Philadelphia Criminal Defense Blog

Zak Goldstein 6/17/20 Zak Goldstein 6/17/20

PA Superior Court: Defendant Not Entitled to New Trial Where Jurors Made Racist Comments During Deliberations

Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyer Zak Goldstein

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Rosenthal, holding that the defendant was not entitled to a new trial solely because members of the jury that convicted him made racist comments during deliberations. This decision is troubling given that jurors in criminal trials should be completely impartial.

Commonwealth v. Rosenthal

The defendant was arrested for allegedly misappropriating money from various nonprofit organizations with which he was involved. Prosecutors charged him with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, theft by deception, forgery, and misapplication of entrusted property and property of government or financial institutions. A jury found him guilty of all charges.

The trial court sentenced him to 21 years’ probation and ordered that he pay a substantial amount of restitution. The defendant later filed a timely post-sentence motion claiming that he should have received a hearing to determine whether he was entitled to a new trial based on a letter that he received from one of the jurors who expressed concerns about jury deliberations. In this letter, the juror stated that he voted to convict the defendant because he was “worn down” from the other members of the jury. Additionally, the juror stated that he heard ethnic “jokes” from his fellow jurors and that some of the jurors uttered stereotypes about Italian and Irish men.

The trial court denied the defendant’s post-sentence motion. He then filed a timely appeal. In his appeal, the defendant argued that he was entitled to a hearing on whether he should have been granted a new trial because some of the jurors made statements that showed racial and national origin animus. Because of this allegation of racial animus, he argued that the court should find an exception to the “No Impeachment Rule” of jurors and that the trial court erred in not having a hearing on the matter.

What is the No Impeachment Rule?

The “No Impeachment Rule” is found in Rule 606 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence. The rule states that “during an inquiry into the validity of a verdict, a juror may not testify about any statement made or incident that occurred during the jury’s deliberations; the effect of anything on that juror’s vote or another juror’s vote; or any juror’s mental processes concerning the verdict.”

The purpose of the “No Impeachment Rule” is to prevent juror testimony regarding what transpired in the jury room because it “would destroy the security of all verdicts and go far toward weakening the efficacy of trial by jury.” However, there are exceptions to this prohibition. A juror is allowed to testify about prejudicial information that was improperly brought to the jury’s attention and whether there was an outside influence that was brought to bear on any juror.

The United States Supreme Court has also weighed in on the “No Impeachment Rule,” too. The Supreme Court has held that if there is evidence of racial animus that motivates a jury’s finding of guilt, the “No Impeachment Rule” may not be applicable. However, there are limitations to this exception, too. According to the Supreme Court, not every “offhand” comment qualifies. In order to overcome the “No Impeachment Rule” on the basis of racial animus, a defendant must show that one or more jurors made statements exhibiting overt racial bias. Further, there must also be a showing that the racial animus was a significant motivating factor in the juror’s vote to convict.

The Superior Court’s Decision

The Superior Court affirmed the defendant’s conviction. The Court highlighted several reasons as to why it agreed with the trial court’s decision not to have a hearing on whether the comments made by the jurors warranted a new trial for the defendant. First, the Superior Court highlighted the fact that there was no evidence that these “jokes” were directed at the defendant. Additionally, the Superior Court emphasized that the record did not indicate that the defendant, his attorney or any of the defendant’s witnesses were either Italian or Irish. As such, according to the Superior Court, there was no evidence to show that racial animus was a significant motivating factor in the juror’s vote to convict. Consequently, the defendant will not receive a new trial, and he will be forced to serve his sentence.

Facing Criminal Charges? We Can Help.

If you are facing criminal charges or under investigation by the police, we can help. We have successfully defended thousands of clients against criminal charges in courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We have successfully obtained full acquittals in cases involving charges such as Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, Rape, and Murder. Our award-winning Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers offer a free criminal defense strategy session to any potential client. Call 267-225-2545 to speak with an experienced and understanding defense attorney today.

