UNITED STATES of America v. Paul HILL, Appellant.
No. 80-1202.
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.
Decided July 23, 1981.
Opinion on Denial of Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Sept. 25, 1981.
655 F.2d 512
WEBER, Chief District Judge.
Submitted Under Third Circuit Rule (12)6 Oct. 17, 1980. Argued Feb. 27, 1981.
Because we reverse the judgment against appellants, we are no longer faced with the problem of which defendant is primarily liable to Dravo. Dravo may now execute judgment against Martin only. Muscarelle and American, therefore, need not seek contribution against Martin and Martin has no right of subrogation against the appellants.
CONCLUSION
The net result of our holding is that Martin, the party that agreed to issue a special guaranty to ensure payment on the Dravo units, will be bound by its guaranty. Muscarelle, on the other hand, the party that refused to guarantee the units and acted upon sworn affidavits that Dravo had been compensated before it paid its subcontractor Kerris, will not be required to pay twice for the units.
We therefore reverse the lower court‘s judgment against appellants Muscarelle and American and affirm it as to all other parties.
Hardy Williams (argued), Philadelphia, Pa., for appellant.
Before GIBBONS and ROSENN, Circuit Judges and WEBER,* District Judge.
OPINION OF THE COURT
WEBER, Chief District Judge.
This matter is before the original panel of the Court on a grant of rehearing from its decision of November 25, 1980.
This is an appeal from a criminal conviction on five counts of distribution of narcotics. Appellant contended at trial that a government informant had induced him to arrange narcotics sales to two government agents. This appeal raises the question of the admissibility and proper use of expert psychological testimony in an entrapment defense to establish a defendant‘s unique susceptibility to inducement. Because the District Court misapprehended the nature of the offer of proof and applied too restrictive a view of such offered evidence resulting in the practical exclusion of the testimony of appellant‘s proffered expert witness, we reverse and remand for a new trial.
Appellant, an individual of alleged subnormal intelligence, was employed as a clothing salesman at Krass Bros. in Philadelphia. In February of 1979, he was approached by Ian Daniels, an FBI informant, who inquired about making a heroin buy and locating a source. Hill rebuffed Daniels’ initial requests, but the informant persisted in making additional contacts and requests over the following month, and Hill relented.
On March 13, 1979, Daniels and a federal agent made a heroin purchase from Leonard Newton, an acquaintance of Hill. Appellant arranged, and was present at, the sale. Additional sales to government agents were arranged by Hill and made by the source, Newton, on March 14, and 29, April 23, and June 12, and 18, 1979.
Appellant was indicted on one count of conspiracy and six counts of distribution of heroin. Hill‘s only defense was entrapment, arguing that the informant Daniels had induced him to procure drugs for the government agent.
This defense requires admission of guilt of the crime charged and all of its elements, including the required mental state. United States v. Watson, 489 F.2d 504 (3d Cir. 1973).
Following its deliberations, and supplemental instructions from the court, the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty on the conspiracy count and the first distribution count, but guilty on the remaining five distribution counts. The jury evidently accepted the defense of entrapment as to the conspiracy count and to the first substantive count. The jury was evidently concerned about the entrapment defense because they returned to ask the court two questions, interpreted by the trial judge as asking essentially whether if they found that there was entrapment as to any one count there was of necessity entrapment as to all the other counts. The court‘s additional instructions were that if the government had not carried its burden with respect to a particular count, the jury must consider the other counts to determine whether this was a continuing course of conduct, or whether the defendant acted for other reasons than entrapment with respect
During trial, the District Court refused to allow appellant to call an expert witness, a clinical psychologist, to testify to appellant‘s psychological characteristics, subnormal intelligence, and resultant susceptibility to persuasion and psychological pressure until after the defendant had testified.
In addition to barring the witness’ immediate testimony the effect of the ruling was to impose a condition that the defendant waive his constitutional right not to testify.
Appellant contends that the District Court abused its discretion in imposing such a condition on the proffered testimony of the psychologist. The District Court concluded that because the expert witness had not heard the testimony of the informant or the defendant, no proper foundation had been laid for his testimony.
The offer of proof was somewhat confusing and may have led to its being misapprehended by the trial judge. It and the colloquy attending it are set forth in the record at transcript pages 6-3 to 6-12 (Appellant‘s Appendix 4A to 13A). The United States objected to the production of the witness under
Thus we see that the trial judge did not absolutely bar the testimony proffered, but imposed a condition on it that the defendant Hill must testify first and the doctor remain in the courtroom to hear this testimony. The doctor who had been present in the courtroom for two days could not wait longer and departed. Hill did testify in his own defense.
