Felipe Bonilla Romero appeals his conviction and subsequent sentence on four counts of federal drug and firearm violations. We affirm.
During a surveillance of Bonilla’s home on September 18, 1985, a Puerto Rico *41 government agent witnessed evidence of two drug transactions. The agent subsequently saw Bonilla leave his home by car in possession of a pistol and communicated this fact to other Puerto Rico officers. These officers arrested appellant and, during a search of his car, found the pistol and small amounts of cocaine and heroin. He was then arraigned on weapons and drug charges under Puerto Rico law and released on bail.
The following day a warrant for the search of Bonilla’s home was issued on the basis of affidavits of two officers involved in the previous day’s surveillance and arrest and the evidence seized during the arrest. Appellant’s home was searched, another gun and approximately one-tenth of a kilogram of heroin and cocaine were found, and appellant again was arrested. He was arraigned on further weapons and drug charges under Puerto Rico law.
Five months later, on February 19, 1986, appellant was indicted on the basis of this evidence in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, both pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and on two counts of receiving firearms in interstate commerce by a known felon. A fifth count, not at issue here, was later dismissed.
After a suppression hearing conducted at the end of April, 1986, a judge of the Superior Court of Puerto Rico announced he would grant appellant’s motion to suppress, for purposes of the local prosecution, the evidence seized on September 18 and 19. The judge seriously doubted the veracity of the officers whose testimony was presented to support the warrantless search of Bonilla’s car and whose affidavits were the basis of the search warrant used to search his home. The local prosecution subsequently was dismissed and the decision to suppress is on appeal to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.
Appellant was not similarly successful in federal district court. The district judge there held that the federal court was not bound by the decision of the local court to suppress the evidence. He held a hearing
de novo
on the matter and denied appellant’s motion to suppress,
Appellant’s allegations can be grouped into five issues. He alleges (1) the government was allowed to relitigate a suppression of evidence issue in violation of the double jeopardy clause; (2) the relitigation of the issue was violative of collateral es-toppel principles; (3) he was denied a fair hearing on the suppression issue; (4) the district court abused its discretion in failing to suppress the evidence; and (5) the imposition of the consecutive maximum sentences on the two drug charges was contrary to statute and subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment. We address each allegation in turn below.
Double Jeopardy
Appellant contends the district court was precluded from hearing the federal charges against him due to the restrictions imposed by the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. He concedes that his trial in the Puerto Rico Superior Court never commenced, yet argues that the dismissal of charges there
prior
to trial was equivalent to a dismissal for insufficiency of evidence
during
trial. Since the latter recently has been held to be a bar to further prosecution,
see Smalis v. Pennsylvania,
*42
The double jeopardy clause, however, is not a game rule designed to ensure uniformity of result regardless of pretrial strategy or rules of procedure. Rather, the basic principle underlying the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy is that “the State with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the possibility that even though innocent he may be found guilty.”
Green v. United States,
It is now well-settled law, therefore, that jeopardy “attaches” when a trial commences; that is, when a jury is sworn or empanelled or, in a bench trial, when the judge begins to hear evidence.
Willhauck v. Flanagan,
Collateral Estoppel
Appellant alternatively argues that, regardless of whether jeopardy attached, relitigation of the suppression issue was barred by the principle of collateral estoppel (now more accurately referred to as “issue preclusion”). It is true that the Supreme Court, in
Ashe v. Swenson,
One circuit, however, has suggested that collateral estoppel principles prohibit a government entity from relitigating a pretrial suppression order in a criminal case.
United States ex rel. DiGiangiemo v. Regan,
While recognizing the merits of Judge Friendly’s argument, we find it unnecessary to decide this important constitutional issue at this time inasmuch as the requirements of collateral estoppel are not satisfied by the facts of this case. The requirements of that doctrine include, inter alia, that the party to be precluded from relit-igating an issue decided in a previous litigation was either a party or in privity with a party to that prior litigation. See generally IB J. Moore, J. Lucas & T. Currier, Moore’s Federal Practice THT 0.441[3], 0.443[1] (2d ed. 1984); Restatement (Second) of Judgments §§ 27, 39, 41 (1982). In this case, the requirement was not satisfied since the federal prosecutors were neither a party, nor in privity with a party, to the suppression hearing in the Puerto Rico Superior Court.
Under the concept of privity, a non-party to an action nonetheless may be bound by the issues decided there if it substantially controls, or is represented by, a party to the action. Restatement (Second) of Judgments §§ 39, 41 (1982).
See Montana v. United States,
Whether a party is virtually representative of a non-party is a question of fact determined on a case-by-case basis.
United States v. ITT Rayonier, Inc.,
Appellant presents no evidence whatsoever that federal prosecutors were, or should have been, involved in any way in the local prosecution. There is no indication they provided assistance or advice to the local authorities or at any time even discussed the matter. Federal prosecutors had no reason to believe that a Puerto Rico Superior Court judge would be deciding any matters affecting a federal prosecution. The initial suppression hearing concerned purely local charges over which the federal enforcement officials had no authority and thus no interest. We see no reason why the principles of fairness, justice, and judicial economy embodied in the doctrine of collateral estoppel require that this doctrine be expanded to bind a party so remote from the action decided. Therefore, without deciding whether collateral estoppel is generally applicable to criminal prosecutions in the absence of attachment of jeopardy, we hold that, under the facts of this case, Puerto Rico and federal law enforcement officials were not in privity during the local pretrial suppression hearing.
