U.S. v. Doe

• Decision Date: 03 May 2000
• Docket Number: No. 99-5329,99-5329
• Citation: 226 F.3d 672
• Parties: (6th Cir. 2000) United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John Doe, Defendant-Appellant. Argued:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 672

226 F.3d 672 (6th Cir. 2000)

United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John Doe, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 99-5329

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

Argued: May 3, 2000

Decided and Filed: September 13, 2000

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Covington. No. 99-00001--William O. Bertelsman, District Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Laura K. Voorhees, ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Covington, Kentucky, Charles P. Wisdom, Jr., ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Lexington, Kentucky, for Appellee.

Gary J. Sergent, O'HARA, RUBERG, TAYLOR, SLOAN & SERGENT, Covington, Kentucky, for Appellant.

Before: MOORE and GILMAN, Circuit Judges; McKEAGUE, District Judge.^*

OPINION

DAVID W. McKEAGUE, District Judge.

John Doe (a pseudonym), was seventeen years old when he was found guilty of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and being a juvenile in possession of a firearm. Prosecuted under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, 18 U.S.C. §§ 5031 et seq. (the "Act"), Doe was adjudged to be a juvenile delinquent at a bench trial and sentenced to official detention until he attains 21 years of age. Doe now appeals pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742, and for the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

Cooperating in the hopes of meriting a sentence reduction on a pending bank fraud charge, Ryan Lloyd told a Newport Kentucky Police Department detective and an FBI special agent working together as part of a joint task force that he might be able to purchase crack cocaine from Paul Green and Antonio Burns. Lloyd further agreed to wear a wire to record any ensuing transaction. Given this information, the authorities decided to allow Lloyd to make a controlled drug buy.

During the week prior to January 4, 1999, Lloyd met with Green and Burns to discuss a crack cocaine purchase. On January 4, 1999, Lloyd paged Green from the Saratoga Bar in Newport, Kentucky, and Green returned the call. Lloyd told Green he wanted to purchase a half-ounce of crack cocaine, and Green informed Lloyd the price would be $400. Green further agreed to meet Lloyd at the Saratoga Bar to conclude the transaction later that evening.

At roughly 9:00 p.m., a car drove up to the Saratoga Bar, containing Green, Doe and two others. Unbeknownst to Green, task force officers waited in several marked and unmarked vehicles outside the bar, listening to and recording events through the wire worn by Lloyd. Green and Doe exited the vehicle and went into the bar, while the other two occupants stayed inside the car. Upon entering the bar, Green and Doe greeted Lloyd and walked with him through the bar area, down a hallway, and into a pool room adjoining a back room.

Once inside the back room, Lloyd attempted to speak with Green, but was repeatedly interrupted as Green answered electronic pages. At some point during this time, Doe left the bar, returned to the car, and then re-entered the bar and waited just outside the back room where Lloyd and Green were speaking. Meanwhile, Green gave Lloyd the crack cocaine, Lloyd paid Green, and the two discussed the possibility of doing more business with each other.

While they were speaking, Lloyd noticed Green looking at Doe, who was still standing just outside the room. Within a minute, Doe came up behind Lloyd and pointed a Tec-9 semi-automatic handgun in Lloyd's face. Doe accused Lloyd of threatening to rob his brother. Lloyd swore that he had never threatened to rob Doe's brother and begged Green to tell Doe that it was not true. Refusing, Green stepped out of the way. According to Lloyd, Doe's and Green's indifference to his pleas made it clear that their intention was to rob him of the crack he had just purchased.

After first demanding the crack from Lloyd, Doe then took the crack from him at gunpoint. Doe also grabbed Lloyd and acted as if to strike him, but did not do so. Doe then ordered Lloyd to get in the corner of the room. Thinking he was about to be shot, Lloyd ran out of the bar to the undercover police car.

Simultaneously, Doe and Green ran to their car and attempted to flee. After a brief pursuit the car carrying Doe and Green was stopped by task force officers, and Doe was found seated in the driver's side back seat. Upon a search of the car, the Tec-9 semi-automatic firearm was found on the floor under the seat directly in front of Doe, although no drugs were found. All four of the occupants of the car were then arrested, patted down for weapons, and taken to a Newport Police Department station for booking.

