PUBLISH
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Filed 7/5/96
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v. No. 95-5084
KENNETH CODY JACKSON,
Defendant - Appellant.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
(D.C. No. 94-CR-83-B)
Jeffrey D. Fischer, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Defendant - Appellant.
Allen J. Litchfield, Assistant United States Attorney, Tulsa, Oklahoma (Stephen C.
Lewis, United States Attorney, and Ann P. Dooley, Assistant United States Attorney,
Tulsa, Oklahoma, with him on the brief), for Plaintiff - Appellee.
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Before ANDERSON, McKAY and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
McKAY, Circuit Judge.
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Defendant Kenneth Cody Jackson appeals from his conviction for carjacking and
related firearm offenses. He argues that his trial counsel was ineffective and that the
district court impermissibly allowed the introduction of hearsay evidence used to identify
him. We affirm Mr. Jackson’s conviction for the reasons that follow.
The government presented the following evidence at trial. The carjacking victim
was talking on a pay phone at a Circle K convenience store when a man came up behind
him with a chrome-colored snub-nose revolver and demanded the keys to his car. The
carjacker was wearing an open-face ski mask and a blue jacket. While the carjacker was
holding the revolver to the victim’s head, a nearby eyewitness yelled out, “Kenny, don’t
do it!” After taking money from the victim, the carjacker sped away in his newly
acquired automobile.
The police were soon notified and quickly spotted the stolen car. Police officers
gave chase. The carjacker jumped from the car and fled on foot. Although the officers
pursued him, they were unable to apprehend him at that time. Nevertheless, three officers
had gotten a good look at the carjacker’s face and later were able to identify him as the
defendant in this case. The police recovered from the car a snub-nose revolver and a ski
mask. They also recovered a blue jacket which had been discarded by the carjacker
during the foot chase. Inside the jacket the officers found a pager. One officer retained
possession of the pager and had it with him while filling out a report on the carjacking.
The pager went off and displayed a telephone number. The officer called the number and
heard a female voice say, “Is this Kenny?” This statement as well as the statement,
“Kenny, don’t do it!” were admitted against Mr. Jackson over his objection. The jury
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convicted Mr. Jackson of all charges against him.
Mr. Jackson first argues that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance.
Normally, we do not allow ineffective assistance of counsel claims to be raised on direct
appeal. We see no reason to deviate from this rule in the case at bar. United States v.
Galloway, 56 F.3d 1239, 1240 (10th Cir. 1995). Related to Mr. Jackson’s ineffective
assistance claim is his argument that the district court should have held an evidentiary
hearing on his motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence.1 The alleged
new evidence was Mr. Jackson’s belief that his trial counsel provided ineffective
assistance. The district court denied Mr. Jackson’s motion.
“Ineffective assistance of counsel may not serve as the basis for a motion for a new
trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence under Rule 33 where the facts alleged in
support of the motion were within the defendant’s knowledge at the time of trial.” United
States v. Miller, 869 F.2d 1418, 1421 (10th Cir. 1989). Mr. Jackson does not argue that
Miller is not applicable. Rather, he asks us to reconsider our holding in that case. We
decline this invitation. We hold that the district court did not err when it refused to hold
an evidentiary hearing regarding Mr. Jackson’s motion for a new trial.
Mr. Jackson next argues that the statement, “Kenny, don’t do it!” was inadmissible
In addition to his motion for a new trial, Mr. Jackson moved in the alternative for
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habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. The district court correctly denied this
motion as untimely because Mr. Jackson had not yet been sentenced.
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hearsay and that its introduction violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront adverse
witnesses. At trial, the government introduced this statement through the testimony of the
carjacking victim who overheard the exclamation rather than through the eyewitness who
uttered the statement. The district court allowed the testimony to come in as an “excited
utterance” under Fed. R. Evid. 803(2). Here, the statement, “Kenny, don’t do it!” was
made while the declarant witnessed the carjacker place a gun to the victim’s head. This
clearly falls within the purview of Rule 803(2) which provides that a statement related to
a startling event is admissible if the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused
by the startling event while making the statement.
