirators did use weapons and violence in furtherance of the conspiracy; the defendants faced very long prison terms upon conviction; and there had been some pre-trial publicity regarding the case. Although these circumstances were not, by themselves, sufficient to justify an anonymous jury, they demonstrate that the record was by no means devoid of a basis for concern for the security of the jurors. At the same time, Judge Lindberg conducted an extremely thorough voir dire of prospective jurors in this case over the course of three and one-half days. Juror anonymity is most concretely felt during the selection of the jury, when the withholding of identifying information makes it more difficult for the defense (and for that matter the prosecution) to make intelligent decisions as to which prospective jurors should be challenged or stricken peremptorily. See DiDomenico, 78 F.3d at 301; Crockett, 979 F.2d at 1216. A conscientious voir dire compensates for this disadvantage by rooting out biases against the defendant or as to the issues presented in the case. Id. at 1216; see also Edmond, 52 F.3d at 1092-93; Ross, 33 F.3d at 1520. The defendants have identified no aspect in which the district court’s voir dire was wanting, and our own review of the trial transcript satisfies us that the voir dire was ‘searching and thorough.’ Crockett, 979 F.2d at 1216. In this way, the defendants’ right to an unbiased jury was protected.

“[T]he admission of Cox’s second confession (to Grapenthein) was erroneous; that confession should have been suppressed. Under the circumstances, however, we find the error to be harmless. As we have noted, Cox confessed his involvement in narcotics distribution not only to Grapenthein, but to Cronin, who interviewed him on Saturday evening shortly after his arrest, within the six-hour safe harbor. Cox’s first confession was recounted by Cronin at trial, and Cox does not contest the admissibility of that confession. The first confession overlapped in material respects with the second.

“The alleged acts of violence on which the district court relied here appear to fall into that category of collateral facts. Proof that violence was used or threatened was wholly unnecessary to establish that Young conspired to distribute narcotics, or for that matter, that he possessed narcotics with the intent to distribute and laundered money. The violence allegation speaks neither to the central object nor the essential nature of the charged crimes. Moreover, as the jury instructions reveal, the jury was not directed that Young’s guilt on the narcotics or money-laundering charges in any way depended on a finding that he or his co-defendants had engaged in violent acts. See Tr. 5330-33 (conspiracy), 5333-35 (distribution of a controlled substance), 5337-40 (money laundering). Consequently, although the indictment alleged that the charged offenses involved violence or the threat of violence, one cannot read into Young’s convictions on these charges a finding that he engaged in violent conduct. See Jackson, 177 F.3d at 632. Therefore, pursuant to the categorical assessment of the defendant’s convictions that Poff requires, none of Young’s convictions can be considered crimes of violence that precluded the district court from entertaining a departure under section 5K2.13.

“We must, therefore, remand so that Judge Lindberg may consider anew whether Young’s allegedly diminished mental capacity calls for a downward departure.”

Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Lindberg, J., Rovner, J.