Case: 16-10442 Date Filed: 10/21/2016 Page: 1 of 8
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 16-10442
Non-Argument Calendar
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 0:15-cr-60198-JIC-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JAZZY DEVANTE JOHNSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
________________________
(October 21, 2016)
Before TJOFLAT, MARTIN and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Case: 16-10442 Date Filed: 10/21/2016 Page: 2 of 8
Jazzy Johnson appeals his convictions for possession with intent to distribute
cocaine and flakka, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Count 1); possession of a firearm and
ammunition by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Count 2); and possession
of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i)
(Count 3). Johnson argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him on
Count 1 because the district court erred in admitting into evidence two pieces of
evidence that contributed to his conviction: extrinsic evidence concerning a prior
arrest for possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, and the expert
opinion of a law enforcement officer concerning Johnson’s intention to distribute
the drugs in his possession. Johnson argues that the evidence was insufficient to
convict him on Count 2 because the firearm’s out-of-state origins do not constitute
an interstate nexus sufficient to support federal jurisdiction. He challenges the
evidence to convict on Count 3 on the ground that the conviction on Count 1, the
drug trafficking crime involved, cannot stand.
Johnson acknowledges that our precedent---though in his view misguided---
forecloses his Count 2 argument. Appellant’s Br. at 25. We therefore do not
consider it.
Because Johnson moved for a judgment of acquittal on all counts pursuant to
Fed. R. Crim. P. 29 at the close of the government’s case-in-chief and at the close
of all evidence, these claims are preserved. As such, we review de novo whether
2
Case: 16-10442 Date Filed: 10/21/2016 Page: 3 of 8
the evidence was sufficient to sustain Johnson’s convictions, viewing the evidence
in the light most favorable to the government, and drawing all reasonable factual
inferences in favor of the jury’s verdict. United States v. Jiminez, 564 F.3d 1280,
1284 (11th Cir. 2009). Accordingly, evidence is sufficient to support a conviction
if “a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence established guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt.” Id. at 284-85. Whether the evidence is direct or circumstantial,
we will accept all reasonable inferences that tend to support the government’s case.
United States v. Williams, 390 F.3d 1319, 1324 (11th Cir. 2004). A conviction
must be upheld unless the jury could not have found the defendant guilty under any
reasonable construction of the evidence. United States v. Frank, 599 F.3d 1221,
1233 (11th Cir. 2010).
Credibility questions are for the jury, and we will assume that the jury
answered them all in a manner that supports the jury’s verdicts. Jiminez, 564 F.3d
at 1285; United States v. Thompson, 473 F.3d 1137, 1142 (11th Cir. 2006).
Testimony will not be considered incredible as a matter of law unless it is
testimony that on its face cannot be believed, such as testimony as to facts that the
witness could not have observed or events that could not have occurred under the
laws of nature. United States v. Rivera, 775 F.2d 1559, 1561 (11th Cir. 1985). A
jury is free to choose among alternative, reasonable interpretations of the evidence,
Frank, 599 F.3d at 1233, so the government’s proof need not exclude every
3
Case: 16-10442 Date Filed: 10/21/2016 Page: 4 of 8
reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Jiminez, 564 F.3d at 1285; United States v.
Cruz-Valdez, 773 F.2d 1541, 1544-45 (1985) (en banc).
Regarding Johnson’s argument that the district court erred in admitting
extrinsic evidence of his prior arrest, evidence of other crimes may be admissible
for purposes such as proof of “motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan,
knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.” Fed. R. Evid. 404(b). We
have held that in order for evidence of other crimes to be admissible under Federal
Rule of Evidence 404(b), (1) it must be relevant to an issue other than the
defendant’s character; (2) there must be sufficient proof to enable a jury to find by
a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant committed the act in question;
and (3) the probative value of the evidence cannot be substantially outweighed by
undue prejudice, and the evidence must satisfy Rule 403. United States v.
Edouard, 485 F.3d 1324, 1344 (11th Cir. 2007).
Regarding Johnson’s argument that the district court erred in admitting the
expert testimony of a law enforcement officer, we review the district court’s
decision to admit expert testimony for an abuse of discretion. United States v.
Frazier, 387 F.3d 1244, 1258 (11th Cir. 2004) (en banc). We also review a district
court’s rejection of a Rule 403 challenge for an abuse of discretion. United States
v. Jernigan, 341 F.3d 1273, 1284 (11th Cir. 2003). Under this standard of review,
4
Case: 16-10442 Date Filed: 10/21/2016 Page: 5 of 8
we will affirm unless the district court made a clear error of judgment or applied
the wrong legal standard. Frazier, 387 F.3d at 1259.
