United States v. Mikolajczyk ( 1998 )


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  •                           REVISED, March 26, 1998
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
    _______________
    No. 96-50384
    _______________
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    VERSUS
    CLARENCE RAY MIKOLAJCZYK, et al.,
    Defendants-Appellants.
    _________________________
    Appeals from the United States District Court
    for the Western District of Texas
    _________________________
    March 11, 1998
    Before JONES and SMITH, Circuit Judges, and FITZWATER,* District
    Judge.
    JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:
    Appellants, convicted of mail fraud following a jury trial,
    raise several issues on appeal.            Finding no reversible error, we
    affirm.     In so doing, we find it necessary to discuss only a few
    issues and affirm on the remaining issues without discussion.
    I.
    Between October 1993 and May 1995, the defendants made several
    *
    District Judge of the Northern District of Texas, sitting by designation.
    attempts to pass off fraudulent “Certified Money Orders” (CMO's) as
    legitimate money orders.          The scheme was initiated by Billy Mack
    O’Neill and his partners in USA First, an alleged non-profit
    organization, who put together packets each containing six CMO's
    and information on how to use them.            In exchange for the $300 price
    of the packet, buyers could write six CMO's, in any amount.                   Buyers
    were asked to provide almost no information upon receiving or using
    the CMO's, although most were asked for their name, and some gave
    their phone numbers.
    The packets contained the following statement:                      “Warning.
    Just like the children’s story about the emperor’s new clothes, do
    not   mention      that   your    current    credit    money,       the   negotiable
    instrument, is pretend money.           Only speak of the bank’s negotiable
    instruments as being pretend money.”                It warned that the money
    orders   would     not    “work   for   everyone”     and    that    there   was    no
    “guarantee of a win against thieves and robbers dressed in bankers’
    or even judicial clothing.”
    The scheme apparently was designed to express dissatisfaction
    with the banking system and to obtain cash from buyers of the
    CMO's.   In addition to the comment about thieves and robbers, the
    packet said “In God we trust, in banksters we bust!” and contained
    a cartoon about the banking system in which bankers stated, “With
    our system, it is easy to rob the people.                   All we have to do is
    lend paper credit and charge interest.”
    There   is    no    indication    that   O’Neill,      First    USA,   or    the
    fictitious business they created under the name of O.M.B. W.D.
    2
    McCall ever intended to make payment on any of the CMO's.                The
    instructions in the packet and on the CMO's required the individual
    who received a CMO as payment to send it to W.D. McCall’s post
    office box.    Upon receiving the CMO, First USA would send out a
    fake “Certified Banker’s Cheque” (CBC). W.D. McCall never paid any
    of the obligations created by the CMO's.
    The indictment named eight individuals:             Billy O’Neill (who
    initiated   the    scheme),   Michael   Kearns,   Earl    Forrester,   Wayne
    Slater, Vicki Slater, Patricia Koehler, Oliver Paulson and Clarence
    Mikolajczyk.      Kearns, Forrester, and Paulson do not appeal their
    convictions.      Except for the first count, which referred to the
    entire scheme of mailing fraudulent CMO's, each count of the
    indictment involved a separate incident in which a CMO was used.
    Several defendants used CMO's to purchase motor vehicles from
    individuals, using CMO's to pay off existing bank loans on those
    vehicles; others used the instruments to pay off credit card
    balances at various banks.
    Appellants allege they were not aware that use of the CMO's
    was illegal.      They claim they thought the CMO's were a credit-for-
    credit exchange.       Their claim lacks support in the evidence,
    because they never provided financial information similar to that
    generally provided to a lending institution upon establishing a
    line of credit.       Nor did they sign or receive any documentation
    about this alleged line of credit.       Furthermore, the statements in
    the information packet strongly suggested the CMO's were not a
    legitimate form of payment.
    3
    Appellants’ expert testified that these instruments were not
    intended to be used to obtain anything of new or current value, and
    that attempts to do so “come pretty close to fraud.”       He stated
    that with instruments like these CMO's, there should be full
    disclosure by the user of the fact that the CMO is backed by
    private money, so that the recipient can make a determination of
    its worth.   Yet, none of the appellants disclosed any kind of
    credit-for-credit exchange.
    II.
    A.
    Wayne Slater, Vicki Slater, and O’Neill (the “represented
    defendants”) argue that they were prejudiced by the actions of
    their pro se codefendants, Koehler and Kearns, and did not have the
    opportunity for a fair trial.    The defendants moved to sever on
    numerous occasions, but each request was denied. Their argument is
    plausible, but ultimately fails the strict requirements imposed by
    abuse-of-discretion review.
    The rule that persons indicted together should be tried
    together carries great weight where, as here, persons are charged
    with committing the same conspiracy.       United States v. Archer,
    
