ORTEGA-RODRIGUEZ v. UNITED STATES
No. 91-7749
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 7, 1992-Decided March 8, 1993
507 U.S. 234
James R. Gailey argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were Stewart G. Abrams and Paul M. Rashkind.
Amy L. Wax argued the cause for the United States. With her on the brief were Solicitor General Starr, Assistant Attorney General Mueller, and Deputy Solicitor General Bryson.
JUSTICE STEVENS delivered the opinion of the Court.
In United States v. Holmes, 680 F. 2d 1372, 1373 (1982), cert. denied, 460 U. S. 1015 (1983), the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that “a defendant who flees after conviction, but before sentencing, waives his right to appeal from the conviction unless he can establish that his absence was due to matters completely beyond his control.” Relying on that authority, and without further explanation, the court dismissed petitioner‘s appeal.1 Because we have not pre-
I
In the early evening of November 7, 1988, a Customs Service pilot was patrolling the Cay Sal Bank area, located midway between Cuba and the Florida Keys. Approximately 30 miles southwest of Cay Sal, the pilot observed a low-flying aircraft circling over a white boat and dropping bales. The boat, described by the pilot as 40 to 50 feet in length, was circling with the plane and retrieving the bales from the water as they dropped. Because the Customs Service plane was flying at an altitude of 2,500 feet, and visibility was less than optimal, the pilot was unable to identify the name of the boat. United States v. Mieres-Borges, 919 F. 2d 652, 654-655 (CA11 1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 980 (1991); Report and Recommendation in United States v. Ortega-Rodriguez, No. 88-10035-CR-KING (SD Fla., Feb. 23, 1989).
The following morning, another Customs Service pilot found the Wilfred, a boat resembling the one spotted approximately 12 hours earlier. This boat, located just off the beach of Cay Sal, was described as a 30- to 40-foot sportfishing vessel. Upon making this discovery, the pilot first flew to the drop point identified the night before, 30 miles away, and found no activity. Returning to Cay Sal, he found a number of bales stacked on the beach, and the Wilfred underway and headed toward Cuba.
The pilot alerted the captain of a Coast Guard cutter, who intercepted, boarded, and searched the Wilfred. He found no narcotics, weapons, or other incriminating evidence on the boat. Nevertheless, the three members of the crew failed to convince the Coast Guard that they were fishing for dolphin, although a large number of similar vessels frequently do so in the area. Mieres-Borges, 919 F. 2d, at 655-657, 659-660.
The District Court issued a warrant for petitioner‘s arrest, and 11 months later, on May 24, 1990, he was apprehended. Petitioner was indicted and found guilty of contempt of court3 and failure to appear.4 Pursuant to the Sentencing
While petitioner was under indictment after his arrest, the Court of Appeals disposed of his two codefendants’ appeals. The court affirmed one conviction, but reversed the other because the evidence was insufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.6 Also after petitioner was taken into custody, his attorney filed a “motion to vacate sentence and for resentencing,” as well as a motion for judgment of acquittal. The District Court denied the latter but granted the former, vacating the judgment previously entered on the cocaine convictions.7 The District Court then resentenced
On appeal, petitioner argued that the same insufficiency of the evidence rationale underlying reversal of his codefendant‘s conviction should apply in his case, because precisely the same evidence was admitted against the two defendants. Without addressing the merits of this contention, the Government moved to dismiss the appeal. The Government‘s motion was based entirely on the fact that petitioner had become a fugitive after his conviction and before his initial sentencing, so that “[u]nder the holding in Holmes, he cannot now challenge his 1989 conviction for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.”10 In a per curiam order, the Court of Appeals granted the motion to dismiss.
II
It has been settled for well over a century that an appellate court may dismiss the appeal of a defendant who is a fugitive from justice during the pendency of his appeal. The Supreme Court applied this rule for the first time in Smith v. United States, 94 U. S. 97 (1876), to an escaped defendant who remained at large when his petition arose before the Court. Under these circumstances, the Court explained, there could be no assurance that any judgment it issued
Enforceability is not, however, the only explanation we have offered for the fugitive dismissal rule. In Molinaro v. New Jersey, 396 U. S. 365, 366 (1970), we identified an additional justification for dismissal of an escaped prisoner‘s pending appeal:
“No persuasive reason exists why this Court should proceed to adjudicate the merits of a criminal case after the convicted defendant who has sought review escapes from the restraints placed upon him pursuant to the conviction. While such an escape does not strip the case of its character as an adjudicable case or controversy, we believe it disentitles the defendant to call upon the resources of the Court for determination of his claims.”