Federal Rule of Evidence 702 permits expert testimony if “specialized
knowledge” will help the jury “to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in
issue.” Fed. R. Evid. 702. A witness may be “qualified as an expert by
knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education.” Id. The Federal Rules
compel the district court to perform a critical “gatekeeping” function with respect
to the admission of expert scientific or technical evidence by conducting an
“exacting analysis” of the foundation of the opinions to ensure they meet the
admissibility requirements. Frazier, 387 F.3d at 1259 (quotations omitted).
Before admitting expert testimony, the district court must consider whether:
the expert is qualified to testify competently regarding the
matters he intends to address; (2) the methodology by which the
expert reaches his conclusions is sufficiently reliable as
determined by the sort of inquiry mandated in Daubert; and (3)
the testimony assists the trier of fact, through the application of
scientific, technical, or specialized expertise, to understand the
evidence or to determine a fact in issue.
Id. at 1260. The proponent of expert testimony, in this case the government, bears
the burden to demonstrate that these requirements have been met. Id.
An expert may be qualified by experience in a field alone. Fed. R. Evid.
702; Frazier, 387 F.3d at 1260-61. Such a witness should explain how his
experience leads to his opinion, why his experience is a sufficient basis for his
5
Case: 16-10442 Date Filed: 10/21/2016 Page: 6 of 8
opinion, and how he reliably applied his experience to the facts. Frazier, 387 F.3d
at 1261. The test of reliability is flexible, however, and a district court has broad
latitude in deciding how to determine reliability. Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v.
Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 141-42, 119 S. Ct. 1167, 1171, 143 L. Ed. 2d 238
(1999).
With the foregoing principles in mind, we consider Johnson’s challenges to
Counts 1 and 3, respectively.
I.
Johnson argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict on Count 1. He
does not dispute that he possessed a controlled substance; rather, he contends that
the evidence failed to demonstrate that he had the intent to distribute it. The jury
found him guilty, he argues, because the district court abused its discretion in
admitting two pieces of evidence. One piece, which was admitted under Rule
404(b), was a prior conviction for crack cocaine possession. The other was a
detective’s opinion that Johnson’s possession of the drugs with which he was
caught, cocaine and flakka, was consistent with distribution and not personal use.
The prior conviction was introduced to prove motive, intent and knowledge,
elements of the Count 1 offense which Johnson placed in issue with his plea of not
guilty. Johnson does not dispute that the crack cocaine conviction was relevant to
those elements; his point is that the probative value of the evidence was
6
Case: 16-10442 Date Filed: 10/21/2016 Page: 7 of 8
substantially outweighed by its undue prejudicial effect. We are not persuaded that
the court abused its discretion in weighing the matters of relevance and prejudice
in accordance with Rule 404(b), and accordingly reject Johnson’s point.
As for the detective’s testimony, the district court held a pretrial hearing at
which the parties presented argument regarding the detective’s expertise. It was
not a formal Daubert hearing in which the court considers the proffer of the
expert’s qualifications and the reliability of the expert’s opinion; Johnson didn’t
request one. After considering the parties’ arguments, the court denied Johnson’s
motion to exclude the detective’s testimony. At trial, the government thoroughly
questioned the detective concerning his qualifications and experience before
tendering him as a witness for examination by defense counsel. Given these
circumstances, we conclude that the court adequately performed its gate keeping
requirements; it fully considered the detective’s qualifications and the reliability of
his testimony. In short, the court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the
detective to testify.
II.
The government’s burden on Count 3 was to establish that Johnson “(1)
knowingly (2) possessed a firearm (3) in furtherance of [a] drug trafficking crime
for which he could be prosecuted in a court of the United States.” United States v.
Woodard, 531 F.3d 1352, 1362 (11th Cir. 2008). The government’s position is that
7
Case: 16-10442 Date Filed: 10/21/2016 Page: 8 of 8
Johnson does not dispute that he knowingly possessed a firearm while committing
the Count 1 offense. Rather, all Johnson questions is whether he committed the
offense. Since we have concluded that he did so, his Count 3 challenge fails.
Johnson’s convictions on all three counts are affirmed for the reasons stated
above.
AFFIRMED.
8