United States v. Rosson, 28953.

• Decision Date: 04 May 1971
• Docket Number: No. 28953.,28953.
• Citation: 441 F.2d 242
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry E. ROSSON, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

441 F.2d 242 (1971)

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry E. ROSSON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 28953.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

April 5, 1971.

Rehearing Denied May 4, 1971.

Barry Hess, Mobile, Ala., for defendant-appellant.

C. S. White-Spunner, Jr., U. S. Atty., Irwin W. Coleman, Jr., Asst. U. S. Atty., Mobile, Ala., for plaintiff-appellee.

Before RIVES, WISDOM and GODBOLD, Circuit Judges.

GODBOLD, Circuit Judge:

Larry Rosson was convicted by a jury of two offenses arising from robbery of a bank at Spanish Fort, near Mobile, in South Alabama — robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), and the use of a dangerous weapon in the commission of the robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d). He was sentenced to concurrent terms of twenty and twenty-four years. On this appeal he contends that there were various errors in the conduct of the trial, and that an eleven month delay between indictment and trial denied him the right to a speedy trial. We affirm, except that the sentence must be vacated and the case remanded for resentencing.

1. Alleged trial errors

The bank was robbed by two armed men disguised in face masks and hard hats. On-the-scene witnesses were unable to identify them. At Rosson's trial two other participants in the robbery scheme, Robert Hayes and Patsy Faircloth, testified for the government. If believed by the jury, their testimony overwhelmingly established Rosson's participation in the robbery. Their testimony, taken together, described in detail the planning and execution of the robbery scheme, which involved a number of people; the sources of guns, automobiles, and masks used; the arrangements for getaway; the actual getaway (involving three different cars and both Faircloth and Hayes as drivers); the division of the loot; and payment to Hayes of $2,500 by Rosson pursuant to a prior arrangement. Neither Hayes nor Faircloth testified to seeing the actual commission of the holdup, but they described in numerous aspects Rosson's participation in the scheme. Their testimony was cross-corroborative in a multitude of ways. It was corroborated by independent evidence as to several significant details.¹

Rosson attacks as a violation of due process the established rule in the federal courts that one may be found guilty on the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice,² emphasizing that in this instance both Faircloth and Hayes, as a result of plea bargains, either expected or had received benefits in return for their testimony. We need not reach the question imposed by appellant, because, as we have set out above, there was ample corroboration of the accomplice testimony.

Also with regard to the plea bargaining matter, evidence was adduced that the United States Attorney had agreed to make to the court certain recommendations for sentences to be given Faircloth. While questioning Faircloth in the presence of the jury, the trial judge made clear that it was for him to make the determination of whether Faircloth would be dealt with leniently. Later, in his charge, the court instructed the jury that the United States Attorney's recommendation was not binding on him. Rosson claims that this instruction was error.

The jury is entitled to consider and evaluate the interest that a witness may have as a consequence of a plea bargain. See United States v. Vida, 370 F.2d 759, 767 (6th Cir. 1966), cert. denied 387 U.S. 910, 87 S.Ct. 1695, 18 L.Ed.2d 630 (1967). If the defense relies upon the existence of the plea bargain to attack the credibility of the witness, it is not then entitled to preclude the jury from being apprised of additional matters relevant to the bargain so as to leave an incorrect inference that the witness has made a better bargain for himself (i.e., a sentence already agreed upon, rather than a mere recommendation) than in fact he has made.

Rosson contends the Court erred in permitting the government to elicit from Hayes, on redirect, certain testimony concerning plea bargain negotiations which improperly tended to bolster his testimony. The contention is twofold: that it was improper to bring out that Hayes made the plea bargain on advice of his attorney, and that it was error to allow Hayes to testify as to specific statements made to him by his attorney.

On cross of Hayes the defense had gone fully into minute details of plea bargain negotiation and in a series of questions had elicited from Hayes that he did not himself make the plea bargain with the United States Attorney but that his attorney entered into it for him, that his attorney had advised him on the matter and recommended to him what to do, that he Hayes then volunteered to testify, and his attorney then entered into the agreement for him with Hayes' knowledge and consent.

