NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 17a0484n.06
No. 16-6092
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED
Aug 21, 2017
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk
)
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE
v. ) UNITED STATES
) DISTRICT COURT FOR
LARRY BRASWELL, ) THE EASTERN
) DISTRICT OF
Defendant-Appellant. ) TENNESSEE
)
BEFORE: GUY, CLAY, and WHITE, Circuit Judges.
CLAY, Circuit Judge. Defendant Larry Braswell was convicted of one count of being a
felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and was sentenced to
235 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Defendant challenges both his conviction and his
sentence. Specifically, he challenges the district court’s denial of the motion to suppress the
evidence of the gun, as well as the sufficiency of the evidence. Defendant further argues that the
district court erred in not including a spoliation instruction in the jury instructions. Defendant
also contends that there was prosecutorial misconduct based on statements made by the
government during closing arguments. Finally, Defendant challenges his classification as an
armed career criminal. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district
court.
BACKGROUND
On February 23, 2014, Chattanooga Police Officer Benjamin Piazza saw Defendant Larry
Braswell walking away from the bushes in front of an abandoned house in a condemned public
No. 16-6092
housing project in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A car containing a female passenger was parked in
front of the house. When Officer Piazza approached Braswell, he said he had come to the
housing project to talk with his passenger, Jasmine Isom, and left the car in order to urinate in the
bushes. Ms. Isom was visibly upset, and she told Officer Piazza that she thought she was going
to jail. As Officer Piazza was talking to Braswell and Ms. Isom, he noticed a strong smell of
marijuana. After searching the car with Braswell’s consent and not finding anything, Officer
Piazza concluded that the marijuana was either concealed in the car’s center console or had just
been removed from the car. The officer checked the status of Braswell’s license and discovered
that it had been revoked. Nevertheless, he told Braswell to leave the area and drive Ms. Isom
home. He also told Braswell not to drive anymore until his license was reinstated and especially
not to return to the area, or else he would go to jail.
After Braswell left, Officer Piazza returned to his patrol car, which was parked between
two abandoned houses with its lights off, and began filling out paperwork regarding this
interaction. Less than an hour later, another car entered the abandoned housing complex and
drove along the same street where Officer Piazza had just encountered Braswell. It was now
dark outside, and the car did not have its headlights on. The car also started to slow to a stop in
front of the same house where Braswell had previously been seen. When Officer Piazza turned
his patrol car’s headlights on, the other vehicle also turned on its headlights and then drove away
fairly rapidly. The car ran a stop sign in the process, after which Officer Piazza activated his
emergency lights and pulled the vehicle over. Officer Piazza heard the driver say something
such as “[W]ell, I guess I’m going to jail.” (R. 136, Trial Tr., PageID #1852.) It turns out that
Braswell was the driver, and this time he was accompanied by a male passenger.
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Officer Piazza then arrested Braswell for driving on a revoked license. While conducting
a search incident to that arrest, Officer Piazza found more than $1,100 in cash, as well as a
digital scale covered in what appeared to be marijuana residue in Braswell’s pocket. Braswell
was placed in the back of the patrol car and read his Miranda rights. Officer Piazza and a K-9
officer then returned to the abandoned house where Officer Piazza first encountered Braswell
walking away from the bushes after allegedly urinating. The drug-sniffing dog alerted several
times on the bushes in front of that house. The officers searched the bushes and found a large
bag containing approximately twenty-five grams of marijuana and a loaded .45 caliber handgun,
“right on top of each other.” (Id. at 1855, 1859.) The gun did not appear to have been there very
long, since it was not rusted and did not have any dew or dirt on it. It did, however, have visible
fingerprints on it. The officers, however, never tested the gun for fingerprints.
During the search of the abandoned property, Braswell was confined in the back of the
patrol car. At various points, Braswell apparently mumbled to himself, and those statements
were captured by a video recording device in the patrol car. Within seconds of the officers
finding the gun and marijuana, Braswell, who had been intently watching the officers discover
the contraband, said what sounded like “[Expletive], man . . . prints are all over this [expletive].”
(Id. at 1879–81; Gov’t Ex. 5 at 19:49:00.)
Braswell was indicted on May 28, 2014 for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Following the denial of multiple motions to suppress the
evidence, Braswell proceeded to trial. A jury trial was held on September 29 and 30, 2015 and
resulted in a guilty verdict. Braswell was sentenced to 235 months of imprisonment, as he was
determined to be an armed career criminal. Judgment was entered on June 28, 2016, and this
timely appeal followed.
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DISCUSSION
I. Suppression of the Evidence
A. Standard of Review
“When reviewing the district court’s ruling on a motion to suppress,” this Court
“review[s] findings of fact for clear error and legal conclusions de novo.” United States v.
Jackson, 682 F.3d 448, 452 (6th Cir. 2012) (citing United States v. Tackett, 486 F.3d 230, 232
(6th Cir. 2007). “When the district court has denied the motion to suppress, we review all
evidence in a light most favorable to the Government.” Id. (quoting United States v. Coffee,
434 F.3d 887, 892 (6th Cir. 2006)). “A factual finding is clearly erroneous when, although there
may be evidence to support it, the reviewing court, utilizing the entire evidence, is left with the
definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” United States v. Sanford,
476 F.3d 391, 394 (6th Cir. 2007) (quotation omitted). Factual findings are not clearly erroneous
“where there are two permissible views of the evidence.” Id. (alterations and quotation omitted).
Furthermore, this Court gives “deference to the district court’s assessment of credibility
inasmuch as the court was in the best position to make such a determination.” United States v.
Hill, 195 F.3d 258, 264–65 (6th Cir. 1999).
B. Analysis
“An ordinary traffic stop by a police officer is a ‘seizure’ within the meaning of the
Fourth Amendment. Accordingly, any evidence seized during an illegal traffic stop must be
suppressed as fruits of the poisonous tree.” Jackson, 682 F.3d at 453 (quoting United States v.
Blair, 524 F.3d 740, 748 (6th Cir. 2008)). “It is well established that a police officer may
lawfully stop a car when he has probable cause to believe that a civil traffic violation has
occurred, or reasonable suspicion of an ongoing crime.” Id. (citations omitted).
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Before the trial, Braswell filed a motion to suppress the evidence based on a lack of
probable cause for the traffic stop. In order to resolve the motion, the magistrate judge
conducted a hearing at which only one witness, Officer Piazza, testified. The officer recounted
his first interaction with Braswell, and then testified regarding the traffic violations he observed
during their second encounter. Specifically, Officer Piazza stated that he noticed a green car
driving down the street with its headlights off, even though it was dark outside. Officer Piazza
began to follow the car in his own patrol car, which also did not have the headlights illuminated.
When the car began to slow down in front of the abandoned house, Officer Piazza turned on his
headlights. The car rapidly sped up and, after a short distance, turned on its headlights. The car
then reached an intersection and ran a stop sign. Officer Piazza then turned on his blue lights
and pulled Braswell over.
