United States v. Clark, No. 12-1221 (2d Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm (Count 1) and possession of a controlled substance (Count 2). The court affirmed defendant's conviction on Count 1. However, the court could no say that it was an absolute impossibility for a person with his hands securely handcuffed behind his back to extract a substantial quantity of crack cocaine from his person or clothing and wedge it into the space where the quantity was found - the space between the back of the back-seat cushion and the bottom of the back-seat rest in the police car - without leaving a trace of cocaine on his fingers or clothing, but the court could say that the possibility of such an occurrence was so exceedingly remote that no jury could reasonably find beyond a reasonable doubt that it happened. Accordingly, the court reversed defendant's conviction as to Count 2.
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