U.S. v. Greer, 90-1348

CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)
Citation939 F.2d 1076
Docket NumberNo. 90-1348,90-1348
Parties36 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 168 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Christopher Barry GREER, Daniel Alvis Wood, Sean Christian Tarrant, Michael Lewis Lawrence, and Jon Lance Jordan, Defendants-Appellants.
Decision Date13 August 1991

Jeb Loveless, Dallas, Tex. (court appointed), for Tarrant.

James M. Murphy, Dallas, Tex. (court appointed), for Greer.

J. Craig Jett, Dallas, Tex. (court appointed), for Wood.

R. Kristin Weaver, Dallas, Tex., for Jordan.

Blake Withrow, Dallas, Tex. (court appointed), for Lawrence.

Lisa J. Stark, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C. and Marvin Collins, U.S. Atty., Dallas, Tex., for the U.S.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Before GOLDBERG, SMITH, and BARKSDALE, Circuit Judges.

JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:

A number of members of a white "skinhead" group were found guilty by a jury of various combinations of three offenses: (1) conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate black and Hispanic citizens in the free exercise of their constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000a to use a public park, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 241; (2) conspiracy to deprive Jewish citizens of their rights under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1982 to hold property, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 241; and (3) using a firearm during the commission of this second offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c)(1) and (3). They raise numerous issues on appeal. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

I.
A.

The Confederate Hammerskins (Hammerskins) were based in Garland, Texas. During the summer of 1988, Sean Christian Tarrant, the "leader" and "founder" of the group, resided, along with defendant Christopher Barry Greer and other Hammerskins, at the group's headquarters on Nash Street in Garland. The group advocated white supremacy, a forced separation of the races, and anti-Semitism. After defendants Tarrant, Greer, and Jon Lance Jordan attended an "Aryanfest" in June 1988, during which various speakers encouraged skinhead groups to become the backbone and foot soldiers of the white supremacist movement, the group became more determined to use violence to achieve its philosophical objectives.

By the beginning of the summer of 1988, the size of the Hammerskins had grown considerably, 1 and by that time defendants Tarrant, Greer, Jordan, and Daniel Alvis Wood were members. 2 Each Friday evening during June, July, and August, members of the group, including Tarrant, Greer, Jordan, and Wood, met at the Nash Street house to discuss their philosophy and plan activities.

1.

Count one centers upon the conspiracy to deprive blacks and Hispanics of the services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of Robert E. Lee Park in Dallas. During one of the Hammerskins' meetings in July, Greer announced that he had heard that the NAACP was trying to change the name of the park because it represented vestiges of the old Confederacy. At that time, many members of the Hammerskins were outraged with the proposal and expressed their feeling that the park should be used exclusively by whites.

Based upon those discussions, the Hammerskins, including all five defendants, agreed to "patrol" the park in order to exclude minorities. 3 On more than fifteen occasions in July and August, a group of Hammerskins 4 went to the park after dark, "patrolled" in small groups, and chased, beat, and assaulted any nonwhites they found. 5 As a result of these attacks, a number of victims testified that they were now afraid to use the public park.

2.

Count two alleged a conspiracy to interfere with the rights of Jewish people to hold property. Count three alleged the use of a firearm in committing a crime of violence (referring to count two).

a.

On August 18, 1988, Buchanan, who was a Hammerskin who later became a government witness, and Wood, Jordan, and Tarrant decided to go to the Temple Shalom in Dallas to "case it out." Wood apparently favored the idea because he disliked Jews and wanted to find out how the ventilation system worked so that he could fill it with "some kind of poisonous gas." While at the temple, Tarrant climbed a tree to get onto the roof, and Jordan and Wood damaged the temple's air conditioning wires and freon gas lines. Jordan and Wood also punctured some tires on a school bus van that was parked outside the temple. Approximately two weeks later, Buchanan and defendants Tarrant and Wood returned to the temple late at night. On this occasion, they painted swastikas, anti-Semitic slogans, and graffiti on the walls of the temple with spray paint.

Then, on or about October 8, 1988, the Hammerskins vandalized the temple and the Jewish Community Center. They spray-painted the walls with anti-Semitic graffiti, placed adhesive stickers with graffiti on the windows, and shot out the glass on the windows and doors of the temple with a .25 caliber pistol. Inside, bullets were lodged in walls across from the main entrance to the building and on a second floor landing outside of the classrooms. Anti-Semitic graffiti was further painted in the foyer inside the temple. At the community center, the vandals spray-painted anti-Semitic graffiti on the walls, shot out windows with the same gun, and broke windows and doors with baseball bats. Such physical damage to the temple and the community center had a great effect upon the mental well-being of its membership. 6

The government claims that four of the five defendants were involved in the temple and community center vandalism and that Wood, Jordan, and Lawrence were involved in the use of the gun in committing this crime of violence. The evidence shows that fingerprints taken by the FBI at the temple belonged to Wood and Jordan, and bullet fragments collected by a ballistics expert matched the gun later recovered by police.