Thus, as to appellant's first contention, the defense already had brought out on cross that Hayes had acted on his attorney's advice. As to the second aspect, Hayes was allowed to answer, over objection, an inquiry as to what his attorney had told him "concerning any testimony that you Hayes might give" pursuant to the government's proposal of a plea bargain. The answer was "He came out and told me, he says `I will advise you on what to do, but it is up to your decision. They are trying you for this.' He said, `I don't feel like you deserve to be tried for this. You didn't have that much to do with it.'" The quoted answer was not responsive, but there was no motion to strike it or for an instruction that the jury disregard it. If there was error, it was not reversible.³ In fact, to some extent the statement tended to show Hayes not credible — his own testimony already had revealed that his participation in the robbery scheme was much more extensive than the de minimis characterization allegedly given by the lawyer.

2. Speedy trial

Eleven months elapsed between appellant's arrest and his trial. We consider this delay in the light of the interests which the Supreme Court has recognized to be the concern of the Speedy Trial Clause:

1 to prevent undue and oppressive incarceration prior to trial, 2 to minimize anxiety and concern accompanying public accusation and 3 to limit the possibilities that long delay will impair the ability of an accused to defend himself.

Smith v. Hooey, 393 U.S. 374, 378, 89 S. Ct. 575, 577, 21 L.Ed.2d 607, 611 (1969); United States v. Ewell, 383 U. S. 116, 120, 86 S.Ct. 773, 15 L.Ed.2d 627, 630 (1966).

Rosson, together with Faircloth, Hayes and Parker, was indicted on November 27, 1968. He was arrested around December 3, secured counsel sometime prior to December 10, and was arraigned on December 30. At the time of arraignment he filed his first (and only) motion for a speedy trial, asserting that he was unable to make bond. He also moved to sever his case from that of all other defendants, on two grounds — first, that Rosson probably would not testify because of prior convictions, that Hayes had confessed, and that Hayes' testimony and confession would be prejudicial; and, second, that there had been so much publicity concerning the codefendants that they had become notorious, and it would prejudice Rosson to be tried with them.

During January the State of Alabama revoked Rosson's parole because of the federal arrest, and the federal authorities surrendered him to Alabama to complete his state sentence.

The next criminal trial term was February 3-14. The court did not set the trial of any of the four co-defendants for that term.

In mid-February Rosson filed a motion to dismiss for want of speedy prosecution. In late February the court granted Rosson's previously filed motion for a severance from all other defendants. In March the severance order was amended to sever only Hayes, on a showing by the government that Hayes was the only defendant who had confessed. On May 9, Rosson filed another motion to sever, this time from Parker, on the ground that Parker had just been convicted on another bank robbery charge and arrested in Mobile on a charge of burglarizing a store, all with great attendant publicity which would be prejudicial to Rosson should the two be tried together. This motion was denied.

Rosson's trial, scheduled for June 3, was passed over. Hayes was put to trial during the first week of June. In mid-trial, with the knowledge of the court, he entered into a plea bargain^3A and a mistrial was declared.

On June 24, having completed his Alabama sentence, Rosson was released from state to federal custody. Promptly he filed another motion to dismiss the charges, adding the ground that until Hayes' trial the government had been unable to make out a prima facie case, and that as a result of delay it had, at Hayes' trial in June, obtained the benefit of Hayes' testimony.

The case against Rosson, Faircloth and Parker was given a trial date of September 15. It was passed by the court, over Rosson's objection, because Faircloth failed to appear, and her bond was forfeited. On October 1, Rosson filed another motion to dismiss the charges, setting out the same grounds as before and adding the fact of the September 15 continuance, plus allegations that at the September term the court had tried cases of a less serious nature, cases of persons in custody of other charges, and cases of persons out on bond. In November the court severed Parker's case. At trial time, November 15, the court denied Rosson's October 1 motion to dismiss. It severed Faircloth's case pursuant to a plea bargain. She and Hayes testified against Rosson, and he was convicted.

The major thrust of appellant's argument relates to the ground asserted in his motions to dismiss filed on June 24 and October 1, that initially the government did not have a prima facie case against him and that it employed the period of delay to make plea bargains with Hayes and Faircloth, whose testimony then was used to convict him. This argument misconceives the scope of prejudice against which the Speedy Trial Clause has been...