United States of America v. James Garrett

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 23-1252
___________________________
United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
James Garrett
Defendant - Appellant
___________________________
No. 23-1256
___________________________
United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Levi Garrett
Defendant - Appellant
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of South Dakota - Central
____________
Submitted: October 19, 2023
Filed: May 29, 2024
____________

-- 1 of 14 --

-2-
Before BENTON, SHEPHERD, and KELLY, Circuit Judges.
____________
KELLY, Circuit Judge.
A jury found James Garrett and Levi Garrett guilty of making false statements
in connection with federal crop insurance, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014. The
Garretts appeal, challenging the district court’s1 evidentiary rulings and its denial of
their post-trial motions. We affirm.
I.
James Garrett operated a farm in Sully County, South Dakota, with his son,
Levi.2 The Garretts participated in a federal crop insurance program, which was
administrated by Crop Risk Services (CRS) and backed by the Risk Management
Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Through that
program, they both obtained insurance for sunflower crops in 2018, and James
obtained insurance for a corn crop in 2019.
In 2018, to receive full insurance coverage for a sunflower crop in Sully
County, the USDA required that it be planted no later than June 20, 2018. James
signed an acreage report certifying that he planted 1,115.22 acres of sunflowers
between June 11 and June 16, 2018. And Levi signed an acreage report certifying
that he planted 1,122.79 acres of sunflowers between June 10 and June 13, 2018.
Both reports were signed on July 6, 2018. Above their signatures, the reports
included the following statement:
1 The Honorable Roberto A. Lange, Chief Judge, United States District Court
for the District of South Dakota.
2 Because two members of the Garrett family are involved in this litigation, we
use first names for clarity.

-- 2 of 14 --

-3-
I certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief all of the
information on this form is correct. I also understand that failure to
report completely and accurately may result in sanctions under my
policy, including but not limited to voidance of the policy, and in
criminal or civil penalties (18 U.S.C. § 1006 and § 1014; 7 U.S.C.
§ 1506; 31 U.S.C. § 3729, § 3730 and any other applicable federal
statutes.).
On June 27, 2018, a hailstorm hit Sully County, and the Garretts reported
harvest losses to CRS. James reported a loss of $246,687, and Levi reported a loss
of $248,361.
In 2019, to receive a discounted insurance premium for his corn crop, James
agreed to plant at least twenty acres of corn on two or more fields within a square-
mile section of land. On July 12, 2019, James signed an acreage report certifying
that he planted 47.5 acres of corn on June 17, 2019, and that he was prevented from
planting 2,171.28 acres of corn due to weather-related issues. That year, James
reported a loss of $557,066.
Following an investigation, James and Levi were charged in a multi-count
superseding indictment. As relevant to this appeal, both were charged with making
a false statement in connection with the payment of federal crop insurance benefits,
in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014. The indictment alleged that James falsely certified
the number of acres of sunflowers he planted in 2018, as well as the number of acres
of corn he planted in 2019. And it alleged that Levi falsely certified the number of
sunflower acres he planted in 2018.
In October 2022, the case went to trial. The jury heard from several witnesses.
Cody Hostler, part-owner of Sioux Nation, LLC, testified about supplying seed to
the Garretts, including selling them sunflower seed in June 2018. Six neighbors
testified about the Garretts’ farming practices and their failure to timely plant or
maintain their fields, and three of those same neighbors testified about Levi’s
character for truthfulness. Two CRS insurance adjusters, Barry Jennings and Mark
Opp, testified about their inspections of fields where James certified having planted

-- 3 of 14 --

-4-
corn in 2019. And Levi testified about the sunflower and corn crops that were
ostensibly planted in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
The jury also examined dozens of exhibits, a few of which are relevant here.
The government introduced Sioux Nation, LLC’s handwritten log—a legal pad
updated contemporaneously by its employees when seed purchases were delivered
or picked up—that showed James received eight pallets of sunflower seed between
June 20 and June 22, 2018. The government also introduced photographs and video
from when Jennings and Opp inspected the Garretts’ farm in 2019. The Garretts
sought to introduce photographs of a neighboring field as a point of comparison, but
the district court sustained the government’s objection to their admission.
At the conclusion of the six-day trial, James was convicted on two counts of
making a false statement in connection with insurance for sunflower and corn crops,
and Levi was convicted on one count of making a false statement in connection with
insurance for a sunflower crop. The Garretts timely moved for judgment of acquittal,
and in the alternative, a new trial, under Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 29 and
33, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support their convictions. The district
court denied their motion. Then, after Hostler provided the Garretts with an affidavit
“to clarify/detail” his trial testimony about Sioux Nation, LLC’s handwritten log,
they moved for reconsideration of their motion for a new trial pursuant to Rules 33
and 37. The district court denied that motion as well.
II.
The Garretts appeal two of the district court’s evidentiary rulings at trial—the
admission of the Sioux Nation, LLC log and the exclusion of photographs of a
neighboring field. They also appeal the denial of their motion for judgment of
acquittal, or a new trial, and the denial of their motion for reconsideration. We
consider each in turn.

-- 4 of 14 --

-5-
A.
First, with respect to their convictions for the 2018 false statements about
sunflower crops, the Garretts argue that the district court erred in admitting the
handwritten log maintained by Sioux Nation, LLC employees. When, as here, there
is no timely objection to the admission of contested evidence at trial, we review for
plain error. United States v. Kelley, 861 F.3d 790, 798 (8th Cir. 2017). “[U]nder
plain error review, [a defendant] must show (1) the district court committed an error,
(2) the error is clear or obvious, and (3) the error affected [their] substantial rights.”
United States v. White Bull, 646 F.3d 1082, 1091 (8th Cir. 2011) (citing Puckett v.
United States, 556 U.S. 129 (2009)).
The government offered the handwritten log during Hostler’s direct
testimony. The Garretts now assert that the log was irrelevant because, during his
cross-examination, Hostler acknowledged that he was not the sole author of the log.
But the government had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that James and Levi
each made a false statement about the date they planted their crops. See 18 U.S.C.
§ 1014; United States v. Alexander, 679 F.3d 721, 726 (8th Cir. 2012). The log was
offered to show when the Garretts purchased sunflower seed in 2018. As evidence
of the date on which the seed was picked up or delivered—i.e., evidence of the
earliest date the Garretts could have planted—the log was relevant. See Fed. R. Evid.
401 (stating that evidence is relevant when “it has any tendency to make a fact more
or less probable than it would be without the evidence”); see also Fed. R. Evid. 402
(stating that relevant evidence is generally admissible at trial).
The Garretts have also failed to explain why the log was not admissible
pursuant to the hearsay rule exception for business records “kept in the course of a
regularly conducted activity.” See Fed. R. Evid. 803(6)(B). At trial, Hostler
identified the log as comprising records of “seed deliveries or pickup.” He testified
that the records were kept in the ordinary course of Sioux Nation, LLC’s business,
and were updated at or near the time of each purchase. The Garretts assert that the
log was unreliable and lacked proper foundation because, despite having contributed

