U.S. v. Stansfield, 98-7233

• Decision Date: 16 March 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-7233,98-7233
• Citation: 171 F.3d 806
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Merritt G. STANSFIELD, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 806

171 F.3d 806

UNITED STATES of America v. Merritt G. STANSFIELD, Appellant.

No. 98-7233.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued Jan. 27, 1999.

Decided March 16, 1999.

Thomas C. Carroll (Argued), Carroll & Cedrone, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellant.

Theodore B. Smith, III (Argued), Office of the United States Attorney, Harrisburg, PA, for Appellee.

Before: BECKER, Chief Judge, and SCIRICA and ROSENN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROSENN, Circuit Judge.

The primary issue on this appeal pertains to a retrial of a defendant on certain counts deadlocked by a prior jury without resubmission of those counts to a grand jury. The question presented is novel and complex, although prosecution of criminal cases by indictment even precedes the adoption of the federal constitution. The genesis of the appeal is a motion by the prosecution, following a prior jury trial, to dismiss several counts of the indictment on which the jury had deadlocked and proceed to sentence on the counts on which it had convicted.

A grand jury in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania initially indicted the defendant, Merritt G. Stansfield, Jr., on eleven counts and a separate count of money laundering forfeiture. The first four of the eleven counts charged mail fraud. Count V charged using fire to commit mail fraud and one count of arson. Counts VI through X charged money laundering. Count XI charged tampering with a witness. The defendant pled not guilty. He was tried to a jury and convicted on certain counts but the jury deadlocked on the others.

The Government moved to dismiss the deadlocked counts "without prejudice to their refiling" in the event any court ordered a new trial on the counts resulting in conviction. Defendant's counsel concurred and the trial court granted the motion. On appeal, this court affirmed the defendant's convictions on all counts but reversed the defendant's conviction for witness tampering. See United States v. Stansfield, 101 F.3d 909 (3d Cir.1996) (Stansfield I ). On remand, the District Court directed the prosecutor to notify the court and defense "as to what counts, if any, he wishes to re-try." The Government gave notice that it intended to retry the defendant on both the remanded count and the deadlocked counts that had been dismissed. The defendant stood trial a second time and a jury convicted him on all counts. ¹ The defendant timely appealed. We will affirm the conviction on all counts except the conviction for Count V (arson) which we reverse.

I.

The underlying facts of this case were previously recounted at considerable length by this court in Stansfield I, 101 F.3d at 910-912. We summarize those stated there as are pertinent to this appeal. In 1990 Stansfield's home was destroyed by fire. His insurer, Erie Insurance Company (Erie), agreed to reimburse Stansfield for the replacement cost of the insured destroyed items, as well as the cost from the loss of the use of his house. In May of 1992, Stansfield sent Erie a list of insured items he claimed were lost in the fire, some of which were later found intact at other locations. Erie and state law enforcement officials began an investigation of the fire and determined that arson caused it. Stansfield was never conclusively found to be the arsonist. Erie investigators and Pennsylvania State Police spoke with Dwight Hoffman, a friend of Stansfield's. Hoffman was quite knowledgeable about Stansfield's home and its contents; he had stored many of Stansfield's personal effects in his home prior to the fire.

State troopers also communicated with Jack Love, whom Stansfield had solicited to burn his home. Stansfield threatened to kill Love if he told anyone of the solicitation. Love informed Stansfield in May 1993 that law enforcement officials had contacted him about the fire. That September, Erie referred the matter to federal postal inspectors. The Postal Inspector presented the case to the United States Attorney's Office, which requested that the Postal Inspection Service continue the investigation.

On October 7, 1993, Stansfield entered Dwight Hoffman's home uninvited. Hoffman's parents, Eugene and Joyce, were present but Dwight Hoffman was not. When asked what he was doing there, Stansfield replied that he was "sick and tired of [Dwight] running down[Stansfield's] name and ruining [his] business." Stansfield struck the Hoffmans, knocking them to the floor. He repeatedly kicked Eugene Hoffman in the head and body. When Eugene Hoffman attempted to get up, Stansfield knocked him down again, kicking him in the head until Hoffman became partially unconscious. Stansfield took both the Hoffmans to the basement. There he bound their hands and feet. When Eugene Hoffman tried to free himself, Stansfield kicked him in the head several more times.

