U.S. v. Leja

• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit
• Writing for the Court: Campbell
• Citation: U.S. v. Leja, 448 F.3d 86 (1st Cir. 2006)
• Decision Date: 23 May 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-1764.,05-1764.
• Parties: UNITED STATES, Appellee, v. David Michael LEJA, Defendant, Appellant.

448 F.3d 86

UNITED STATES, Appellee, v. David Michael LEJA, Defendant, Appellant.

No. 05-1764.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard March 8, 2006.

Decided May 23, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Curt Obront with whom McKenna & Obront was on brief for appellant.

Thomas J. O'Connor, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Michael J. Sullivan, United States Attorney, and Karen L. Goodwin, Assistant United States Attorney, were on brief for appellee.

Before HOWARD, Circuit Judge, COFFIN and CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judges.

CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge.

Defendant-appellant David Michael Leja appeals from his conviction for health care fraud, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He contends that his Sixth Amendment constitutional right to a jury trial was violated because his purported waiver of his right to a jury trial was legally insufficient. While the jury waiver should have included Leja's signature, we have carefully examined the record and are satisfied that Leja waived his right to a jury trial and that his waiver was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.

Background and Facts

On July 15, 2004, a grand jury indicted Leja in a 57-count superceding indictment with 46 counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341; nine counts of making material false statements in connection with the payment of health care benefits, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1035; one count of obstructing justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1043; and one count of witness tampering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(1). Leja's attorney purported to waive a jury trial on his behalf (the validity of that waiver is the issue on appeal here), and, after a three-week bench trial, Leja was convicted on December 15, 2004 of 40 counts of mail fraud, nine counts of making false statements, and obstruction of justice. The court found Leja not guilty of witness tampering. On May 5, 2005, the court, departing downward from a Guideline Sentencing Range of 41 to 51 months, sentenced Leja to 30 months' imprisonment to be followed by three years' supervised release, a $15,000 fine, and a $5,000 special assessment. Leja filed a timely appeal, and in that appeal he now argues that he never adequately waived his right to a jury trial.

Prior to his bench trial, Leja and the government, on September 10, 2004, filed a document entitled a Joint Notice Re: Jury Waiver, informing the district court that the parties had agreed to waive a jury and have the case heard by the court. The waiver was filed electronically and contained the electronic signatures of both the attorney for the government and Leja's counsel, who had authorized the government to include her electronic signature on the waiver on behalf of Leja.

The above waiver was submitted approximately seven weeks after the district court had discussed with Leja's counsel, in Leja's presence, the possibility that Leja might wish to waive a jury. The discussion took place on July 16, 2004, at a hearing the court held on Leja's motion to continue the trial date so that he could secure expert testimony regarding the loss stemming from his alleged fraud. Leja and the court both took the position that the government had to prove the loss amounts associated with any specific offense enhancement beyond a reasonable doubt. During the hearing, the court spoke of the complexities of the parties' competing theories of financial loss and the possible difficulties the parties might have in educating a potentially unsophisticated jury on those matters. In light of the complexities, the court suggested that the parties consider whether they wanted to waive the jury. In suggesting this approach, the court emphasized that it was not pressuring either party to waive a jury and noted that it was reluctant to take on the role of rendering the verdict:

I have two questions — one question and one suggestion. The question is how long is it going to take to put the evidence on in this case and put the defense on in this case? What was the estimate?

And, two, have you thought of waiving jury in this case? Is there any consideration of waiving jury in this case because of course I'm going to do everything I can to instruct the jury properly. But I can tell you of the fourteen people, the twelve jurors and two alternates, that will be sitting on that jury, we'll be lucky to have two people who have any college. That's my expectation with regard to the jury. Or we'll probably be lucky to have two people who graduated from a four-year college, maybe one, and maybe we will have two or three people who have associate's degrees or RNs or something of that nature.

