United States v. Caballero
United States v. Caballero
Opinion of the Court
I. INTRODUCTION
Since early 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's ("FBI") Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force ("GTF") investigated a particular ring of heroin trafficking in Holyoke, MA.
Ultimately, communications surveilled on July 25, 2017, suggested Christopher Caballero and Carrasquillo would effect a particularly large deal by the end of that day. Through text messages or voice calls, Caballero asked to purchase "100 packs" (10,000 bags) of heroin, causing the government to believe Carrasquillo represented a main supplier, a then unknown target of the investigation. Although timing appears to be in dispute,
The government contends (unchallenged by the defendants) that by approximately 6:30 p.m.-before entry into the house-an FBI agent and an Assistant United States Attorney began preparing a search warrant affidavit for 53 Samosett Street and notified the magistrate of the impending warrant application. The magistrate eventually granted that application and signed a warrant at approximately 10:30 p.m. at a state trooper barracks in Northampton. In the interim, agents had arrested the Caballero brothers and Carrasquillo under
Just over a week later, a grand jury indicted the movant-Defendants for a violation of
Defendants Carrasquillo, Krasin, Christopher Caballero, and Nathan Caballero have each moved under Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to dismiss the indictment based on the ADA's inclusion on the grand jury and to suppress all evidence recovered at 53 Samosett Street. For the reasons and to the extent explained below, the court DENIES each Defendants' motion to dismiss, (Dkt. Nos. 147, 148, 150, 156), and DENIES Defendant Carrasquillo's motion to suppress (Dkt. No. 146) for lack of standing. As discussed during oral argument, the remaining motions to suppress will receive an evidentiary hearing.
II. CARRASQUILLO'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS ( DKT. NO. 146)
Carrasquillo's motion must be dismissed for lack of standing. When moving to suppress under the Fourth Amendment, a defendant "carries the burden of establishing that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to the area searched or ... the items seized." United States v. Lipscomb ,
"a defendant must demonstrate that he personally has an expectation of privacy in the place searched, and that his expectation is reasonable; i.e., one that has a source outside of the Fourth Amendment, either by reference to concepts of real or personal property law or to understandings that are recognized and permitted by society."
United States v. Samboy ,
Defendant Carrasquillo has not done so here with respect to 53 Samosett Street. His counsel was forthright in conceding the point during oral argument when signaling that Carrasquillo would not seek an evidentiary hearing on the matter. His affidavit, moreover, simply states that he arrived at that location at approximately 8 p.m. and that within "a few minutes ... numerous members of law enforcement entered the residence with their guns drawn." (Dkt. No. 146-1). Therefore, because Carrasquillo has not challenged the government's representations that he was present for purely commercial purposes and a "casual visitor for a brief period," the court concludes that he cannot establish a reasonable expectation of privacy in that residence. United States v. Rodríguez-Lozada ,
III. MOTIONS TO DISMISS ( DKT. NOS. 147-48, 150, 156)
Defendants argue that dismissal is warranted because a county ADA served as the foreperson of the indicting grand jury.
A. Defendants have failed to establish a substantial failure to comply with the JSSA under Rule 6(b)(2).
As a threshold matter, the court determines the Defendants have thus far only moved for dismissal for violations of the JSSA, although vague assertions in their briefs invoke other grounds for dismissal related to the ADA's alleged bias. Nevertheless, because each motion is explicitly made "pursuant to Rule 6(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and
Rule 6(b)(2) provides that:
A party may move to dismiss the indictment based on an objection to the grand jury or on an individual juror's lack of legal qualification, unless the court has previously ruled on the same objection *248under Rule 6(b)(1). The motion to dismiss is governed by28 U.S.C. § 1867 (e).
Section 1867(e), in turn, deems the provisions of the JSSA to be the "exclusive means by which a person accused of a Federal crime ... may challenge any jury on the ground that such jury was not selected in conformity with the provisions of" the JSSA. Section 1867(a) further provides that dismissal is only warranted upon a showing of a "substantial failure to comply with [JSSA] provisions ... in selecting the grand or petit jury."
A "substantial failure" to comply with the JSSA is one that threatens the right to be tried by a fair cross section of one's community and is therefore wholly unrelated to the alleged bias that animates the Defendants' arguments.
