U.S. v. Benabe

In prosecution on RICO, murder and drug charges arising out of defendants' activities as gang members, Dist. Ct. did not commit reversible error when it removed two defendants from courtroom prior to first day of trial due to said defendants' disruptive behavior. No Sixth Amendment violation occurred where said defendants, after raising series of frivolous arguments regarding Dist. Ct.'s jurisdiction, refused to confirm that they would not interrupt jury selection or trial. Moreover, while Dist. Ct. erred under Rule 43 in barring defendants from trial (with option to view proceeding from jail) prior to first morning of trial, any error in timing was harmless. Dist. Ct. also did not err in granting govt. request to empanel anonymous jury where defendants had history of intimidating witnesses and were charged with murder of individual whom they believed had cooperated with police. Additionally, Dist. Ct. did not abuse its discretion in denying defendants' motion for new trial based on allegations that two jurors had provided false information during voir dire about employment, knowledge of relatives of defendants, and existence of relatives in gangs. No hearing was required on defendants' motion where alleged bias concerned intrinsic influence on jurors, and Dist. Ct. could properly conclude that individual was mistaken with regard to claims that jurors had lied with respect to their employment and relationship to one defendant's family member.