United States v. Mills
United States v. Mills
Opinion of the Court
This matter is before the Court on Defendant Carlo Wilson's motion to compel *522discovery in anticipation of filing a motion to strike the notice of intent to seek the death penalty based on a racially selective law enforcement claim (Dkt. 941).
I. BACKGROUND
Because the Court has previously described the factual and procedural background of this case in greater detail in other opinions, it need not do so again for purposes of the present motion. See, e.g., United States v. Mills,
II. DISCUSSION
In his motion, Wilson contends that the Detroit Field Office of the FBI "engages in racially selective investigations of murders committed in relation to criminal enterprises under
(1) A list by case name, number, and race of each defendant charged in any offense under18 U.S.C. § 1962 in which an overt act of murder was alleged brought by any U.S. Attorney's Office in the State of Michigan from 2008 to the present.
(2) A list by case name, number, and race of each defendant charged in any offense under18 U.S.C. § 1959 (a)(1) or21 U.S.C. § 848 (e) brought by any U.S. Attorney's Office in the State of Michigan from 2008 to the present.
(3) A list by case name, number, and race of each defendant charged in any multi-defendant case for any offenses under federal law for which there is a possible penalty of death.
(4) For each case listed in (1), (2), and (3), a statement of prior criminal contact that the federal agency responsible for the investigation had with each defendant.
(5) All national and Detroit field office FBI manuals, circulars, field notes, correspondence or any other material which discuss "enterprise," as that term is defined in18 U.S.C. § 1961 (4), or "continuing criminal enterprise," as that term is defined in21 U.S.C. § 848 (c) ; and which discuss "gangs"; and which discuss any criminal group which the FBI chooses to not categorize as an "enterprise," "continuing criminal enterprise," or "gang"; including directions to agents regarding *523how to pursue investigations of "enterprises," "continuing criminal enterprises," "gangs," and other uncategorized criminal groups and how to determine which "enterprises," "continuing criminal enterprises," "gangs," and other criminal groups to pursue.
(6) Data from 2008 to the present outlining the number of "enterprises," "continuing criminal enterprises," "gangs," and other criminal groups that the FBI's Detroit field office is investigating or has investigated for violations of18 U.S.C. § 1962 wherein murder is involved, violations of18 U.S.C. § 1959 (a)(1), violations of21 U.S.C. § 848 (e), violations of18 U.S.C. § 924 (j), or violations of any other federal criminal law in which a penalty of death may apply.
(7) Data from 2008 to the present identifying the racial composition of each "enterprise," "continuing criminal enterprise," "gang," and other criminal group described in (6) above.
(8) All documents that contain information on how supervisors and managers of the FBI's Detroit field office were to ensure and/or did ensure or check to decide that its agents were not targeting persons on the basis of their race, color, ancestry, or national origin for investigations of murders committed by individuals associated with "enterprises," "gangs," or other criminal groups and what actions the FBI's Detroit field office took to determine whether agents were not targeting persons for such investigations on the basis of their race, color, ancestry, or national origin.
(9) The factual basis in each case produced in response to (1), (2), and (3) regarding decisions made to pursue or initiate an investigation against any of the individuals listed as defendants in these cases.
(10) From 2008 to the present, all documents containing instructions given about the responsibilities of Assistant United States Attorneys to ensure that defendants in cases brought by the Office of the United States Attorney for both the western and eastern districts of Michigan have not been targeted due to their race, color, ancestry, or national origin and that such prosecutions have not been brought with any discriminatory intent on the basis of the defendant's race, color, ancestry, or national origin.
(11) From 2008 to the present, all documents that contain information about all actions taken about the responsibilities of Assistant United States Attorneys to ensure that defendants in cases brought by the Office of the United States Attorney for both the western and eastern districts of Michigan have not been targeted due to their race, color, ancestry, or national origin and that such prosecutions have not been brought with any discriminatory intent on the basis of the defendant's race, color, ancestry, or national origin.
Def Mot. at 18-20. To the extent he is not entitled to all of the broad discovery he has requested, Wilson alternatively requests that the Court conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine the scope of discovery to be produced.
The "Constitution prohibits selective enforcement of the law based on considerations such as race." Whren v. United States,
In Armstrong, the Supreme Court held that a defendant seeking to obtain discovery on a selective prosecution claim need not establish a prima facie case, but he or she must still satisfy a "rigorous standard" by producing "some evidence" of both discriminatory purpose and discriminatory effect. 517 U.S. at 468-470,
Because selective enforcement claims are judged according to the same "ordinary Equal Protection standards" as selective prosecution claims, Gardenhire,
Other courts, however, have held that the considerations about prosecutorial discretion underlying the Supreme Court's decision in Armstrong are not present in *525the context of law enforcement agencies. E.g., United States v. Davis,
For example, the Ninth Circuit has held that a defendant is not required to "proffer evidence that similarly-situated individuals of a different race were not investigated or arrested." Sellers,
The Third Circuit has adopted a similar approach. When a claim of selective enforcement is raised, a defendant must proffer "some evidence" of discriminatory effect, which "must contain reliable statistical evidence, or its equivalent, and may be based in part on patterns of prosecutorial decisions...even if the underlying challenge is to law enforcement decisions." Washington,
Although the Sixth Circuit has not yet squarely addressed this precise issue, this Court need not try and resolve it today because Wilson has failed to demonstrate that he is entitled to discovery even under a more relaxed discovery standard.