As applied by this Court, then, the rule allowing dismissal of fugitives’ appeals has rested in part on enforceability concerns, and in part on a “disentitlement” theory that construes a defendant‘s flight during the pendency of his appeal as tantamount to waiver or abandonment.
Estelle went on to consider whether the Texas statute was irrational because it applied only to prisoners with appeals pending when they fled custody. Citing the “peculiar problems posed by escape of a prisoner during the ongoing appellate process,” id., at 542, n. 11, we concluded that it was not. The distinct concerns implicated by an escape pending appeal justified a special rule for such appeals:
“Texas was free to deal more severely with those who simultaneously invoked the appellate process and escaped from its custody than with those who first escaped from its custody, returned, and then invoked the appellate process within the time permitted by law. While each class of prisoners sought to escape, the first did so in the very midst of their invocation of the appellate process, while the latter did so before returning to custody and commencing that process. If Texas is free to
adopt a policy which deters escapes by prisoners, as all of our cases make clear that it is, it is likewise free to impose more severe sanctions on those whose escape is reasonably calculated to disrupt the very appellate process which they themselves have set in motion.” Id., at 541-542.
Thus, our cases consistently and unequivocally approve dismissal as an appropriate sanction when a prisoner is a fugitive during “the ongoing appellate process.” Moreover, this rule is amply supported by a number of justifications. In addition to addressing the enforceability concerns identified in Smith v. United States, 94 U. S. 97 (1876), and Bohanan v. Nebraska, 125 U. S. 692 (1887), dismissal by an appellate court after a defendant has fled its jurisdiction serves an important deterrent function and advances an interest in efficient, dignified appellate practice. Estelle, 420 U. S., at 537. What remains for our consideration is whether the same rationales support a rule mandating dismissal of an appeal of a defendant who flees the jurisdiction of a district court, and is recaptured before he invokes the jurisdiction of the appellate tribunal.
III
In 1982, the Government persuaded the Eleventh Circuit that our reasoning in Molinaro should be extended to the appeal of a “former fugitive,” returned to custody prior to sentencing and notice of appeal.12 The Court of Appeals
The rule of Holmes differs from that applied in Molinaro in three key respects. First, of course, the Holmes rule reaches defendants who flee while their cases are before district courts, as well as those who flee while their appeals are pending. Second, the Holmes rule, unlike the rule of Molinaro, will not mandate dismissal of an entire appeal whenever it is invoked. As the Eleventh Circuit explained, because flight cannot fairly be construed as a waiver of appeal from errors occurring after recapture, defendants who flee presentencing retain their right to appeal sentencing errors, though they lose the right to appeal their convictions. 680 F. 2d, at 1373.14 Finally, as announced in Holmes and
In our view, the rationales that supported dismissal in cases like Molinaro and Estelle should not be extended as far as the Eleventh Circuit has taken them. Our review of rules adopted by the courts of appeals in their supervisory capacity is limited in scope, but it does demand that such rules represent reasoned exercises of the courts’ authority. See Thomas v. Arn, 474 U. S. 140, 146-148 (1985). Accordingly, the justifications we have advanced for allowing appellate courts to dismiss pending fugitive appeals all assume some connection between a defendant‘s fugitive status and the appellate process, sufficient to make an appellate sanction a reasonable response.15 These justifications are necessarily attenuated when applied to a case in which both flight and recapture occur while the case is pending before the district court, so that a defendant‘s fugitive status at no time coincides with his appeal.
There is, for instance, no question but that dismissal of a former fugitive‘s appeal cannot be justified by reference to the enforceability concerns that animated Smith v. United States, 94 U. S. 97 (1876), and the cases that followed. A defendant returned to custody before he invokes the appellate process presents no risk of unenforceability; he is within control of the appellate court throughout the period of appeal and issuance of judgment. Cf. United States v. Gordon, 538 F. 2d 914, 915 (CA1 1976) (dismissing pending appeal of fugitive because it is “unlikely that [the] convicted party will respond to an unfavorable decision“).