Zak Goldstein 5/10/20 Zak Goldstein 5/10/20

United States Supreme Court Reverses NJ “Bridgegate” Fraud Convictions

The United States Supreme Court has decided the case of Kelly v. United States, reversing the defendants’ convictions for conspiracy, wire fraud, and federal program fraud. This was an extremely high profile case just a few years back in which New Jersey officials associated with then-Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie were accused of creating traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge in order to punish a local mayor who had refused to endorse Christie’s re-election campaign. The decision, while likely alarming to anyone who is against public corruption and the misuse of state resources to punish political opponents, continues a trend of narrowing the federal wire fraud statute’s applicability as a tool to prosecute state and local governmental corruption.

In Kelly, the defendants were Bridget Anne Kelly, the Governor’s deputy chief of staff, David Wildstein, a Port Authority Official, and Port Authority Deputy Executive Director William Baroni. David Wildstein cooperated with federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty, meaning his conviction will likely stand, while Kelly and Wildstein went to trial and were found guilty by a jury.

The basic scheme was that Governor Christie sought to obtain endorsements from both republican and democratic officials throughout the State of New Jersey for his re-election campaign. After the mayor of Fort Lee declined to endorse the governor, his staff conspired to retaliate against the mayor by causing traffic problems at the George Washington Bridge’s toll plaza by closing the lanes which were normally reserved for the residents of Fort Lee. The scheme was disguised as a “traffic study,” but the evidence overwhelmingly showed that it was meant to punish Fort Lee.

The defendants used Port Authority staff to close the lanes, and they had to pay an additional toll collector overtime so that that toll collector would be able to cover for the main toll collector when that person went on break. The scheme resulted in massive traffic jams for days, causing people to struggle to get to work and ambulances to have trouble picking up heart attack victims.

When the scheme came to light, the defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey and charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and federal program fraud. Wildstein cut a deal with the government and cooperated against the other two, who were convicted. They appealed to the Third Circuit, which affirmed the convictions. The United States Supreme Court then agreed to review the case.

The Supreme Court reversed the conviction, finding that fraud had not actually occurred because the defendants had taken no steps to convert government money or property for their own purposes.

What is federal wire fraud?

The federal wire fraud statute makes it a crime to effect (with the use of the wires) “any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises.” 18 U.S.C. Section 1343.

What is federal program fraud?

The federal program fraud bars obtaining by fraud the property (including money) of a federally funded program or entity.

What is conspiracy?

Conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime. It generally requires that two people agree that they are going to commit a crime and then that at least one of the two takes a substantial step (an overt act) towards the commission of that crime. Once that happens, a criminal defendant may be guilty of conspiracy as well as the underlying offense.

Here, the conspiracy charges were dependent on proper convictions for fraud, and both fraud charges required that the defendants actually gain some sort of money or property from the scheme. As the scheme did not encompass any attempt to gain money, the Court’s analysis hinged on whether they had actually attempted or successfully obtained property.

The Supreme Court’s Ruling

The Court reversed the convictions. It noted that the fraud statutes are limited in scope to the protection of property rights and do not authorize federal prosecutors to set standards of disclosure and good government for local and state officials. The government had made two arguments as to how the defendants had actually stolen property. First, the government argued that closing the lanes themselves involved actually taking control of the property of those lanes. Second, the government argued that the cost of paying the traffic engineers who reviewed the “study” and the backup toll collectors involved depriving the Port Authority of money.

The Court rejected both arguments. First, it found that the realignment of the access lanes was an exercise of regulatory power and that a scheme to alter a regulatory choice generally is not a taking of the government’s property, particularly where the move is temporary. Second, it found that while the costs in paying for the “study” and the toll collectors could qualify as property, in order to be relevant for purposes of wire fraud, they must be the object of the fraud. That means it must have been the actual goal of the conspiracy to steal that time and money. But those costs were merely incidental to the regulatory decision. Therefore, they were not the object of the conspiracy, and the defendants had not conspired to steal or stolen any property or money. Accordingly, the Court reversed the conviction.

