USA v. Beale
| Decision Date | 02 September 2010 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 09-1552, 09-1556, 09-1558.,s. 09-1552, 09-1556, 09-1558. |
| Citation | 620 F.3d 856 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert BEALE, Defendant-Appellant. United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John Howard Pelton, Defendant-Appellant. United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Frederick Ogan Bond, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Dean S. Grau, argued, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant Beale.
Frederick J. Goetz, argued, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant Pelton.
Kurt B. Glaser, argued, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant Bond.
William Anders Folk, AUSA, argued, Minneapolis, MN, for appellee.
Before BYE, BEAM, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.
Robert Beale, John Pelton, and Frederick Bond were convicted of conspiracy to prevent by intimidation a judicial officer from discharging her official duties, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 372, and obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503(a). On appeal, Beale, Pelton, and Bond argue the district court 1 erred in denying their motions for judgment of acquittal on both counts, claiming the evidence was insufficient to sustain the convictions. They further argue the convictions cannot stand because their actions amounted to a peaceful protest protected under the First Amendment. In addition, Beale argues the district court erred in 1) denying his motion for new trial based on the denial of a requested jury instruction, 2) failing to obtain a knowing waiver of his right to counsel, and 3) imposing an unreasonable consecutive sentence. Bond contends the district court erred in denying his motion for new trial based on the government's failure to call Judge Ann Montgomery as a witness, in violation of his Sixth Amendment right to confront his accuser. We affirm.
In August 2006, Beale was scheduled to appear at trial before U.S. District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery in the District of Minnesota. Beale did not appear; he was arrested in November 2007, and returned to Minnesota. A new trial date, with Judge Montgomery presiding, was set for April 21, 2008.
Pending his trial, Beale was held at the Sherburne County Jail. Inmates at Sherburne County jail have access to phones and are able to make calls to individuals outside of the facility. With the exception of calls to attorneys, all phone calls made by inmates are recorded, though not necessarily monitored. In February 2008, the U.S. Marshals Service requested recordings of phone calls made by Beale from the jail. From the end of February 2008 through April 2008, Sherburne County Investigator Mike Sieg monitored all of Beale's phone calls.
Throughout March 2008 and April 2008, Judge Montgomery and the U.S. District Court in Minnesota received a variety of documents relating to Beale and his pending trial, including documents from “Our one supreme court common-Law court for the de-jure Ramsey: the county: Minnesota: the land a superior court for the People, original jurisdiction under Almighty Yahweh exclusive superior jurisdiction in and for confederation-government United States of America” (“common-law court”). Documents from the common-law court included, among others, an Order to Dismiss, the Great Writ of Habeas Corpus, Contempt of Court, and a document entitled “Warrant for Arrest, Of the Bond for Ann D. Montgomery.”
In addition to documents from the common-law court, on March 17, 2008, Judge Montgomery received notice of a lien filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State, and recorded in Brown County, Minnesota. Included with the lien documents was a cover page titled, “Due Presentment Under Notary Seal.” The cover page stated “[d]ue presentment is hereby made of: Notice of lien against the bond of Judge Ann Montgomery.” Robert Bonine Beale was listed as the party to whom the acknowledgment of the lien should be sent. The lien referenced Beale's criminal case scheduled for trial in front of Judge Montgomery on April 21, 2008. The documents attached to the lien included a confession judgment, signed by Beale.
Additionally, on March 27, 2008, a purported U.S. District Court criminal subpoena and a purported State of Minnesota subpoena, ordering Judge Montgomery to appear on April 3, 2008, at a location in Little Canada, Minnesota, were received by the U.S. District Courthouse in Minnesota. Each subpoena listed Beale's name and his federal criminal case number on the face of the subpoena.
On March 29, 2008, after Supervisory U.S. Marshals Deputy Steve Swenson finished reviewing documents sent to Judge Montgomery, the U.S. Marshals Service opened a protective investigation. The Federal Bureau of investigation was also notified of the Marshals' investigation. Among other steps, the Marshals sought to determine whether Beale was in contact with anyone outside of jail who could assist him. Upon reviewing the jail's phone records, the Marshals determined Beale was in contact with several people, including his “common-law wife” Mun Suk Kim.