Fair Trial
Appellant contends he was denied a fair trial by the district court during its suppression hearing because it: (1) denied defendant’s request for a continuance to obtain the transcript from the local suppression hearing which could have been used to impeach hostile witnesses; (2) denied defendant an overnight continuance to produce corroborating witnesses; and (3) ruled defendant had the burden of going forward to prove the illegality of the searches and seizures.
A denial of a continuance by a district court will not be reversed absent a clear showing of abuse of discretion.
Avery v. Alabama,
The foregoing demonstrates that the district court acted well within its discretionary authority in denying appellant’s motion for a continuance. Appellant had based his request primarily on the incorrect belief that the district court would be constrained by the Superior Court’s decision due to principles of double jeopardy or collateral estoppel. He never clearly asserted his need of the transcript for impeachment purposes, which he nonetheless could have obtained prior to the hearing and without a continuance. Finally, the district court, while not bound by the suppression decision of the Superior Court, showed proper deference by considering that court’s opinion prior to issuing its own decision.
Appellant’s contention that the district court abused its discretion denying appellant’s request for an overnight continuance to produce witnesses is without merit. We need only note that the hearing was held on the defendant’s motion, he had ample time to prepare for that hearing, no new issues were raised there, and yet he failed to subpoena a single witness.
Appellant’s final allegation demonstrates a misunderstanding of the difference between burden of production and burden of persuasion. When suppression of evidence is at issue, the burden is initially upon the party seeking suppression to go forward with specific evidence demonstrating the evidence is tainted.
Alderman v. United States,
Failure to Suppress Evidence
Appellant contends that the district court abused its discretion by failing to suppress evidence seized during his warrantless arrest on September 18, 1985 and during the search of his apartment pursuant to a warrant on the following day. He asserts the officers did not have probable cause to arrest him and that the search warrant was based on affidavits which contained false statements and failed to state the date on which alleged drug transactions were observed.
Probable cause exists when arresting officers have “ ‘facts and circumstances within [their] knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information ... sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that’ an offense has been or is being committed.”
Draper v. United States,
We also hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in failing to find that the warrant used to search appellant’s apartment was defective. A reviewing court must sustain the validity of a search warrant if under the “totality of circumstances” the issuing magistrate could find there was probable cause that criminal evidence could be found as a result of the search pursuant to the warrant.
Illinois v. Gates,
Consecutive Sentences
Appellant was convicted, inter alia, of two violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (1984) (amended 1986) which makes it a crime for any person to possess with intent to distribute “a controlled substance.” He was sentenced pursuant to § 841(b)(1)(B) which mandates imprisonment of not more than fifteen years “[i]n the case of a controlled substance in schedule I or II....” Heroin is a schedule I drug while cocaine is a schedule II drug. The district court imposed the maximum sentence of fifteen years for each violation, the terms to run consecutively.
Appellant contends the district court erred by not treating these violations as a single offense. He argues that since the heroin and cocaine were found in one bag at the same time and place, the drugs together constituted a single “controlled substance” as that term was used by Congress in the statute. Alternatively, appellant argues the imposition of consecutive maximum sentences for the two violations constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the eighth amendment of the Constitution.
Congress may authorize the imposition of cumulative punishments for separate criminal offenses occurring in the same act.
Albernaz v. United States,
It is clear that each of the two violations in question here requires proof of an independent fact; i.e., the identity of the drugs themselves. The second, fourth, fifth, and sixth circuits have all concluded that, under these circumstances, Congress intended simultaneous possession of different controlled substances to be separate offenses under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).
See United States v. De Jesús,
Finally, appellant’s contention that consecutive maximum sentences for the § 841(a)(1) violations constitute cruel and unusual punishment is without merit. There is no evidence in the record that the trial judge employed improper assumptions, mechanically imposed sentence or refused to exercise his discretion to individualize the sentence.
Cf. United States v. López-Gonzáles,
Under the circumstances, so far as disclosed, it is true that the imposition of the full penalty of fine and imprisonment upon each count seems unduly severe; but there may have been other facts and circumstances before the trial court properly influencing the extent of punishment. In any event, the matter was one for that court, with whose judgment there is no warrant for interference on our part.
Blockburger,
Affirmed.
Notes
. The Supreme Court has declined to hear a double jeopardy challenge to a state court decision that an acquittal on the basis of insanity entered prior to the empanelling of a jury did not bar a rehearing on the same issue when the hearing judge had made an error of law.
Rodrigues v. Hawaii,
. It should be noted that this issue alternatively could be decided on the basis of our recent decision in
United States v. López Andino,
. The only other circuits to address Judge Friendly’s argument have refused to express either their approval or disapproval, although the Third Circuit discussed several important and conflicting considerations implicated by that argument.
See United States v. Hatrak,
. See, e.g., supra n. 2.
