U.S. v. Hickey, s. 89-1459

• Decision Date: 24 October 1990
• Docket Number: Nos. 89-1459,89-1535,s. 89-1459
• Parties: 31 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 584 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee Cross-Appellant, v. Quinn HICKEY, Defendant-Appellant Cross-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 901

917 F.2d 901

31 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 584

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee Cross-Appellant, v. Quinn HICKEY, Defendant-Appellant Cross-Appellee.

Nos. 89-1459, 89-1535.

United States Court of Appeals,

Sixth Circuit.

Argued Sept. 18, 1990.

Decided Oct. 24, 1990.

Jennifer J. Peregord (argued), Office of the U.S. Atty., Detroit, Mich., Janet L. Parker, Asst. U.S. Atty., Bay City, Mich., for plaintiff-appellee cross-appellant.

C. Michael Gorte (argued), Bay City, Mich., for defendant-appellant cross-appellee.

Before KEITH and MILBURN, Circuit Judges; and THOMAS, Senior District Judge ^*.

MILBURN, Circuit Judge.

This case involves an appeal by Quinn Hickey from his jury conviction in a drug conspiracy case and a cross-appeal by the government of the sentence imposed. Specifically, the government appeals the district court's refusal to impose a fine. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the conviction; however, we vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

I.

A.

Hickey, along with eighteen co-defendants, was charged with numerous counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1) & 846, and use of a communication facility to facilitate a crime in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 843(b). A jury trial commenced on September 8, 1988, and several of Hickey's co-defendants, including Bayron Moreno, were found guilty. However, the jury was unable to reach a verdict as to Hickey, and the court declared a mistrial as to him. Hickey was retried and found guilty on one of the conspiracy charges and two of the communications charges.

B.

An investigation of drug trafficking in the Saginaw, Michigan, area soon centered on Jack Ventimiglia as his residence appeared to be the main terminal for considerable cocaine distribution. Ventimiglia was arrested and, pursuant to a plea agreement, testified for the government against several of his associates including Quinn Hickey.

Ventimiglia is a self-confessed cocaine addict, and his testimony at the trial was characterized by the district court as the words of a "loose cannon." In a lengthy cross-examination, defense counsel was able to expose Ventimiglia's cocaine addiction, his claimed lack of memory, his uncertainty as to details, and several inconsistencies in his testimony. In ruling on the defendant's motion for a judgment of acquittal, the district court stated that Ventimiglia's testimony alone would not support a guilty verdict; however, the district court denied the motion because the government had introduced, apart from Ventimiglia's testimony, "substantial circumstantial evidence that would tend to support the fact [that] Hickey was, in part, a seller." J.A. 122.

Following Hickey's conviction, a presentence investigation report ("PSI") was prepared. The PSI showed that Hickey had assets totaling $260,000. However, a spendthrift trust established by Hickey's father and designed to vest on Hickey's thirtieth birthday comprised approximately $200,000 of Hickey's assets.

Hickey did not contest the PSI with regard to the amount of his assets except to object that the PSI had inflated his net worth by $500. Hickey contended that his "total assets and net worth should read $250,500."

At the sentencing hearing, the district court stated that it found no legal basis for departing from the United States Sentencing Guidelines ("Guidelines"). However, the court declined to impose a fine reasoning that a man of Hickey's age facing ninety-seven months imprisonment did "not have the ability to pay a large fine."

The issues presented in this appeal are (1) whether the district court should have excluded the testimony of Ventimiglia and other prosecution witnesses on the basis of lack of personal knowledge, i.e., whether inconsistencies in their testimony showed that they were prevented by their drug addiction from obtaining personal knowledge of the events to which they testified; (2) whether prosecutorial misconduct rendered the trial unfair; and (3) whether the district court erred in refusing to include a fine as part of Hickey's sentence.

II.

A.

Hickey argues that the district court committed reversible error in allowing the jury to hear and consider the testimony of Ventimiglia and other prosecution witnesses. ¹ In considering this argument, we again note that a trial judge's evidentiary rulings will not be reversed absent a clear showing of abuse of discretion. See United States v. Rios, 842 F.2d 868, 872 (6th Cir.1988) (per curiam), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1031, 109 S.Ct. 840, 102 L.Ed.2d 972 (1989).

