US v. Jackson

• Decision Date: 14 July 1994
• Docket Number: 94-40001-02-SAC.,No. 94-40001-01-SAC,94-40001-01-SAC
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Mark M. JACKSON, and Robert Martinez, Jr., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Kansas

863 F. Supp. 1462

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Mark M. JACKSON, and Robert Martinez, Jr., Defendants.

Nos. 94-40001-01-SAC, 94-40001-02-SAC.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

July 14, 1994.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Thomas J. Bath, Jr., James L. Eisenbrandt, Bryan Cave, Overland Park, KS, for Mark M. Jackson.

Thomas M. Bradshaw, Daniel O. Herrington, Armstrong, Teasdale, Schlafly & Davis, Kansas City, MO, for Robert Martinez, Jr.

Tanya J. Treadway, Office of U.S. Atty., Kansas City, KS, Richard L. Hathaway, Office of U.S. Atty., Topeka, KS, for U.S.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CROW, District Judge.

The case comes before the court on several pending matters. The court will decide first whether the psychiatric records, which were subpoenaed from Veterans Center-Corpus Christi, Texas, and Dr. Robert Jimmenez of San Antonio, Texas, and which are under seal, should be released to the defendants. The defendant Martinez moves in limine for an order excluding admission or reference to his previous state and federal charges under Rule 609 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. (Dk. 90). Both defendants move for an order precluding the government from referencing or introducing certain evidence under Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence. (Dk. 96).

PSYCHIATRIC RECORDS OF LOUIS GARCIA

By its order of May 6, 1994, the court granted on certain conditions the defendants' joint motion for a Rule 17(c) subpoena for Garcia's psychiatric records:

First, the clerk shall issue subpoenas to Dr. Robert Jimmenez and Veterans Center-Corpus Christi that require production to only the court on or before May 19, 1994, of all records concerning the treatment, care and evaluation of Louis Albert Garcia for a emotional or mental disorder, defect or illness from 1988 through the present. Second, the court shall seal the records and view them in camera. Third, the defendants shall submit on May 13, 1994, briefs and any affidavits on the possible relevance that a "Major depressive Disorder single Episode non-psychotic" and "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Chronic" would have on Garcia's credibility and bias. The government will have until May 19, 1994, to file its response. Fourth, the court will not disclose the relevant records, if any, until it has conducted the in camera inspection and decided any objections or assertions of privilege.

(Dk. 71 at 17-18) (footnote omitted). The court received the subpoenaed records from the Veterans Center-Corpus Christi on June 27, 1994, and from Dr. Robert Jimmenez on July 7, 1994. The court carefully reviewed these records considering the arguments and authorities made by both parties and the affidavit of Dr. G.R. Wurster submitted by the defendants. The court also followed the relevant law set out in its order of May 6, 1994. (Dk. 71). It should be noted that Louis Garcia has not asserted on the record any privilege with regard to these psychiatric records.

Here is an overview of the general rules guiding the court's determination. A witness's mental history is relevant to credibility if it bears on the witness's ability to perceive the events at issue, to recall clearly the events, or to testify accurately and truthfully about them. United States v. Lopez, 611 F.2d 44, 45-46 (4th Cir.1979); see United States v. Moore, 923 F.2d 910, 912-13 (1st Cir.1991). The witness's mental condition also must be temporally relevant. United States v. Honneus, 508 F.2d 566, 573 (1st Cir.1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 948, 95 S.Ct. 1677, 44 L.Ed.2d 101 (1975). Finally, the witness's mental condition "must not `introduce into the case a collateral issue which would confuse the jury and which would necessitate allowing the Government to introduce testimony explaining the matter.'" Lopez, 611 F.2d at 45-46 (quoting United States v. Mucherino, 311 F.2d 172, 174 (4th Cir. 1962)). Utilizing Fed.R.Evid. 403, the court should balance "`the potential prejudice of a free wheeling inquiry intended to stigmatize the witness against whatever materiality the evidence might have.'" Lopez, 611 F.2d at 46 (quoting United States v. Honneus, 508 F.2d at 573). The courts in applying these rules have found mental condition relevant only where "the witness exhibited a pronounced disposition to lie or hallucinate, or suffered from a severe illness, such as schizophrenia, that dramatically impaired her ability to perceive and tell the truth." United States v. Butt, 955 F.2d 77, 82-83 (1st Cir. 1992).

