DUBINA, Circuit Judge:
Appellant John L. Yates ("Yates") appeals his convictions for violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 1519 and 2232(a), which arose out of his harvesting undersized red grouper
On August 17, 2007, Yates and his crew prepared the Miss Katie, a fishing vessel, for a fishing trip into federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. On August 23, 2007, John Jones ("Officer Jones"), a field officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who was deputized by the National Marine Fisheries Service ("Fisheries Service") to enforce federal fisheries laws, was on an offshore patrol with fellow officers when he encountered the Miss Katie. Officer Jones noticed the Miss Katie was actively engaged in a commercial harvest using longline fishing gear, so he approached and boarded the Miss Katie to inspect for gear, fishery, and boating-safety compliance.
While on board, Officer Jones noticed three red grouper that appeared to be less than 20 inches in length, the minimum size limit for red grouper at that time.
Contrary to Officer Jones's directions, Yates instructed his crew to throw the undersized fish overboard. Thomas Lemons ("Lemons"), one of the crewmembers, testified that he complied with Yates's directive. At Yates's prompting, the crew then took other red grouper and placed them in the wooden crates that had held the undersized fish. After the switch was completed, Yates instructed Lemons to tell any law enforcement officers who asked that the fish in the wooden crates were the same fish that Officer Jones had determined were undersized.
After the Miss Katie returned to port, Fisheries Service special agent James Kejonen ("Agent Kejonen") traveled to Cortez, Florida to meet Yates and investigate
At trial, Yates disputed whether the red grouper thrown overboard were actually undersized because Officer Jones had only measured the fish with their mouths closed, not open. In other words, Yates argued it was possible that, had the fish been measured with their mouths open, they would have measured legal size. The day before trial, the district court held a Daubert
Ultimately, the government did not call Dr. Cody as a witness in its case-in-chief. After the government rested, Yates's counsel announced for the first time that he planned to call Dr. Cody as his first witness to testify about the length of grouper with an open mouth versus a closed mouth. The government objected. The district court sustained the government's objection, ruling that Yates was precluded from calling Dr. Cody in his case-in-chief because Yates had failed to properly notify the government of his intention to call Dr. Cody as an expert witness, as required by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16. After the district court had made its ruling, Yates called as his first witness Mr. Ward, who testified that fish can shrink on ice and that grouper measure longer with their mouths open than with their mouths closed. On cross-examination, the government questioned Mr. Ward about his own state and federal fishing violations.
At the conclusion of the government's case-in-chief, and at the close of all the evidence, Yates moved for judgment of acquittal on all counts. The district court denied both motions. After a four-day trial, the jury found Yates guilty of (1) knowingly disposing of undersized fish in order to prevent the government from taking lawful custody and control of them, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a) (Count I); and (2) destroying or concealing a "tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence" the government's investigation
Yates presents three issues on appeal. First, Yates argues the district court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on Counts I and II, because the government failed to present sufficient evidence to prove the fish thrown overboard were undersized. Second, Yates argues the district court erred as a matter of law in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on Count II, because the term "tangible object" as used in 18 U.S.C. § 1519 does not apply to fish. Alternatively, Yates argues the statute is ambiguous and the rule of lenity should apply. Finally, Yates argues the district court abused its discretion by precluding him from calling Dr. Cody during his case-in-chief.
"We review de novo a district court's denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal on sufficiency of evidence grounds." United States v. Pena, 684 F.3d 1137, 1152 (11th Cir.2012). "In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we look at the record in the light most favorable to the verdict and draw all reasonable inferences and resolve all questions of credibility in its favor." United States v. White, 663 F.3d 1207, 1213 (11th Cir.2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). We review questions of statutory interpretation de novo. United States v. Aldrich, 566 F.3d 976, 978 n. 2 (11th Cir.2009). Finally, we review the district court's discovery rulings for abuse of discretion. Reese v. Herbert, 527 F.3d 1253, 1262 n. 13 (11th Cir.2008).