    733 F.2d 354
    , 360 (5th Cir. 1984).    Joinder is the rule rather than
    the exception, United States v. Chagra, 
    754 F.2d 1186
    , 1188 (5th
    Cir. 1985), and in fact, the defendants have failed to cite a
    single case in which this court reversed a conviction for failure
    to sever.
    4
    The denial of a motion to sever is reviewed only for abuse of
    discretion.      Zafiro v. United States, 
    506 U.S. 534
    , 539 (1993);
    United States v. Faulkner, 
    17 F.3d 745
    , 758 (5th Cir. 1994).
    Reversal is warranted only when the defendant demonstrates that the
    denial resulted in compelling prejudice against which the trial
    court was unable to afford protection.         United States v. Thomas, 
    12 F.3d 1350
    , 1363 (5th Cir. 1994).
    B.
    The pro se defendants, Kearns and Koehler, argued that their
    conduct was not illegal. They asserted that the CBC's were “backed
    by liens,” and they offered an expert witness who testified that
    this was an appropriate form of negotiable instrument.             This line
    of   defense    differed     substantially    from    that   offered   by   the
    represented defendants, all of whom conceded that the CMO's were
    worthless instruments, but argued that they believed them to be
    legal tender.
    In addition to their technical argument about the legality of
    CMO's, Kearns and Koehler attempted to justify their conduct by
    attacking the monetary system.        Koehler complained in her opening
    statement that “I asked the United States Attorney to explain what
    he meant by money, and he wouldn’t explain it to me.”                  Kearns
    continued      this   line   of   defense    when    cross-examining   Postal
    Inspector Butler, taking issue with Butler’s characterization of
    the CMO's as “fraudulent” and asking questions about the definition
    of money and the value of federal reserve notes.                 Defendants’
    5
    attorneys     observed   that   the    jury     found    this    line   of   defense
    irrelevant and annoying; one juror allegedly rolled her eyes every
    time Kearns spoke.
    In addition, the pro se defendants may have alienated the jury
    through their hostile attitudes at trial.               Kearns badgered Butler
    while he was on the stand, complaining that “it doesn’t appear
    [Butler] knows too much,” and “I’m asking you a simple question
    about your employer [(whether the Postal Service is a corporation)]
    and you don’t even know the status.”              Kearns also accused Norman
    Summers, a former employee of USA First, of testifying “out of a
    vindictive heart.” He asked Linda Hultgren, an employee of Capital
    One   Financial      Corporation,     whether    she    was     “looking     to   [the
    prosecutor] for him to answer the question for you.” Objections to
    the argumentative nature of Kearns’ questioning were made and
    sustained frequently during the part of the trial he attended.
    Kearns did not limit his attacks to witnesses.                         He also
    interrupted the prosecutor’s direct examination to tell the judge
    that a particular juror was asleep, an assertion the juror denied.
    C.
    After    six     days   of    disruptive         trial    tactics,      Kearns
    disappeared.      Given his active participation in the early days of
    the trial, his absence was conspicuous. He was tried and convicted
    in absentia.
    The Sixth Circuit has held that severance is particularly
    appropriate when the evidence against an absent codefendant is much
    6
    greater than that against a present defendant.           See United States
    v. Davidson, 
    936 F.2d 856
    , 861 (6th Cir. 1991).                We need not
    consider adopting that reasoning, however, because Davidson is
    distinguishable.       There, the defendant tried in absentia was
    charged with ten counts, while his present codefendant was charged
    with only one.    The court believed that Davidson was prejudiced by
    the     introduction   of   an   overwhelming   amount    of   uncontested
    incriminating evidence, even if that flood of evidence pertained to
    his codefendant and not to himself.
    Here, in contrast, while Kearns was named in more counts than
    were the other defendants, and the evidence of his guilt was
    slightly stronger, plenty of factual and legal issues remained for
    the other defendants to dispute. The jury was not overwhelmed with
    uncontested, incriminating evidence, but instead witnessed a normal
    trial in which the prosecutor’s case received no rebuttal with
    respect to one of several nearly equivalent defendants.           Finally,
    the district court gave an instruction designed to neutralize any
    negative effects of Kearns’ departure on the jury’s view of the
    case:
    Members of the jury, Michael Kearns is not with us. It
    appears that he has decided to voluntarily not continue
    to participate in the proceeding. So, I have decided
    that we will go forward with the trial without Mr. Kearns
    being here.    The trial will continue as to all eight
    accused. The fact that Mr. Kearns has decided not to be
    present and participate any further should not be
    interpreted by you, in any way, as to effect [sic] or to
    prejudice any of the other people on trial. It should
    not affect you at all, in any way.
    To the extent that Kearns’s departure had an effect on the jury,
    this instruction was sufficient to protect the defendants from
    7
    compelling prejudice.
    D.
    Vicki Slater argues that the pro se defendants introduced
    evidence harmful to her that would not have been admissible by the
    prosecution.     Specifically, Kearns invited the introduction of
    evidence about Slater’s ownership of a gun by asking a Bank One
    representative why she did not have Slater’s car repossessed.        The
    witness replied that she “did not send a repo agent” because she
    knew that Slater owned guns.   Slater’s counsel's objection to this
    testimony was overruled.
    Counsel then asked questions to demonstrate that Slater was a
    former police officer, that she hunted, and that gun ownership was