-- 5 of 14 --

-6-
to it, Hostler “did not personally create the [log] and could not verify its accuracy.”
But Hostler testified that some of the handwriting in the log was his own and the
other writing was that of another Sioux Nation, LLC employee. Hostler explained
that he recognized the other employee’s handwriting because “there’s only two or
three [Sioux Nation, LLC employees who] are in charge of [that] stuff” and would
fill out the log. We find no plain error in the admission of the log.
Second, with respect to James’s conviction for the 2019 false statement about
the corn crop, the Garretts argue that the district court erroneously excluded two
photographs of a field adjacent to their farm. We review evidentiary rulings that have
been preserved for appeal, as this one was, for an abuse of discretion. United States
v. Guzman, 926 F.3d 991, 999 (8th Cir. 2019). “[A] district court’s evidentiary
rulings are subject to harmless error analysis under Federal Rule of Criminal
Procedure 52(a).” United States v. Buffalo, 358 F.3d 519, 521–22 (8th Cir. 2004)
(citation omitted). “An evidentiary error is harmless when, after reviewing the entire
record, this court determines that the substantial rights of the defendant were
unaffected, and that the error did not influence or had only a slight influence on the
verdict.” United States v. Overton, 971 F.3d 756, 765 (8th Cir. 2020) (quoting
United States v. DeMarce, 564 F.3d 989, 997 (8th Cir. 2009)).
The government’s theory on this count was that although James certified that
47.5 acres of corn were planted, they were not—rather, corn stover was placed on
the fields to make it look like corn had been planted.3 To that end, the government
offered photographs of the Garretts’ fields, depicting what the insurance adjusters
believed was stover that had been spread to give the appearance of a harvested crop.
To rebut the government’s theory, the Garretts offered two photographs that Levi
took of a “disked corn field” that neighbored their land.4 Although initially, Levi
3 The jury heard testimony that “corn stover” meant parts of the corn plant, or
“leftovers,” that come out of the combine at harvest, including husks, stalks, and
possibly kernels.
4 The jury heard testimony that farmers may “disk” a field after harvest, which

-- 6 of 14 --

-7-
testified that the photographs “were taken last spring,” when asked if he remembered
the month, he said “I think it was like in Novemberish.” The government objected
based on relevance and confusion of the issues. During a sidebar, the Garretts’
counsel argued the photographs were relevant “for purposes of a comparison,”
because “the Government [wa]s trying to claim that the photos of the corn planted
[on the Garretts’ farm] were fake planted or stover was spread all over. And the
[photos of the neighboring field] are nearly identical, if not even more bare than the
photos [of the Garretts’ farm] that [were] presented to the jury.” Counsel for the
Garretts represented that Levi had no relationship with the neighboring field. Levi
nevertheless claimed to know “when the field was planted, when it was disked, [and]
how many times over,” but the only basis he proffered for that knowledge was the
proximity of the field “to the highway where [they] drive back and forth to town.”
The district court sustained the government’s objection, explaining that it was
“disinclined to allow[] photographs of other fields prepared by other farmers using
other machinery.”
For our purposes, we assume that the photographs were relevant and
admissible. But given the weight of the evidence to support James’s conviction, any
error had no more than a slight influence on the jury’s verdict. See United States v.
Love, 521 F.3d 1007, 1010 (8th Cir. 2008) (concluding any evidentiary error was
harmless when the government presented “overwhelming evidence” of defendant’s
guilt). Insurance adjuster Jennings testified that in July 2019, when he first visited
the two fields where corn had purportedly been planted the month before, the fields
were “full of weeds” and did not appear “prepared for planting.” On a second visit
to the farm in September 2019, he was accompanied by insurance adjuster Opp. At
that time, the fields were still “full of weeds,” which had grown “waist high” and “in
other places, probably chest high,” and there was still “no growing crop.” The
Garretts were not given advance notice of the July and September visits, but in
October, Opp alerted the Garretts that he and Jennings planned to inspect the fields
can entail cutting through an area with a device to “churn it up” and “disturb
everything” in preparation for the next year’s crop.