Although this decision is unique in that it involved such a high-profile political situation, it will likely have lasting effects on the ability of federal prosecutors to file criminal charges based on state and local criminal corruption. The Court did not dispute that the evidence showed that the defendants had unethically used their positions to punish political rivals. The Court simply found that they had not stolen anything to do so. This decision, however, drastically limits the reach of the wire fraud and federal programs fraud statutes because it prevents federal prosecutors from filling charges to address local political corruption where the corruption does not actually involve bribery or theft. This leaves the prosecution of political corruption to state and local officials, who may not have the independence necessary to bring charges. It also leaves it to the voters, who may demand the resignation of corrupt political officials. However, federal prosecutors probably already have enough power, so anything that reins them in is usually a good thing.

Do you need a criminal lawyer in Philadelphia? We can help.

If you are facing criminal charges or under investigation by the police, we can help. We have successfully defended thousands of clients against criminal charges in courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We have successfully obtained full acquittals in cases involving charges such as Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, Rape, DUI, and Murder. Our award-winning Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers offer a free criminal defense strategy session to any potential client. Call 267-225-2545 to speak with an experienced and understanding defense attorney today.

Zak Goldstein 2/21/20 Zak Goldstein 2/21/20

PA Superior Court: No Search Warrant Required to Access Data on Public WiFi Network

The Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Dunkins, holding that the police do not need a search warrant to obtain data that is transmitted over a public WiFi network. This decision is significant because people access public WiFi networks on a daily basis and now may have a reduced privacy interest in that activity. If you are a suspect in a crime, the police then can use this information as substantive evidence to arrest you. Despite this information being very personal, Dunkins holds that the police do not need to obtain a search warrant to obtain this information.

Commonwealth v. Dunkins

The incident in question took place on February 2, 2017 at approximately 2:00 AM at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA. Two men wearing ski masks pretended to be campus police officers and gained access to the dorm room shared by the complainants. The complainants were apparently known drug dealers at Moravian College. When one of the complainants opened the dorm door, one of the masked men punched him and caused him to fall. The masked men then held the students at gunpoint and demanded marijuana and the key to one of the complainant’s footlockers. The masked men accessed the footlocker and stole approximately $1,000 in cash as well as a jar of marijuana.

Several hours later, around 11:00 AM, one of the complainants reported the robbery to the campus officials. A Moravian Campus Police Officer requested that Moravian’s Director of Systems Engineering analyze its wireless network data to compile a list of the students who logged onto the network near the wireless access point in the dormitory where the complainants resided. The campus officials discovered, at the time of the robbery, that there were only three individuals logged onto the campus WiFi at that location who did not reside in that building. Two of the three WiFi users were female. The male user was the defendant, who was also a Moravian student.

The Moravian Campus Police provided this WiFi data to a detective with the Bethlehem Police Department which subsequently took over the investigation. One of the complainants told the detective that the defendant previously “robbed” him by taking marijuana from him without payment in return. The defendant was subsequently interviewed by the police. He denied the accusations and stated he has not been in the complainant’s dormitory since October 2016. This was obviously contradicted by the WiFi records.

Another student who lived in the dorm room next to the defendant told police that the defendant came to his room after midnight on February 3, 2017 and showed off a large display of cash and bragged that he obtained this money in a recent robbery. According to this student, the defendant boasted that he and another individual posed as campus police officers to gain access to the victim’s room and subsequently stole drugs and money from the complainant’s footlocker.

The Motion to Suppress

The defendant was subsequently arrested and charged with robbery, conspiracy, receiving stolen property, and simple assault. The defendant then filed a motion to suppress, arguing that the campus police conducted an illegal search in obtaining the campus WiFi log-on data without first obtaining a warrant. At his suppression hearing, the Moravian Systems Engineering Director explained that in order to utilize Moravian’s WiFi each student must log on to the network with their individual username and password. However, at their initial log-on, students may choose to have their devices automatically long on to the campus WiFi without entering their credentials again. The parties also noted that the defendant had signed the Moravian Student Handbook which indicated that he accepted and understood Moravian’s policies, including its technology rules. These rules specifically state that “users cannot and should not have any expectation of privacy with regard to any data, documents…or other computer files created or stored on computers within or connected to the institution’s network.” After the evidence was presented, the trial court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress.

The defendant then proceeded to a jury trial where he was found guilty of the aforementioned crimes. On January 4, 2019, the trial court imposed an aggregate sentence of five to ten years’ imprisonment. The defendant then filed a post-sentence motion which was denied. The defendant then filed a timely appeal. On appeal, the defendant raised several issues. For purposes of this blog, only the issue as to whether the trial court improperly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress will be addressed.