Stansfield then went upstairs, returning shortly with a shotgun and shells. He loaded the gun and waited for Dwight Hoffman to arrive. When Dwight Hoffman appeared, Stansfield escorted him to the basement, hit him in the mouth with the butt of the shotgun, and ordered him to sit next to his parents. Stansfield then placed the shotgun on the throat of Dwight Hoffman and stated, "I'm going to ask you some questions, and I want the truth, because the gun is loaded, the safety is off, and my finger is on the trigger, is that clear?"

Stansfield first inquired why Dwight Hoffman had sent the cops after him about his house, or why Dwight had "called the police about his fire." At some point Dwight Hoffman lunged for the gun. It went off, firing a shot between Dwight Hoffman's neck and Joyce Hoffman's head. A struggle ensued. Eventually Dwight and Eugene Hoffman were able to subdue Stansfield until a police officer arrived.

The jury convicted the defendant on Counts I, II, III, VI, VII, and XI. The jury deadlocked as to Counts IV, V, VIII, IX, and X and a mistrial was declared as to these counts. As to Count XII, the defendant waived his right to a jury trial and the District Court returned a special verdict of forfeiture.

A few days after the jury returned its verdict, the District Court ordered the scheduling of jury selection and retrial on the deadlocked counts. The Court also directed the Government to file notice as to whether it intended to retry or otherwise dispose of those counts. Complying with the Court's directive, the Government filed a notice and motion seeking the dismissal of Counts IV, V, VIII, IX, and X, "without prejudice to their refiling in the event a new trial is ordered by this or any other Court on any count of conviction." After conferring with defendant, defense counsel filed an amended certificate of concurrence. ² Thereafter, the District Court ordered the dismissal of the counts "without prejudice to their re-filing in the event a new trial is ordered by this or any other court."

On appeal, this court affirmed the judgment of conviction as to Counts I, II, III, VI and VII, but reversed and remanded as to Count XI, the witness tampering count. See Stansfield, 101 F.3d 909. On remand, the District Court ordered counsel for the Government to file a notice, with a certificate of concurrence or nonconcurrence attached, as to what counts, if any, he wished to retry. The Government complied with the District Court's order, giving notice that it would retry the defendant on all outstanding counts (Counts IV, V, VII, IX, and XI). Defense counsel filed an "omnibus pretrial motion" that included, among other things, an objection to the Government's election to retry all pending counts on the grounds that the deadlocked counts had not been resubmitted to a grand jury, that reprosecution of Count V was barred by the statute of limitations, and that retrial of the other deadlocked counts was barred by the Speedy Trial Act.

The District Court denied the omnibus motion stating that it understood the dismissal merely to reflect that the deadlocked counts were set aside pending the resolution of the defendant's post trial motions, appeals or collateral challenges to the judgment of conviction and sentence, and that the Government always intended to retry the defendant on the deadlocked counts. Defense counsel also filed another motion seeking an order directing the Government to specify a procedure for the refiling of Counts IV, V, VIII, IX and X, and objecting to the defendant's retrial on the dismissed counts on the basis that the Court lacked jurisdiction. The Court denied the motion on the ground that the Government's notice of record of its intent to retry the defendant was sufficient for the reinstatement of the dismissed counts. The Court, at the same time, denied Stansfield's motion for an order directing the Government to specify a procedure for refiling of the previously dismissed counts. The defendant again was tried to a jury and convicted on all counts.

II.

On appeal, the defendant first contests the meaning of the term "re-filing" as used in the Government's motion to dismiss on the deadlocked counts. The motion stated in pertinent part:

WHEREFORE, the government respectfully petitions the Court to enter an Order dismissing Counts IV, V, VIII, IX and X, without prejudice to their re-filing in the event a new trial is ordered by this or any other Court.

The Court's order of dismissal tracked the exact language used in the Government's motion. The defendant argues that, regardless of whether the procedure is termed "refiling" or "reinstatement," the Government did nothing to revive the dismissed counts: "After removal, no motion for reinstatement was ever filed, nor were the counts resubmitted to the grand jury or re-filed in any way." At oral argument, counsel for the defendant vigorously asserted that "the Government did nothing to either resubmit to the grand jury or reinstate by motion to the court." He asserted that the Government cannot merely proceed to trial on the dismissed counts and that the defendant is...