    not   illegal.     These   questions     presumably   contradicted   the
    implication that she was a dangerous and violent person and that
    the bank agent was afraid of her.        The prosecution then asked the
    witness if she didn’t send a repo agent because she didn’t want to
    take a risk that the guns “might be anything more than . . . for
    hunting.”   Because evidence of Slater’s gun ownership was already
    in the record, the introduction of this evidence did not rise to
    the level of compelling prejudice.       See United States v. Daly, 
    756 F.2d 1076
    , 1081 (5th Cir. 1985).
    E.
    In Daly, this circuit found no compelling prejudice arising
    out of a codefendant’s pro se representation.         As in this case,
    8
    most of the pro se defendant’s blunders were made out of the jury's
    presence.1    
    756 F.2d at 1080
    .      Furthermore, the Daly court pointed
    out that in a long, complex trial, considerations of judicial
    economy    require   that   defendants     involved   in   related    criminal
    conduct be tried together.         
    756 F.2d at 1080
    .       The facts of the
    instant trial were complex, and several of the counts involved acts
    by both represented and unrepresented codefendants. Conducting two
    trials would have caused significant inconvenience to witnesses and
    duplicative use of court resources.
    Judicial economy aside, the refusal to sever was not an abuse
    of discretion because the court used special instructions to
    ameliorate any prejudice.        See Daly, 
    756 F.2d at 1081
    .         The court
    instructed the jury to compartmentalize the evidence against each
    defendant on each count:
    A separate crime is charged against one or more of the
    defendants in each count of the indictment. Each count,
    and the evidence pertaining to it, should be considered
    separately. Also, the case of each of the defendants
    should be considered separately and individually. The
    fact that you may find one or more of the accused guilty
    or not guilty of any of the crimes should not control
    your verdict as to any other crime or any other
    defendant. You must give separate consideration to the
    evidence as to each defendant.
    During voir dire and trial, the court gave additional instructions
    to consider the counts and defendants separately.                    Under the
    1
    For instance, the pro se defendants proclaimed themselves sovereign
    citizens primarily at pre-trial motions. Forrester appeared in court and stated,
    “I’m a man on the land. I’m a sovereign citizen. And, further I say not.”
    Similarly, Paulson demanded to see the prosecutor’s identification because
    Paulson had been required to attend an “identity hearing.” Even if the jury had
    heard these statements, however, a neutralizing instruction sufficiently would
    have ameliorated any prejudice.
    9
    circumstances, the court did not abuse its discretion in refusing
    to sever the trials.
    III.
    Vicki Slater is the only defendant who presents a colorable
    case on sufficiency of the evidence, although her argument is more
    accurately characterized as claiming a constructive amendment of
    the indictment.   She was indicted on only one substantive count,
    which involved a CMO she sent to Bank One.
    The indictment, however, does not list Bank One as one of the
    several financial institutions defrauded by the conspiracy and by
    the specific acts. The facts describing Slater’s substantive count
    state that the CMO was mailed to Bank One, and the acts alleged in
    the conspiracy count accurately describe her conduct, so there is
    no question of notice.     Slater argues that notice is irrelevant
    because there was a constructive amendment of the grand jury
    indictment, and the amendment invalidates her conviction despite
    the full description of her conduct.
    The   government   characterizes   the   claim   as   one    of   fatal
    variance between indictment and proof.        Slater cannot succeed on
    this theory, because a defendant cannot receive relief for a
    variance unless it is material and prejudices his substantial
    rights. See, e.g., United States v. Morgan, 
    117 F.3d 849
    , 858 (5th
    Cir.), cert. denied, 
    118 S. Ct. 454
     (1997).            As long as the
    defendant receives notice and is not subject to a risk of double
    jeopardy, his substantial rights are not affected.               See, e.g.,
    10
    United States v. Berger, 
    295 U.S. 78
    , 83 (1935).                      Because the
    conspiracy      count   accurately      described       the    conduct,   and    the
    substantive count stated the date and the fact that Bank One was
    involved, there was no problem with notice, and double jeopardy
    could not occur.
    Slater   urges    us    to   apply     the    more     stringent   rule   for
    constructive     amendments:          Where   a     constructive    amendment    has
    occurred, the conviction cannot stand; there is no prejudice
    requirement.      See, e.g., United States v. Salinas, 
    654 F.2d 319
    (5th Cir. 1981), overruled on other grounds by United States v.
    Adamson, 
    700 F.2d 953
     (5th Cir. 1983) (en banc).                    This argument
    fails, too, because a constructive amendment cannot occur where the
    indictment completely and accurately describes the conduct, so that
    the grand jury is not misled about the basis for the indictment.
    This criterion distinguishes the cases Slater cites from her
    own.    In Salinas, the case most closely analogous, the defendant
    was charged with conspiring to defraud a bank.                     The indictment
    alleged that he conspired with the bank's president.                  The evidence
    showed,    however,     that    the    defendant      had     conspired   with   the
    executive vice president.           We reversed, holding as follows:
    The mistake in the particular name of the officer
    involved is not like a variance in a date or place. The
    appellant was not formally charged with theft.        The
    indictment said in effect that Woodul stole and that the
    appellant helped.    Once it is shown that the named