In order to rebut Officer Piazza’s testimony, Braswell offered into evidence a video of the
second encounter between Officer Piazza and himself, during which he allegedly committed the
two traffic violations. This video did not show Braswell driving with his headlights off.1 The
magistrate judge, however, noted that the video “does show unequivocally that it was dark
outside and that defendant ran through a stop sign making no effort to even slow down.” (R. 72,
R&R, PageID #583.) The magistrate judge further found Officer Piazza’s testimony that
Braswell had been driving without his headlights illuminated to be credible and agreed with
Officer Piazza that it was dark outside and was at least thirty minutes after dusk when the
incident occurred. Consequently, Braswell violated Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-406(a), which
requires headlights to be illuminated when driving beginning thirty minutes after sunset. The
1
According to Officer Piazza’s testimony, videos recorded by the cameras in police cars
are continuously recorded over until some triggering event occurs, such as the police officer
illuminating his flashing lights. (Id. at 582–83.)
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No. 16-6092
magistrate judge further found that Officer Piazza had probable cause to stop Braswell because
he witnessed Braswell failing to stop at a stop sign, in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-
149(c).
After reviewing Braswell’s objections to the magistrate judge’s Report and
Recommendation, the district court largely accepted the magistrate judge’s findings of facts and
denied the motion to suppress. The district court deferred to the magistrate judge’s
determination that Officer Piazza’s testimony was credible. After independently viewing the
video of the encounter, the district court further determined that the magistrate judge “did not err
in finding that it was very dark at the time Officer Piazza testified that Defendant was driving
without his headlights on.” (R. 77, Order on Mot. to Suppress, PageID # 608). Finally, in
response to Braswell’s argument that the video does not actually show him running a stop sign,
the district court stated that “Defendant is correct to point out that the video first shows
Defendant’s car slightly after it had passed the stop sign in question.” (Id.) The district court
further stated, “The rate of speed at which Defendant’s car was traveling at this point, however,
coupled with Officer Piazza’s credible testimony that he saw the Defendant run the stop sign,
leads the Court to conclude that Officer Piazza had probable cause for the traffic stop.” (Id.
(footnote omitted).)
Relying largely on the video, Braswell continues to argue on appeal that there was no
proof that he was driving without his headlights on or that he ran a stop sign. However, we find
his argument unpersuasive. The magistrate judge, and later the district court, both found that
Braswell had been driving without his headlights on when he was required to have them
illuminated under Tennessee law. Both the magistrate judge and the district court also found that
Braswell failed to stop at a stop sign. These factual determinations were largely based on the
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No. 16-6092
magistrate judge’s finding that Officer Piazza was credible. Such “[f]indings of fact anchored in
credibility assessments are generally not subject to reversal upon appellate review.” United
States v. Hudson, 405 F.3d 425, 442 (6th Cir. 2005) (alteration in original) (quoting United
States v. Taylor, 956 F.2d 572, 576 (6th Cir. 1992) (en banc)).
To the extent that this Court could overturn the credibility determination because “the
testimony was implausible, internally inconsistent, or against the weight of the evidence, such
that no reasonable fact-finder would credit it,” United States v. Miller, 413 F. App’x 841, 843
(6th Cir. 2011) (quotation omitted), those circumstances are not present here. Contrary to
Braswell’s argument that the video contradicts Officer Piazza’s testimony, we find that the video
simply does not show the events in question, given that the video recording began after the
alleged infractions had already occurred. Therefore the video neither confirms nor disproves the
government’s argument that Braswell was driving without his headlights and ran a stop sign.
Indeed, the video, to some extent, actually aids the government’s argument. Specifically,
the district court found that Braswell’s car was traveling at a high rate of speed, which, in the
district court’s eyes, supported Officer Piazza’s testimony that Braswell failed to stop at the stop
sign. This evidence, coupled with the officer’s credible testimony, supports the conclusion that
the district court did not clearly err in determining that Braswell committed two traffic
violations. Because these two traffic violations were supported by probable cause, the district
court properly denied Braswell’s motion to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of the
traffic stop. See Jackson, 682 F.3d at 453.
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II. Spoliation Jury Instruction
A. Standard of Review
“This Court reviews a district court’s choice of jury instructions for abuse of discretion.”
United States v. Ross, 502 F.3d 521, 527 (6th Cir. 2007) (citing United States v. Prince, 214 F.3d
740, 761 (6th Cir. 2000)). In so doing, “we review jury instructions as a whole to determine
whether they fairly and adequately submitted the issues and applicable law to the jury.” United
States v. Franklin, 415 F.3d 537, 553 (6th Cir. 2005) (quoting United States v. Williams,
952 F.2d 1504, 1512 (6th Cir. 1991)). A “refusal to deliver the requested instruction is reversible
only if that instruction is (1) a correct statement of the law, (2) not substantially covered by the
charge actually delivered to the jury, and (3) concerns a point so important in the trial that the
failure to give it substantially impairs the defendant’s defense.” Id. (quoting Williams, 952 F.3d
at 1512; and citing United States v. Gibbs, 182 F.3d 408, 432 (6th Cir. 1999)).
B. Analysis
Braswell argues that the district court abused its discretion in not including an instruction
regarding spoliation of evidence by the police officers involved in this case. Officer Piazza
originally testified at trial that he did not take any photographs of the gun and marijuana while at
the scene. However, defense counsel subsequently played a video that revealed that Officer
Piazza had taken pictures of the evidence on the hood of his car. The district court ordered the
government to turn over the photographs the next day. When court reconvened the next
morning, the government informed the court that the pictures could not be produced because
they were taken on Officer Piazza’s personal cell phone. That phone was later given to Officer
Piazza’s child and dropped by the child in the bathtub. The district court found that the evidence
was not destroyed in bad faith, and that finding is not disputed on appeal.
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Based on the loss of the photographs, Braswell proposed the following spoliation
instruction for the district court:
The government has a duty to gather, preserve, and produce at trial
evidence which may possess exculpatory value. Such evidence must be of such a
nature that Mr. Braswell would be unable to obtain comparable evidence through
reasonably available means. The government has no duty to gather or indefinitely
preserve evidence considered by a qualified person to have no exculpatory value,
so that an as yet unknown defendant may later examine the evidence.
If, after considering all the proof, you find that the government failed to
gather or preserve evidence, the contents or qualities of which are at issue and the
production of which would more probably than not be of benefit to Mr. Braswell,
you may infer that the absent evidence would be favorable to Mr. Braswell.
(R. 140, Joint Stipulation, PageID #2145.) After this charge was rejected by the district court,
based on the court’s skepticism that the photographs constituted exculpatory evidence, Braswell
suggested the First Circuit’s pattern jury instruction for spoliation, which reads:
If you find that [party] destroyed or obliterated a document that it knew would be
relevant to a contested issue in this case and knew at the time it did so that there
was a potential for prosecution, then you may infer (but you are not required to
infer) that the contents of the destroyed evidence were unfavorable to [party].
(Id. at 2147 (alterations in original).) This instruction, too, was rejected by the district court.
On appeal, Braswell argues that the standard for spoliation instructions used in this
Circuit for civil cases also applies in the context of a criminal case. That standard is as follows:
A party seeking an adverse inference instruction based on the destruction of
evidence must establish (1) that the party having control over the evidence had an
obligation to preserve it at the time it was destroyed; (2) that the records were
destroyed with a culpable state of mind; and (3) that the destroyed evidence was
relevant to the party’s claim or defense such that a reasonable trier of fact could
find that it would support that claim or defense.
Flagg v. City of Detroit, 715 F.3d 165, 177 (6th Cir. 2013) (quoting Beaven v. U.S. Dep’t of
Justice, 622, F.3d 540, 553 (6th Cir. 2010)). Braswell further argues that the “culpable state of
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No. 16-6092
mind” includes negligence and recklessness, see Beaven, 622 F.3d at 554, which arguably were
present here given Officer Piazza’s failure to preserve the photographs.