-- 7 of 14 --

-8-
where the corn had been planted. Eleven days after Opp’s alert, Levi met Opp and
Jennings and took them to two fields.5 Jennings testified that it appeared that corn
stover and weeds had been “plowed or mechanically engrained into the soil.” Opp
testified that he “knew it wasn’t planted,” and described how different the fields
would have appeared had the corn in fact been planted and harvested. In addition to
this testimony, the jury saw several photographs and a video of these fields taken
during the inspections. Finally, although Levi testified that the 47.5 acres of corn
were planted and harvested as certified by James, the jury also heard testimony from
three of the Garretts’ neighbors about his character for truthfulness. One described
Levi as “very dishonest,” another said he was “the least truthful person” he knew in
the agriculture industry, and a third said Levi was someone whose word he “would
not honor.”
The Garretts had ample opportunity to challenge the government’s theory
with direct evidence and to cross-examine Jennings and Opp about their
observations and assessment of the fields—opportunities they took advantage of.
The jury heard Levi deny that corn stover had been spread on the fields. And it heard
him testify about how he “handled the planting” in 2019, and describe the machinery
used to harvest the corn, including a pre-owned combine he bought “specifically to
combine the corn that year.” Levi also testified about the inspection visit by Jennings
and Opp, and the Garretts introduced photographs of the fields they inspected, as
well as photographs of corn cob and husk—all of which Levi took during the
inspection. The Garretts also introduced photographs of the machinery used to plant
and harvest the corn, and the check Levi used to purchase the combine.
In sum, even assuming the photographs were relevant and admissible, their
exclusion did not affect James’s substantial rights. A review of the entire record
convinces us that admission of the photographs into evidence would have had “little
to no influence on the verdict.” Love, 521 F.3d at 1010; see also United States v.
5 Only one of the fields corresponded to the locations where James had
certified planting and that Jennings and Opp had visited in September.

-- 8 of 14 --

-9-
Picardi, 739 F.3d 1118, 1125 (8th Cir. 2014) (declining to reverse based on district
court’s evidentiary ruling when the limited probative value of the relevant evidence
at issue was outweighed by the risk of confusing the issues, and even if the
evidentiary exclusion had been improper, the defendant “was able to testify to the
same information that he sought to convey through [the excluded evidence]”).
B.
The Garretts argue the district court erred in denying their motion for
judgment of acquittal, or in the alternative, a new trial, because the evidence was
insufficient to support their convictions. We review a district court’s ruling on a
motion for judgment of acquittal de novo. United States v. Brown, 88 F.4th 750, 760
(8th Cir. 2023). In doing so, we “view[] the record in the light most favorable to the
verdict and accept[] all reasonable inferences that support the verdict.” United States
v. Ali, 616 F.3d 745, 755 (8th Cir. 2010) (citation omitted). “We reverse only if no
reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” United
States v. Spears, 454 F.3d 830, 832 (8th Cir. 2006) (citation omitted). Reliance on
circumstantial evidence does not demand acquittal. See United States v. Davis, 103
F.3d 660, 667 (8th Cir. 1996) (“In determining the strength of the evidence in a
circumstantial case, ‘it is the totality of the circumstances that must be weighed in
making a decision on a motion for acquittal.’” (quoting United States v. Kelton, 519
F.2d 366, 367 (8th Cir. 1975))).
We review a district court’s ruling on a motion for a new trial for an abuse of
discretion. United States v. Morris, 817 F.3d 1116, 1121 (8th Cir. 2016). “We will
reverse the district court’s Rule 33(a) ruling only if it is ‘a clear and manifest abuse
of discretion.’” United States v. Dowty, 964 F.3d 703, 708 (8th Cir. 2020) (quoting
United States v. Amaya, 731 F.3d 761, 764 (8th Cir. 2013)). “A district court may
grant a new trial for insufficiency of the evidence only if the evidence weighs heavily
enough against the verdict that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred.” Id.
(quoting United States v. Delacruz, 865 F.3d 1000, 1006 (8th Cir. 2017)).