    principal did not steal, it begins to look like the
    appellant was convicted of a crime different from that of
    which he was accused.
    Salinas, 
    654 F.2d at 324-25
    .
    11
    In Salinas, the indictment did not even mention the name of
    the real principal.       Therefore, the grand jury easily could have
    been misled as to the crime with which it charged the defendant.
    Here, in contrast, the indictment makes plain what Slater did, and
    the grand jury probably did not even notice the omission of Bank
    One from the list of victims.
    Other cases applying the doctrine of constructive amendment
    detract further from Slater’s argument.           For instance, she       cites
    United States v. Mucciante, 
    21 F.3d 1228
    , 1235 (2d Cir. 1994), in
    which the defendant alleged that the government charged him as a
    principal, but instructed the jury to find him liable as an aider
    and   abettor.      Not    only   would    such     a    change    be     easily
    distinguishable from this case, but Mucciante’s claim was rejected.
    Slater also cites United States v. Doucet, 
    994 F.2d 169
    , 173 (5th
    Cir. 1993), in which we reversed on the ground that the prosecution
    had obtained an indictment for possession of an unregistered
    machine gun, but finally asked the jury to convict for possession
    of individual parts that could be assembled into a shotgun.                 This
    allowed the defendant to be convicted on grounds broader than those
    stated in the indictment.
    Such a situation raises the possibility that both the grand
    jury and the defense were misled about the material elements of the
    crime, so that the grand jury might have mistakenly indicted, and
    the defense was unable to prepare an effective defense.                 Here, in
    contrast, the indictment contained a drafting error that confused
    and   prejudiced   no   one.      While   Slater    is   correct    that     the
    12
    constructive      amendment    rule   does    not    require    a    showing     of
    prejudice, prejudice is inherent in the concept of constructive
    amendment:      If the amendment contained an accurate description of
    the crime, and that crime was prosecuted at trial, there is no
    constructive amendment.
    IV.
    Vicki   Slater     also   challenges     the   admission       of    allegedly
    irrelevant evidence of past acts. Because this is a criminal case,
    evidentiary rulings are reviewed under a heightened abuse of
    discretion standard.      United States v. Carrillo, 
    981 F.2d 772
    , 774
    (5th Cir. 1993).        Evidence in criminal trials must be “strictly
    relevant to the particular offense charged.”                 United States v.
    Hays, 
    872 F.2d 582
    , 587 (5th Cir. 1989).            We must take into account
    “what effect the error had or reasonably may be taken to have had
    upon the jury’s decision.” Hays, 
    872 F.2d at
    587 (citing Kotteakos
    v. United States, 
    328 U.S. 750
    , 764 (1946)).
    All of the evidence whose admissibility is contested was
    evidence   of    past   acts   used    to    cross-examine     the       defendant.
    Importantly, FED. R. EVID. 404(b) states:
    Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not
    admissible to prove the character of a person in order to
    show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be
    admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive,
    opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge,
    identity, or absence of mistake or accident. . . .
    A defendant makes his character an issue, losing the protection of
    rule 404(b), when he testifies.         United States v. Tomblin, 
    46 F.3d 1369
    , 1388 (5th Cir. 1995).           This does not give the prosecution
    13
    free rein, but allows it to cross-examine him with respect to
    “instances     of   misconduct     that     are   ‘clearly      probative    of
    truthfulness or untruthfulness,’ such as perjury, fraud, swindling,
    forgery, bribery, and embezzlement.”           
    Id.
     at 1389 (citing United
    States v. Leake, 
    642 F.2d 715
    , 718 (4th Cir. 1981)).
    Slater argues that the court erred in admitting evidence that
    she had     filed   a   public   notice    “rescinding”   her   tax   returns.
    Objections to the introduction of this testimony were initially
    sustained, but when Slater took the stand to testify to her own
    good faith, the judge allowed the prosecution to cross-examine her
    about it.    The government defends this decision on the ground that
    the CMO's were arguably also a form of “protest” activity, so the
    tax protest evidence was relevant to her “state of mindSSknowledge,
    intent and motive.”
    Slater’s past protest activity does not fall within the
    category of past acts that may be used to impugn a defendant’s
    credibility on cross-examination.            It involved no fraud and no
    illegal activity, and therefore falls far short of the “clearly
    probative of truthfulness or untruthfulness” test we apply.                 The
    government does not allege that the evidence directly contradicted
    an issue raised in Slater's direct examination, and the evidence
    cannot do so, because Slater's past lawful protest has, at best, a
    tenuous relationship to her good faith in using the CMO's.
    The evidence does not actually relate to Slater’s state of
    mind at the time she allegedly committed the crime, either.              It is
    not relevant to her “knowledge” whether the CMO's were valid.               The
    14
    government argues that it is relevant to her motive and intent,
    because it suggests she had a motive or intent to protest the
    monetary system.     The past protest has only slight relevance on
    this issue.
    Slater emphasizes the fact that her past protest was lawful,
    while the CMO scheme was unlawful.             Furthermore, however, the
    government offered no evidence suggesting that Slater had a protest
    motive when she used the CMO's.       The only evidence on this was the
    statements in the CMO packets, which Slater did not prepare.
