United States v. Mohamed, No. 13-2368 (7th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseA patrolman pulled over Mohamed for running a red light. Upon searching Mohamed’s van, he found 1,170 packs of Newport-brand cigarettes not bearing Indiana tax stamps. He was charged under the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act, which makes it unlawful for “any person knowingly to ship, transport, receive, possess, sell, distribute, or purchase contraband cigarettes,” 18 U.S.C. 2342(a). During deliberations, the jury submitted three questions to the district court: whether “more than 10,000 cigarettes being transported into Indiana from another state without paying [Indiana’s cigarette] tax [is] enough to be called contraband?” “Is the question at hand just that [Mohamed] had 10,000+ [cigarettes] and crossed state lines, or do we need to consider intent of what he planned to do with them once he crossed the state line? Sell, distribute, etc.?” “In the definition of ‘handled,’ is ‘buying’ applicable even if [the cigarettes] are bought in Kentucky? Can we see the entire copy of [the statute]” The district judge responded that she could not provide the information they had requested. The jury found Mohamed guilty. The Seventh Circuit reversed, finding that the evidence was insufficient to prove that Mohamed intended to sell the cigarettes in Indiana.
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