Braswell also argues that, based on language in Flagg, once the district court finds that
there was spoliation, the court is then required to give a spoliation instruction. See Flagg,
715 F.3d at 177 (“When the requirements for an adverse inference instruction are met, the
district court should issue an instruction.”). Braswell contends that the district court explicitly
found spoliation, given the court’s use of the term during the context of the charge conference.
Thus, the district court erred by not including the mandatory instruction. However, in the
alternative, Braswell argues that the district court abused its discretion in not giving a spoliation
instruction, given that the three prongs listed above were all satisfied.
We find Braswell’s argument unavailing. This Court has previously found that it was not
an abuse of discretion for the district court, in a criminal case, to refuse to give a spoliation
instruction based on the failure to preserve evidence in the absence of bad faith.2 For example,
in United States v. Boxley, 373 F.3d 759 (6th Cir. 2004), the defendant requested a spoliation
instruction based on the government’s failure to preserve fingerprints. Id. at 762. The Court
2
According to the concurrence, because Boxley relied on Nationwide Mutual Fire
Insurance Co., a case which has since been overruled, Boxley has been abrogated as well.
However, this logic does not hold up under closer scrutiny. Nationwide imported the bad faith
standard from Ohio law, as it was a civil case based on diversity jurisdiction. 174 F.3d at 804.
The case overruling it, Adkins v. Wolever, 554 F.3d 650 (6th Cir. 2009) (en banc), changed the
standards we use when deciding civil cases based on diversity jurisdiction. As the concurrence
notes, Adkins stated that this Court should no longer apply state law for evidentiary matters, but
instead should apply federal evidentiary rules, including for spoliation instructions. Id. at 651–
52. However, Adkins does not have any bearing on federal criminal cases, for which federal
evidentiary rules always applied. Boxley can only logically be read as adopting the bad faith
requirement for spoliation instructions, described in Nationwide, for all criminal cases in this
circuit. This is all the more evident considering Boxley originated in the Western District of
Tennessee, meaning Ohio state law could only have been persuasive authority. Thus, the fact
that Nationwide was overruled does not impact the precedential value of Boxley, and we continue
to apply its established test for spoliation instructions.
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No. 16-6092
noted that “[s]poliation is defined as the intentional destruction of evidence that is presumed to
be unfavorable to the party responsible for its destruction.” Id. (citing Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins.
Co. v. Ford Motor Co., 174 F.3d 801, 804 (6th Cir. 1999), overruled by Adkins v. Wolever, 554
F.3d 650 (6th Cir. 2009) (en banc)). The Court further found that there was little chance that the
government could have preserved the fingerprints regardless of their methods. Id. More
importantly, the Court noted that “intentional destruction” is “removal with the ‘purpose of
rendering it inaccessible or useless to the defendant in preparing its case; that is spoiling it.’” Id.
(quoting Nationwide, 174 F.3d at 804.) In that case, as in Braswell’s case here, “there is nothing
to indicate that the officers did so in bad faith.” Id. at 763. The Court ultimately agreed with the
district court that “the most that has been shown is that the policemen did not maintain and
control the evidence in a manner consistent with good police tactics. But there was no bad faith
involved.” Id. Based on that conclusion, coupled with the unlikelihood that the fingerprints
could have been recovered regardless of the officers’ actions, the Court determined that the jury
instruction on spoliation was properly denied. Id.
Relying on the definition of spoliation announced in Boxley, this Court later concluded
that a spoliation instruction was properly denied in a case involving the destruction of a
McDonald’s sandwich carton from which prints of the defendant were lifted. United States v.
Spalding, 438 F. App’x 464, 465, 467 (6th Cir. 2011). The Court agreed that the required
intent—namely, having “the purpose of rendering it inaccessible or useless to the defendant in
preparing [his] case—was not present. Id. at 467 (alteration in original) (quoting Boxley,
373 F.3d at 762).
Other circuits similarly require a finding of bad faith in order to warrant a spoliation
instruction in a criminal case. For example, the First Circuit has stated that a spoliation
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No. 16-6092
instruction “usually makes sense only where the evidence permits a finding of bad faith
destruction; ordinarily negligent destruction would not support the logical inference that the
evidence was favorable to the defendant.” United States v. Laurent, 607 F.3d 895, 902 (1st Cir.
2010). The Fifth Circuit also requires a showing of bad faith. See United States v. Wise,
221 F.3d 140, 156 (5th Cir. 2000) (collecting cases). Similarly, the Ninth Circuit requires that, in
order for a spoliation instruction to be given, “a criminal defendant must establish (1) that the
evidence was destroyed in bad faith, and (2) that he was prejudiced by its destruction.” United
States v. Romo-Chavez, 681 F.3d 955, 961 (9th Cir. 2012) (citations omitted). But see United
States v. Fries, 781 F.3d 1137, 1152 (9th Cir. 2015) (recognizing that there may be an intra-
circuit split in the Ninth Circuit over whether bad faith is required for a spoliation instruction, but
declining to resolve the issue).
Based on these cases, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in
denying Braswell’s request to include a spoliation instruction to the jury. The district court
explicitly found that Officer Piazza did not act in bad faith when he failed to preserve the
photographs. While noting that the officer clearly was not diligent in his handling of evidence,
the district court further opined, “I don’t see any evidence that there was any tampering with
evidence, any attempt to spoliate exculpatory evidence.” (R. 137, at 2003.) As made clear in
Boxley, spoliation only occurs when the party who destroyed the evidence acted with “the
purpose of rendering it inaccessible or useless.” 373 F.3d at 762. While the effect of Officer
Piazza’s actions was to render the photographs useless, the district court found that his actions
were not undertaken in bad faith, but were instead the result of shoddy police work. Given these
factual findings, to which this Court must defer, we agree that the spoliation instruction was not
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required. Therefore the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to give the
spoliation instruction to the jury.
III. Prosecutorial Misconduct
A. Standard of Review
“In reviewing a trial court’s evidentiary determinations, this court reviews de novo the
court’s conclusions of law and reviews for clear error the court’s factual determinations that
underpin its legal conclusions.” United States v. Jenkins, 345 F.3d 928, 935 (6th Cir. 2003)
(quoting United States v. Salgado, 250 F.3d 438, 451 (6th Cir. 2001)). Admission of tape
recordings is reviewed for abuse of discretion. United States v. Robinson, 707 F.2d 872, 876
(6th Cir. 1983).
B. Analysis
Braswell argues that the district court abused its discretion by admitting the video and
audio recording of his mumblings from the back of the patrol car. While Braswell admits that
the admission of videotapes is within the sound discretion of the district court, he essentially
argues that the tapes should have been excluded because the “unintelligible portions are so
substantial as to render the recordings as a whole untrustworthy.” United States v. Robinson,
707 F.3d 872, 876 (6th Cir. 1983) (quoting United States v. Jones, 540 F.2d 465, 470 (10th Cir.
1976)).
Braswell first points to the statements of the district court, as the court first appeared to
agree with Braswell at the pre-trial suppression hearing that the tapes were unintelligible, stating,
“I heard a couple of expletives in there, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear much more.” (R. 42,
Suppression Hr’g Tr., PageID #178.) Only after listening again did the court revise its
assessment, explaining, “[w]ell, you know, that time, that time I heard, prints all over, it sounds
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No. 16-6092
like.” (Id.) At the same hearing, Braswell also introduced the testimony of a court reporter who
stated that she was unable to understand or transcribe the recording. Given the district court’s
initial impressions and the statements of that court reporter, Braswell now argues that the district
court abused its discretion in allowing the recording into evidence.