The court's impression from reading the psychiatric records is that during the relevant time period Louis Garcia did not suffer from a serious mental illness. The records establish that he was not psychotic and did not display hallucinations, delusions, or illusions. He was oriented to time, place and person, and his reality testing was intact. The court is satisfied that Garcia's major depression is a collateral issue that could confuse the jury and which would require additional evidence from the prosecution to explain. The depression, while obviously serious enough to disable Garcia from work, was not of the nature or duration to impair significantly his ability to perceive the events at issue, to recall them, or to tell the truth. The use of these records in cross-examination would do little to impair Garcia's credibility but would do much to embarrass him and to assault and invade his privacy and personality. The defendants are amply equipped with other material on which to impeach Garcia, including his conflicting statements and guilty plea. The court is convinced that Garcia's mental condition would have minimal effect, at best, on the jury's evaluation of his credibility and would be substantially outweighed by the unfair prejudice to Garcia, the potential for juror confusion over the real and potential impact from the diagnosed and undiagnosed psychological disorders, the danger of the jury being misled on the actual impact of this single episode of major depressive disorder, and the undue delay from a mini-trial on this collateral issue. The court retains these records under seal and denies the defendants' request to view them for possible use at trial.

MARTINEZ' MOTION IN LIMINE (DK. 90).

The defendant Martinez seeks to exclude admission and reference to two previous criminal matters under Rule 609 of the Federal Rules of Evidence.¹ The first criminal matter is a state drug conviction in Texas. On February 7, 1986, the defendant pleaded guilty in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, to one count of distribution of cocaine. The state court ordered probation, fined the defendant $500.00, and deferred the adjudication of guilt. On March 22, 1994, the state court entered an order finding the defendant had completed probation, allowing the defendant to withdraw his guilty plea, dismissing the indictment, and setting aside the judgment of conviction. The second criminal matter arises under federal law. The defendant Martinez pleaded guilty to filing a false statement in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas suspended imposition of sentence and placed Martinez on probation for three years. Martinez successfully completed his probation which ended on June 18, 1993.

Rule 609 permits introduction of prior convictions for the purpose of attacking a witness's credibility. When the criminal defendant is testifying, evidence of a prior conviction for a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for over one year "shall be admitted if the court determines that the probative value of admitting this evidence outweighs its prejudicial effect to the accused." Fed. R.Evid. 609(a)(1). If the prior conviction involves dishonesty or false statement, regardless of the punishment imposed, the court shall admit the conviction and need not balance the probative value of the conviction against its prejudicial effect. Fed.R.Evid. 609(a)(2). The prior conviction, however, is not admissible if it "has been the subject of a pardon, annulment, certificate of rehabilitation, or other equivalent procedure based on a finding of rehabilitation of the person convicted." Fed.R.Evid. 609(c).

A. 1986 Texas Cocaine Charge.

The defendant Martinez contends there is no conviction because the charges were dismissed and no adjudication of guilt was ever made. The defendant Martinez argues that Texas law governs whether there is a conviction for Rule 609 purposes and that Green v. State, 663 S.W.2d 145 (Tex.App. 1983), is controlling of the issue. The court disagrees.

What is a conviction under Rule 609 is a complex question which implicates the underlying policy of Rule 609 that a conviction differs from other evidence of misconduct in its reliability. 28 Charles A. Wright & Victor J. Gold, Federal Practice and Procedure § 6133 at 208 (1993). The issue here is whether a guilty plea without an adjudication of guilt constitutes a conviction under Rule 609. Though the case law is conflicting, see Federal Practice and Procedure § 6133 at 210 n. 27, this court's difficulty in deciding the issue is eased by the binding precedent of a Tenth Circuit decision.

In United States v. Turner, 497 F.2d 406 (10th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 848, 96 S.Ct. 90, 46 L.Ed.2d 71 (1975), the defendant argued on appeal that the trial court had erred in allowing the government to cross-examine him on a guilty plea that did not amount to a conviction. Turner had pleaded guilty in state court under the deferred judgment procedure. Oklahoma law provided that upon the defendant's guilty plea the court would withhold entering judgment and then would place the defendant on probation. If the defendant completed the probation, he was "discharged without a court judgment of guilt," the plea of guilty was expunged, and the charges were dismissed. 497 F.2d at 407. The Tenth Circuit affirmed holding first that Oklahoma law did not govern the admissibility of evidence in a federal criminal action.²Id. Federal ...