United States v. Inman
| Decision Date | 07 July 2022 |
| Docket Number | 21-1505 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Larry Charles INMAN, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
ARGUED: Christopher M. O'Connor, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellant. Christopher K. Cooke, SECREST WARDLE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Christopher M. O'Connor, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellant. Christopher K. Cooke, SECREST WARDLE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee.
Before: BATCHELDER, WHITE, and BUSH, Circuit Judges.
Larry Inman is a former elected representative in the Michigan House of Representatives who was charged with criminal conduct while in office. In this appeal, we address whether his acquittal on a count of making a false statement to the FBI regarding the taking of a bribe precludes his retrial on counts of extortion and solicitation of a bribe. The appeal turns on the application of issue preclusion, also known as collateral estoppel.
For that doctrine to apply here, an issue of ultimate fact decided in Inman's favor through his acquittal must be fatal to the subsequent prosecution. Because the jury's acquittal on the false-statement charge did not decide any fact that necessarily precludes a verdict against Inman on the extortion and bribery-solicitation charges, we reverse the district court's dismissal of those two counts.
The facts related to Inman's prosecution began in 2017, when a petition was circulated to repeal Michigan's Public Act of 1965, known as the "prevailing-wage" law. After the Board of Canvassers certified the petition, the initiative came up for a vote before the Michigan legislature in early June 2018. See Mich. Const. art. 2, § 9 (). Inman was part of the majority of the Michigan House who, along with a majority of the Michigan Senate, voted to approve the initiative, which, consequently, repealed the prevailing-wage law.
The initiative garnered plenty of public attention and, with that, campaign-committee contributions. Indeed, the combined amount raised by the Protecting Michigan Taxpayers Committee (the principal committee in support of repealing the prevailing-wage law) and the Protecting Michigan Jobs Committee (the principal committee against doing so) was more than $2 million. The money reportedly was used, in part, to "wine[ ] and dine[ ]" legislators. Such spending led to investigations into those expenditures and some of those who benefitted, and Inman became a target.
On May 14, 2019, Inman was charged with three counts related to his actions surrounding the prevailing-wage vote: attempted extortion under color of official right in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (Count I), soliciting a bribe in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B) (Count II), and making a false statement to the FBI in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) (Count III). The United States proffered that Inman unlawfully solicited money from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights (MRCCM) in exchange for his vote. The government also alleged that Inman "corruptly solicited and demanded a political campaign contribution of money" from the MRCCM for his vote, worth "$5,000 or more." Finally, it argued that Inman lied to the FBI in August 2018 when he denied communicating with the MRCCM on campaign contributions and denied soliciting $30,000 from Lisa Canada, the political and legislative director for the MRCCM.
The district court conducted a jury trial on the three counts against Inman. At the trial, the United States based its case on conversations between MRCCM representatives and Inman. It argued that, in the fall of 2017, Inman met Canada and told her he supported the prevailing-wage law but was worried about his reelection in 2018. Canada Tr., R. 100, PageID 845–47. The United States then offered the testimony of Dan Pero, Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the House, who confirmed that Inman told him he was "low on cash at $30,000," and Pero responded that if Inman voted with the unions ("no") on the prevailing-wage vote, "he's picking the wrong friends." Chatfield, Bellino, Pero Tr., R. 131, PageID 1843–44. Ultimately, though, the United States argued that Inman voted "yes" to repeal the prevailing-wage law because he did not receive the $30,000 he asked for from the MRCCM.
The government presented evidence of text messages illustrating Inman's engagement in a quid-pro-quo arrangement. MRCCM representatives testified about such text messages, including one representative who said that he received a text message from Inman in June 2018, before the vote, in which Inman wrote that he was "undecided" on the prevailing-wage-law vote and that if he took "the vote no [sic] to send it to the ballott [sic], [he is] going to need alot [sic] [of] help and a ton of campaign money[.]" Gov. Ex. 11, R. 144-3, PageID 2105; Fashbaugh Tr., R. 130, PageID 1750–52. Two days later, according to the testimony of Jim Kirsch, a lobbyist retained by MRCCM, Kirsch received the following text message1 from Inman:
Lisa Canada said all 12 will get $30,000 each to help there campaigns. That did not happen, we will get a ton of pressure on thst vote, [Person B and Person C] will go to the longest neck hold on this one. I have heard most got $5,000, not $30,000.
