U.S. v. Murphy

• Decision Date: 16 September 1994
• Docket Number: No. 93-5803,93-5803
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Tony Jerome MURPHY, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 143

35 F.3d 143

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Tony Jerome MURPHY, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 93-5803.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued July 19, 1994.

Decided Sept. 16, 1994.

ARGUED: Randolph Brian Monchick, Asst. Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, NC, for appellant. John Samuel Bowler, Asst. U.S. Atty., Raleigh, NC, for appellee. ON BRIEF: J. Douglas McCullough, U.S. Atty., Raleigh, NC, for appellee.

Before WILKINS and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina, sitting by designation.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge TRAXLER wrote the opinion, in which Judge WILKINS and Judge LUTTIG joined.

OPINION

TRAXLER, District Judge:

Tony Murphy ("Murphy") was indicted for violation of 18 U.S.C.A. Secs. 111(a)(1), (b), 1114 (West Supp.1994), i.e., assault with a dangerous weapon upon Deputy Travis Baker ("Baker"), a person assisting a federal employee. ^* Murphy moved unsuccessfully to dismiss the indictment for want of jurisdiction, contending that Baker, a state employee, was not protected by Secs. 111, 1114. The district court denied this motion, concluding that it had jurisdiction to entertain prosecution of the suit. The case proceeded to trial, and Murphy was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Murphy now appeals, again contending that the district court lacked jurisdiction to entertain this case and that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction. Concluding that Secs. 111, 1114 apply to Baker and that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the conviction, we affirm.

I.

We recite the facts in the light most favorable to the Government. See Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942). Murphy was a federal prisoner who was detained at the Lenoir County Jail ("LCJ") in Lenoir, North Carolina, pursuant to a contract that the United States Marshal Service ("USMS") maintained with the LCJ for the custody of federal prisoners. Pursuant to the contract, LCJ provided the USMS with services with respect to the transportation and detention of federal prisoners in return for a fee. While at LCJ, Murphy intentionally threw a container of liquid at Baker. In an attempt to restore order to the ensuing row Murphy created, Baker ordered all inmates in the cell-block back into their cells; and all except Murphy complied. Baker unsuccessfully attempted to convince Murphy to leave the area and to return to his cell. Murphy proved implacable; cajoling by three officers proved fruitless. Murphy was warned that failure to comply would result in his forcible removal.

Eventually, Baker approached Murphy in a nonthreatening manner and placed his hand on Murphy's shoulder to guide him toward his cell. Murphy, however, grabbed Baker and forcibly slammed Baker's head into the steel bars lining the cell-block. With his fists, Murphy then repeatedly pummeled a dazed and prostrate Baker. The beating did not subside until Officer Heath ("Heath") sprayed mace into Murphy's face. As a result of Murphy's vicious attack, Baker was compelled to seek emergency medical care and undergo surgery for a cracked orbital lobe. His convalescence precluded him from resuming his duties for three weeks.

On appeal, Murphy raises two contentions. First, he contends that a local jailor such as Deputy Baker who is employed by the State of North Carolina is not protected by Secs. 111, 1114; thus, Murphy maintains, the district court lacked federal jurisdiction. Second, he asserts that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction. We address these contentions seriatim.

II.

Section 111 provides in part:

(a) In general.--Whoever--

(1) forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person designated in section 1114 of this title while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties;

....

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(b) Enhanced penalty.--Whoever, in the commission of any act described in subsection (a), uses a deadly or dangerous weapon, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 111 (West Supp.1994). Thus, by its terms, Sec. 111 applies to persons delineated under 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1114. Section 1114, in turn, designates persons protected by Sec. 111 and includes "any United States marshal or deputy marshal or person employed to assist such marshal or deputy marshal...." See 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1114 (West Supp.1994). Murphy's attack on federal jurisdiction is composed of two assertions. First, he maintains that the phrase "employed to assist" in Sec. 1114 is ambiguous. Second, he posits that if the phrase is not ambiguous, because Baker is a local jailor and employed by the State of North Carolina, he does not fall within the protective ambit of Secs. 111, 1114. Neither assertion has merit.

A.

