United States v. Demettris Cruse
805 F.3d 795
7th Cir.2015Background
- Mid-1990s–2011 investigation of two Milwaukee gangs (Westlawn and Six Trey) that controlled adjacent crack-cocaine markets; indictment charged a single conspiracy involving both gangs and large quantities of powder and crack cocaine and marijuana.
- Eighteen earlier defendants had pleaded guilty and cooperated; a later indictment (Sept. 2011) charged 11 more, including Cruse, McClain, and Henderson.
- Henderson pleaded guilty pursuant to an agreement limiting his admitted drugs to 280 g crack and unspecified marijuana (excluding 5 kg powder cocaine) and received the government’s recommended 10‑year mandatory minimum, but the government failed to file the promised information narrowing the indictment.
- Cruse and McClain went to trial; seven cooperating witnesses (former coconspirators) testified. Juries convicted both; special verdicts found drug-quantity thresholds triggering mandatory minima. Cruse received 240 months; McClain 252 months.
- On appeal: Henderson challenged his plea’s validity; Cruse and McClain raised Batson challenges, hearsay/confrontation issues, sufficiency of the evidence, denial of a buyer–seller instruction, and a Pinkerton-related drug-quantity instruction error.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of Henderson’s plea after prosecutor failed to file narrowing information | Henderson: mutual mistake deprived him of due process and an intelligent, voluntary plea; he should be allowed to withdraw or have plea undone | Govt/Court: plea colloquy and judgment matched the agreed substance (admitted facts, penalties); variance harmless because no prejudice or confusion about elements/penalties | Affirmed: plea stands; judgment conformed to agreement and plea was voluntary |
| Batson peremptory strikes of two black venirepersons | Cruse & McClain: government struck jurors on race, violating Batson | Government: race-neutral reasons (Bluetooth/disinterest, drug‑addiction history, self‑employment); trial judge credited explanations | Affirmed: no clear error in district court’s Batson findings |
| Hearsay/Confrontation: Agent’s testimony that informants identified defendants | McClain: the testimony was hearsay and violated Confrontation Clause | Government: testimony was course‑of‑investigation (nonhearsay) and cooperating witnesses later testified and were cross‑examined | Affirmed: admissible as course‑of‑investigation; any Confrontation claim fails under plain‑error standard given abundant live testimony |
| Buyer–seller jury instruction (distinguishing arm’s‑length sales from conspiracy) | Cruse & McClain: requested Pattern Instruction 5.10(A); needed to avoid conviction based on mere buyer–seller transactions | Government: evidence showed conspiracy, not mere buyer–seller; defendants at times denied selling at all | Mixed: Cruse — evidence supported a buyer–seller theory and denial of instruction was prejudicial (vacate and remand for new trial). McClain — strong evidence of middlemen and conspiracy; denial proper |
| Pinkerton/quantity instruction (foreseeability & temporal scope) | Defendants: verdict form omitted Pinkerton limits, potentially overstating drug quantities attributable to them | Government: omission was error but harmless as to McClain because multiple witnesses tied large quantities directly to him | Affirmed as to McClain: error did not affect substantial rights given overwhelming quantity evidence (Cruse vacated on other grounds) |
Key Cases Cited
- Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742 (1970) (guilty plea must be intelligent and voluntary)
- McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459 (1969) (plea is admission of elements; defendant must understand law relative to facts)
- Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) (prohibition on race-based peremptory strikes)
- Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 U.S. 472 (2008) (three-step Batson framework and deference to trial court credibility findings)
- Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765 (1995) (race-neutral reasons need not be persuasive, only genuine)
- Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322 (2003) (totality-of-the-circumstances credibility assessment in Batson review)
- Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640 (1946) (coconspirator liability limited to reasonably foreseeable acts during membership)
- Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000) (facts increasing mandatory minimum or maximum must be found beyond reasonable doubt)
- Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013) (Apprendi rule extended to mandatory minimums)
- United States v. Jones, 763 F.3d 777 (7th Cir. 2014) (factors distinguishing consignment/conspiracy from buyer‑seller relationship)
- United States v. Brown, 726 F.3d 993 (7th Cir. 2013) (holistic assessment of conspiracy verdict)
- United States v. Meyer, 157 F.3d 1067 (7th Cir. 1998) (failure to give buyer‑seller instruction can require reversal when evidence supports it)
- United States v. Fort, 998 F.2d 542 (7th Cir. 1993) (buyer‑seller instruction unnecessary where broker/middleman evidence shows conspiracy)