After pointing out Ventimiglia's drug addiction and inconsistencies in Ventimiglia's testimony, Hickey argues that there was a "total lack of sufficient or supportive evidence to substantiate the findings that these witnesses had personal knowledge of the critical events in this prosecution upon which to base their testimony." Appellant's Brief at 15. This is not the first case in which we have faced an argument that the testimony of Jack Ventimiglia should be excluded. In United States v. Moreno, 899 F.2d 465 (6th Cir.1990), we rejected an argument by Hickey's co-defendant in the first trial that inconsistencies in Ventimiglia's testimony, in light of his admitted drug addiction, showed that he was incompetent to testify.

In Moreno we relied upon United States v. Ramirez, 871 F.2d 582 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 127, 107 L.Ed.2d 88 (1989), a case which recognized that in some cases the ability of a witness might be so impaired that he cannot satisfy the personal knowledge requirement of Federal Rule of Evidence 602. Ramirez, 871 F.2d at 584. Hickey's argument is an attempt to capitalize on the opening left by Ramirez. What we did not mention in Ramirez was the fact that the threshold of Rule 602 is low.

Rule 602 provides, in relevant part, that "[a] witness may not testify to a matter unless evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the matter." Testimony should not be excluded for lack of personal knowledge unless no reasonable juror could believe that the witness had the ability and opportunity to perceive the event that he testifies about. Weinstein, Weinstein's Evidence p 602, at 602-8 to 11 (1988) (citing, e.g., United States v. Davis, 792 F.2d 1299, 1304-05 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 964, 107 S.Ct. 464, 93 L.Ed.2d 409 (1986); United States v. Evans, 484 F.2d 1178, 1181-82 (2d Cir.1973); United States v. Fernandez, 480 F.2d 726, 739 (2d Cir.1973); United States v. Borelli, 336 F.2d 376, 392 (2d Cir.1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 960, 85 S.Ct. 647, 13 L.Ed.2d 555 (1965); Auerbach v. United States, 136 F.2d 882 (6th Cir.1943); United States v. Owens, 699 F.Supp. 815, 817-19 (C.D.Cal.1988); United States v. Smith, 592 F.Supp 424, 441 (E.D.Va.), aff'd, 750 F.2d 1215 (4th Cir.1984)).

Despite the fact that Ventimiglia's testimony may have been, in large part, unbelievable to some and in spite of the possibility that his perception was sometimes impaired, a reasonable or rational juror could believe that Ventimiglia and the other prosecution witnesses perceived the course of events to which they testified. Accordingly, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in permitting Ventimiglia's testimony or the testimony of the other prosecution witnesses.

B.

Hickey next complains that during closing argument, counsel for the government, Ms. Parker, committed prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct by making several prejudicial comments. "[A] criminal conviction is not to be lightly overturned on the basis of a prosecutor's comments standing alone, for the statements or conduct must be viewed in context; only by so doing can it be determined whether the prosecutor's conduct affected the fairness of the trial." United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 11, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 1044, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985). "Even if certain comments are found to be inappropriate, they alone [will] not justify a reversal of a criminal conviction obtained in an otherwise fair proceeding. Rather, the remarks must be examined within the context of the trial to determine whether the prosecutor's behavior amounted to prejudicial error." United States v. Hitow, 889 F.2d 1573, 1579 (6th Cir.1989) (citation omitted). In this examination, "a reviewing court may consider, along with other factors, the potential of the remarks to prejudice the defendant or confuse the jury and the strength of proof against the defendant." United States v. Castro, 908 F.2d 85, 89 (6th Cir.1990) (citing Angel v. Overberg, 682 F.2d 605, 608 (6th Cir.1982); United States v. Leon, 534 F.2d 667, 679 (6th Cir.1976)).

The prosecutor's statement during summation that "Quinn Hickey is actively involved in dealing cocaine," was, taken in context, not an opinion of personal belief but a permissible argument based on the evidence. See Moreno, 899 F.2d at 468. References to the significance of a "beeper" carried by Hickey are also properly characterized as a discussion of the evidence. Id. Ms. Parker's single reference to Mr. Hickey as "Mr. Cocaine" reveals in context that it was no more than a slip of the tongue. Arguments that Ventimiglia's log of dealings with Hickey did not reflect the full volume of Hickey's transactions were supported by Ventimiglia's testimony. Ms. Parker's references during closing argument to illegal transactions between Hickey and Joel Voltz at the Hickey residence were also supported by the testimony of Ventimiglia. An argument that Don Ball moved his cocaine operation to the residence of Hickey was supported by the testimony of another prosecution witness, Steve Jastrzemski.

Hickey also argues that Ms. Parker raised a "false issue" concerning a heat sealer and in effect testified that a plastic bag containing drugs could be sealed with "an iron or clip." However, the record reveals that the prosecutor's statements were invited by the attempt of Hickey's couns...