Does the Fourth Amendment Protect Data that is Generated from Electronic Devices?

Yes. Fourth Amendment protection is not constrained by the type of property in question, but instead whether the person who claims the protection has a legitimate expectation of privacy in the property. Recently, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Carpenter v. United States in which the Court held that law enforcement officials improperly acquired the defendant’s cell site location information (hereinafter “CSLI”) without a warrant. In that case, the law enforcement officers compelled the defendant’s wireless carriers to provide a record of his CSLI for a four-month period. This allowed the officers to track his movements during the time when robberies had occurred. In that case, the United States Supreme Court found that collecting this CLSI data without a warrant violated the Fourth Amendment.

However, the United States Supreme Court emphasized that this was a narrow opinion. Specifically, the Court said that its decision does not apply to “tower dumps” which is a download of information on all of the devices that were connected to a particular cell site during a particular interval. Additionally, other federal circuit courts have held that a person can lose their privacy interests in their data when they sign employer policies that state their electronic activity can and will be disclosed to third parties. As such, when an individual signs these “contracts,” they can lose their right to challenge the disclosure of their electronic data being transmitted to third parties.

The Superior Court’s Decision

The Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s order denying the defendant’s motion to suppress. In its opinion, the Superior Court declined to overturn the trial court’s decision for several reasons. First, the Superior Court analogized the acquisition of the data from Moravian’s wireless campus to a “tower dump,” which as previously discussed, is permissible under Fourth Amendment law. Additionally, the Superior Court found that the defendant’s specific CSLI was not obtained in this case and therefore the police’s actions were not specifically intrusive to the defendant. Finally, the Superior Court found it persuasive that the defendant voluntarily consented to third parties accessing the data that was transmitted over Moravian’s WiFi systems. Therefore, the Superior Court found that the trial court properly denied his motion to suppress. Additionally, his other issues on appeal were denied, and therefore the defendant will not get a new trial and he will be forced to serve his sentence.

Facing Criminal Charges? We Can Help.

Zak Goldstein 12/25/19 Zak Goldstein 12/25/19

PA Superior Court: Constructive Possession Allows for Firearms Conviction Even When Firearm Not Immediately Accessible

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Gomez, affirming the defendant’s conviction for gun charges even though the gun was not on him and was not immediately accessible to him because it was in a locked safe. The Court also affirmed the defendant’s conviction for receiving stolen property with respect to the firearm, which had been reported stolen, because it found that the circumstances showed a guilty conscience on the part of the defendant. This second part of the holding is important because it highlights the fact that mere possession of stolen property, including a gun, cannot support a conviction for theft or receiving stolen property. Instead, a defendant must have knowledge that the property was stolen.

Commonwealth v. Gomez

The defendant was stopped in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania while operating his vehicle. After he was stopped, he repeatedly refused to provide his license, registration, and insurance information. The defendant was not the sole occupant in the car as there were two other individuals in the car with him. According to the officers, the defendant and his companions were making furtive movements and were acting “strangely.” Specifically, the defendant called his attorney and also invited people on social media to come witness the stop by the police. His companions were flailing their hands and kicking bags. Based on these actions, the officers stated that they believed they were in danger. After repeatedly asking the defendant and his companions to exit the vehicle, the officers broke the window and physically removed them from the car.

The police then searched the vehicle. They found and recovered two firearms that had the defendant’s DNA on them. These firearms had previously been reported stolen. One of the firearms was recovered in a locked safe, while the other was found in the front center console. Also, the key to the safe was found on the defendant’s key ring. In addition to the firearms, the police also recovered heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, suboxone, marijuana, and other drug paraphernalia. The defendant was arrested and subsequently charged with possession with the intent to deliver (hereinafter “PWID”), various charges under the uniform firearms act (including persons not to possess a firearm (hereinafter “VUFA 6105”), receiving stolen property, and several traffic related offenses.

