UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, APPELLEE,
v.
ROBERT REID, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the jury charge was not plainly erroneous and that the substance was sufficiently identified, affirming the conviction.
Appellant was convicted of violating narcotics laws. The conviction was based in part on a presumption of illegal importation. Appellant challenged th…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Presumption Of Illegal Importation cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM:
This is an appeal from a conviction for violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 173, 174 (1958). The charge of which appellant com.plains was not as clear as would be desirable in instructing the jury on the effect of the presumption of illegal importation.
“In short, a finding of possession authorizes conviction, but does not compel it. It permits the jury to infer that all of the elements requisite to conviction were proved by the Government to their satisfaction. Since the jury, despite proof of possession, may find that one of those elements was lacking, it is incumbent upon the trial judge not only to explain properly the function of the statutory ‘authorization’ but also to instruct on each and every element — unlawful importation, knowledge, and facilitation or sale — of the offense charged.” United States v. Evans, 312 F. 2d 556, 557 (2d Cir. 1963).
However, no objection was made to the charge and we do not believe that the charge as given was plainly erroneous within the meaning of Rule 52(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Appellant asks us to rule on the basis of Erwing v. United States, 323 F. 2d 674, 682 (9th Cir. 1963) that “there is no rational connection” between cocaine hydrochloride and the presumption of illegal importation. But the record contains no evidence whatever as to place of manufacture upon which we could base such a conclusion. See United States v. Martinez, 333 F. 2d 80, 81 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 907, 85 S.Ct. 199, 13 L.Ed.2d 178 (1964); United States v. Sorenson, 330 F. 2d 1018, 1021 (2d Cir. 1964).
Appellant urges that the testimony of the chemist did not sufficiently identify the substance which he analyzed as the same substance which was purchased from the defendant. The record appears to lend support to the appellant’s claim. However, there is other evidence which sufficiently establishes the character of the substance sold by appellant. See United States v. Agueci, 310 F. 2d 817, 828 (2d Cir. 1962), cert. denied, 372 U.S. 959, 83 S.Ct. 1013, 10 L.Ed.2d 11 (1963). Moreover, appellant was not in a position to raise the point after his counsel stood by without objection when the judge charged the jury “that the character of the drug * * * as narcotics is not disputed by counsel for the defendant.”
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Verdugo v. United States, 402 F.2d 599 (9th Cir. 1968)
-
United States v. Simeon Jessamy Coke, 364 F.2d 484 (2d Cir. 1966)
Authorities Cited
- United States v. Vito Agueci, 310 F.2d 817 (2d Cir. 1962)
- Bawden v. California, 372 U.S. 959 (U.S. 1963)
- Brown v. Smith, 372 U.S. 959 (U.S. 1963)
- Haywood Erwing v. United States, 323 F.2d 674 (9th Cir. 1963)
- United States v. Evans, 312 F.2d 556 (2d Cir. 1963)
- United States v. Sorenson, 330 F.2d 1018 (2d Cir. 1964)
- United States v. Martinez, 333 F.2d 80 (2d Cir. 1964)
- Martinez v. United States, 379 U.S. 907 (U.S. 1964)
- Tillman v. South Carolina, 379 U.S. 907 (U.S. 1964)