Nor does dismissal of appeals filed after recapture operate to protect the “digni[ty]” of an appellate court. Cf. Estelle, 420 U. S., at 537. It is often said that a fugitive “flouts” the authority of the court by escaping, and that dismissal is an appropriate sanction for this act of disrespect. See, e. g., United States v. DeValle, 894 F. 2d 133, 138 (CA5 1990); United States v. Persico, 853 F. 2d 134, 137-138 (CA2 1988);
The problem in this case, of course, is that petitioner, who fled before sentencing and was recaptured before appeal, flouted the authority of the District Court, not the Court of Appeals. The contemptuous disrespect manifested by his flight was directed at the District Court, before which his case was pending during the entirety of his fugitive period. Therefore, under the reasoning of the cases cited above, it is the District Court that has the authority to defend its own dignity, by sanctioning an act of defiance that occurred solely within its domain. See United States v. Anagnos, 853 F. 2d 1, 2 (CA1 1988) (declining to follow Holmes because former fugitive‘s “misconduct was in the district court, and should affect consequences in that court, not in ours“).
We cannot accept an expansion of this reasoning that would allow an appellate court to sanction by dismissal any conduct that exhibited disrespect for any aspect of the judicial system, even where such conduct has no connection to the course of appellate proceedings. See supra, at 244, and n. 15. Such rule would sweep far too broadly, permitting, for instance, this Court to dismiss a petition solely because the petitioner absconded for a day during district court proceedings, or even because the petitioner once violated a condition of parole or probation. None of our cases calls for such a result, and we decline today to adopt such an
Finally, Estelle‘s deterrence rationale, 420 U. S., at 537, offers little support for the Eleventh Circuit rule. Once jurisdiction has vested in the appellate court, as in Estelle, then any deterrent to escape must flow from appellate consequences, and dismissal may be an appropriate sanction by which to deter. Until that time, however, the district court is quite capable of defending its own jurisdiction. While a case is pending before the district court, flight can be deterred with the threat of a wide range of penalties available to the district court judge. See Katz v. United States, 920 F. 2d 610, 613 (CA9 1990) (when defendant is before district court, “disentitlement doctrine does not stand alone as a deterrence to escape“).
Moreover, should this deterrent prove ineffective, and a defendant flee while his case is before a district court, the district court is well situated to impose an appropriate punishment. While an appellate court has access only to the blunderbuss of dismissal, the district court can tailor a more finely calibrated response. Most obviously, because flight is a separate offense punishable under the Criminal Code, see nn. 3-4, supra, the district court can impose a separate sentence that adequately vindicates the public interest in deter-
Indeed, as Justice Stewart noted in his dissenting opinion in Estelle v. Dorrough, 420 U. S., at 544-545, punishment by appellate dismissal introduces an element of arbitrariness and irrationality into sentencing for escape.20 Use of the dismissal sanction as, in practical effect, a second punishment for a defendant‘s flight is almost certain to produce the kind of disparity in sentencing that the Sentencing Reform Act of 198421 and the Sentencing Guidelines were intended to eliminate.22
We do not ignore the possibility that some actions by a defendant, though they occur while his case is before the district court, might have an impact on the appellate process sufficient to warrant an appellate sanction. For that reason, we do not hold that a court of appeals is entirely without authority to dismiss an appeal because of fugitive status predating the appeal. For example, the Eleventh Circuit, in formulating the Holmes rule, expressed concern that a long escape, even if ended before sentencing and appeal, may so delay the onset of appellate proceedings that the Government would be prejudiced in locating witnesses and presenting evidence at retrial after a successful appeal. Holmes, 680 F. 2d, at 1374; see also United States v. Persico, 853 F. 2d, at 137. We recognize that this problem might, in some instances, make dismissal an appropriate response. In the class of appeals premised on insufficiency of the evidence, however, in which petitioner‘s appeal falls, retrial is not permitted in the event of reversal, and this type of prejudice to the Government will not serve as a rationale for dismissal.
Similarly, a defendant‘s misconduct at the district court level might somehow make “meaningful appeal impossible,” Holmes, 680 F. 2d, at 1374, or otherwise disrupt the appellate process so that an appellate sanction is reasonably imposed.