Wilson relies on three pieces of evidence to support his contention that he has proffered sufficient evidence of a plausible discriminatory effect to satisfy a relaxed standard for discovery. First, Wilson claims that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan has four pending cases, including this matter, all of which involve "allegations of murder" and "one or more defendants facing a possible death sentence." Def. Mot. at 10 (referring to United States v. Arnold, No. 15-cr-20652 (Steeh, J.); United States v. Griffin, No. 17-cr-20639 (Berg, J.); and United States v. Williams, No. 18-cr-20085 (Borman, J.)). Of the thirty-nine defendants in these four cases, thirty-eight are African-American and one is Latino.
Second, Wilson claims that a review of murder statistics in Michigan compiled by the Michigan State Police from 2008 to 2017 further demonstrates that there is "some evidence" that the Detroit Field Office of the FBI "investigates and refers for federal prosecution murders involving criminal groups comprised of minority members in a manner that violates" the Fifth Amendment. Id. at 11. Specifically, of the 648 adult white suspects who were arrested for murder in Michigan during this ten-year span, Wilson posits that some of those murders must have "involved criminal groups that could be investigated by the FBI and referred for prosecution in federal court," id. at 13, but, "as far as the Defense knows," were not, id. at 16.
Third, Wilson avers that three similarly situated adult white murder suspects who committed a triple homicide in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 2015 were not investigated by the FBI and referred for federal prosecution. See id. at 13. According to Wilson, one of the defendants had fled to Illinois after the murders, changed the tires of his vehicle, and lied when he was later questioned by a state police detective. Id. at 13-14 (citing People v. Brunke, Nos. 341160 & 341161,
The Court finds that Wilson's proffered evidence, when viewed in its totality, amounts to nothing more than mere speculation about the FBI's alleged racially selective investigation of his case. Sellers,
To begin, Wilson's suggestion that the FBI was solely responsible for the investigation *527of his case is inaccurate. As the Government notes in its response, Wilson's arrest came after an investigation conducted by the "Detroit One" initiative, which is a collaboration of local, state, and federal law enforcement formed to track down violent gang activity. Gov't Resp. at 4; see also Ex. A to Gov't Resp. (Dkt. 946-1).
Further, the Government is correct that none of the defendants in two of the four cases-Griffin and Williams-is facing a possible death sentence. See Gov't Resp. at 12. In the third case-Arnold-the Government has filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Arnold only, while four death-eligible defendants are not facing the death penalty.
Next, Wilson's suggestion that, of the 648 murders committed in Michigan between 2008 and 2017 where an adult white suspect was arrested, "[t]here certainly existed a class of suspects" involving "criminal groups" that "the FBI's Detroit field office could have investigated and referred for federal prosecution," Def. Mot at 13, is mere speculation. There is no suggestion that any of those 648 murders involved more than one defendant, implicated federal jurisdiction, or that federal law enforcement officials were aware of those cases. See Gov't Resp. at 12. As the Ninth Circuit cogently stated in Sellers, a defendant must "have something more than mere speculation to be entitled to discovery."
Finally, the Court finds that Wilson is not similarly situated to the three white murder suspects involved in the 2015 triple homicide tried in state court. Wilson believes that a "similarly situated defendant is a defendant in a murder case involving two or more conspirators that implicates federal jurisdiction in Michigan." Def. Reply at 7. This sort of similarity is simply too broad. For purposes of a selective enforcement claim, a "similarly situated" individual is someone of another race or ethnicity who could have been arrested for the same offense as the defendant but was not. See Dixon,
Wilson's charges stem generally from his alleged membership in a criminal enterprise engaged in racketeering activity-the 6 Mile Chedda Grove street gang-and his murder charges in particular were supposedly committed for the purpose of gaining entrance to or maintaining or increasing position in that enterprise. See generally 2d Superseding Indictment. Although the triple homicide in the Upper Peninsula was reportedly related to the *528distribution of controlled substances, Wilson provides no indication that the three white suspects were members of an enterprise engaged in racketeering, let alone that the murders were committed to maintain or increase their position in that enterprise. See Def. Mot. at 15 (the motive for the triple homicide "was to punish [one of the victims] for the theft of the cocaine.").
Therefore, guided by the spirit of Armstrong and Bass, this Court concludes that Wilson is not entitled to discovery on his selective enforcement claim and, therefore, denies his motion.
III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, Wilson's motion to compel discovery in anticipation of filing a motion to strike the notice of intent to seek the death penalty based on a racially selective law enforcement claim (Dkt. 941) is denied.
SO ORDERED.
Defendant Edwin Mills filed a notice of joinder concurring in the relief sought in this motion. See Notice of Joinder (Dkt. 943).
Because oral argument will not aid the Court's decisional process, Wilson's motion will be decided based on the parties' briefing. See E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(f)(2).
As the Third Circuit has aptly noted, the Seventh Circuit's en banc decision in Davis never mentions its "earlier decision in Barlow at all-not to harmonize it, distinguish it, or explicitly overrule it." Washington,
Wilson does not dispute this fact in this reply brief.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Edwin MILLS
- Status
- Published