Gov. Ex. 37, R. 144-8, PageID 2141–42; Kirsch Tr., R. 113, PageID 1230–33. In the text message, Inman also allegedly offered advice: "My suggestion is you need to get people maxed out, on Tuesday, I will do my best to hold." Id. That same day, Canada testified she received a text message from Inman saying:
I hear the prevailing wage vote may be on Wenesday. In my opinion, We all need some more help! Carpenters have been good to me, where are the rest of the trades on checks? We only have 12, people to block it. You said all 12 will get $30,000 each to help there campaigns.
Gov. Ex. 34, R. 144-7, PageID 2130–34; Canada Tr., R. 100, PageID 856–60. Inman allegedly included in the text message to Canada that "we never had this discussion[.]" Id. The government also called to the witness stand an FBI agent who had interviewed Inman in August 2018. The agent testified that Inman denied asking Canada for more than $4,000 she had already given, sending a text message to Canada that referred to $30,000, or asking for any amount of money from anybody else. This interview was not recorded, and Inman was not allowed to look at his phone or view screenshots of messages while being questioned by the agent.
On the witness stand, Inman maintained that he engaged only in lawful campaign activities, albeit clumsily. He testified that he voted against the MRCCM's interest by voting "yes" because of conversations with companies in his district and the need to cover for another state representative, Joseph Bellino, because he represented a union-heavy district.
Inman also called his campaign manager and two medical providers as witnesses. They testified to Inman's use of opioids and his alcohol addiction. See Ackerman Tr., R. 116, PageID 1361 ("He would, you know, kind of forget or go AWOL for a little bit and just not show up to things."). One of Inman's doctors, Russell Vanhouzen, stated that he prescribed Inman pain medication which could cause "additive side effects of confusion and mental deterioration." Vanhouzen Tr., R. 118, PageID 1415. He testified that Inman told him he was taking 8 to 12 pain pills a day in October 2018, causing Vanhouzen to prescribe him fentanyl. Id. at 1418. Ashleigh Akerman, Inman's campaign manager, testified that she observed Inman becoming intoxicated after consuming one light beer while on his pain medication. And Inman himself testified that he would take four to five pills upon waking up, another four or five in the afternoon, and, on bad days, take "maybe 10 and lay down on my couch in the office." Inman Tr., R. 102, PageID 979. He added that he had trouble with his memory during this time because of his opioid use. Because of this, Inman testified, he had no recollection of sending text messages or having conversations in which he solicited money. The government, for its part, maintained that Inman made the various denials not because of his medications and a hazy memory, but rather because he was attempting to hide unlawful behavior.
The district court then provided instructions to the jury. On Count I, the jury was told that to return a guilty verdict, they would need to find that Inman intended to commit the underlying crime of extortion and did some overt act that was a substantial step towards committing the crime. As to the definition of the crime of extortion, the jury received four instructions:
First, that the defendant was a public official. Second, that the defendant obtained or received property that he was not lawfully entitled to from a person with that person's consent. Third, that the defendant knew the property would be obtained or received in exchange for an official act. And fourth, that as a result interstate commerce was affected in any way or degree.
Judge's Instructions to the Jury, R. 132, PageID 1889. The court also instructed the jury about the difference between political fundraising and soliciting a bribe:
It is not unlawful for a public official to attempt to obtain or receive a campaign contribution of money even if that official knows or has reason to believe that he or she may be called upon to make a decision or act on a question or matter that may be of interest to the person or entity contributing the money. That act standing alone is not a crime. However, if a public official attempts to obtain or receive money in exchange for a specific exercise of his or her official...
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