The defendant offered the testimony of the clinical psychologist as to three matters:
- A complete profile from the records and tests of defendant which were examined by the witness;
- An opinion by the witness as to defendant‘s characteristics of susceptibility;
- An opinion by the witness as to the effect of the government informant‘s skill and cunning upon defendant‘s susceptibility.
The second and third items of testimony are not clearly distinguished in the offer and may well have contributed to the court‘s misapprehension of the nature of the offer. The trial court could properly have excluded testimony concerning the “skill and cunning” of the government informant because the expert had no opportunity to observe or evaluate this informant, either prior to trial or at trial. United States v. Caldwell, 543 F.2d 1333 (D.C. Cir. 1974).
Rule 702. TESTIMONY BY EXPERTS
If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.
Rule 703. BASES OF OPINION TESTIMONY BY EXPERTS
The facts or data in the particular case upon which an expert bases an opinion or
inference may be those perceived by or made known to him at or before the hearing. If of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the particular field in forming opinions or inferences upon the subject, the facts or data need not be admissible in evidence.
There is no requirement that the facts necessary to the foundation of the expert‘s testimony must be perceived by him at trial. He may testify to relevant matters based on facts in evidence or those made known to him prior to trial. United States v. Smith, 519 F.2d 516, 521 (9th Cir. 1975); Jenkins v. United States, 307 F.2d 637 (D.C. Cir. 1962).
The expert was offered to give testimony as to tests and profiles compiled from his personal examination of the defendant. These are facts derived from first hand knowledge and are relevant to the required element of predisposition of the defendant. The expert may testify as to these without giving an opinion, leaving the inference to be drawn by the trier of fact (See Advisory Committee Notes on
The exclusion of the expert‘s opinion as to defendant‘s susceptibility was likewise improper under
The Advisory Committee Notes on
- Firsthand observation by a witness;
- Presentation at trial;
- Data compiled by others and presented to the expert out of court.
While this witness was not offered to give an opinion based on facts presented at trial, he was prepared to meet the other two bases.
Testimony by an expert concerning a defendant‘s susceptibility to influence may be relevant to an entrapment defense. United States v. Benveniste, 564 F.2d 335, 339 (9th Cir. 1977). An expert‘s opinion, based on observation, psychological profiles, intelligence tests, and other assorted data, may aid the jury in its determination of the crucial issues of inducement and predisposition. This is the purpose ascribed to expert testimony by
Accordingly, if the expert can reach a conclusion, based on an adequate factual foundation, that the appellant, because of his alleged subnormal intelligence and psychological profile, is more susceptible and easily influenced by the urgings and inducements of other persons, such testimony must be admitted as relevant to the issues of inducement and predisposition.
We also believe that the proffered testimony was admissible on an entirely different basis, and free of the restrictive conditions which the trial judge imposed on its admissibility here:
FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE
Rule 405. METHODS OF PROVING CHARACTER
(a) Reputation or opinion. In all cases in which evidence of character or a trait of character of a person is admissible, proof may be made by testimony as to reputation or by testimony in the form of an opinion. On cross-examination, inquiry is allowable into relevant specific instances of conduct.
As noted in United States v. William Curtis, III, 644 F.2d 263 (3d Cir. 1981), the new
The government also contends that the expert‘s testimony was properly excluded because appellant failed to comply with
“[I]f a defendant intends to introduce expert testimony relating to a mental disease, defect, or other condition bearing upon the issue of whether he had the mental state required for the offense charged, he shall, within the time provided for the filing of pretrial motions or at such later time as the court may direct, notify the attorney for the Government in writing of such intention and file a copy of such notice with the Clerk. The court may for cause shown allow late filing of the notice or grant additional time to the parties to prepare for trial or make such other order as may be appropriate.”
Sanctions for the violation of this rule are provided in subsection (d), which states:
“[I]f there is a failure to give notice when required by subdivision (b) of this rule or to submit to an examination when ordered under subdivision (c) of this rule, the court may exclude the testimony of any expert witness offered by the defendant on the issue of his mental state.”
