United States v. Lapier, Jr., No. 13-30279 (9th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine (Count One), and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On appeal, defendant challenged his conspiracy conviction. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant on the conspiracy count. The court concluded, however, that defendant's constitutional right to a unanimous jury verdict was violated because the district court failed to give a specific unanimity instruction. Because the district court plainly erred, the court reversed defendant's conviction as to Count One.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel reversed a conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and remanded for further proceedings. Rejecting the defendant’s argument that the evidence at trial established only “buyer-seller” relationships, the panel held that the evidence was sufficient to support a jury verdict finding that the defendant entered into a conspiracy with a supplier and a later, separate conspiracy with a second supplier. The panel held that because the evidence tended to show multiple conspiracies instead of the single charged conspiracy, the district court’s failure to give a specific unanimity instruction was plain error violating Lapier’s substantial right to a unanimous jury verdict. UNITED STATES V. LAPIER 3
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