Yates contends that Officer Jones's failure to measure the fish with their mouths open — as opposed to only measuring them with their mouths closed — creates speculation as to whether the fish would have measured undersized with their mouths open. As such, he argues there was not sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude the fish thrown overboard were undersized. We disagree.
First, the testimonial evidence given by Officer Jones, Agent Kejonen, and Mr. Ward conflicts as to whether measuring a fish with its mouth open, as opposed to closed, makes a difference in the fish's overall length. The jury was free to weigh the conflicting evidence and decide whether opening or closing a fish's mouth made a large difference, a small difference, or no difference at all in the fish's measurement. See United States v. Prince, 883 F.2d 953, 959 n. 3 (11th Cir.1989) ("Weighing the credibility of witnesses ... is within the
Yates contends the district court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal as to Count II because the term "tangible object" as used in 18 U.S.C. § 1519 "only applies to records, documents, or tangible items that relate to recordkeeping" and "does not apply to ... fish." [Appellant's Br. at 36.]
"In statutory construction, the plain meaning of the statute controls unless the language is ambiguous or leads to absurd results." United States v. Carrell, 252 F.3d 1193, 1198 (11th Cir.2001) (internal quotation marks omitted). "When the text of a statute is plain, ... we need not concern ourselves with contrary intent or purpose revealed by the legislative history." United States v. Hunt, 526 F.3d 739, 744 (11th Cir.2008). Further, undefined words in a statute — such as "tangible object" in this instance — are given their ordinary or natural meaning. Smith v. United States, 508 U.S. 223, 228, 113 S.Ct. 2050, 2054, 124 L.Ed.2d 138 (1993). In keeping with those principles, we conclude "tangible object," as § 1519 uses that term, unambiguously applies to fish. See BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 1592 (9th ed.2009) (defining "tangible" as "[h]aving or possessing physical form"); see also United States v. Sullivan, 578 F.2d 121, 124 (5th Cir.1978) (noting that cocaine is a "tangible object" subject to examination and inspection under Rule 16(a) of the Rules of Criminal Procedure). Because the statute is unambiguous, we also conclude the rule of lenity does not apply here.
Because Yates waited until the close of the government's case-in-chief to disclose Dr. Cody as an expert witness, the disclosure was untimely under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(b)(1)(C). As a sanction for this untimely disclosure, the district court did not allow Dr. Cody to testify during Yates's case-in-chief. Yates does not dispute that he did not give proper notice to the government pursuant to Rule 16(b)(1)(C). Instead, Yates argues that the district court should have used a lesser sanction to address his late disclosure, and that the district court's outright preclusion of Dr. Cody's testimony at trial infringed on Yates's constitutional right to present a defense. According to Yates, Dr. Cody would have reinforced his expert Mr. Ward's testimony that red grouper measure longer with their mouths open than with their mouths closed. Yates also
"Relief for violations of discovery rules lies within the discretion of the trial court[.]" United States v. Petrie, 302 F.3d 1280, 1289 (11th Cir.2002). To warrant reversal of the court's discretion on appeal, "a defendant must show prejudice to his substantial rights." Id. While the right of the accused to present a defense is a substantial right, that right is not boundless. See Taylor v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 400, 410, 108 S.Ct. 646, 653, 98 L.Ed.2d 798 (1988).
It is unnecessary for us to determine whether the district court properly exercised its discretion in precluding Dr. Cody from testifying at trial, because we conclude Yates has failed to show the preclusion prejudiced his right to present a defense. As Yates conceded in his brief, his expert Mr. Ward offered the same testimony Yates hoped to elicit from Dr. Cody. Indeed, our review of the record shows Dr. Cody's testimony would have been less favorable to Yates than that of Mr. Ward. Moreover, under the circumstances presented here, Yates's inability to offer Dr. Cody's testimony to rehabilitate Dr. Ward's credibility does not amount to prejudice of his substantial rights.
For the above stated reasons, we affirm Yates's convictions.