-- 9 of 14 --

-10-
To prove James and Levi guilty of making a false statement in connection
with insurance for sunflower crops,6 the government had to prove: (1) that each
defendant knowingly made a false statement, (2) for the purpose of influencing the
actions of (3) a federally insured financial institution. See 18 U.S.C. § 1014;
Alexander, 679 F.3d at 726. The Garretts challenge the sufficiency of the evidence
as to only the first element, arguing that a judgment of acquittal was warranted
because the government failed to prove that either James or Levi knowingly made
any false statement regarding whether or when sunflowers were planted.
The Garretts argue that their convictions were based solely on circumstantial
evidence and supported by a “mere suspicion or possibility of guilt.” See United
States v. Robinson, 782 F.2d 128, 129 (8th Cir. 1986) (“All reasonable inferences in
favor of the verdict must be drawn from the facts, but a conviction must be supported
by substantial evidence and cannot be based on mere suspicion or possibility of
guilt.” (citations omitted)). They argue that the handwritten Sioux Nation, LLC log
was insufficiently reliable for a reasonable jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt
that they obtained the sunflower seed after their certified plant dates. Moreover, the
Garretts assert that the government’s theory was that they simply planted sunflowers
too late, not that they failed to plant them at all. And furthermore, the government
had no evidence of the date it believed they had, in fact, planted the sunflower seed
they purchased.
After careful review, we conclude that the trial record supports the jury
verdict, without resort to speculation. The jury heard testimony that the Garretts
picked up or received a delivery of sunflower seed from Sioux Nation, LLC no
earlier than June 20, 2018, which was after the date they certified having planted.
The jury also heard six of the Garretts’ neighbors testify about the Garretts’
habitually late planting practices and chronic weed issues. For example, one
6 James offers no challenge to his conviction for making a false statement in
connection with insurance for the corn crop apart from his assertion that the
photographs of the neighboring field and related testimony were improperly
excluded.

-- 10 of 14 --

-11-
neighbor testified that she had “never seen [the Garretts] plant a crop before July,”
and another neighbor confirmed that in late June 2018, their fields looked “[l]ike
they hadn’t been planted into.” And the jury heard testimony and saw records
indicating that Levi sprayed herbicide on the same land where just weeks earlier he
had allegedly planted sunflowers. The district court did not err in denying either the
motion for judgment of acquittal or the motion for new trial.
C.
Finally, the Garretts appeal the denial of their motion for reconsideration
based on newly discovered evidence. They contend that several statements in
Hostler’s post-trial affidavit refute his trial testimony and establish reasonable doubt
as to when the sunflower seed was picked up or delivered from Sioux Nation, LLC
for the 2018 planting season. We review a district court’s ruling on a motion for
reconsideration for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Luger, 837 F.3d 870, 875
(8th Cir. 2016).
“To warrant a new trial based on previously unavailable evidence, [a
defendant] must demonstrate the following: ‘(1) the evidence is in fact newly
discovered since trial; (2) diligence on [their] part [in identifying the evidence]; (3)
the evidence is not merely cumulative or impeaching; (4) the evidence is material to
the issues involved; and (5) it is probable that the new evidence would produce an
acquittal at the new trial.’” United States v. Erickson, 999 F.3d 622, 631 (8th Cir.
2021) (quoting United States v. Shumaker, 866 F.3d 956, 961 (8th Cir. 2017)). The
district court concluded that Hostler’s affidavit did not meet this standard because it
“present[ed] little new evidence,” and “restate[d] facts that were drawn out from
Hostler in his cross examination.”
We agree. In his affidavit, Hostler expressly stated that his trial testimony
“remains true and correct,” and that the affidavit’s purpose was solely to
“clarify/detail” that testimony. The affidavit did not—as the Garretts argue—correct,
refute, or recant any part of his testimony at trial. And as the district court found, the

-- 11 of 14 --

-12-
“information [in Hostler’s affidavit] not only was available to Defendants through
due diligence, but also was brought out through cross examination of Hostler.” To
the extent the Garretts contend that Hostler’s affidavit offered any clarifications, they
have not explained why those could not have been elicited at trial. See United States
v. Bell, 761 F.3d 900, 911 (8th Cir. 2014) (concluding that “[e]ven where an affidavit
is not available until after trial, if the factual basis for the testimony in the affidavit
existed before trial,” it may not be the basis for a new trial (citation omitted)).
The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for
reconsideration.
III.
We affirm the judgment of the district court.
SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge, dissenting in part.
I join the majority’s opinion in all respects except as to its conclusion in Part
II.A. that the exclusion of the two photographs of adjacent fields was harmless error.
In my view, the photos were relevant and should have been admitted, and the district
court’s failure to do so requires reversal of James’s conviction on that count and
remand for a new trial.
Relevant evidence is generally admissible, Fed. R. Evid. 402, and “[t]he
standard for relevancy is low,” United States v. Oldrock, 867 F.3d 934, 940 (8th Cir.
2017) (alteration in original) (citation omitted). So long as “there is ‘any tendency’
that evidence will make a consequential fact more or less probable, the ‘[e]vidence
should be admitted.’” Id. (alteration in original) (citation omitted). And while
district courts “may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially
outweighed by a danger of . . . confusing the issues,” Fed. R. Evid. 403, that is not
the case here. Moreover, the deference we give to a district court’s evidentiary
determinations is not absolute. See United States v. Condon, 720 F.3d 748, 754 (8th

