6th Amendment Violation – Right to Fair Trial

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Manuela Chavez

Case No.: 20-1465

Officials: FLAUM, SCUDDER and KIRSCH, Circuit Judges.

Focus: 6^th Amendment Violation – Right to Fair Trial

Manuela Chavez and her aunt owned a clothing store on the south side of Chicago where they sold socks and t-shirts out of the front and kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine out of the back. In 2015, one of their customers started cooperating with federal law enforcement; eventually, Chavez was indicted for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin and distribution of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). Chavez proceeded to trial where the cooperator’s testimony and videos he had recorded in the store were key pieces of evidence in the government’s case. The jury convicted Chavez on both counts, and she was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment.

Chavez now appeals her conviction and her sentence. She argues that the prosecutor, during the rebuttal portion of closing argument, made a litany of improper statements vouching for the informant’s truthfulness, maligning her defense counsel, and inflaming the jury’s fears. Those comments, Chavez continues, both individually and collectively deprived her of a fair trial. She also argues that she must be resentenced because the district court relied on inaccurate information in determining her sentence.

We find no reversible error, either at her trial or during sentencing, and therefore affirm.

Affirmed

Full Text

Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.