United States v. Ceasar Cogger

MEMORANDUM

Ceasar Cogger appeals the district court’s order affirming his conviction for three counts of simple assault. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

1. Cogger claims that the trial court erred in permitting Gustavo Gurrola to invoke a blanket Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Cogger’s claim is belied by the record. Because Cogger did not object below, we review for plain error. See United States v. Gonzalez Becerra, 784 F.3d 514, 518 (9th Cir.2015). Here, the trial court did not permit a blanket assertion of the privilege. Rather, the court adopted a question-by-question approach. And, in evaluating “the questions, their setting, and the peculiarities of the case,” the court could determine that Gurrola’s answers could subject him to “a real and appreciable danger of incrimination” as a member of the armed forces with a duty to report certain misconduct. United States v. Drollinger, 80 F.3d 389, 392 (9th Cir.1996) (quoting United States v. Neff, 615 F.2d 1235, 1240 (9th Cir.1980)). Thus, the court did not err in assessing Gurrola’s invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege.

2. Cogger also challenges the trial court’s…