We begin, as we must, by examining the statutory language, bearing in mind that we should give effect to the legislative will as expressed in the language. See K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 486 U.S. 281, 291, 108 S.Ct. 1811, 1817-18, 100 L.Ed.2d 313 (1988). Generally, in examining statutory language, words are given their common usage. See Palestine Info. Office v. Shultz, 853 F.2d 932, 938 (D.C.Cir.1988). Courts are not free to read into the language what is not there, but rather should apply the statute as written. See DeSisto College, Inc. v. Town of Howey-in-the-Hills, 706 F.Supp. 1479, 1495 (M.D. Fla.), aff'd, 888 F.2d 766 (11th Cir.1989) (per curiam). If the statutory language is unambiguous, then provided that "the statutory scheme is coherent and consistent," our inquiry terminates. United States v. Ron Pair Enters., Inc., 489 U.S. 235, 240-41, 109 S.Ct. 1026, 1030, 103 L.Ed.2d 290 (1989). Accordingly, if the statutory language "is plain and admits of no more than one meaning, the duty of interpretation does not arise, and the rules which are to aid doubtful meanings need no discussion." Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470, 485, 37 S.Ct. 192, 194, 61 L.Ed. 442 (1917). The language being facially clear and "within the constitutional authority of the law-making body which passed it, the sole function of the courts is to enforce it according to its terms." Id. Thus, if the statutory language is not ambiguous, then we do not engage in interpretation of the statute, but merely in its application. Of course, a distinction exists between interpreting any perceived ambiguity in the terms of a statute and resolving any ambiguities by canons of interpretation and the threshold determination that the challenged language is ambiguous and requires interpretation. See 2A George Sutherland Statutory Construction, Sec. 46.01, at 81 (5th ed.1991). While cautioning lower federal courts not to stray beyond the plain language of unambiguous statutes, the Supreme Court has also explained that departure from the statutory language may be permitted in limited circumstances. See, e.g., Commissioner v. Brown, 380 U.S. 563, 571, 85 S.Ct. 1162, 1166, 14 L.Ed.2d 75 (1965) (literal application yields if it would defeat the statutory purpose); 2A George Sutherland Statutory Construction, Sec. 46.07, at 126 (collecting exceptions). Interpreting a statute is a legal issue that successive courts freely review, and hence our review is plenary. See EEOC v. American & Efird Mills, Inc., 964 F.2d 300, 302 (4th Cir.1992) (per curiam).

With these principles in mind, we turn to the challenged language, "employed to assist." The term "employ" has a broad sweep and is expansively used: "employ" means "to make use of," "to use advantageously," "to use or engage the services of," "to provide with a job that pays wages or a salary," as well as "to devote to or direct toward a particular activity or person." Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 408 (9th ed.1990). The term "assist" means "to give support or aid." Id. at 109. Application of the articulated legal precepts compels us to conclude that the challenged language is not ambiguous, and thus we use the plain meaning of the words comprising the challenged language to apply the statute. The common usage of "employed to assist" means that a person is being used to help a federal agent, and that is exactly what transpired in this case. Here, Baker was aiding the USMS in furtherance of its official duties. This scenario is precisely what is contemplated by the term "employed to assist." While in this case a contract existed between the USMS and LCJ, such a contract is not a requirement before Secs. 111, 1114 apply to protect persons such as Baker. Having employed the common usage of the statutory terms and having concluded that no ambiguity exists in the challenged language and that the language is facially clear, we proceed to the statute's application.

B.

Murphy asserts that even if the language is not ambiguous, Secs. 111, 1114 do not apply to embrace Baker, a state employee. We conclude, however, that circuit precedent forecloses this assertion and foreshadows the conclusion that Baker is indeed cloaked by these statutes. In United States v. Chunn, 347 F.2d 717 (4th Cir.1965), we rejected reasoning similar to that which Murphy seeks to advance and held that a state employee who was assisting federal agents in performance of their official duties was protected by Secs. 111, 1114. In Chunn, the defendants were convicted of assaulting a state employee pursuant to Secs. 111, 1114. Id. at 720. The defendants appealed, contending that their convictions should be reversed because the victim was not a federal agent, but rather was a state employee who merely aided federal agents and was "on loan" to a federal agency. Id. at 720-21. Eschewing this contention, we reasoned that the protection afforded federal agents under Secs. 111, 1114 should likewise protect persons assisting federal agents:

The record completely...