United States v. Miller

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 00-4170 JAMES S. MILLER, Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Richard L. Williams, Senior District Judge. (CR-99-222) Submitted: September 29, 2000 Decided: October 19, 2000 Before WIDENER and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL Dannie R. Sutton, Jr., Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant. Helen F. Fahey, United States Attorney, Robert E. Trono, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). 2 UNITED STATES v. MILLER OPINION PER CURIAM: James S. Miller was convicted by a jury of perjury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623 (1994), and for making false statements to federal officers, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a) (1994). He subsequently received a fifteen-month sentence. On appeal, he challenges the suffi- ciency of evidence to support his convictions and certain evidentiary rulings by the district court. We affirm. This Court reviews a jury verdict for sufficiency of the evidence by determining whether there is substantial evidence, when viewed in a light most favorable to the Government, to support the verdict. See Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942). In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, this Court does not review the credibility of the witnesses and assumes that the jury resolved all contradictions in the testimony in favor of the government. See United States v. Romer, 148 F.3d 359, 364 (4th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1141 (1999). We have reviewed the evidence in this case and find ample support to sustain the jury’s verdict. With respect to Miller’s argument that the district court erred in not admitting into evidence the statement of a deceased woman, we find no abuse of discretion. See United States v. Rhynes, 206 F.3d 349, 368 (4th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 68 U.S.L.W. (U.S. June 5, 2000) (No. 99-9386). We also find no plain error in the dis- trict court’s limitation of defense counsel’s cross-examination of the Government witness, Leonidas Young. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b); United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-32 (1993) (this Court reviews for plain error where Defendant failed to object at trial). Accordingly, we affirm Miller’s convictions and sentence. We dis- pense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 00-4170 JAMES S. MILLER, Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Richard L. Williams, Senior District Judge. (CR-99-222) Submitted: September 29, 2000 Decided: October 19, 2000 Before WIDENER and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL Dannie R. Sutton, Jr., Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant. Helen F. Fahey, United States Attorney, Robert E. Trono, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). 2 UNITED STATES v. MILLER OPINION PER CURIAM: James S. Miller was convicted by a jury of perjury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623 (1994), and for making false statements to federal officers, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a) (1994). He subsequently received a fifteen-month sentence. On appeal, he challenges the suffi- ciency of evidence to support his convictions and certain evidentiary rulings by the district court. We affirm. This Court reviews a jury verdict for sufficiency of the evidence by determining whether there is substantial evidence, when viewed in a light most favorable to the Government, to support the verdict. See Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942). In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, this Court does not review the credibility of the witnesses and assumes that the jury resolved all contradictions in the testimony in favor of the government. See United States v. Romer, 148 F.3d 359, 364 (4th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1141 (1999). We have reviewed the evidence in this case and find ample support to sustain the jury’s verdict. With respect to Miller’s argument that the district court erred in not admitting into evidence the statement of a deceased woman, we find no abuse of discretion. See United States v. Rhynes, 206 F.3d 349, 368 (4th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 68 U.S.L.W. (U.S. June 5, 2000) (No. 99-9386). We also find no plain error in the dis- trict court’s limitation of defense counsel’s cross-examination of the Government witness, Leonidas Young. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b); United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-32 (1993) (this Court reviews for plain error where Defendant failed to object at trial). Accordingly, we affirm Miller’s convictions and sentence. We dis- pense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED