FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
January 25, 2011
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
No. 10-1039
v. (D.C. No. 1:07-CR-00188-WDM-11)
(D. Colo.)
ROBERTO LOPEZ, a/k/a Uncle,
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before KELLY and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges, BRORBY, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Defendant Roberto Lopez appeals his convictions for multiple drug
offenses. He argues that the following errors entitle him to a new trial: (1) one
of the pretrial jury instructions regarding the burden of proof contained a
typographical error stating “the government must prove the defendant’s guilty
[sic] beyond a reasonable double [sic],” R. Vol. 1 at 1236; and (2) in addition to
*
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously to grant the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral
argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore
ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding
precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and
collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent
with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
his name, the caption of the indictment identified him by the alias “Uncle.” We
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.
The indictment against Mr. Lopez was in four counts. He was tried with
co-defendant Oscar Garcia-Ruiz. Following a five-day trial, the jury returned
guilty verdicts against Mr. Lopez on three counts and acquitted him of the
remaining charge. After he was sentenced, he filed a notice of appeal.
Prior to trial, the district court held a conference during which it reviewed
the instructions it planned to read and give to the jury at the beginning of the
trial. Instruction No. 1 explained that Mr. Lopez and his co-defendant had been
charged by an indictment, and outlined the charges against them. Instruction
No. 2 stated that “[a]n indictment . . . is not evidence of any kind against the
defendant. . . . Even though this indictment has been returned against the
defendants, the defendants begin this trial with absolutely no evidence against
them.” R. Vol. 1 at 1229. Also included in the proposed pretrial instructions was
Instruction No. 7, which informed the jury, among other things, that “the
government must prove the defendant’s guilty [sic] beyond a reasonable double
[sic].” Id. at 1236. Several other instructions describing the burden of proof did
not contain the typographical error. Id. at 1230, 1231. When asked whether there
were any objections, Mr. Lopez’s lawyer answered: “Not for Mr. Lopez, Your
Honor.” Id. Vol. 3 at 714.
-2-
At the commencement of the trial, the district court told the jury “I’m going
to go through some instructions with you.” Id. at 64. “These are printed copies
of what I’ll be reading, by and large, and you’re welcome to keep these and refer
to them as you may see fit during the proceeding.” Id. The court read out loud
the pretrial instructions agreed to by the parties. When reading Instruction No. 7,
which contained the typographical error, the court read “guilty” as “guilt,” and
“double” as “doubt.” Id. at 75. At the conclusion of the trial before the jury
retired to begin its deliberations, the court again instructed the jury. On nine
occasions, the court read to the jury that the government’s burden was to prove
Mr. Lopez’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 679-683, 687.
Mr. Lopez contends that the typographical error in pretrial Instruction No. 7,
is a structural error that requires us to reverse his convictions. 1 We disagree.
Structural errors “affect the entire conduct of the trial from beginning to end
and deprive the defendant of basic protections, without which a criminal trial
cannot reliably serve its function as a vehicle for determination of guilt or
innocence.” United States v. Pearson, 203 F.3d 1243, 1260 (10th Cir. 2000)
(internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). “Supreme Court decisions have
found structural error only in a very limited class of cases, including, those
1
In light of the fact that Mr. Lopez did not object to the instruction, we
would normally review his allegation for plain error. See United States v. Cotton,
535 U.S. 625, 631 (2002) (holding where there is no objection in the district
court, an appellate court will review only for plain error). However, Mr. Lopez
hinges his argument solely on structural error.
-3-
involving . . . a [constitutionally] defective reasonable doubt instruction[.]” Id. at
1260-61 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).
In Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 277 (1993), the Court reversed the
defendant’s conviction because the reasonable doubt instruction given to the jury
equated reasonable doubt with “grave uncertainty” and “actual substantial doubt,”
nearly identical to the instruction found unconstitutional in Cage v. Louisiana,
498 U.S. 39, 41 (1990) (per curiam), overruled in part on other grounds by Estelle
v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 72 n.4 (1991). In Cage, the Court explained that “the
words ‘substantial’ and ‘grave,’ as they are commonly understood, suggest a
higher degree of doubt than is required for acquittal under the reasonable-doubt
standard. 498 U.S. at 41. In Sullivan, the Court cited the instructions as examples
of where the jury was inadequately informed of the meaning of reasonable doubt
(a higher degree of doubt), which perforce resulted in verdicts that fell short of the
constitutional requirement of findings of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But the
reasonable doubt instruction given to the jury in Mr. Lopez’s case does not suffer
from any defects, constitutional or otherwise. Instead, it states:
Reasonable doubt is doubt based upon reason and common sense, the
kind of doubt that would make a reasonable person hesitate to act.
Proof beyond a reasonable doubt, must, therefore, be proof of such a
convincing character that a reasonable person would not hesitate to
act upon it in the most important of his or her own affairs.
R. Vol. 3 at 680-81. As such, there was no structural error.
-4-
Mr. Lopez also argues for a new trial because the caption of the indictment
referred to him as “ROBERTO LOPEZ, a/k/a ‘Uncle.’” R. Vol. 1 at 508.
According to Mr. Lopez, the use of the alias “Uncle” was “highly prejudicial, . . .
completely unsupported by the facts, [and constituted] plain [error]. Aplt.
Opening Br. at 10. Again, we disagree.
First, there is no evidence that the jury saw the indictment. Instead,
Mr. Lopez hangs his argument on the slender thread of pretrial Instruction No. 2,
which states:
An indictment is but a formal method used by the government
to accuse a defendant of a crime. It is not evidence of any kind
against the defendant. The defendant is presumed to be innocent of
the crime charged. Even though this indictment has been returned
against the defendants, the defendants begin this trial with absolutely
no evidence against them.
R. Vol. 1 at 1229 (emphasis added). However, Mr. Lopez cannot point to any
place in the record demonstrating that the jury was in fact provided with a copy of
the indictment, and none of the verdict forms or other materials that were provided
to the jury contain anything other than the name “Roberto Lopez.” Assuming for
argument that the jury was given a copy of the indictment, there was no objection
from Mr. Lopez’s lawyer to giving them a copy, much less any objection to the use
of the alias, “Uncle.” Because Mr. Lopez did not object in the district court, we
review the alleged mistake for plain error. United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625,
631 (2002).
-5-
Under plain-error review, there must be an “(1) error, (2) that is plain, and
(3) that affects substantial rights. If all three conditions are met, an appellate
court may then exercise its discretion to notice a forfeited error, but only if (4) the
error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial
proceedings.” Id. (internal quotation marks, citations, and alterations omitted).
We assume for the sake of argument, the existence of a plain error that affected
Mr. Lopez’s substantial rights. But reviewing the mistake in the context of the
trial and the other jury instructions, which informed the jury that the indictment
“is not evidence of any kind against the defendant,” R. Vol. 1 at 1299, we
conclude that the alleged error did not “seriously affect[] the fairness, integrity, or
public reputation of judicial proceedings,” Cotton, 535 U.S. at 631.
Mr. Lopez’s convictions are AFFIRMED.
Entered for the Court
Wade Brorby
Senior Circuit Judge
-6-