As this case reaches us, however, there is no reason to believe that the Eleventh Circuit has made such a judgment. Application of the Holmes rule, as formulated by the Eleventh Circuit thus far, does not require the kind of connection between fugitivity and the appellate process that we hold necessary today; instead, it may rest on nothing more than the faulty premise that any act of judicial defiance, whether or not it affects the appellate process, is punishable by appellate dismissal. See Holmes, 680 F. 2d, at 1374; supra, at 246. Accordingly, that the Eleventh Circuit saw fit to dismiss this case under Holmes does not by itself reflect a determination
Nor is there any indication in the record below-either in the Government‘s motion to dismiss, or in the Eleventh Circuit‘s per curiam order-that petitioner‘s former fugitivity was deemed to present an obstacle to orderly appellate review. Thus, we have no reason to assume that the Eleventh Circuit would consider the duplication of resources involved in hearing petitioner‘s appeal separately from those of his codefendants-which can of course be minimized by reliance on the earlier panel decision in United States v. Mieres-Borges, see supra, at 238, and n. 6-sufficiently disruptive of the appellate process that dismissal would be a reasonable response, on the facts of this case and under the standard we announce today. We leave that determination to the Court of Appeals on remand.24
In short, when a defendant‘s flight and recapture occur before appeal, the defendant‘s former fugitive status may well lack the kind of connection to the appellate process that would justify an appellate sanction of dismissal. In such cases, fugitivity while a case is pending before a district court, like other contempts of court, is best sanctioned by the district court itself. The contempt for the appellate process manifested by flight while a case is pending on appeal remains subject to the rule of Molinaro.
So ordered.
CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST, with whom JUSTICE WHITE, JUSTICE O‘CONNOR, and JUSTICE THOMAS join, dissenting.
The Court holds that, in general, a court of appeals may not dismiss an appeal based on a defendant‘s fugitive status if that status does not coincide with the pendency of the appeal. We disagree. The only difference between a defendant who absconds preappeal and one who absconds postappeal is that the former has filed a notice of appeal while the latter has not. This “distinction” is not strong enough to support the Court‘s holding, for there is as much of a chance that flight will disrupt the proper functioning of the appellate process if it occurs before the court of appeals obtains jurisdiction as there is if it occurs after the court of appeals obtains jurisdiction. As a consequence, there is no reason why the authority to dismiss an appeal should be based on the timing of a defendant‘s escape. Although we agree with the Court that there must be some “connection” between escape and the appellate process, we disagree with the conclusion that recapture before appeal generally breaks the connection.1
It is beyond dispute that the courts of appeals have supervisory power to create and enforce “procedural rules governing the management of litigation.” Thomas v. Arn, 474 U. S. 140, 146 (1985). The only limit on this authority is that the rules may not violate the Constitution or a statute, and must be reasonable in light of the concerns they are designed to address. See id., at 146-148. There can be no argument that the fugitive dismissal rule employed by the Eleventh Circuit violates the Constitution because a convicted criminal has no constitutional right to an appeal. Abney v. United States, 431 U. S. 651, 656 (1977). Nor is the rule inconsistent with
The fugitive dismissal rule is reasonable in light of the interests it is designed to protect. In Molinaro v. New Jersey, 396 U. S. 365, 366 (1970), we declined to adjudicate a defendant‘s case because he fled after appealing his state conviction. We reasoned that by absconding, the defendant forfeited his right to “call upon the resources of the Court for determination of his claims.” Id., at 366. And in Estelle v. Dorrough, 420 U. S. 534 (1975), we upheld a Texas statute that mandated dismissal of an appeal if the defendant fled after invoking the jurisdiction of the appellate court. We recognized that Texas reasonably has an interest in discouraging felony escape, encouraging voluntary surrenders, and promoting the “efficient, dignified operation of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.” Id., at 537. Both Molinaro and Estelle are premised on the idea that a reviewing court may invoke procedural rules to protect its jurisdiction and to ensure the orderly and efficient use of its limited resources.
While we agree with the Court that there must be some connection between fugitivity and the appellate process in
If, as in the present case, the defendant eventually is recaptured and resentenced, he obtains a second chance to challenge his conviction and sentence, and consequently delays the appellate process by at least the amount of time he managed to elude law enforcement authorities. We are startled by the Court‘s assertion that “any concomitant delay ... likely will exhaust itself well before the appellate tribunal enters the picture.” Ante, at 245. If the defendant obtains an additional opportunity to file a timely notice of appeal, the court of appeals, in the absence of a fugitive dismissal rule or any jurisdictional defect, must entertain the appeal. At
As is demonstrated by the instant case, the delay caused by preappeal flight can thwart the administration of justice by forcing a severance, requiring duplication of precious appellate resources, and raising the specter of inconsistent judgments. Here, the appellate process was delayed by approximately 19 months (counting both the period of fugitivity and the time used by the District Court to resentence petitioner). During this delay, the Eleventh Circuit heard and decided the appeals filed by petitioner‘s codefendants. United States v. Mieres-Borges, 919 F. 2d 652 (1990), cert. denied, 499 U. S. 980 (1991). Because petitioner fled, the Eleventh Circuit was unable to consolidate petitioner‘s appeal with those filed by his codefendants and conserve judicial resources. In addition to forcing a severance, petitioner‘s flight created a real possibility of inconsistent judgments. Petitioner‘s flight “imposed exactly the same burden of duplication on the court of appeals that it would have if he had filed his notice of appeal before absconding.” Brief for United States 21. Had petitioner‘s counsel filed a notice of appeal on petitioner‘s behalf while he remained at large, the Court of Appeals could have dismissed the appeal with prejudice. See Molinaro, 396 U. S., at 366. Since petitioner‘s flight had an adverse effect on the proper functioning of
In addition to administration, the Eleventh Circuit‘s fugitive dismissal rule is supported by an interest in deterring flight and encouraging voluntary surrender. Due to the adverse effects that flight, whenever it occurs, can have on the proper functioning of the appellate process, courts of appeals have an obvious interest in deterring escape and encouraging voluntary surrender. Unfortunately, today‘s opinion only encourages flight and discourages surrender. To a defendant deciding whether to flee before or after filing a notice of appeal, today‘s decision makes the choice simple. If the defendant flees preappeal and happens to get caught after the time for filing a notice of appeal has expired, he still has the opportunity for appellate review if he can persuade a district judge to resentence him. If the district judge refuses, the defendant is at no more of a disadvantage than he would have been had he escaped after filing an appeal since flight after appeal can automatically extinguish the right to appellate review. See Molinaro, supra.
A rule permitting dismissal when a defendant‘s flight interrupts the appellate process protects respect for the judicial system. When a defendant escapes, whether before or after lodging an appeal, he flouts the authority of the judicial process, of which the court of appeals is an integral part. Surely the Court does not mean to argue that a defendant who escapes during district court proceedings intends only disrespect for that tribunal. Quite obviously, a fleeing defendant has no intention of returning, at least voluntarily. His flight therefore demonstrates an equal amount of disrespect for the authority of the court of appeals as it does for the district court. Viewed in this light, the “finely calibrated response” available to the district court, ante, at 247, does nothing to vindicate the affront to the appellate process. The Court‘s argument is not enhanced by the use of far-
While the Court recognizes that the reasoning underlying the opinion requires an exception for cases in which flight throws a wrench into the proper workings of the appellate process, ante, at 249-250, its rule is too narrow. The Court limits the exception to cases in which flight creates a “significant interference with the operation of [the] appellate process.” Ante, at 250. Translated, the rule applies preappeal only when retrial is hampered, a “‘meaningful appeal [is] impossible,‘” or the case involves multiple defendants, thereby causing a forced severance. Ante, at 249-250. This grudging concession is insufficient because it fails to include those cases where sheer delay caused by the fugitivity of the lone defendant has an adverse effect on the appellate process.
In sum, courts of appeals have supervisory authority, both inherent and under Rule 47, to create and enforce procedural rules designed to promote the management of their docket. Fugitivity dismissal rules are no exception. In cases where fugitivity obstructs the orderly workings of the appellate process, this authority is properly exercised. Because petitioner‘s flight delayed the appellate process by approximately 19 months, and involved the burden of duplication and the risk of inconsistent judgments, we would hold that the Eleventh Circuit properly applied its fugitive dismissal rule in this case.
Notes
“(a) OFFENSE. - Whoever, having been released under this chapter knowingly-
“(1) fails to appear before a court as required by the conditions of release; or
“(2) fails to surrender for service of sentence pursuant to a court order;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
“(b) PUNISHMENT. ---(1) The punishment for an offense under this section is-
“(A) if the person was released in connection with a charge of, or while awaiting sentence, surrender for service of sentence, or appeal or certiorari after conviction for-
“(i) an offense punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for a term of 15 years or more, a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both;
“(ii) an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term of five years or more, a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both;
“(iii) any other felony, a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than two years, or both; or
“(iv) a misdemeanor, a fine under this chapter or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both; and
“(B) if the person was released for appearance as a material witness, a fine under this chapter or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
“(2) A term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be consecutive to the sentence of imprisonment for any other offense.
“(c) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.---It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that uncontrollable circumstances prevented the person from appearing or surrendering, and that the person did not contribute to the creation of such circumstances in reckless disregard of the requirement to appear or surrender, and that the person appeared or surrendered as soon as such circumstances ceased to exist.”