A joint investigation between the Marshals and FBI determined Beale recruited Angel Gessner and Norman Pool in February 2008, to work for him. Gessner agreed to do clerical work, including processing paperwork, and Pool agreed to similar work but on a more limited basis. Beale put Gessner in contact with others who could assist her, including Bond, Pelton, and Pool, all of whom communicated with one another by phone and email.
On February 22, 2008, John Howard, a/k/a Pelton, signed a subpoena for Beale to appear on March 3, 2008, at a meeting of the Ramsey county common-law court. The subpoena was served along with a series of other documents issued by the common-law court and signed by Pelton, Bond, and Pool. The other documents were sent to, among others, Judge Montgomery and included a “Great Writ of Habeas Corpus,” commanding “hereby ... all named Respondents, jointly and severally, under this binding Writ of Habeas Corpus to produce and disclose the body corpus of Robert-Bonine: for the family Beale[.]” The “Great Writ of Habeas Corpus” was signed by John Howard, Pelton's alias.
Beale, of course, was not released and did not appear at the March 3, 2008, meeting of the common-law court. Instead, Bond appeared for him and represented to other members of the common-law court he had authority to sign documents for Beale. Bond further indicated Beale Pelton appeared at the meeting as the Chief Justice of the common law court and Pool attended as the Clerk of Court. During the course of the meeting, Pool explained the United States District Court is “prosecuting Robert Bonine Beale falsely for private corporation.” He went on to explain Beale was being illegally held in the Sherburne County jail and announced: “So he's been kidnapped.”
On March 4, 2008, Gessner filed a lien against the “bond” of Judge Montgomery. The lien was filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State on March 4, 2008, in Brown County, Minnesota, on March 10, 2008. After filing the lien, Gessner mailed a cover letter, the lien, and supporting documents to Judge Montgomery's chambers. Gessner testified she filed the lien at Beale's direction because he wanted Judge Montgomery to see the lien and the supporting documents and to know of the lien against her bond. Gessner stated she understood Beale desired to have Gessner file the lien because it would make Judge Montgomery unable to perform her duties as a judge and unable to sit on the case pending against Beale. Gessner explained:
On March 24, 2008, Pelton signed additional documents which were sent to Judge Montgomery and the U.S. District Court. Pool explained the documents were forwarded to him by Bond, and were intended “to get the Judge to no longer be-to work in her official position.” When asked why the documents were sent to Judge Montgomery, Pool explained: “To intimidate her, to change her mind on Robert Beale's behalf.”
On April 10, 2008, Bond brought a subpoena to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. The subpoena sought Judge Montgomery's attendance at a location in Little Canada, Minnesota. It was addressed to Ann D. Montgomery and listed her home address as the location for service. Bond told Deputy Sheriff Brad Ericksen he wanted the subpoena served on Judge Montgomery. The document listed “ROBERT B BEALE, ENS LEGIS,” as the defendant, and contained Beale's criminal case number. It was also signed by Pelton, among others. Because the Hennepin County Sheriff's office had been alerted that individuals may try to have civil process served on Judge Montgomery, the subpoena was not served.
On April 17, 2008, an uncharged co-conspirator brought an arrest warrant into the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. The warrant was titled “Warrant for Arrest Failure to Appear.” The warrant listed Judge Montgomery's full name and her home address as the location for service, and was signed by Pelton and Bond. Accompanying the arrest warrant, among other things, was a copy of the subpoena, previously provided to Sergeant Ericksen of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. The uncharged coconspirator asked Deputy Sheriff Daniel Antisdel questions about how long it would take the Sheriff's Office to arrest Judge Montgomery.
Throughout the course of the conspiracy, both prior to the March 3, 2008, meeting of the common-law court and until the defendants were arrested on April 19, 2008, the charged and uncharged co-conspirators remained in contact with one another through emails. For example, on March 15, 2008, Gessner wrote to Pool explaining she was working on “the 2nd Contempt Order.” Additionally, she asked Pool for “a copy of Bob's signature[.]” On March 16, 2008, Pool and Bond responded to Gessner in separate...
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