    The only possible effect of the past protest evidence would be
    to suggest a protest motive in the use of the CMO's that the
    evidence did not already put at issue. Slater claims that labeling
    her a “protester” unfairly associated her with Kearns and Koehler,
    self-proclaimed “sovereigns” who would be viewed by the jury as
    terrorist    lunatics.     While   this    argument    is   farfetched,    her
    conclusion    that   the   evidence    might    have    had   a   “guilt   by
    association” effect, suggesting that she had a motive that could
    otherwise have been attributed only to the instigators of the
    scheme, is plausible.
    Nevertheless, we deny Slater’s request for a new trial,
    because the error was harmless.       See United States v. Polk, 
    56 F.3d 613
    , 629 (5th Cir. 1995); United States v. Heller, 
    625 F.2d 594
    ,
    599 (5th Cir. 1980).       She did not contest the evidence that she
    attempted to pay off her car loan with a CMO, demanded that her
    loan balance be brought to zero, and refused to offer legitimate
    payment or turn over the car when asked.        These are not the actions
    15
    of an innocent victim.     If, as she alleges, Slater thought the
    CMO's were valid and had no intent to defraud anyone, she would not
    have attempted to avoid her loan obligations once she discovered
    that the CMO's were worthless.
    Furthermore,   the   prejudicial   effect   of   the   evidence   was
    slight.   While it did suggest a protest motive not convincingly
    demonstrated by the evidence, it was not the kind of inflammatory
    evidence that could get an overly emotional response from the
    jurors.   Nor was it similar enough to the crime charged that the
    jury was likely to conclude, improperly, that the commission of the
    prior act implied commission of the current act.             Under these
    circumstances, we are “sure, after viewing the entire record, that
    the error did not influence the jury or had a very slight effect on
    its verdict.”   Heller, 
    625 F.2d at
    599 (citing United States v.
    Underwood, 
    588 F.2d 1073
    , 1076 (5th Cir. 1979)).
    V.
    Koehler contests the amount of restitution to which she was
    sentenced.   She claims she should not have to pay $27,192.51 to the
    Ford Motor Credit Company, because the amount includes compensation
    for consequential damages not properly recoverable under the Victim
    and Witness Protection Act (VWPA).      Specifically, Koehler contests
    restitution for the legal expenses incurred by Ford to defend a
    lawsuit that Kearns had brought after he tried to pay off a car
    loan with a CMO and Ford, unable to obtain payment on the CMO,
    repossessed the vehicle.    Ford incurred over $20,000 in legal fees
    16
    defending the suit.
    The VWPA does not generally authorize recovery of legal fees
    expended   to   recover   stolen    property.   See   United   States   v.
    Mitchell, 
    876 F.2d 1178
    , 1184 (1989).        This limitation is derived
    from 
    18 U.S.C. § 3663
     (1985), the relevant portion of which reads
    as follows:
    (b) The order may require that such defendantSS
    (1) in the case of an offense resulting in damage to or
    loss or destruction of property of a victim of the
    offenseSS
    (A) return the property to the owner of the property or
    someone designated by the owner, or
    (B) if return of the property under subparagraph (A) is
    impossible, impractical, or inadequate, pay an amount
    equal to the greater ofSS
    (i) the value of the property on the date of the
    damage, loss, or destruction, or
    (ii) the value of the property on the date of the
    sentencing,
    less the value (as of the date the property is returned) of
    any part of the property that is returned. . . .
    Because this is a case involving “loss” of property “of a
    victim of the offense,” the statute authorizes the return of the
    property or of its value.          In Mitchell, we held that the plain
    language of the statute did not authorize the “cost of employing
    counsel to recover from an insurance company.”        
    876 F.2d at 1184
    .
    Ford’s costs of recovering the Explorer, such as the wages of its
    repo man or, hypothetically, the cost of a lawsuit to recover the
    car, would not be recoverable by analogy to the situation in
    Mitchell; such costs are merely consequential damages that would
    17
    not be recoverable as damages in a lawsuit and, similarly, are not
    recoverable as restitution.
    The legal costs incurred by Ford are not analogous to those
    incurred by the victims in Mitchell or to the typical costs of a
    lawsuit to recover property.         In Hughey v. United States, 
    495 U.S. 411
    , 412 (1990), the Court held, in interpreting § 3663, that
    restitution can be awarded only for “the loss caused by the
    specific offense that is the basis of the conviction.”                     Here,
    Kearns's action of bringing a lawsuit against Ford was part of the
    scheme to defraud, the offense that is the basis of Koehler’s
    conspiracy conviction.2 Ford’s costs of defending the lawsuit were
    a direct and mandatory result of Kearns's act in furtherance of the
    conspiracy,    not   a   voluntary    action   taken     by   Ford   to   recover
    property or damages from Kearns, Koehler, or a third party.
    VI.
    Mikolajczyk alleges that his counsel provided ineffective
    assistance at trial and on appeal.          He did not raise this argument
    before the district court.         We generally do not review claims of
    ineffective    assistance     that   have   not   been    raised     before   the
    district court, because there has been no opportunity to develop
    and include in the record evidence bearing on the merits of the
    allegation.    See, e.g., United States v. Foy, 
    28 F.3d 464
    , 476 (5th
    2
    The fact that Kearns, rather than Koehler, brought the suit does not
    matter, because Koehler can be required to pay restitution for all acts taken in
    furtherance of the scheme to defraud of which she was convicted. See United
    States v. Stouffer, 
    986 F.2d 916
    , 928 (5th Cir. 1993); United States v. Ismoila,
    
