U.S. v. Castleberry
| Decision Date | 23 June 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-8596,96-8596 |
| Citation | 116 F.3d 1384 |
| Parties | 47 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 424, 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 275, 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 82 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Eddie CASTLEBERRY, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
John R. Martin, Atlanta, GA, C. Michael Abbott, Atlanta, GA, for Defendant-Appellant.
William McKinnon, Asst. U.S. Atty., Randy Chartash, Asst. U.S. Atty., Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Before BLACK, Circuit Judge, and FAY and ALARCON *, Senior Circuit Judges.
Defendant Eddie S. Castleberry was convicted for violations of the Hobbs Act. On appeal, Castleberry's main contention is that under United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995), the Government must now show a substantial effect, instead of only a minimal effect, on interstate commerce to support a conviction under the Hobbs Act. Castleberry further argues that because the Government's evidence failed to establish a substantial(or even a minimal) effect on interstate commerce, the district court erred in denying his motions under Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. He also claims that the district court erroneously instructed the jury on the interstate commerce element of the Hobbs Act and erred in certain evidentiary rulings. We reject all of Castleberry's arguments and affirm his convictions.
Castleberry was a private attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. Kenneth London was Assistant Solicitor in the Atlanta Traffic Court. As Assistant Solicitor, London prosecuted driving under the influence ("DUI") cases and had access to the case files created for each DUI case.
On September 5, 1995, Castleberry was charged in a five count indictment. Count one of the indictment charged Castleberry with conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (1994), with London. 1 According to the indictment, Castleberry obtained money from individuals who had DUI charges pending in the Atlanta Traffic Court and then paid part of this money to London, who, in return for the payment, illegally "fixed" or "disposed" of Castleberry's clients' DUI cases. Counts two through five of the indictment charged Castleberry, aided and abetted by London, with four substantive counts of extortion in relation to four specific individual clients. 18 U.S.C. §§ 1951, 2 (1994). On February 26, 1996, a jury convicted Castleberry on all counts. Castleberry timely appealed the judgment of conviction.
The Hobbs Act prohibits extortion or robbery that "in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movements of any article or commodity in commerce." 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a)(1994); Stirone v. United States, 361 U.S. 212, 218, 80 S.Ct. 270, 273-74, 4 L.Ed.2d 252 (1960)("There are two essential elements of a Hobbs Act crime: interference with commerce, and extortion."). Castleberry argues that in order to satisfy the interference with commerce element of the Hobbs Act the Government must show that the extortionate activity substantially affected interstate commerce. In support of this argument, Castleberry relies on United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995).
In Lopez, the Supreme Court considered whether Congress exceeded its congressional authority under the Commerce Clause 2 in enacting the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(1)(A)(1988). 514 U.S. at 551-52, 115 S.Ct. at 1626. This Act prohibited a person from possessing a gun while in a "school zone."
The Court listed three broad categories of activity which Congress could regulate pursuant to the Commerce Clause: (1) the use of the channels of interstate commerce; (2) the instrumentalities of interstate commerce; and (3) activities which have "a substantial relation to interstate commerce ... i.e., those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce." Id. at 559, 115 S.Ct. at 1629-30. After concluding that the Gun-Free School Zones Act only involved the third category, Id. at 559-60, 115 S.Ct. at 1630, the Court was uncertain whether an activity Congress intended to regulate must simply affect interstate commerce or substantially affect interstate commerce. Id. "The Court concluded that the proper test for a statute which 'neither regulates a commercial activity nor contains a [jurisdictional] requirement that the [regulated activity] be connected in any way to interstate commerce' was whether the regulated activity 'substantially affects' interstate commerce." United States v. Atcheson, 94 F.3d 1237, 1241 (9th Cir.1996)(quoting Lopez, 514 U.S. at 551-52, 559-60, 115 S.Ct. at 1626, 1630), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1096, 137 L.Ed.2d 229 (1997) 3. Applying these principles to the Gun-Free School Zones Act, the Court concluded that "[t]he possession of a gun in a local school zone is in no sense an economic activity that might, through repetition elsewhere, substantially affect any sort of interstate commerce." Id. at 567, 115 S.Ct. at 1634. Accordingly, the Court held that the Act violated the Commerce Clause. Id. at 551-52, 115 S.Ct. at 1626.