Furthermore, no Sixth Amendment violation occurred. In general, a hearsay
exception that has sufficient indicia of reliability does not violate the Sixth Amendment’s
Confrontation Clause. “Firmly rooted” exceptions are normally considered sufficiently
reliable. White v. Illinois, 502 U.S. 346, 355 n.8 (1992). Rule 803(2) is itself a firmly
rooted hearsay exception. Id. Thus, no constitutional violation occurred.2
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Mr. Jackson seeks to attack the reliability of this hearsay testimony by introducing
grand jury testimony and information in an FBI report. This evidence, however, was
never introduced at trial or presented to the district court. Thus, we may not consider it
because it is not part of the record on appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 10(a).
We also point out that Mr. Jackson has not asserted that the declarant was
unavailable. Given the fact that Fed. R. Evid. 806 would have allowed Mr. Jackson to
call the declarant as a witness and cross-examine him, it is hard to see how any
unreliability in the hearsay statement would have violated Mr. Jackson’s right to confront
adverse witnesses. See United States v. Inadi, 475 U.S. 387, 397-98 & n.8 (1986).
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Finally, Mr. Jackson argues that the district court impermissibly allowed the
introduction at trial of the declaration, “Is this Kenny?”. The district court admitted the
declaration as non-hearsay pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(1)(C) or as an exception to
the hearsay rule under Fed. R. Evid. 803(24). On appeal, the government does not contest
Mr. Jackson’s argument that neither rule applies. Rather, the government argues that the
declaration was non-hearsay because it was not a statement within the meaning of Rule
801(a)(1) and (c).
As an initial matter, we point out that evidence does not become inadmissible
simply because the district court relied on an erroneous reason for admitting it. So long
as the evidence is admissible under some legally correct theory, no error occurred.
Navajo Freight Lines, Inc. v. Mahaffy, 174 F.2d 305, 307 (10th Cir. 1949); see also
Cayce v. Carter Oil Co., 618 F.2d 669, 677 (10th Cir. 1980) (appellate court may affirm
rulings of district court “on any ground that finds support in the record, even where the
lower court reached its conclusions from a different or even erroneous course of
reasoning”).
In this case, the evidence was admissible because it was non-hearsay under Rule
801(a)(1) and (c). Rule 801(c) provides that “‘Hearsay’ is a statement . . . offered in
evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.” A “statement” is defined in Rule
801(a)(1) as “an oral or written assertion.” Although “assertion” is not defined in Rule
801, the advisory committee notes state that “nothing is an assertion unless intended to be
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one.” Fed. R. Evid. 801 advisory committee’s note. The question, “Is this Kenny?”
cannot reasonably be construed to be an intended assertion, either express or implied.
Were we to construe this question completely in Mr. Jackson’s favor, it might be possible
to imply that the declarant believed Mr. Jackson was in possession of the pager and
therefore he was the person responding by telephone to the declarant’s message. The
mere fact, however, that the declarant conveyed a message with her question does not
make the question hearsay. See United States v. Long, 905 F.2d 1572, 1580 (D.C. Cir.),
cert. denied, 498 U.S. 948 (1990). As the D.C. Circuit pointed out in Long, “[i]t is
difficult to imagine any question . . . that does not in some way convey an implicit
message.” Id. Rather, the important question is whether an assertion was intended. Id.
We find it hard to believe in this case that the declarant intended to assert that Mr.
Jackson was in possession of the pager and that he was responding to her call. If any
doubt remains, we believe it is resolved by the fact that Rule 801 places “the burden upon
the party claiming that the intention [to make an assertion] existed; ambiguous and
doubtful cases will be resolved against him and in favor of admissibility.” Fed. R. Evid.
801 advisory committee’s note. Mr. Jackson has not met this burden. We hold that the
district court did not err when it overruled Mr. Jackson’s hearsay objection.
AFFIRMED.
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