United States v. Lamar E. Sanders
2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 4152
| 7th Cir. | 2013Background
- In January 2008, Sanders and an accomplice abducted Nobles’s daughter R.E. to coerce Nobles to rob her mother’s currency exchange.
- Nobles alerted authorities; Sanders’s accomplice Scott was arrested and Sanders surrendered soon after.
- A five-day trial led to Sanders’s conviction on kidnapping under 18 U.S.C. § 1201 and extortion under § 1951.
- Nobles identified Sanders in photos shortly after the crime; R.E. identified Sanders in a formal photo array; Nobles later identified him in court.
- The district court admitted the identifications and limited cross-examination of Nobles’s prior convictions; Sanders challenged both.
- Sanders was sentenced to 25 years for kidnapping (minimum under § 3559(f)(2)) and 20 years for extortion, with concurrent terms and five years of supervised release, prompting this appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Nobles’s identifications violated due process. | Sanders; identifications were unnecessarily suggestive. | Government; identification procedures were necessary given the circumstances. | No due-process violation; any error was harmless. |
| Whether the cross-examination limitation on Nobles’s prior convictions violated the Confrontation Clause. | Sanders; limitation deprived effective cross-examination to expose bias. | Government; limitation did not foreclose all avenues to expose bias, and the defense had sufficient information. | No Confrontation Clause violation; no abuse of discretion in limiting testimony. |
| Whether the district court correctly applied the mandatory minimum sentencing provisions. | Sanders; lower § 1201(g) minimum should apply to avoid the higher § 3559(f)(2) minimum. | Government; § 3559(f)(2) crime-of-violence minimum applies. | Higher 25-year minimum applies; § 1201(g) not rendered meaningless; sentence affirmed. |
Key Cases Cited
- Perry v. New Hampshire, 132 S. Ct. 716 (2012) (standard for due-process reliability of identifications; two-prong approach)
- Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377 (1968) (necessity of identification procedures under certain exigent circumstances)
- United States v. Recendiz, 557 F.3d 511 (7th Cir. 2009) (factors for evaluating harmless error in identification/other-conduct issues)
- Griffin, 493 F.3d 856 (7th Cir. 2007) (discussion of repetition of identification procedures)
- Kimbrough, 528 F.2d 1242 (7th Cir. 2007) (analysis of suggestive procedures and necessity, especially with partial identifications)
- Odom, 521 F.2d 1370 (7th Cir. 1975) (photos used where detective needed quick investigation)