Braswell also argues that the prosecutor, in his closing statement, impermissibly stated
what he thought was on the audio recording, even though the recording was unintelligible.
Braswell notes that the district court had previously determined that a transcript could not be
admitted given that large portions of the tape could not be transcribed. Therefore, only the
recording itself was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. Despite the fact that a
transcript was not admitted and the jury was supposed to determine for itself what was on the
tape, the government argued the following in its closing statement:
What does the video tell us, though[?] Defendant admits it. The
defendant confesses. Watch the video. It was about 19:49:06 on the time, you’ll
see when Piazza says they found it. And three seconds later, remember the
defendant can see it, he’s watching out the window of the car, and we talked
about that, three seconds later, the defendant cusses, cusses, says something about
cussing about the gun, and my prints are all over that mf’r within three seconds of
them finding it.
Watch the video as well. And when I say that, listen to Exhibit 5, that’s
where it’s isolated where you can just hear the defendant in the back of the car.
It’s easier to hear what he’s saying. It’s hard when both mikes are playing, but
watch, also, listening to Exhibit 5 as he watches the officer walk and Piazza
pointed to you on the left side of the screen where the bush was kind of right off
where the video could see on the left side. And watch the defendant’s reaction
every time the officers walk over there to those bushes. Before he admits that his
prints are on it and before they find the gun, he starts cussing every time they
walk over near those bushes he’s saying an expletive. He’s admitting that his
prints are on the gun.
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Why was the gun not sent for fingerprints? Why do you need to when the
defendant tells you that they’re there? The circumstantial proof is very strong.
(R. 137, at 2022–23.)
Based on these statements, Braswell argues that the prosecutor impermissibly brought “to
the attention of the jury facts not in evidence,” and vouched for the credibility of the evidence.
United States v. Emuegbunam, 268 F.3d 377, 404 (6th Cir. 2001). Moreover, Braswell claims
that it was highly prejudicial for the prosecutor to state his interpretation of the recording, given
that Braswell’s alleged confession was the only direct evidence linking him to the gun. Thus,
Braswell argues that the district court abused its discretion in allowing the government to argue
that Braswell admitted his prints were all over the gun.
The government agrees that for a video to be properly admitted into evidence, it must be
“audible and sufficiently comprehensible for the jury to consider the contents.” Robinson,
707 F.2d at 876. However, the government argues that the recording was sufficiently clear to be
admissible. Although the district court initially expressed skepticism that the recording was
intelligible, the district court later concluded that tape was admissible because sections were
“easily discernable.” (R. 108, Order, PageID 1206–07.) The government also contends that the
relevant portions of the tape can be understood. Noting that this Court generally “will leave
rulings about admissibility undisturbed unless . . . left with the definite and firm conviction that
the district court committed a clear error in judgment,” United States v. Dixon, 413 F.3d 540, 544
(6th Cir. 2005), the government argues that the video was not so unintelligible as to make the
district court’s admission of the video a clear error in judgment.
As for the argument that the government impermissibly opined about what Defendant
said on the recording, the government argues that it did not commit any misconduct. The
government argues that its statements were not improper, given that it was “merely argu[ing] its
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No. 16-6092
interpretation of the evidence which had been presented at trial.” (Gov’t Br. at 23.) It therefore
contends that, “[o]nce the district court determined that the recording was admissible and played
it for the jury, both sides were free to argue their interpretations of it during closing argument.”
(Id. at 24.)
We agree with the government that no misconduct requiring a new trial occurred. The
following test applies for claims of prosecutorial misconduct: first, we determine “whether the
prosecutor’s conduct and remarks were improper.” Cristini v. McKee, 526 F.3d 888, 899 (6th
Cir. 2008) (quoting United States v. Carter, 236 F.3d 777, 783 (6th Cir. 2001)). If so, we then
decide “whether the impropriety was flagrant and thus warrants reversal.” Id. Flagrancy is
examined by looking at the following for factors: “(1) whether the prosecutor’s remarks or
conduct tended to mislead the jury or prejudice the accused; (2) whether the remarks were
isolated or extensive; (3) whether the remarks were accidentally or deliberately made; and (4) the
overall strength of the evidence against the accused.” United States v. Barnett, 398 F.3d 516,
522 (6th Cir. 2005). This test is meant to reflect that prosecutorial misconduct must be “so
pronounced and persistent that it permeate[d] the entire atmosphere of the trial.” United States v.
Bond, 22 F.3d 662, 667 (6th Cir. 1994) (quoting United States v. Payne, 2 F.3d 706, 712 (6th
Cir. 1993) (per curiam)).
Generally courts “afford wide latitude to a prosecutor during closing argument, analyzing
disputed comments in the context of the trial as a whole.” United States v. Henry, 545 F.3d 367,
377 (6th Cir. 2008). Prosecutors are also allowed to “forcefully assert reasonable inferences
from the evidence.” Bates v. Bell, 402 F.3d 635, 646 (6th Cir. 2005). Given this broad leeway,
we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the video to be
admitted. After listening to the video recording, it is apparent that, while some of Braswell’s
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No. 16-6092
statements are unintelligible mutterings, others can be understood. Specifically, the relevant
comment here, where Braswell allegedly admits that his prints are on the gun, can in fact be
understood. Because portions of the tape can be understood, the district court did not incorrectly
admit a tape that was too unintelligible to be trustworthy. Moreover, given that this Court
“leave[s] rulings about admissibility undisturbed unless . . . left with the definite and firm
conviction that the district court committed a clear error in judgment,” Dixon, 413 F.3d at 544,
we conclude that the video is not so clearly unintelligible as to warrant reversal.
We furthermore hold that the government did not commit prosecutorial misconduct when
it stated its interpretation of Braswell’s statements during closing arguments. Although Braswell
argues that the prosecution, in effect, introduced a transcript when they were not allowed to, we
do not agree. We first note that the government’s statements were not clearly improper, as they
reasonably could be characterized as making inferences from the admitted evidence. In addition,
as noted above, Braswell can be heard on the recording saying something that sounds remarkably
close to “prints all over that [expletive].” (Gov’t Ex. 5 at 19:49:00.) Therefore, the
government’s statements were unlikely to prejudice the jury, given that they likely would have
heard the same thing regardless of what the government said in its closing argument.
Furthermore, the government only made the allegedly improper statements during its closing
argument, and not before the jury had had the opportunity to listen to the tapes. The jury also
had the opportunity to listen to the tapes repeatedly during their deliberation, and in fact, the
government encouraged them to do so. Given the fairly isolated nature of the comments, as well
as the likely lack of prejudice to Braswell, we conclude that the government’s comments do not
amount to prosecutorial misconduct that was so flagrant as to warrant reversal.
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No. 16-6092
IV. Sufficiency of the Evidence
A. Standard of Review
This Court reviews a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a criminal
conviction de novo. United States v. Pritchett, 749 F.3d 417, 430 (6th Cir. 2014). This Court
reviews a district court’s decision to deny a motion for a new trial for clear and manifest abuse of
discretion. United States v. Ashworth, 836 F.2d 260, 266 (6th Cir. 1988).
B. Analysis
A defendant challenging the sufficiency of the evidence “bears a very heavy burden.”
United States v. Davis, 397 F.3d 340, 344 (6th Cir. 2005) (citation omitted). This Court must
determine “whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution,
any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a
reasonable doubt.” Id. (citations omitted). When engaging in this analysis, the court “neither
independently weighs the evidence, nor judges the credibility of witnesses who testified at trial.”
United States v. Howard, 621 F.3d 433, 460 (6th Cir. 2010) (citation omitted).
Braswell argues that the jury’s verdict was against the weight of the evidence because no
evidence links him to the handgun he was charged with illegally possessing. Specifically, no one
saw him drop or place anything in the bushes. In addition, no one testified that they had seen
him with the handgun or the marijuana accompanying it. The gun was also not located in
Braswell’s car or house, but instead it was in the bushes in front of an abandoned house.
Therefore, according to Braswell, it was unreasonable for the jury to infer that he possessed the
handgun, and the verdict was the result of impermissible inference-stacking.
In support of his argument, Braswell contrasts United States v. Lowe, 795 F.3d 519 (6th
Cir. 2015), with United States v. Garcia, 758 F.3d 714 (6th Cir. 2014). In Lowe, this Court
18
No. 16-6092
determined that it was unreasonable to infer that the defendant had downloaded child
pornography even though the defendant owned the laptop on which the images were found and
used a nickname close to his real name when downloading software and visiting websites. 795
F.3d at 523. Because two other people had access to the laptop, the Court determined that the
evidence was insufficient to show that the defendant was the one who downloaded the child
pornography. Id. at 523–24. In contrast, the evidence in Garcia was strong enough to support a
conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm where an officer saw items fall out of the
defendant’s pocket as he fled from the officers. 758 F.3d at 721. The gun was found in fresh
snow, with the handle and barrel buried in the snow but the cylinder lying on top of the snow.
Id. The jurors were also allowed to infer that the defendant’s flight indicated that he had
possessed the firearm. Id.
In comparing these two cases, Braswell argues that his case is similar to Lowe.
Specifically, like the laptop that others had access to, other had driven by the area where the gun
and handgun were found. In addition, Officer Piazza had credibility issues, given his incorrect
testimony that he did not take pictures at the scene when the evidence revealed that he did.
Therefore, Braswell argues that the jury was not allowed to “(1) link Mr. Braswell’s presence
near an abandoned house with a bag of marijuana, and then (2) link the discovery of that bag to a
handgun found nearby, in order to reach a verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.” (Def.’s Br. at
38.)
We disagree. The evidence in the instant case was indeed sufficient to support the
conviction, given that all reasonable inferences must be drawn in favor of the government. The
evidence shows that Braswell was seen walking away from the bushes where the gun and
marijuana were found. Braswell’s car strongly smelled of marijuana, such that Officer Piazza
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No. 16-6092
thought marijuana was either still present or had just been there. Braswell was given a break
when he was allowed to drive away despite his revoked license. Nevertheless he returned to the
area less than an hour later, after switching cars, even though he was told that if he returned he
would likely go to jail. Therefore, it was reasonable for the jury to infer that Braswell returned to
the abandoned house, risking jail, for an important purpose, such as to retrieve the gun and the
marijuana. Furthermore, Braswell was found with a substantial amount of cash on him, as well
as digital scales with marijuana residue. The marijuana was very fragrant, like the marijuana
smell from the first car, and found lying directly on top of the firearm. Moreover, when the
officers found the marijuana with the gun, Braswell uttered something that sounded a lot like,
“prints all over that [expletive].” (Gov’t Ex. 5 at 19:49:00.)
Given the inferences that can be drawn from that evidence, it was not unreasonable for
the jury to conclude that Braswell possessed the gun. While the government’s case could have
been stronger, this Court does not weigh the evidence or “consider the potential magnitude of the
evidence not presented.” Garcia, 758 F.3d at 721. Instead, looking at the evidence in the light
most favorable to the government, it is apparent that impermissible inference-stacking did not
occur here. Indeed, the circumstantial evidence all points to a rational inference that Braswell
had been in possession of the firearm. Thus, the district court did not err in denying Defendant’s
motion for acquittal or motion for a new trial based on the lack of sufficient evidence, and we
affirm Braswell’s conviction.
V. Designation as an Armed Career Criminal
A. Standard of Review
This Court reviews de novo “whether a conviction qualifies as a ‘violent felony’” under
the Armed Career Criminal Act (the “ACCA”). United States v. Hockenberry, 730 F.3d 645,
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No. 16-6092
663 (6th Cir. 2013) (citing United States v. Johnson, 707 F.3d 655, 658 (6th Cir. 2013)); see also
United States v. Eubanks, 617 F.3d 364, 366 (6th Cir. 2010) (reviewing de novo whether a
conviction that the defendant argued should have been expunged qualified for purposes of the
ACCA).
B. Analysis
The ACCA provides, in pertinent part:
In the case of a person who violates section 922(g) of this title and has three
previous convictions by any court referred to in section 922(g)(1) of this title for a
violent felony or a serious drug offense, or both, committed on occasions different
from one another, such person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not
less than fifteen years, and, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court
shall not suspend the sentence of, or grant a probationary sentence to, such person
with respect to the conviction under section 922(g).
18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1).
Braswell argues that he was improperly designated an armed career criminal for two
reasons. First, he contends that two of his four convictions in Tennessee for aggravated robbery
or attempted aggravated robbery are void under Tennessee law, meaning they cannot be counted
for purposes of the ACCA. Second, he argues that aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated
robbery under Tennessee law are not categorically violent felonies and thus do not count as
predicate crimes under the ACCA. Each of these arguments is addressed in turn below.
1. Voidness of Two of Defendant’s Convictions for Aggravated Robbery
Braswell argues that two of his four convictions, specifically the two aggravated
robberies committed on June 30, 1994 and July 1, 1994, are void under Tennessee law and
therefore were improperly included as predicate offenses for determining whether he is an armed
career criminal. Braswell first notes that, for purposes of the ACCA, “[w]hat constitutes a
conviction of such a crime,” meaning a “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding
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No. 16-6092
one year,” “shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the
proceedings were held.” 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20). In this case, the two relevant crimes occurred
and were prosecuted in Tennessee, meaning Tennessee law controls.
Braswell next contends that these two convictions are void under Tennessee law. He
notes that, as is apparent on the face of his guilty plea for three counts of aggravated robbery and
one count of attempted especially aggravated robbery, he was sentenced to concurrent sentences
for all four crimes pursuant to a plea agreement. However, Braswell contends that his sentences
were required, at least in part, to be consecutive sentences instead of concurrent sentences.
Braswell committed the third and fourth aggravated burglaries, which occurred in June and July,
while out on bail for the first two crimes—the aggravated robbery committed on March 2, 1994,
and the attempted especially aggravated robbery committed on March 8, 1994. Under Tennessee
law, “[i]n any case in which a defendant commits a felony while the defendant was released on
bail . . . and the defendant is convicted of both offenses, the trial judge shall not have the
discretion as to whether the sentences shall run concurrently or cumulatively, but shall order that
the sentences be served cumulatively.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-111(b). The Supreme Court of
Tennessee has recognized that sentences imposed in contradiction of § 40-20-111(b) are illegal.
McLaney v. Bell, 59 S.W.3d 90, 93 (Tenn. 2001), overruled in part on other grounds by
Summers v. State, 212 S.W.3d 251 (Tenn. 2007).