Also, a number of Hammerskins who later became government witnesses testified that Wood, Lawrence, and Jordan bragged about committing the crimes and that Wood gave the gun used in the incident to Jordan's brother to sell. Evidence was further presented to demonstrate that Wood confessed his role in the affair to an FBI agent and that Lawrence told his girlfriend that he was involved in the vandalism. No evidence, however, was presented linking Greer to these incidents.

b.

Nevertheless, Greer was mentioned as a participant in the Hammerskins' planned vandalization of Jewish businesses in both Dallas and Euless, Texas, on November 9, 1988. The government maintains that early that night, various Hammerskins, including Schutza, Jackson, Thornton, Jordan, Greer, Lawrence, and Wood were at the Nash Street house discussing the fact that it was the fiftieth anniversary of Kristallnacht. 7 The group decided that they should vandalize Jewish buildings to commemorate the event. After considering a number of possible targets, 8 they decided to split up into two groups of five, with Jordan and Wood going in Schutza's pickup to vandalize local Jewish businesses, and with the other three Hammerskins, including Lawrence, driving in a car to Euless to vandalize other Jewish businesses.

Prior to the departure of both groups, Greer decided to not participate personally, and instead went to bed. Before leaving, though, he handed one of the Hammerskins some ball bearings and stated, "[T]his is going to smash windows. They are good for slingshots also." Defendants Jordan and Wood got baseball bats and put them into the pickup truck alongside concrete blocks, spray paint, a steel rod, and a Nazi flag belonging to Jordan. As they left, Lawrence remarked, "We will go to Euless and we will see on the news tomorrow who does the most damage."

The two vehicles left the house together. The passengers in the car going to Euless noticed that they were being followed by the police and therefore decided to abandon their plan. Schutza's pickup, in which Wood and Jordan were passengers, was stopped by the police and searched. Besides finding the articles previously mentioned, the police also found ball bearings in Schutza's jacket pocket. Wood later confessed to the FBI his participation in this plan and the identity of its intended targets.

B.

In the district court, a jury convicted Tarrant, Greer, and Lawrence on counts one and two, and Jordan and Wood on counts one, two, and three. It acquitted Lawrence on count three.

Jordan was sentenced to 41 months' imprisonment on each of count one and count two, with such sentences to run concurrently. He also was sentenced to 60 months on count three, to run consecutively to the sentences on the first two counts. Greer was sentenced to 78 months on counts one and two, with such sentences to run concurrently. Lawrence was sentenced to 57 months on counts one and two, with such sentences to run concurrently. Tarrant was sentenced to 108 months on counts one and two, with such sentences to run concurrently. And Wood was sentenced to 54 months on counts one and two, with such sentences to run concurrently. He also was sentenced to 60 months on count three, with such sentence to run consecutively to the sentences on counts one and two.

II.

The defendants contend that they were denied the right to a fair and impartial jury. They maintain that the district court erred in (1) not excluding all black, Hispanic, and Jewish citizens for cause from the panel of prospective jurors because they were intended victims of the alleged offenses; (2) failing to examine potential jurors about racial and ethnic bias; and (3) refusing to require prospective Jewish jurors to identify themselves as such. We disagree with each of these contentions and hold that the defendants were not denied a fair and impartial jury.

First, the district court correctly decided not to exclude all black, Hispanic, and Jewish citizens from the panel of prospective jurors. Absent a showing of individual bias, a court does not abuse its...

To continue reading

Request your trial
73 cases
  • Sines v. Kessler
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia
    • 9 Julio 2018
    ...Some courts have extended the reach of that statute to something closer to Plaintiff's theory. For example, in United States v. Greer , 939 F.2d 1076 (5th Cir. 1991), opinion reinstated in relevant part on reh'g , 968 F.2d 433 (5th Cir. 1992), the Court affirmed a conviction for conspiracy ......
  • Card v. US
    • United States
    • D.C. Court of Appeals
    • 28 Junio 2001
    ...764, 130 L.Ed.2d 661 (1995). For cases expressly involving the confluence of race, ethnicity, and religion, see United States v. Greer, 939 F.2d 1076, 1086 n. 9 (5th Cir.1991) ("Whether Jewish jurors are viewed as members of a `race,' see Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb, 481 U.S. 615, 61......
  • State v. Kovach
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • 4 Septiembre 1992
    ...U.S. v. Cardona, 955 F.2d 976, 981 (5th Cir.1992); U.S. v. Mitchell, 951 F.2d 1291, 1298-1299 (D.C.Cir.1991); U.S. v. Greer, 939 F.2d 1076, 1092, 1093[27, 28] (5th Cir.1991); U.S. v. Jefferson, 925 F.2d 1242, 1249 (10th Cir.1991); U.S. v. Erwin, 875 F.2d 268, 271 (10th In Cardona, the court......
  • U.S. v. Allen
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • 26 Agosto 2003
    ...of entertainment" because "people play video games in order to amuse themselves and pass the time agreeably"); United States v. Greer, 939 F.2d 1076, 1091 n. 15 (5th Cir.1991) ("Under [§ 2000a(a)], public parks are places of public accommodation.");10 Miller, 394 F.2d at 351 (holding that a......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT