United States v. Hullaby, No. 11-10118 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine under 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(ii) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of the conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A)(i). Defendant argued that the government's conduct was outrageous, insofar as the government collaborated with an informant with a criminal history. The court concluded that the fact that the informant had engaged in past crimes did not raise due process concerns about the government's use of him as a confidential informant in its investigation. Nor did the nature of the informant's past crimes render the government's conduct outrageous. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Affirming a conviction, the panel rejected the defendant’s contention that the government engaged in outrageous conduct during the investigation that led to the defendant’s arrest. The panel explained that neither the fact that a government informant had previously committed crimes, nor that the informant was trying to reduce his future criminal liability, satisfies the defendant’s burden of showing that the government’s use of the informant was so outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice.
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