The JSSA declares:
It is the policy of the United States that all litigants in Federal courts entitled to trial by jury shall have the right to grand and petit juries selected at random from a fair cross section of the community in the district or division wherein the court convenes. It is further the policy of the United States that all citizens shall have the opportunity to be considered for service on grand and petit juries in the district courts of the United States, and shall have an obligation to serve as jurors when summoned for that purpose.
Such purpose is, moreover, evident in the structure and context of the Act itself. The Act directs district courts to devise and implement written jury selection plans "designed to achieve" the policies set forth above.
*249(6) specify that the following persons are barred from jury service on the ground that they are exempt: (A) members in active service in the Armed Forces of the United States; (B) members of the fire or police departments of any State, the District of Columbia, any territory or possession of the United States, or any subdivision of a State, the District of Columbia, or such territory or possession; (C) public officers in the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of the Government of the United States, or of any State, the District of Columbia, any territory or possession of the United States, or any subdivision of a State, the District of Columbia, or such territory or possession, who are actively engaged in the performance of official duties
"Public Officer" is elsewhere defined as anyone who is "either elected to public office or who is directly appointed by a person elected to public office."
As noted above, challenges to compliance with the Act are governed by section 1867, which provides both substantive and procedural requirements. Substantively, a movant may seek dismissal "on the ground of substantial failure to comply with [JSSA] provisions ... in selecting the grand or petit jury."
Here, the Defendants submitted affidavits that, in effect, argue that the ADA was exempt under 1863(b)(6) and that her inclusion on the grand jury constitutes a substantial failure to comply with the JSSA and therefore merits dismissal. Even assuming that the ADA is a "public official" as defined by the Act (which the government does not dispute), the court concludes there is no showing of substantial failure.
As numerous courts have recognized, "substantial failure" lacks any statutory definition and gains meaning from case law. See, e.g. , United States v. Candelaria-Silva ,
*250Failure to exempt the ADA-a single juror-is not substantial because it does not threaten the broader principles of random selection and trial by a cross section of the community. In short, the error is technical and the argument myopic. To implicate the Act's principles, defendants must show some broader, more systemic failure that threatens the act of drawing jurors from a cross section of the community or involves categorical exclusion, not the isolated incident of wrongful inclusion at issue here. In other words, substantial violations are those that "frustrate the Act's goals of obtaining jury lists that are a cross-section of the community," United States v. Erickson ,
It is, moreover, generally accepted practice to allow technically exempt individuals to not claim the exemption and, if otherwise qualified, serve on a jury. The "exemption" is a release from the obligation of service and, notwithstanding the statute's use of the term "barred," certain people with the listed occupations are not prohibited from service even though they are technically "barred" due to an exemption. Cf. Beras v. United States , No. 05 CIV. 2678 SAS,
To the extent the Defendants suggest the failure to exempt the ADA is substantial because of a perceived risk of bias, they are mistaken. As the First Circuit has explained in another context, "[t]here is no hint in the statutory history that the Jury Selection Act was intended to do more than provide improved judicial machinery ... to ensure a representative cross section of the district or division in which the grand or petit jury sits." United States v. Cates ,
*251B. Other Uncited Authorities for Relief
As explained above, the Defendants have not established grounds for dismissal under Rule 6(b)(2). By voicing their arguments in terms of bias rather than "substantial failure," however, Defendants appear to cast a wide net for other authorities. To the extent they thereby invoke Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3) or other authorities, the court finds the Defendants' arguments insufficient and premature and therefore denies without prejudice.
The entirety of Defendants' arguments involve an assertion of bias uncorroborated by evidence. Defendants argue that ADAs, like Assistant United States Attorneys, are biased as a matter of law. Krasin and Nathan Caballero go slightly further and assert through affidavits that they have open or past cases in the ADA's jurisdiction, emphasize the government has filed bills of information to establish prior convictions based on those cases, and speculate the ADA who served as grand jury foreperson may have been personally involved with or "aware of" their cases. (See Dkt. Nos. 132-33, 148 at 1-2, 153-1 at ¶¶ 7-9, 156-1). Beyond that, the Defendants state that model voir dire questions concerning impartiality and prior experience with the criminal justice system populate the FJC's District Court Judge bench book.