So you guys are going to have your hands full trying to educate the jury about the concept that we have been discussing for the last half hour or 40 minutes. And I'm not interested — I'm not pushing anybody. I'm not interested in having to take responsibility for this case, but I'm just wondering whether this might not be the sort of case that would be tried from both sides' points of view a lot more comfortably to the court rather than a jury.

I don't even know if it is proper for me to suggest that and I certainly don't want to appear in any way to be pressuring anybody. I love juries. I like jury trials. That's what I do all day. It saves me having to deal with the moral pressure of actually having to make the call in a situation where somebody's liberty might be at stake. So that's not something that I have a huge appetite to take on where it's not necessary, but I think that that's something you might really want to consider in a case that's so technical.

Towards the end of the hearing, the court reiterated its request that the parties consider the possibility of jury waiver:

I'm going to urge both of you — I hope I'm not committing reversible error by even doing this, but I guess I will say it seems to me that this is a situation where you at least should give careful consideration to the possibility of waiving jury and trying the case to the court. I'll let you each think about that and talk to each other about it and see if there's something you will be willing to do, and there we are.

* * *

In any event, so I would urge you to think about that. I don't have any relish for it because it does make my work harder but I think it's something to consider.

The court then told the parties that the case would be heard by a jury absent some action by the parties:

. . . we're going to start the trial on October 18. But unless there's a thermonuclear attack targeted at Springfield specifically, we will be picking the jury on October 18 and that's when we will get started.

At the conclusion of the July 16, 2004 hearing, the district court ordered the parties to report on whether they wished to try the case without a jury, stating:

Let me put it this way. I don't want to appear to be pressuring either the defendant or the government. To the extent that you wish to waive jury, you will tell me so by September 10.

As noted, Leja was present in the courtroom throughout the above hearing. On July 22, 2004, the court issued an order, in which it required the parties to "report to the court, in writing, by September 10, 2004, as to whether they will be waiving jury in this highly complex case." On September 10, 2004, the parties filed the written waiver document Leja now challenges.

During a hearing on September 30, 2004, the court confirmed on the record the filing of the parties' September 10 written jury waiver:

THE COURT: The case has been considerably simplified, at least I think, by agreement of both parties to waive jury in this case. Do I have that correct?

MS. QUIGLEY: Yes

[Defense counsel]

THE COURT: Both of you are nodding.

MS. GOODWIN: Yes.

[Prosecution]

Leja was again present in the courtroom during this exchange and offered no objection.

On October 18, 2004, the beginning of the trial, the district court, at the request of the government, again inquired of defense counsel whether Leja intended to waive jury:

MS. GOODWIN: Just one more housekeeping matter. I had filed on behalf of the defendant and myself that waiver of jury. I filed it electronically. It was not actually signed by defense counsel, and the defendant himself has not signed anything waiving his right to a jury. I thought it might be appropriate to put on the record here that there is a waiver of jury certainly from the government's perspective but also from the defendant.

THE COURT: Well, let me make that clear on the record so that there isn't any confusion on that point at all. We're here without jury following a waiver by both sides of jury trial. You've just confirmed that Ms. Goodwin from the government's point of view. Ms. Quigley, do you also confirm that?

MS. QUIGLEY: Yes, your Honor.

THE COURT: And you've discussed that with Mr. Leja and he agrees with that?

MS. QUIGLEY: Yes, he does.

THE COURT: For the record, Mr. Leja is here and is not indicating any disagreement....

The trial proceeded without a jury and lasted about three weeks. The evidence at trial established that Leja had engineered a complex and sophisticated fraud followed by an elaborate cover-up and scheme to obstruct justice. Leja graduated from Boston College. He was a licensed insurance and securities broker with a great deal of experience in insurance and other fields. He used his expertise to deceive clients, other brokers, and insurance companies bidding on his business. When the scheme began to unravel, Leja gave false explanations and fabricated documents in order to deflect blame from himself.

Leja testified in his own defense at trial. The court found his explanation to "lack credibility entirely on practically every crucial point of evidence." At trial, Leja denied sending out the forged documents, but, the court noted, the cover letters associated with those documents often...