U.S. v. Betancourt

• Decision Date: 09 October 2009
• Docket Number: No. 08-40909.,08-40909.
• Citation: 586 F.3d 303
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Raul Medrano BETANCOURT, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

586 F.3d 303

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Raul Medrano BETANCOURT, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 08-40909.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

October 9, 2009.

Tony Ray Roberets (argued), James Lee Turner, Asst. U.S. Atty., Houston, TX, for U.S.

Marjorie A. Meyers, Philip G. Gallagher, Fed. Pub. Defenders, Timothy William Crooks (argued), Laura Fletcher Leavitt, Asst. Fed. Pub. Defenders, Houston, TX, for Betancourt.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before JONES, Chief Judge, and PRADO and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.

PRADO, Circuit Judge:

Raul Medrano Betancourt, a long-distance truck driver, was found guilty of possessing more than 100 kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute, under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B). On appeal, Betancourt argues that his conviction should be overturned for two reasons. First, he argues that the district court's voluntariness instruction to the jury was improper. Second, he argues that under Flores-Figueroa v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1886, 173 L.Ed.2d 853 (2009), the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Betancourt knew the amount and quantity of drugs in his trailer.

Neither of Betancourt's arguments has merit. Thus, we AFFIRM his conviction.

I. BACKGROUND

Betancourt performed contract hauls on an as-needed basis. On one of these hauls, Betancourt supposedly was carrying a load of pineapples. But when Border Patrol agents stopped him at a checkpoint, they found 834.3 kilograms (about 1800 pounds) of marijuana in his trailer. At first, Betancourt denied knowing about the marijuana. Later, when agents confronted him with a forged bill of lading that bore his signature, he admitted knowing marijuana was in the trailer. He was charged with possession of more than 100 kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute, under § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B).

Betancourt's first trial ended in a mistrial. During his second trial, the district court issued oral instructions to the jury. In part, the district court said:

In determining whether [Betancourt's] statement [to law enforcement officers] was knowingly and voluntarily made, consider the evidence concerning such a statement with caution and great care. You should give such weight to the statement as you feel it deserves under all the circumstances. This statement is properly before you. It has met the standards for admissibility in evidence before you. You're not to concern yourself whether or not the Miranda warnings are the correct warnings in accordance with the laws of the Supreme Court. But, you should consider the weight and statement of it as you feel it deserves under the circumstances. You may consider in that regard such factors as age of the defendant, training, education, sex, occupation, physical and mental condition of the defendant, his treatment while under interrogation, and all the other circumstances in evidence that surrounded the making of any such statement.

Before sending the jury to deliberate, the district court asked the parties if they had any objections, corrections, or additions to the jury instructions. Betancourt's counsel did not object to the instructions, either at this time or any other until the appeal.

The jury found Betancourt guilty, and the district court sentenced him to 90 months' imprisonment.

II. ANALYSIS

A. The District Court's Oral Instructions to the Jury

1. Standard of review

Generally, we review jury instructions for abuse of discretion and harmless error. United States v. Skilling, 554 F.3d 529, 547 (5th Cir.2009). But when a defendant fails to object to jury instructions, our review is for plain error:

A party who objects to any portion of the instructions or to a failure to give a requested instruction must inform the court of the specific objection and the grounds for the objection before the jury retires to deliberate. An opportunity must be given to object out of the jury's hearing and, on request, out of the jury's presence. Failure to object in accordance with this rule precludes appellate review, except as permitted under Rule 52(b).

FED. R.CRIM. P. 30(d).

Betancourt argues that we should review the district court's voluntariness instruction for abuse of discretion. Betancourt acknowledges that he did not object to the voluntariness instruction at trial. But Betancourt asserts that the district court did not give him the proper opportunity to object. We disagree.