While the phrase “expert testimony relating to a mental disease, defect, or other condition bearing upon the issue of whether [the defendant] had the mental state required for the offense charged” may be broad enough to encompass expert testimony on the defense of entrapment, the legislative history and Advisory Committee notes concerning
The question of specific application of
Two cases have discussed, albeit briefly, the applicability of this rule to a defense of entrapment. In United States v. Perl, 584 F.2d 1316 (4th Cir. 1978), the defendant, a member of the Jewish Defense League, was charged with wilfully conspiring to destroy property utilized by foreign officials. At trial Perl relied primarily upon an entrapment defense. On appeal Perl claimed that the court erred in excluding certain expert testimony on the defense of entrapment. With respect to the exclusion of expert testimony on the defense of entrapment the court concluded that it need not reach the question of whether this testimony fell within the scope of
In United States v. Alberico, 453 F.Supp. 178 (D.C.Colo.1977), the court recites that the criminal defendant filed a notice pursuant to
In other cases, however, courts have applied
In United States v. Olsen, 576 F.2d 1267 (8th Cir. 1978), the Court of Appeals in an income tax case concluded that
Finally, in United States v. Staggs, supra, the court held that
There being no clear application of
Given the lack of a clear indication that
Because we conclude that the District Court‘s trial rulings necessitate a new trial, we do not reach any of appellant‘s other contentions.
For the reasons stated above, we conclude that the District Court imposed an impermissible condition by refusing to admit relevant testimony by the appellant‘s expert witness, and the judgment of the District Court will be reversed and the case remanded for a new trial in accordance with this opinion.
ROSENN, Circuit Judge, dissenting.
I respectfully dissent because I believe that (1) the trial judge‘s evidentiary ruling on the need of a foundation for the expert‘s testimony was not error and did not amount to a compulsory waiver of the defendant‘s right not to testify, and (2) the expert psychological testimony proffered by the defense to establish the defendant‘s unique susceptibility to inducement is controlled by
In response to an objection of the Government pertaining to the relevancy of the expert testimony proffered by the defendant, defense counsel informed the trial judge that the psychologist‘s testimony was relevant because it was
likely to shed some light on the issue in question [which] is what the defendant contends is his capacity, is his state of mind, is his ability to withstand what we say is inducement by the government.
The trial judge sustained the Government‘s objection to this testimony because no foundation had been laid for any opinion the doctor may have had that was based on “the nature of any assertions that were made to Mr. Hill by the witness [informant] Mr. Daniels.” In support of his ruling, the judge stated that the doctor was not in the courtroom to hear Daniels testify and would therefore not be in a position to offer an opinion on the effect of Daniels’ conversation on the defendant. In response, defense counsel stated he intended to offer a complete profile of the defendant from records and tests and ask the doctor to testify, based on Hill‘s history and the doctor‘s examination of him, as to the likelihood that Hill could “resist the skill or cunning of an informer.” The court thereupon pointed out to counsel that he could not be sure whether the jury would find that Daniels was “skilled and cunning” and, more importantly, that the doctor “had no knowledge whatsoever” about the substance and duration of the conversation between Hill and
At no time did the court impose as a condition for the expert‘s testimony that Hill testify, although in fact Hill did subsequently testify even without any expert testimony. The psychologist, however, did not remain in the courtroom to hear Hill‘s testimony. I see no error in the ruling of the district court in rejecting the proffered testimony on this record. Under the terms of the proffer, the witness was not merely offering an opinion on (1) the mental condition of the defendant, but also (2) on his capacity to respond to the manipulations of a skillful and perhaps even cunning informant. The expert, however, had no solid basis for testifying to the second aspect of this proposed composite rendition. The expert had failed to observe the informant or hear any testimony from him concerning the nature of the alleged inducements he may have offered Hill and Hill‘s response to the inducements. The defense also failed to demonstrate that the psychologist had any expertise concerning “skillful and communicative” informants. The trial judge acted well within his authority under
The majority are able, upon reflection and after briefing and argument, to reduce Hill‘s proffer to three components and to then conclude that as to two of the three components a proper foundation had been laid. The majority concede, however, that “[t]he offer of proof was somewhat confusing and may have led to its being misapprehended by the trial judge.” Maj. op., at 515. I am in agreement with the Government that when counsel makes a proffer of evidence, the terms of the proffer govern admissibility. Thus, I do not believe it is the trial judge‘s responsibility—nor ours—painstakingly to dissect a “confusing” proffer of evidence to determine whether, presented in a different manner, it might be admissible under some other rule of law.