    100 F.3d 380
    , 398 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 
    117 S. Ct. 1858
     (1996).
    18
    Cir. 1994).      The typical procedure is to dismiss without prejudice
    to a subsequent § 2255 motion.               Id.        Mikolajczyk’s claim of
    ineffective assistance at trial cannot be reviewed, because the
    record is not well developed on this issue.
    Mikolajczyk also complains of ineffective representation on
    appeal, because he was appointed standby counsel, but counsel made
    no effort to contact him.         For the same reason that we decline to
    consider the claim of ineffective assistance at trial, we must
    pretermit consideration of this issue too, and allow it to be
    raised in a § 2255 motion once the outcome of the appeal is known.
    Were we to consider Mikolajczyk’s claim, however, his case
    would be weak.      This court has held that a defendant’s statutory
    right to choose pro se or attorney representation is “disjunctive”;
    a defendant has a right to one or the other, but not a combination
    of the two.      United States v. Daniels, 
    572 F.2d 535
    , 540 (5th Cir.
    1978).    Mikolajczyk was constitutionally guaranteed the right to
    represent    himself    if   he   so   chose,      or    to    receive    competent
    representation from an attorney, but the availability of standby
    counsel     to    provide    a    combination       of        the   two   was   not
    constitutionally required.        If Mikolajczyk had no right to standby
    counsel, it seems unlikely that standby counsel’s failure to assist
    could be a violation of his Sixth Amendment rights.3
    3
    Furthermore, Mikolajczyk complains only that his standby counsel never
    contacted him. He does not allege that he made any attempt to contact standby
    counsel, despite the fact that standby counsel exists primarily to help the pro se
    litigant upon request. “The Court may appoint . . .’standby counsel’ to aid the
    accused if and when the accused requests help. . . .” Faretta v. California, 
    95 S. Ct. 2525
    , 2540 (1975), citing United States v. Dougherty, 
    473 F.2d 1113
    , 1124-26
    (D.C. Ct. App. 1972). We have no evidence that
    (continued...)
    19
    AFFIRMED.
    (...continued)
    Mikolajczyk made such a request or was prevented from making one.
    20
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 96-50384