The ADA's service as the foreperson of a grand jury no doubt invites a critique based on an appearance of bias and risks concerns for implicit bias in favor of law enforcement witnesses-especially when considering that the ADA works in a jurisdiction in which some defendants' prior convictions occurred. Nevertheless, the movants are not entitled to dismissal under any authority because they have not established or even addressed prejudice. The Supreme Court has held that, as a "general matter, a district court may not dismiss an indictment for errors in grand jury proceedings unless such errors prejudiced the defendants." Bank of Nova Scotia v. United States ,
*252Goodrich v. Hall ,
To the extent the Defendants attempt, by implication, to invoke a presumption of prejudice, they do so without support from legal authority. See, e.g. , United States v. Le Pera ,
This case involves various controlled purchases, intercepted communications, and contraband seized at 53 Samosett Street, and to establish prejudice Defendants must raise a "grave doubt" as to the grand jury's decision to indict. Goodrich ,
IV. CONCLUSION
Accordingly, the Defendants' motions to dismiss are hereby DENIED. (Dkt. Nos. 147, 148, 150, 156). To the extent the Defendants move under Rule 12 or implicitly invoke other grounds for dismissal relating to the ADA's alleged bias, their motion is denied without prejudice. Additionally, Defendant Carrasquillo's motion to suppress is likewise DENIED for lack of standing. (Dkt. No. 146).
It is So Ordered.
The facts recited here are uncontroverted and drawn from the parties' briefs and documents referenced therein for purposes of the motions ruled on here.
The Defendants' briefs suggest the government had notice as early as 1:50 p.m. that a large drug transaction would occur at 53 Samoset and was therefore obligated to request an anticipatory warrant much earlier in the day. See, e.g. , Dkt. No. 146 at ¶ 2. They repeated and elaborated on this theory at oral argument. The instant memorandum opinion makes no ruling on this issue.
The extent, circumstances, and legality of this action are contested but need not be resolved here. As discussed at oral argument, these issues will receive an evidentiary hearing to be scheduled by separate order.
The Defendants also alleged during oral argument that the agents extensively searched the house before the warrant issued. These and related factual issues will be addressed during the evidentiary hearing. See note 3, supra .
No requests have been made addressing grand jury secrecy issues. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)(2).
Defendants Carrasquillo and Christopher Caballero filed motions to "join" Defendant Krasin's motion to Dismiss. Defendant Nathan Caballero's motion is virtually identical to Defendant Krasin's. Each motion invokes only Rule 6(b)(2) as authority for dismissal. For the sake of simplicity the court construes the motions to join as motions to dismiss identical to Krasin's and denies each for the reasons discussed herein.
While Defendants' motions invoke section 1867 of the JSSA, their briefs only reference the court's jury selection plan and make no mention of the Act. By asserting failures to comply with the plan, Defendants invoke the Act all the same. As explained at length below, the plan is simply an implementation of the Act's directives, and it was explicitly adopted "[p]ursuant to the Jury Selection and Service Act," which by its own terms deems the procedures set forth in section 1867 to be the "exclusive means by which a person accused of a Federal crime ... may challenge any jury on the ground that such jury was not selected in conformity with the [Act]." 28 U.S.C § 1867(e). See also United States v. Bearden ,
This court's plan became effective after approval by the Judicial Council of the First Circuit on November 1, 2015. See UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS PLAN FOR RANDOM SELECTION OF JURORS, available at http://www.mad.uscourts.gov/resources/pdf/RevisedJuryPlan.pdf (last accessed November 28, 2017).
Those exemptions where originally codified at
However, there has been no request for this court to examine or order disclosure of the actual voir dire of the grand juror at issue.
Challenges under the JSSA are an exception to the prejudice requirement. Drafters of the Act expressly eliminated the need "to prove prejudice as a condition of judicial intervention when substantial noncompliance with the act is established." H.R.Rep. No. 1076, 90th Cong., 1st Sess. 13.; see also United States v. Green ,
Subsections (e)(3)(E)(i) and (e)(3)(E)(ii) of Rule 6 permit courts to authorize disclosure of grand jury matters upon a showing of "particularized need" that outweighs the traditional interest in grand jury secrecy. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Christopher CABALLERO (1), Nathan Caballero (2), Raymond Carrasquillo (3), Sean Krasin (5)
- Status
- Published