Moreover, the trial court has wide discretion in determining whether to admit or exclude evidence, particularly in the case of expert testimony, and only if the reviewing court determines that the trial judge‘s decision is “manifestly erroneous” is there an abuse of discretion and ground for reversal. Salem v. U.S. Lines Co., 370 U.S. 31, 82 S.Ct. 1119, 8 L.Ed. 313 (1962); Fuentes v. Reilly, 590 F.2d 509 (3d Cir. 1978). See United States v. Benveniste, 564 F.2d 335, 339 (9th Cir. 1977). Because
In rejecting the expert‘s testimony, the trial court also relied on the failure of the defense to comply with
If a defendant intends to introduce expert testimony relating to a mental disease, defect, or other condition bearing upon the issue whether he had the mental state required for the offense charged, he shall, within the time provided for the filing of pretrial motions or at such later time as the court may direct, notify the attorney for the government in writing of such intention.... The court may for cause shown allow late filing of the notice or grant additional time to the parties to prepare for trial or make such other order as may be appropriate.
Subsection (b) specifically requires written notice to the Government if the defendant intends to introduce expert testimony relating to a “mental disease, defect, or other condition bearing upon the issue whether he had the mental state required for the offense charged....” The purpose of this rule, according to the Notes of the Advisory Committee, 18 U.S.C.A.
Hill contended that his mental condition made him susceptible to entrapment by the Government. Entrapment goes to the defendant‘s predisposition, his state of mind at the time the Government allegedly commenced the inducement. Here, the defendant specifically offered expert testimony to provide evidence of a mental condition that made defendant‘s state of mind particularly susceptible to inducement. This testimony of mental condition was therefore pertinent to the issue raised by the defense to the crime charged. Thus, the Government should have had timely notice of this defense unless for cause shown the trial court permitted late filing. Were the majority to prevail, it would render
Therefore, because I believe that the district court properly ruled on the proffer as made at trial, I would affirm Hill‘s conviction. I would also hold that expert testimony on the defendant‘s mental condition bearing on his susceptibility to inducement, when offered in support of an entrapment defense, falls within the scope of
SUR PETITION FOR REHEARING
Present: ALDISERT, ADAMS, GIBBONS, ROSENN, HUNTER, WEIS, GARTH, HIGGINBOTHAM and SLOVITER, Circuit Judges.
The petition for rehearing filed by Appellee in the above entitled case having been submitted to the judges who participated in the decision of this Court and to all the other available circuit judges of the circuit in regular active service, and no judge who concurred in the decision having asked for rehearing, and a majority of the circuit judges in the circuit in regular active service not having voted for rehearing by the Court in banc, the petition for rehearing is denied.
Judges Hunter, Weis and Garth would grant the petition for rehearing.
Judges Adams and Garth would grant rehearing in this matter because they are concerned that the interpretation of
Notes
United States v. Hill, 481 F.Supp. 558, 561-62 (E.D.Pa.1979).The defendant had not as yet been called to the stand and therefore the doctor obviously had not heard his testimony, nor could he know how Hill would respond to cross-examination. I suggested to counsel for the defendant that Dr. Brutten remain in the courtroom so that he could at least hear Hill describe his various encounters with Daniels. Dr. Brutten, however, had other appointments and I was told that he could not remain....
Primarily, my ruling was based on the complete absence of any foundation for the testimony.... I did not refuse to permit the doctor to testify—I only insisted that there be some sort of minimal foundation for him to do so.
(a) Control by court. The court shall exercise reasonable control over the mode and order of interrogating witnesses and presenting evidence so as to (1) make the interrogation and presentation effective for the ascertainment of the truth, (2) avoid needless consumption of time....
Final Judgment of District Court (July 2, 1980), reprinted in Appendix at 340a-41a.8. It is declared that in the event it shall be necessary to levy execution as to Martin Mechanical Corporation, and in the event plaintiff Dravo, as the result thereof and of prior execution against American Insurance Company and Joseph L. Muscarelle, Inc., shall have received full satisfaction on its judgment against Martin Mechanical Corporation, Martin Mechanical Corporation shall be subrogated to the rights of plaintiff on its judgment against American Insurance Company and Joseph L. Muscarelle, Inc.
9. The right of subrogation declared in Paragraph 8 hereof shall not be exercised until and unless plaintiff Dravo shall have received, from among American Insurance Company, Joseph L. Muscarelle, Inc., and Martin Mechanical Corporation, full satisfaction on its judgment against American Insurance Company and Joseph L. Muscarelle, Inc., and, if exercised may be exercised only to the extent of such payment made by Martin Mechanical Corporation as has served to satisfy in full the judgment against it.
