Opinion
No. 08-16731.
February 3, 2010.
Richard L. Rosenbaum, Arnstein Lehr, LLP, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, for Defendant-Appellant.
Dawn Bowen, Anne R. Schultz, Kathleen M. Salyer, Laura Thomas Rivero, U.S. Attorney's Office, Miami, FL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. D.C. Docket No. 07-80036-CR-DTKH.
Appellant seeks reversal of multiple convictions stemming from separate episodes of alien smuggling, in violation of provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1324, and related offenses. Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict him on several counts, the district court's use of the Allen charge after the jury was initially deadlocked, and the district court's admission of Appellant's prior criminal conduct — a 2000 conviction for drug trafficking — pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Lastly, Appellant argues that the district court committed plain error in sentencing him to five concurrent terms of life imprisonment.
See Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 501-02, 17 S.Ct. 154, 157, 41 L.Ed. 528 (1896). In Appellant's case, the district judge gave the Allen charge to the jury when it returned with a partial verdict after six hours of deliberation. When asked whether there was any objection to giving a modified Allen charge at that point, Appellant's counsel replied that there was none. Appellant's instant challenge to the Allen charge is foreclosed by the doctrine of invited error. See United States v. Brannan, 562 F.3d 1300, 1306 (11th Cir. 2009).
After oral argument, we find no merit in Appellant's arguments and therefore affirm his convictions and sentence.
AFFIRMED.