The Commonwealth chose to proceed under a bifurcated trial for the charges against the defendant. Specifically, the Commonwealth elected to try the defendant under the VUFA 6105 cases first and then would try him under the remaining charges. The reason the Commonwealth would do this is because they are then allowed to introduce the defendant’s prior conviction showing that he is prohibited from possessing a firearm. In the defendant’s case, he had a prior conviction for PWID which made him ineligible to possess a firearm.

The defendant chose a jury trial for the VUFA 6015 charges. At his trial, the above-mentioned facts were presented as well as his prior PWID convictions. Following the presentation of the evidence, the jury was instructed on the relevant law. Notably, defense counsel did not make any objections. At the conclusion of deliberations, the defendant was found guilty of the two charges. A few months later, the defendant proceeded with a bench trial on his remaining charges. The defendant stipulated to all the evidence presented at his previous trial. He was found guilty of the remaining charges. The defendant was subsequently sentenced to 12.5-25 years of state incarceration. The defendant then filed a timely post-sentence motion which was denied. The defendant then filed a timely appeal.

On appeal, the defendant made three arguments: first, that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he knew the weapons were stolen; second, that the Commonwealth failed to establish that he had actual possession of the gun that was found in the safe (he did not appeal his conviction for the firearm found in the center console); and finally that the trial court did not properly instruct the jury regarding possession of the firearm. For purposes of this blog, only the defendant’s second argument will be addressed.

Can I Be Convicted of a Possessory Offense Even if I am Not Actually Holding the Contraband?

Yes. You can still be convicted of a possessory offense even if you are not in actual physical possession of the contraband. Constructive possession is a legal term of art that allows a trier of fact to find that a defendant was in possession of the contraband even when they are not physically controlling it. To find that someone “constructively possessed” contraband, the finder of fact will analyze the facts to determine if the totality of the circumstances shows that the defendant was the possessor of the contraband. The trier of fact is allowed to rely on circumstantial evidence in making its decision too.

How Can a Prosecutor Prove that I Knew an Object Was Stolen?

Mere possession of a stolen good is not sufficient to convict a defendant of RSP. A prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knew the object was stolen or should have known that it was. To prove this, a prosecutor, like he can to prove possession, can use circumstantial evidence to show that a defendant knew or should have known an item was stolen. Prosecutors will often use the timing of a stolen good to show that a defendant had knowledge that it was stolen. For example, let’s assume that someone reports their car stolen at 12:00 PM. If a defendant was seen with the vehicle at 12:30 PM, a prosecutor can argue that he stole the car (or at the very least knew it was stolen) given the length of time between when the car was reported stolen and when the defendant was seen with it. This is just one example. Prosecutors can also argue that a defendant’s statement, how he was acting when he was arrested, alterations to the object, etc. can be sufficient proof to show that the defendant knew or should have known the object in question was stolen.

The Superior Court’s Decision

The Superior Court upheld the defendant’s conviction for illegally possessing the firearm in the safe. Regarding whether the evidence was sufficient to find that the defendant possessed the firearm, the court analyzed the facts of the case. The Superior Court found that even though that the gun was in the safe, and not immediately accessible to him, there was sufficient evidence to show that it was his firearm. Specifically, the defendant’s DNA was on the gun; he was in possession of the key to the safe where the gun was found; and the gun was found in his vehicle. As such, the Superior Court held that there was sufficient evidence to convict the defendant of illegally possessing the gun in the safe.

Additionally, the defendant’s other issues that he raised on appeal were also rejected. The Superior Court found that there was sufficient evidence to establish that he knew or should have known that the firearms were stolen. The Superior Court agreed with the defendant’s argument that there was not any direct evidence presented at trial that he knew the guns were stolen. However, the Superior Court found that there was sufficient evidence to establish that he knew or should have known they were stolen. In support of this, the Superior Court referenced the defendant’s prior convictions showing that he was not eligible to possess the firearms and his actions during the traffic stop. The Superior Court conceded “that this is not evidence that he knew the firearms in his possession were stolen…Nevertheless, these circumstances are sufficient to enable a fact-finder to infer that [the] defendant believed that the firearms were probably stolen.” Accordingly, he will be forced to serve his sentence and will not get a new sentencing hearing or a new trial.

Facing Criminal Charges? We Can Help.