Moreover, under Tennessee law, the illegality of the sentence affects both the underlying
conviction as well as the sentence, as Braswell received the concurrent eight year sentences as
part of a guilty plea. The Supreme Court of Tennessee has recognized that “[w]hen a defendant
bargains for and receives an illegal sentence, the defendant will have the option of resentencing
on the original plea or withdrawal of the plea and recommencement of the prosecution.” Smith v.
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No. 16-6092
Lewis, 202 S.W.3d 124, 129 (Tenn. 2006). The court further clarified that “where ‘the sentence
bargained for is otherwise illegal, the defendant is entitled to withdraw the plea.’” Id. (quoting
McLaney, 59 S.W.3d at 95). Therefore, according to Braswell, because his sentences for the two
later aggravated robberies were illegal and were the result of a plea bargain, his convictions are
voided in their entirety, given that he has the right to withdraw the plea altogether.
Consequently, Braswell argues that his convictions should not be considered as predicate
offenses for the ACCA given that they have no legal effect in Tennessee.3 Notably, however,
Braswell has not actually obtained relief from the Tennessee courts in relation to his claimed
illegal sentence.
We hold that the district court correctly determined that Braswell is unable to challenge
his state aggravated robbery convictions in the context of a federal sentencing. As we have
previously recognized, the Supreme Court, in Custis v. United States, 511 U.S. 485 (1994), “held
that a defendant could not collaterally attack a state court conviction used for purposes of
enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act unless the challenge was based on a
violation of the right to counsel.” United States v. Aguilar-Diaz, 626 F.3d 265, 269 (6th Cir.
2010) (citing Custis, 511 U.S. at 496). Indeed, this Court “has interpreted Custis as recognizing
right-to-counsel violations as the sole non-statutory grounds on which a collateral attack may be
entertained at sentencing.” Id. at 270. This rule has routinely been applied by this Court,
including in United States v. Lalonde, 509 F.3d 750 (6th Cir. 2007), in which a defendant argued
that his prior Kentucky theft conviction was invalid because it was based on a guilty plea entered
3
Indeed, Braswell points to several cases where the Tennessee Court of Criminal
Appeals noted that facially invalid judgments cannot be used to enhance punishments in
subsequent Tennessee prosecutions. See State v. Posey, 99 S.W.3d 141, 144 (Tenn. Crim. App.
2002); Clifton v. State, No. W2004-01385-CCA-R3-HC, 2005 WL 1363104, at *5 (Tenn. Crim.
App. June 9, 2005).
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No. 16-6092
in abstentia.4 Id. at 767. While recognizing that the defendant’s prior conviction likely was
invalid as a matter of Kentucky law, we held:
Nevertheless, no Kentucky court had declared Lalonde’s 1989 conviction invalid
prior to his sentencing in the instant case. Thus, because Lalonde’s challenge to
his conviction was not based upon an alleged violation of the right to counsel, the
district court was bound . . . not to allow Lalonde to collaterally challenge the
validity of the conviction at sentencing. . . . Accordingly, we find that, even if
Lalonde is correct in asserting the invalidity of his prior state law conviction, the
district court properly included this conviction in its calculation of Lalonde’s
criminal history category.
Id. at 768.
Similarly, in Aguilar-Diaz, this Court again determined that Custis prevented a defendant
from collaterally attacking his prior state court convictions as part of a federal sentencing. 626
F.3d at 269. In that case, the defendant argued that a prior Ohio conviction was void because the
state court failed to impose required post-release supervision as part of his sentencing. Id. at
267. However, after finding that the defendant’s claim was “quite similar” to the claim rejected
in Lalonde, the Court determined that the defendant’s claim was “precluded as a collateral attack
on a state conviction.” Id. at 270.
Braswell argues that Custis does not, in fact, prevent him from challenging his state court
convictions during sentencing. First, Braswell argues that Custis is inapplicable to cases where
the issue is what counts as a “conviction,” given that Custis addressed only cases where it was
assumed that there was a prior conviction. For support, Braswell cites this Court’s decision in
United States v. Houston, 813 F.3d 282 (6th Cir. 2016), in which the Court addressed whether a
Tennessee conviction was properly considered a predicate under the ACCA’s definition of
4
Lalonde involved a challenge to the district court’s calculation of the defendant’s
criminal history score, not whether the defendant was an armed career criminal. 509 F.3d at 766.
However, Lalonde applied the rule announced in Custis, which specifically applies to the ACCA.
Id. at 767 (applying Custis, 511 U.S. at 487).
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No. 16-6092
“conviction,” given that the state conviction was still in the process of being appealed. Id. at
292. Braswell argues that the fact that the Court in Houston did not make reference to Custis
reveals that Custis does not apply to the case at hand.
We find Braswell’s arguments unavailing. The Court in Houston was not deciding
whether the defendant was an armed career criminal, but was instead tasked with determining
whether a prior Tennessee conviction, which was still pending on direct appeal in state court,
was a conviction such that the defendant was prohibited from possessing a firearm. 813 F.3d at
292. The defendant in that case was not trying to argue that the conviction was void or invalid
for some reason, but just that the timing of the federal and state cases meant that the Tennessee
conviction did not make him a felon in possession because his felony conviction was not final
and it therefore was not illegal for him to possess a firearm. Id. Thus, the Court in that case had
no reason to discuss Custis.
Defendant also argues that his challenge is authorized under Custis because it is
authorized by statute—specifically that his challenge is allowed based on the definition of
“conviction” in § 921(a)(20). While it is true that, under Custis, “a defendant may collaterally
attack a prior conviction used for purposes of sentence enhancement only if (1) such attack is
provided by statute, or (2) such attack is a constitutional one premised on a lack of counsel,”
United States v. Reed, 141 F.3d 644, 652 (6th Cir. 1998), the Supreme Court was contemplating
statutes such as 21 U.S.C. § 851, which “sets forth specific procedures allowing a defendant to
challenge the validity of a prior conviction used to enhance the sentence for a federal drug
offense.” Custis, 511 U.S. at 491. The Supreme Court further opined that “[t]he language of
§ 851(c) shows that when Congress intended to authorize collateral attacks on prior convictions
at the time of sentencing, it knew how to do so. Congress’ omission of similar language in
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No. 16-6092
§ 924(e) indicates that it did not intend to give defendants the right to challenge the validity of
prior convictions under this statute.” Id. at 492. After examining the relevant statutory
provisions, we conclude that the definitional section that applies to the ACCA, codified in § 921,
is not the sort of statute that contains the express authorization to challenge prior convictions
contemplated in Custis. Instead, the clear language of Custis holds that prior convictions cannot
be collaterally attacked through a sentencing for being an armed career criminal pursuant to
§ 924(e).
Braswell also attempts to distinguish his case from Aguilar-Diaz, given differences in
Ohio and Tennessee law regarding void convictions. Braswell argues that it was important that,
in Aguilar-Diaz, only the sentence was considered void under Ohio law and not the underlying
determination of guilt. 626 F.3d at 268. In Tennessee, by contrast, Braswell’s entire conviction,
including both the sentence and the determination of guilt, is considered void because the illegal
sentence was bargained for in a plea deal. Smith, 202 S.W.3d at 129.