Filed Date: 3/30/1998

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 12/21/2014

Authorities (27)

United States v. Timothy M. Mucciante , 21 F.3d 1228 ( 1994 )

United States v. George Junious Leake, United States of ... , 642 F.2d 715 ( 1981 )

United States v. Jamiel Alexander Chagra, A/K/A Jimmy Chagra , 754 F.2d 1186 ( 1985 )

united-states-v-jerome-daly-daniel-p-hulsey-coston-lee-whatley-mathus , 756 F.2d 1076 ( 1985 )

United States v. Leroy Mitchell , 876 F.2d 1178 ( 1989 )

United States v. Tomblin , 46 F.3d 1369 ( 1995 )

United States v. John Arthur Daniels , 572 F.2d 535 ( 1978 )

United States v. John R. Adamson, III , 700 F.2d 953 ( 1983 )

United States v. Willie James Polk, Derick O. Carter, ... , 56 F.3d 613 ( 1995 )

United States v. David Lamar Faulkner, Spencer H. Blain, Jr.... , 17 F.3d 745 ( 1994 )

united-states-v-ellis-ray-thomas-aka-number-7-jerry-thomas-maxwell , 12 F.3d 1350 ( 1994 )

United States v. Judy Ann Archer and Jerry Vaughn Archer , 733 F.2d 354 ( 1984 )

United States v. Marcus Morgan, Also Known as Red Ryan ... , 117 F.3d 849 ( 1997 )

United States v. Enrique M. Salinas , 654 F.2d 319 ( 1981 )

United States v. Jimmy Edward Underwood , 588 F.2d 1073 ( 1979 )

United States v. James L. Hays and Weldon J. Hays , 872 F.2d 582 ( 1989 )

United States v. Augustin Mora Carrillo , 981 F.2d 772 ( 1993 )

United States v. Kermit A. Doucet , 994 F.2d 169 ( 1993 )

United States v. Moyosore Ismoila Segun Debowale Nuratu ... , 100 F.3d 380 ( 1997 )

United States v. Robert James Heller , 625 F.2d 594 ( 1980 )

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