To support his argument, Betancourt cites United States v. Fernandez, 456 F.2d 638 (2d Cir.1972). But Fernandez is distinguishable from the case at hand. In Fernandez, the district court denied Fernandez's explicit request for permission to object to the jury instructions out of the jury's presence, instead requiring Fernandez to make his objections in open court. Id. at 644. Here, Betancourt did not make such a request. The district court gave Betancourt an opportunity to object out of the jury's hearing. After reading the jury instructions, the district court asked Betancourt if he had any objections. Betancourt did not say that he did. Because Betancourt did not ask for an opportunity to object out of the jury's presence, the district court was not required to give him one.

Betancourt seems to be arguing that the district court should have given him an opportunity to object out of the jury's presence sua sponte. But the plain language of the statute says that the district court need only give counsel an opportunity to object out of the jury's presence "on request." Betancourt did not make this request. Accordingly, we review the district court's instructions for plain error.

Under plain error review, we must determine whether the district court committed an "`error,'" whether that error is "`plain,'" and whether the error "`affect[s] substantial rights.'" United States v. Reyna, 358 F.3d 344, 350 (5th Cir.2004) (en banc) (quoting United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993)) (alteration in original); see also FED.R.CRIM.P. 52(b). If these three elements are met, then we can use our discretion to correct the error only if it "`seriously affect[s] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.'" Id. (quoting Olano, 507 U.S. at 732, 113 S.Ct. 1770) (alteration in original).

2. Whether the instructions were plain error

In a federal criminal prosecution, the trial court makes a preliminary determination, outside the presence of the jury, of the voluntariness of any alleged confession. 18 U.S.C. § 3501(a). If the trial court determines that the confession was voluntary, then the confession should be admitted in evidence. Id. The trial court should "permit the jury to hear relevant evidence on the issue of voluntariness" and should "instruct the jury to give such weight to the confession as the jury feels it deserves under all the circumstances." Id. The trial court should permit "the confession and the question of voluntariness to go to the jury ... without indicating [the court's own] evaluation to the jury." United States v. Harper, 432 F.2d 100, 102 (5th Cir.1970).

Betancourt argues that the district court impermissibly told the jury that it had decided Betancourt's confession was voluntary. To determine whether Betancourt is correct, we must look at the language the district court used in its instruction.

The district court modeled its instruction after Fifth Circuit Pattern Jury Instruction 1.26 (2001), which states:

In determining whether any statement ... was knowingly and voluntarily made, you should consider the evidence concerning such a statement with caution and great care, and should give such weight to the statement as you feel it deserves under all the circumstances.

You may consider in that regard such factors as the age, sex, training, education, occupation, and physical and mental condition of the defendant, his treatment while under interrogation, and all the other circumstances in evidence surrounding the making of the statement.

Betancourt argues that the district court erred when it added the following language to Pattern Jury Instruction 1.26: "This statement is properly before you. It has met the standards for admissibility in evidence before you. You're not to concern yourself whether or not the Miranda warnings are the correct warnings in accordance with the laws of the Supreme Court."

When reviewing challenged language in a jury instruction, we do not look at the language in isolation. United States v. Elashyi, 554 F.3d 480, 504 (5th Cir. 2008). Instead, "[w]e consider whether the instruction, taken as a whole, `is a correct statement of the law and whether it clearly instructs jurors as to the principles of law applicable to the factual issues confronting them.'" Id. (quoting United States v. Freeman, 434 F.3d 369, 377 (5th Cir.2005)).

In this case, immediately before the challenged language, the district court told the jury to use great care when determining the voluntariness of Betancourt's confession and to consider the relevant circumstances before deciding how much weight to give the confession. Further, immediately after the challenged language, the district court reiterated that the jury should be careful to take into account a wide range of factors when determining whether the confession was voluntary. Thus, the challenged language fell between two other statements which correctly said that the district court had not determined whether the confession was voluntary and that it was the jury's job to determine voluntariness. Taken as a whole, the instruction is a correct statement of the law and "`clearly instructs jurors as to the principles of law applicable to the factual issues confronting them.'" Elashyi, 554 F.3d at 504 (quoting Freeman, 434 F.3d at 377). The district court did not err.

In addition, the challenged language itself was not a misstatement of the law. First, the...