This argument, too, is unpersuasive. First, Aguilar-Diaz did not rely solely on the fact
that the underlying determination of guilt was still in place when determining that Custis barred
the defendant’s attack on his prior convictions. In fact, the Court specifically noted that “it is not
necessary for us to determine whether Aguilar-Diaz’s forgery conviction is void in Ohio or, if it
is, whether it would still be valid for federal sentencing purposes.” 626 F.3d at 269.
Furthermore, Judge Batchelder wrote separately, in her words, to “highlight an ambiguity in
Ohio case law,” given that the Ohio Supreme Court has not clarified whether only the sentence is
void, or both the sentence and the determination of guilt. Id. at 271. Therefore, Aguilar-Diaz
cannot be distinguished based on the fact that the underlying determination of guilt was still
intact in that case.
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No. 16-6092
Moreover, in Custis, the Supreme Court noted that the definition of “conviction” in
§ 921(a)(20) provided that “[a]ny conviction which has been expunged, or set aside or for which
a person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored shall not be considered a conviction
for purposes of this chapter.” 511 U.S. at 491 (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)). The Court
found that “[t]he provision that a court may not count a conviction ‘which has been . . . set aside’
creates a clear negative implication that courts may count a convictions that has not been set
aside.” Id. (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)). This language indicates that Braswell’s prior
convictions were properly counted, given that no Tennessee court has set them aside based on
their voidness or illegality.
Finally, this Court’s disposition in United States v. Watt, 162 F. App’x 486 (6th Cir.
2006), does not mandate the opposite outcome. In that case, the defendant made the same
argument as Braswell in this case—that his prior convictions were invalid under Tennessee law
because he was sentenced concurrently when he was required to be sentenced consecutively. Id.
at 489. The defendant there ultimately obtained relief from his career offender enhancement in
federal court. However, Watt is different for two key reasons. First, the defendant in that case
actually had his state convictions set aside by the Tennessee state courts. Id. Second, Watt was a
case brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, and not on direct appeal from a federal sentencing.
Id. at 493. Custis specifically held that collateral attacks on prior convictions could not be made
during federal sentencing proceedings, but noted that the prior convictions could be challenged
on federal habeas review. 511 U.S. at 497. Therefore, the Watt Court found that “Watt followed
the procedure contemplated by Custis. He successfully challenged his state convictions in state
court, and only then did he seek § 2255 relief from the federal sentence enhancement that had
been predicated on those convictions.” 162 F. App’x at 493.
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No. 16-6092
In contrast, Braswell here sought to challenge his prior convictions during a federal
sentencing proceeding, which is specifically disallowed by Custis. Moreover, Braswell’s
convictions have not been set aside by any court in Tennessee, despite his argument that he
clearly would be entitled to such relief.5 We therefore hold that Braswell’s prior convictions
were properly counted as predicate offenses under the ACCA. 6
2. Aggravated Robbery as Violent Felony Under the ACCA
Braswell also argues that his four convictions—three for aggravated robbery and one for
attempt of especially aggravated robbery—do not qualify as violent felonies under the ACCA in
light of Johnson v. United States, 559 U.S. 133, 140 (2010). However, Braswell admits that this
argument is foreclosed based on binding circuit precedent and that he is only raising this
argument here in order to preserve the issue for further appeal.
Indeed, this Court has repeatedly held that aggravated robbery under Tennessee law is a
violent felony under the “use of force” clause of the ACCA. See United States v. Gloss, 661
F.3d 317, 319 (6th Cir. 2011); United States v. Bailey, 634 F. App’x 473, 476 (6th Cir. 2015).
Therefore, the district court properly determined that Braswell’s prior convictions for aggravated
5
Braswell asserts that he cannot obtain relief in Tennessee given that he is no longer in
custody and has already served his sentence. See State v. Wooden, 478 S.W.3d 585, 591 (Tenn.
2015); State v. Brown, 479 S.W.3d 200, 211–12 (Tenn. 2015). Indeed, Braswell applied for state
post-conviction relief but was denied relief for just that reason. State v. Braswell, Nos. 201324,
201325, 203114, 203483 (Crim. Ct. Hamilton Cty. Tenn. Dec. 22, 2015), available at R. 111-4,
PageID #1307. At the federal sentencing, defense counsel stated that Braswell’s appeal of that
decision was pending in the Tennessee courts. The record contains no further information
regarding the state proceedings. Regardless, this Court, when faced with the same argument in
Aguilar-Diaz, held that it is immaterial whether “state-based relief is currently available.” 626
F.3d at 271.
6
This holding is without prejudice to Braswell’s ability to raise these issues in an
appropriate § 2255 proceeding.
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No. 16-6092
robbery and attempted especially aggravated robbery qualify as predicate offenses for purposes
of the ACCA.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, we AFFIRM Braswell’s conviction and sentence for being
a felon in possession of a firearm. Specifically, we conclude that the district court properly
denied Braswell’s motion to suppress the evidence obtained as result of the traffic stop.
Moreover, the district court did not abuse its discretion by declining to give a spoliation
instruction or by admitting the recording of Braswell into evidence. Similarly, the government
did not commit misconduct so flagrant as to require reversal by characterizing what was said on
the tape as a confession. Furthermore, the evidence was sufficient to find Braswell guilty.
Finally, Braswell was properly considered an armed career criminal and correctly barred from
challenging his state convictions in the context of a federal sentencing hearing.
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No. 16-6092
HELENE N. WHITE, Circuit Judge, concurring. I concur in all but Part II.B of the
majority opinion. I write separately because I do not agree that the issue whether a criminal
defendant must show bad-faith conduct by the government to justify even the mildest of
spoliation sanctions—a permissive adverse-inference instruction—is settled in this circuit.
Further, it is unnecessary to decide the question in this case.
I.
The majority relies on United States v. Boxley, 373 F.3d 759 (6th Cir. 2004), and United
States v. Spalding, 438 F. App’x 464 (6th Cir. 2011). Boxley, however, relied on Nationwide
Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Ford Motor Co., 174 F.3d 801 (6th Cir. 1999), for its
understanding of spoliation sanctions. Boxley, 373 F.3d at 762. And Nationwide, following
then-current circuit precedent, applied state law regarding spoliation sanctions. 174 F.3d at 804
(“The rules that apply to the spoiling of evidence and the range of appropriate sanctions are
defined by state law; in this case, Ohio.”) (citation omitted). In Adkins v. Wolever, 554 F.3d 650
(6th Cir. 2009) (en banc), however, the court rejected the application of state law to spoliation
issues, explaining that “a spoliation ruling is evidentiary in nature and federal courts generally
apply their own evidentiary rules in both federal question and diversity matters.” Id. at 652
(citation omitted). In doing so, the court overruled “earlier opinions that applied state law to
determine whether spoliation sanctions were available,” including Nationwide specifically. Id. at
651.1 Thus, because Boxley relied on Nationwide’s statement of Ohio law, it is not clear that the
1
The majority states that the Nationwide court applied Ohio law because Nationwide was a diversity case. See Maj.
Op. at 10 n.2. In fact, prior to Adkins, this court applied state spoliation law in all civil cases, even those based on
federal-question jurisdiction. Adkins, 554 F.3d at 652 (“Our circuit’s application of state law to spoliation sanctions
in federal question cases finds its origins in Welsh v. United States, 844 F.2d 1239 [(6th Cir. 1988)], a Federal Tort
Claims Act case.”); see, e.g., Beck v. Haik, 377 F.3d 624, 628 (6th Cir. 2004) (applying Michigan spoliation law in a
§ 1983 civil rights action), overruled by Adkins, 554 F.3d 650.