Doe was in custody for approximately two hours before being questioned by the FBI case agent. After first interviewing one or two of the others, the agent ascertained Doe's identity and his age, read him his Miranda rights, and then inquired whether he wished to talk. Doe indicated he was willing to talk, and according to the interviewing officer, never asked for an attorney. The agent asked Doe where he lived. Doe replied that he lived in Newport with friends. The FBI agent inquired whether he lived with his mother. Doe answered, "no." The case agent did not attempt to verify Doe's residence, but did call Doe's mother later that evening.

According to the FBI agent, Doe's only concern expressed during the interview was the potential consequences of cooperating--whether his statements would be presented in court, and whether the other defendants would know of his cooperation. Doe denied having any knowledge about the crack, but identified the Tec-9 and admitted using it to threaten Lloyd in retaliation for an earlier threat he believed Lloyd had made to a relative. When asked where he got the gun, Doe responded that he had found it.

On January 5, 1999, Doe was charged in a juvenile information with various acts of delinquency: conspiring with Paul Green and Anthony Harden to distribute one-half ounce of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and § 841(a)(1); carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); and knowingly possessing a handgun in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(x). Doe was arraigned on January 7, 1999. Thereafter, the government sought to prosecute Doe as an adult by making a motion to transfer, which the district court denied. Doe waived the 30-day trial deadline, and the district court granted a motion for a six-day continuance sought by Doe.

At trial, Doe moved to suppress his confession on the ground that it was involuntary because the authorities had neither secured a waiver from him nor contacted his mother prior to questioning him. After considering the testimony of the parties, the district court inquired whether Doe had any evidence to support his motion. Doe did not present any such evidence, and the district court denied the motion to suppress. At the conclusion of the trial, the district court found Doe guilty of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense as charged in Count I of the information, and adjudged him to be a juvenile delinquent.¹ The district court subsequently sentenced Doe to juvenile detention until he turns 21 years old.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Judicial Review

Doe raises three issues on appeal; two of them present questions of first impression in this Circuit. Initially, we must determine whether a district court may review the decision of the Attorney General to certify the existence of a "substantial Federal interest" justifying the exercise of federal jurisdiction over a juvenile pursuant to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. Determining whether an executive decision is subject to judicial review is a question of law, which the Court reviews de novo. The Supreme Court has consistently held "that judicial review of executive action 'will not be cut off unless there is a persuasive reason to believe that such was the purpose of Congress.'" Gutierrez de Martinez v. Lamagno, 515 U.S. 417, 424 (1995) (quoting Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 136, 140 (1967)); see also Diebold v. United States, 961 F.2d 97, 98 (6th Cir. 1992).

This Court has not yet considered whether the Attorney General's certification that a federal juvenile prosecution presents a "substantial Federal interest," made pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5032, is subject to judicial review. With only one exception, those Courts of Appeals that have confronted the question have held the text of § 5032 does not confer any power of judicial review to the courts over the factual accuracy of the Attorney General's certification. See United States v. Smith, 178 F.3d 22, 25 (1st Cir. 1999); United States v. Vancier, 515 F.2d 1378 (2nd Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 857 (1975); Impounded, 117 F.3d 730 (3rd Cir. 1997); United States v. Juvenile No. 1, 118 F.3d 298 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 976 (1997); United States v. Jarrett, 133 F.3d 519, 538 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1112 (1998); United States v. Juvenile Male J.A.J., 134 F.3d 905, 906-07 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 524 U.S. 961 (1998); United States v. I.D.P., 102 F.3d 507 (11th Cir. 1996); In re Sealed Case, 131 F.3d 208, 211-14 (D.C. Cir. 1997).

The Fourth Circuit's decision in United States v. Juvenile Male # 1, 86 F.3d 1314 (4th Cir. 1996), is the sole opinion holding to the contrary, and Doe urges the Court to adopt its approach and hold the Attorney General's certification is subject to judicial review. Doe maintains that the district court improperly exercised its jurisdiction because the Attorney General's certification of substantial Federal interest in his case fails to set forth any factual allegations to support the district court's exercise of jurisdiction.²

Faced with a question of statutory construction, we turn to examine both the relevant statutory language and case law which serve to define the scope of federal jurisdiction...