35 results for 'cat:"Drug Offender" AND cat:"Jury"'.
J. Davis finds the district court properly convicted the doctor for unlawful distribution of controlled substances based on sufficient evidence. After the health management company developed concerns about the doctor's inability to maintain patient and medication records, warning him several times, he was terminated and opened a private practice. The DEA launched an investigation into his prescriptions after receiving a tip from a confidential informant, and the ensuing sting operation led to the doctor's arrest. That the prescriptions lacked a legitimate medical purpose is established in that they were issued outside the usual course of professional practice. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Davis , Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 23-30191, Categories: drug Offender, Fraud, jury Instructions
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly convicted the defendant of various crimes related to drug trafficking, including two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. While executing a search warrant of the defendant's apartment, police found a noteworthy collection of drugs and drug paraphernalia: copious quantities of heroin, cocaine and marijuana, in addition to packaging supplies, cutting materials, scales, sifters and blending equipment to go along with six firearms. The defendant disputes a section of jury instructions on the firearm charges, claiming the instruction that he is guilty of using the gun in furtherance if the distribution of drugs and the common sense recognition that drug dealing is a dangerous and violent enterprise may support an inference that the defendant’s possession of a firearm was to facilitate drug dealing. There is no false legal premise in these instructions as the jurors were told that the dangerous and violent nature of drug dealing was “a common sense recognition.” But the jurors were then advised that the province of common sense was fully their own. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 23-4222, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, jury Instructions
J. Aoyagi finds the trial court properly questioned three prospective jurors. “The question is not whether the court handled voir dire perfectly, but whether its conduct was so prejudicial as to deny defendant a fair trial. It was not.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Aoyagi, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: A177035, Categories: drug Offender, jury
[Amended.] J. Tenney changes one footnote with no change in judgment. Defendant’s counsel failed to ask for jury instructions that would define the serious bodily injury on his possession of a dangerous weapon counts. Defendant was not prejudiced for the convictions based on a chain with a padlock and an axe, but he was prejudiced to the conviction based on a turkey hook. The counsel properly chose not to move for a direct verdict on the paraphernalia count, because there is enough evidence to support that claim. Therefore, there only needs to be a new conviction regarding the weapon counts. Reversed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tenney, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 20220143-CA, Categories: drug Offender, Weapons, jury Instructions
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J. Tenney finds defendant’s counsel failed to ask for jury instructions that would define the serious bodily injury on his possession of a dangerous weapon counts. Defendant was not prejudiced for the convictions based on a chain with padlock and an axe, but he was prejudiced to the conviction based on a turkey hook. The counsel properly chose not to move for direct verdict on the paraphernalia count, because there is enough evidence to support that claim. Therefore, there only needs to be a new conviction regarding the weapon counts. Reversed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tenney, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 20220143-CA, Categories: drug Offender, Weapons, jury Instructions
J. Tenney finds that the trial court erred in giving a jury instruction on the classifications of defendant's drug and paraphernalia possession charges.
He was convicted of the paraphernalia count but not the possession count, and he failed to show that he would have received a more favorable outcome without the improper instructions. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tenney, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 20210552-CA, Categories: drug Offender, jury Instructions
J. Benton finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 270 months in prison and five years probation for possession with intent to sell 50 grams or more of meth. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in allowing a supplemental instruction for jury questions. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the instruction did not prejudiced the defendant, who claimed it was "phrased negatively." Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 23-2149, Categories: drug Offender, Probation, jury Instructions
J. Gregory finds the lower court improperly convicted the doctor on 861 counts of the unauthorized prescription of opioids. The government misstated the law in the jury instructions by failing to state that the doctor could only be convicted if he knew that his conduct in prescribing opioids to substance abusers was unauthorized. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: 19-4761, Categories: drug Offender, jury Instructions
J. Clark finds that the lower court improperly convicted defendant of drug possession after cocaine was found in his backpack during a traffic stop. Defendant should have been granted a jury instruction on a lesser included possession offense because his explanations for his presence in town, the cocaine, and the weight scale plausibly countered the intent-to-sell element of the original charge. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Clark, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 112202, Categories: drug Offender, jury Instructions
J. Duncan finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for prescribing pain medication without a legitimate purpose. Defendant was the only doctor working for the "pill mill." Several co-conspirators and the owner of the operation posing as a pain management clinic pleaded guilty, testifying against the physician. The jury was presented with overwhelming proof defendant knew the prescriptions he wrote were medically unauthorized, and he cannot show any proposed error in jury instruction effected his substantial rights. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Duncan, Filed On: December 11, 2023, Case #: 22-20515, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, jury Instructions
J. Gladwin finds the circuit court properly sentenced defendant to 10 years in prison on his guilty plea to drug paraphernalia possession, and 40 years for possession with purpose to deliver. Although a sentencing juror said that he had been robbed by "druggies" and was angry with them, he also said he could base his decision on what is presented in court and that he would incline toward the middle of the sentencing guideline. The juror was properly seated after he was found to have been sufficiently rehabilitated. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin , Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: CR-22-791, Categories: drug Offender, jury
J. Pryor finds that the district court properly convicted defendants of conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances not for a legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice. However, one defendant was improperly convicted of distributing controlled substances not for a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. Defendants were doctors who participated in a pill mill scheme. The district court's instructions to the jury on the substantive distribution counts against one defendant were improper in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision in United States v. Ruan. The district court's error likely affected defendant's substantial rights. Affirmed in part.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 20-13973, Categories: drug Offender, jury Instructions
J. Marion finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant of delivery of a controlled substance. Defendant argued there was not adequate evidence to convict her and that a lower court erred by not instructing the jury that testimony from a confidential informant must be corroborated by law enforcement, but defendant did not object to the lack of instruction at trial and there is other evidence linking her to the offense. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Marion, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 08-23-00126-CR, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, jury Instructions
J. Stranch finds language in the trial court's jury instructions at defendant's trial on charges of improper distribution of controlled substances, including that it was required to find he "deliberately ignored a high probability" his prescriptions were made outside professional practice, comported with the mens rea requirements of the crimes. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 22-3240, Categories: drug Offender, jury Instructions
[Consolidated] J. Jones finds the district court properly convicted the Mexican national for illegal reentry after a previous deportation. The district court denied defendant's request for a jury instruction about duress relating to his claim that he was forced by a drug cartel to smuggle drugs. Defendant did not present evidence supporting each element of duress. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Jones , Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 21-51125, Categories: drug Offender, Immigration, jury Instructions
J. Vaidik finds the lower court properly denied defendant’s motion to strike. Defendant was convicted of felony dealing of marijuana and was sentenced as a habitual offender. Defendant appeals, arguing that jury members were biased by the comments of another juror who was removed from the panel. The lower court properly interviewed the jurors in question and they conveyed that the comments did not affect their ability to be impartial toward defendant. The instant court finds no error by the lower court. Affirmed.
Court: Indiana Court Of Appeals, Judge: Vaidik, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 23A-CR-526, Categories: drug Offender, jury
J. Goethals holds that the trial court properly excused a juror for cause from a possession of drugs in jail case. Defendant argued that a general distrust of police officers is a presumptively invalid reason to challenge a juror, which is true of peremptory challenges, but not challenges for cause. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Goethals, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: G061394, Categories: drug Offender, jury
[Consolidated.] J. Siler finds that even in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Ruan v. U.S., the jury instructions given by the trial court in defendants' drug trafficking case were not clearly erroneous. In context, they made clear the jury was required to find defendants opened their clinics for the purpose of illegally distributing Schedule II controlled substances. The instructions might not have spelled out the "knowingly" means rea specified by the Ruan court, but the trial court made clear the jury was required to make a subjective determination as to whether defendants purposefully distributed controlled substances, which complies with the high court's standard. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 20-6245, Categories: drug Offender, Conspiracy, jury Instructions
J. Jackson-Akiwumi finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances. The state presented sufficient evidence to prove that defendant knew the bus contained controlled substances. Further, there is no clear evidence that the jury engaged in premature deliberations, so it is presumed the jury abided by the court's instruction not to talk about the case with anyone until deliberations began. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 21-2434, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, jury
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, obstruction of a police officer, battery, possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in a passenger area of a car, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and other offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's drug possession conviction. Defendant failed to show that the trial outcome was impacted by the trial court's failure to charge the jury on misdemeanor obstruction as a lesser-included offense of felony obstruction. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: A23A0667, Categories: drug Offender, Obstruction, jury Instructions
J. Gilman finds the trial court improperly failed to include a jury instruction on the lesser-offense of simple possession during defendant's trial for possession with intent to distribute. Evidence defendant was a drug user himself, was known to purchase a large quantity at a time for personal use, and did not have an overwhelming amount of drugs on him when he was arrested indicates he may have had no intent to sell the drugs. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Gilman, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 22-3552, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, jury Instructions
J. Golemon finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for capitally murdering multiple people, sentencing him to life in prison. Witnesses who were in the neighborhood at the time of the murders testified to overhearing arguments about drugs, hearing gunshots and seeing defendant with a gun. A patrol officer was in the area when he heard gunshots and logged the plates of a silver car containing two people leaving the residence where the murders occurred. He entered the residence to find multiple bodies. All evidence supports conviction, and though defendant says the court erred by not including presumptive language of self-defense in the jury charge, his defense counsel had informed the court that it was a strategic decision to not ask for the presumption language. Defendant has forfeited his right to complain of this on appeal. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Golemon, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 09-22-00140-CR, Categories: drug Offender, Murder, jury Instructions
J. Wise finds that while only a small sample of the pills discovered on defendant were tested for illegal drugs, the random testing procedure allows for an inference that all of the contraband contained fentanyl; therefore, the testing results and the large quantity of pills in defendant's possession supported his convictions for possession and trafficking. Meanwhile, the trial court was not required to give a jury instruction for a lesser-included offense because the quantity of the drugs found on defendant required a special finding by the jury to determine the class of felony for his trafficking conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wise, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2346, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, jury Instructions
[Consolidated.] J. Kirsch finds that the lower court properly convicted defendants of conspiring to distribute meth. The prosecution did not improperly strike a Black juror for having a relative who had been convicted of drug dealing, even if other jurors also had relatives with criminal backgrounds involving drugs. Further, the jury reasonably found that defendant's possession of 214 grams of meth was not consistent with personal use, and his pattern of behavior was consistent with that of other drug deals. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Kirsch, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 21-1521, Categories: drug Offender, jury
[Consolidated.] J. Gilman finds the trial court properly denied defendants' request for a buyer-seller jury instruction during their trial on drug trafficking and conspiracy charges. Not only did portions of the requested instruction contained incorrect statements of law, but the conspiracy instruction covered all elements of the conspiracy and the criminal acts with which defendants were charged. However, defendants' sentences must be vacated because the trial court failed to determine the purity of the total amount of methamphetamine mixture sold. Vacated in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Gilman, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 21-6161, Categories: drug Offender, Sentencing, jury Instructions