Prior to Lopez, this Court had held that the Government need only prove that extortionate activity has a minimal effect on interstate commerce to satisfy the Hobbs Act jurisdictional requirement. United States v. Alexander, 850 F.2d 1500, 1503 (11th Cir.1988); United States v. Jackson, 748 F.2d 1535, 1537 (11th Cir.1984). Castleberry contends the Supreme Court's decision in Lopez alters the jurisdictional nexus, requiring the Government to prove a substantial effect on interstate commerce, and not simply a minimal effect. We disagree.
Since Lopez was decided, this Court has not directly decided whether Lopez has changed "the measure of evidence necessary to support the interstate commerce element of a Hobbs Act prosecution." See United States v. Frost, 77 F.3d 1319, 1320 (11th Cir.1996), judgment vacated on other grounds, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1816, 137 L.Ed.2d 1025 (1997). However, this Court has rejected similar Lopez challenges in other contexts. United States v. Jackson, 111 F.3d 101 (11th Cir.1997)(Drug-Free School Zones Act did not exceed congressional authority under the Commerce Clause); United States v. McAllister, 77 F.3d 387 (11th Cir.) ( constitutional a statute which makes possession of a firearm by a felon a criminal offense), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 262, 136 L.Ed.2d 187 (1996); Cheffer v. Reno, 55 F.3d 1517 (11th Cir.1995)( that Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 was within Congress' Commerce Clause power).
In McAllister, the defendant, relying on Lopez, argued that Congress in enacting 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), which makes it unlawful for a felon to "possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition," exceeded its Commerce Clause power by regulating the mere possession of a gun. We rejected defendant's Lopez ' argument mainly because the language of § 922(g)(1) contained a jurisdictional element ("possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition,"), which the statute in Lopez, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), did not contain. McAllister, 77 F.3d at 390.
Like the statute involved in the McAllister case, the Hobbs Act contains a jurisdictional element. See 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a) (). It is this jurisdictional element of the Hobbs Act that defeats Castleberry's Lopez challenge. Unlike the statute involved in Lopez, the Hobbs Act contains a jurisdictional requirement that the extortion be connected in any way to interstate commerce. Because the Hobbs Act contains this jurisdictional element, we continue to hold that the Government only needs to establish a minimal effect on interstate commerce to support a violation of the Hobbs Act.
We also note that while this Court has not specifically determined Lopez opinions is further persuasive support that Lopez did not change the measure of evidence needed to support the interstate commerce element of a Hobbs Act case.
Having concluded as a matter of law that the Hobbs Act only...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
U.S. v. Myers
...of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(c)(3)(A) because of the regulated activity's minimal effect with interstate commerce); United States v. Castleberry, 116 F.3d 1384, 1387 (11th Cir.1997) (upholding the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (interference with commerce by threats of violence), against a Commerce Cla......
-
U.S. v. Hebert, 96-41240
...1951(a) does not require that the defendant have specifically intended to affect interstate commerce. See, e.g., United States v. Castleberry, 116 F.3d 1384, 1389 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 341, 139 L.Ed.2d 265 (1997); United States v. Arambasich, 597 F.2d 609, 611 ......
-
U.S. v. Shinault, 97-3061
...held that the Gaudin rule is limited to cases in which the element at issue was not submitted to the jury. See United States v. Castleberry, 116 F.3d 1384, 1389 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 341, 139 L.Ed.2d 265 (1997); United States v. Parker, 104 F.3d 72, 73 (5th Cir......
-
U.S. v. Garcia
...only needs to establish a minimal effect on interstate commerce to support a violation of the Hobbs Act. United States v. Castleberry, 116 F.3d 1384, 1387 (11th Cir.1997). Explaining the importance of the jurisdictional element and the need to define its parameters in federal commerce claus......