-- 12 of 14 --

-13-
Cir. 2013) (noting that a district court’s exercise of discretion under Rule 403 is
afforded deference only where it “[does] not unfairly prevent a party from proving
[his] case” (first alteration in original)).
As the majority acknowledges, the Government’s theory on the 2019
false-statement count against James was that, while James certified he had planted a
specific acreage of corn, he instead spread corn stover on the fields “to make it look
like corn had been planted,” when no corn had actually been sowed. The photos
were meant to directly rebut this theory, as they would serve as a comparator
between the appearance of James’s field and the “nearly identical” appearance of his
neighbors’ fields, in which corn had undisputedly been planted. Indeed, this was the
exact argument that James’s counsel made before the district court when the
Government objected to the photos’ admission based on relevance and confusion of
the issues. In response to the district court’s questioning of whether Levi knew the
neighboring farmer, “when the field was planted, when it was disked, [and] how
many times over[,]” Levi stated, “I do know that.” Despite this, the district court
denied admission of the photos because it was “disinclined to allow[] photographs
of other fields prepared by other farmers using other machinery.” But the district
court’s concern in this respect could have been fleshed out by the Government during
a vigorous cross-examination of Levi, the photographer.
Evidentiary rulings are certainly subject to harmless-error analysis. United
States v. Johnson, 860 F.3d 1133, 1139 (8th Cir. 2017) (“We will reverse ‘only when
an improper evidentiary ruling affected the defendant’s substantial rights or had
more than a slight influence on the verdict.’” (citation omitted)). But the exclusion
of these photos was not harmless error. In United States v. Flenoid, 949 F.2d 970,
973 (8th Cir. 1991), we found the exclusion of witness testimony was not harmless
where it “was not an insignificant piece of evidence,” as “it was a crucial aspect of
proving [the defendant’s] theory of the case” because without it, the defendant “had
no direct, independent support for his version of the events.” In United States v.
Lowery, 135 F.3d 957, 960 (5th Cir. 1998) (per curiam), the Fifth Circuit found an
evidentiary exclusion was not harmless error where it left the defendant “little more

-- 13 of 14 --

-14-
than the ability to make unsubstantiated . . . claims on the witness stand,” and that
the defendant “was made worse off by arguing his theory without being allowed to
substantiate it, because without substantiation his theory of defense looked like a
desperate conspiracy theory.” Here, by excluding the photos, the district court left
James with “no direct, independent support for his version of the events,” Flenoid,
949 F.2d at 973, that is, that he never made a false statement in the first place, see
United States v. Eason, 829 F.3d 633, 639 (8th Cir. 2016) (affirming exclusion of
defendant’s photographs of a crime scene where he provided no explanation of “how
the photos would have significantly aided in [the jury’s] assessment of the evidence
or how seeing the scene would have influenced the verdict,” and offered “no
controverted issues at trial that the inclusion of the photographs would have helped
resolve”). Here, unlike in Eason, the photographs James sought to introduce went
to the most controverted issue on this count—whether James made a false statement.
Accordingly, I am not convinced that the photos’ exclusion “had little to no influence
on the verdict.” United States v. Love, 521 F.3d 1007, 1010 (8th Cir. 2008).
Because this error was not harmless, I would reverse James’s conviction on
this count and remand for a new trial. I therefore respectfully dissent from this part
of the majority’s opinion.
______________________________

-- 14 of 14 --