30
No. 16-6092
rule applied in Boxley correctly states the federal law applicable here.2 Spalding was decided
after Adkins, but Spalding relies exclusively on Boxley, and does not address the fact that Adkins
overruled Nationwide. Spalding, 438 F. App’x at 467. Further, Spalding is unpublished.
It is also not clear whether or to what extent we should rely on cases from outside this
circuit, and where that should lead us. True, the First Circuit has stated that a spoliation
instruction in a criminal case “usually makes sense only where the evidence permits a finding of
bad faith destruction; ordinarily negligent destruction would not support the logical inference
that the evidence was favorable to the defendant.” United States v. Laurent, 607 F.3d 895, 902
(1st Cir. 2010) (emphasis in original) (citation omitted). However, the Laurent court went on to
say that “the case law is not uniform in the culpability needed for the instruction,” and “negligent
destruction of a particular piece of evidence likely to be exculpatory” might justify a spoliation
instruction. Id. at 902–03 (citations omitted); see United States v. Flores-Rivera, 787 F.3d 1, 19
& n.13 (1st Cir. 2015) (stating that the government’s negligent destruction of probative evidence
did not justify a new trial, but that the defendants “likely would have been entitled to a spoliation
instruction” had they requested one).
The Fifth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Wise, 221 F.3d 140, 156 (5th Cir. 2000),
which the majority also cites, has little persuasive value. Wise is a criminal case, and it does
conclude that evidence of bad faith is necessary to support a spoliation instruction. Id. But Wise
relies on civil cases for its conclusions about spoliation sanctions. Id. And it appears that at least
at the time Wise was decided, bad faith was required to justify a spoliation instruction in civil
cases in the Fifth Circuit. Id. By contrast, and as the majority recognizes, bad faith is not
2
The majority concludes that Boxley remains good law because “Boxley can only logically be read as adopting the
bad faith requirement for spoliation instructions, described in Nationwide, for all criminal cases in this circuit,”
especially since Boxley originated in the Western District of Tennessee. Maj. Op. at 10 n.2. But Boxley does not
even acknowledge the choice-of-standard question, or any distinction between civil and criminal cases, much less
analyze those issues. 373 F.3d at 762–63. It simply repeats the standards stated in Nationwide.
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No. 16-6092
required for a spoliation instruction in a civil case in our circuit. Beaven v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice,
622 F.3d 540, 554 (6th Cir. 2010).
Further, as the majority acknowledges, the Ninth Circuit is split on this very issue.
Compare United States v. Romo-Chavez, 681 F.3d 955, 961 (9th Cir. 2012) (“a criminal
defendant must establish . . . that the evidence was destroyed in bad faith”), with United States v.
Sivilla, 714 F.3d 1168, 1173 (9th Cir. 2013) (holding that “[b]ad faith is the wrong legal standard
for a remedial jury instruction,” and, instead, “[c]ourts must balance the quality of the
Government’s conduct against the degree of prejudice to the accused, where the government
bears the burden of justifying its conduct and the accused of demonstrating prejudice”) (citation
and quotation marks omitted).
As for other circuits, the Eighth Circuit has assumed—but not actually decided—that its
bad-faith requirement for a spoliation instruction in a civil case also applies in criminal cases.
See United States v. Davis, 690 F.3d 912, 922 (8th Cir. 2012), cert. granted, judgment vacated
on other grounds, 133 S. Ct. 2852 (2013). The Eleventh Circuit has not decided whether
spoliation instructions based on the government’s failure to preserve evidence are ever
appropriate in criminal cases. United States v. Lanzon, 639 F.3d 1293, 1302 (11th Cir. 2011)
(declining to decide the question because the defendant would not be entitled to an instruction
under the civil standard, which in the Eleventh Circuit includes a bad-faith requirement). And
the Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits do not appear to have addressed
this issue.
All of this is to say that, given the circumstances, Boxley, Spalding, and the cases from
other circuits do not provide a definitive answer to the question whether bad-faith conduct by the
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No. 16-6092
government is a necessary predicate to a district court in this circuit granting a permissive
adverse-inference instruction in a criminal case.
II.
Under the facts of this case, it is not necessary to decide which standard should apply to
requests for a spoliation instruction in a criminal case, because even if the district court erred by
not giving a spoliation instruction, that error was harmless.
“Any error, defect, irregularity, or variance that does not affect substantial rights must be
disregarded.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a). Braswell does not contend that the spoliation issue here is
of constitutional magnitude, so any error is harmless if there “is ‘a preponderance of the
evidence that the error did not materially affect the verdict.’” United States v. Hendrickson, 822
F.3d 812, 824 & n.5 (6th Cir. 2016). (emphasis in original) (quoting United States v. Kilpatrick,
798 F.3d 365, 378 (6th Cir. 2015)).
Given the circumstances of this case, that standard is easily satisfied. A permissive
adverse-inference instruction is “simply a formalization of what the jurors would be entitled to
do even in the absence of a specific instruction.” West v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 374 F. App’x 624,
635 (6th Cir. 2010). At trial, defense counsel was permitted to, and did, argue strenuously that
the jurors should infer that the missing photographs would have shown something unfavorable to
the government. Braswell is correct that an instruction from the court generally carries more
weight than argument from counsel. See Arch Ins. Co. v. Broan-NuTone, LLC, 509 F. App’x
453, 459 (6th Cir. 2012). Here, however, defense counsel laid the groundwork for his argument
by successfully using the dashcam video to force Officer Piazza to reverse his testimony and
admit he had taken photographs of the evidence. If the jurors were not willing to draw
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No. 16-6092
inferences in Braswell’s favor after this dramatic and effective cross-examination, there is no
reason to think a spoliation instruction would have changed their minds.
Braswell argues that the photographs might have shown that there were fingerprints on
the gun—fingerprints that Officer Piazza never identified—and thus a spoliation instruction was
necessary to compensate for the photographs’ absence. But Officer Piazza testified that there
were visible fingerprints on the gun. Photographs showing the same thing would not have added
anything to Braswell’s defense. Nor would Braswell have been helped by an instruction telling
the jurors they could infer something that Officer Piazza had already admitted. In truth, there
was simply no favorable inference to be drawn from the destruction of the photographs.3
Further, as the majority’s opinion explains, there is substantial evidence connecting Braswell to
the gun. True, the evidence is largely circumstantial. But Braswell’s recorded statements are
powerful evidence of guilt. And nothing the jurors might have inferred from the photographs—
or their absence—would have changed what Braswell said to himself when he saw the officers
discover the gun and the marijuana.
In sum, the absence of a spoliation instruction did not affect Braswell’s substantial rights
and was, at most, harmless error.
3
Below, Braswell suggested the photographs might have shown that the gun had dirt or leaves on it, or that the
marijuana was not fresh. Braswell does not raise those arguments on appeal. Regardless, Officer Piazza admitted
under cross-examination that the gun was covered with leaves. And while the jurors might have inferred from the
absence of the photographs that the marijuana was not as fresh as Officer Piazza said it was, there is no reason to
think this would have changed the outcome of the trial, given Braswell’s recorded statements and Officer Piazza’s
otherwise uncontested description of events.
34
United States v. Larry Braswell
Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Date filed: 2017-08-21
Citations: 704 F. App'x 528
Copy CitationsCombined Opinion