People v. Marquez

546 P.2d 482, 190 Colo. 255, 1976 Colo. LEXIS 782
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedFebruary 9, 1976
Docket26081
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 546 P.2d 482 (People v. Marquez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Marquez, 546 P.2d 482, 190 Colo. 255, 1976 Colo. LEXIS 782 (Colo. 1976).

Opinions

MR. JUSTICE LEE

delivered the opinion of the Court.

[257]*257Defendant was convicted by a jury of sale of a narcotic drug with intent to induce or aid another to unlawfully use or possess the drug, in violation of C.R.S. 1963, 48-5-20.1 He was also found to be an habitual criminal under C.R.S. 1963, 39-13-1(1),2 having been previously twice convicted of felonies in Colorado. Defendant was sentenced to a term of not less than twenty nor more than thirty years in the state penitentiary. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

The charges against defendant arose out of the following circumstances, as established by the People’s evidence. On October 7, 1971, an anonymous informant, at the instance of the Denver police, arranged for a meeting of defendant with undercover agent Phil Perez, at defendant’s residence in Denver. The informant and Agent Perez went to defendant’s home, where the informant introduced Perez to the defendant. The informant announced they were there to purchase narcotics. They were invited into the house, where they sat on a couch in the living room. The informant asked defendant: “Do you have it?” Defendant replied, “Yes, I do.” Defendant then went to a table and picked up a red balloon which contained heroin and handed it to the informant, who in turn handed it to Agent Perez. Perez then paid defendant sixty-five dollars.

Present in the room at the time when Perez and the informant entered was a young man, James Cortez, who was seated in a chair watching television. The evidence was not clear whether Cortez was present during the entire transaction, or whether he watched or overheard the narcotics sale. In any event, though he was available as a witness at trial, he was not called by either the People or the defendant.

Agent Perez and the informant then left the premises; It was not until December 8, two months later, that charges against defendant were filed. The delay in filing charges was purposeful, with the hope that defendant might lead the police to a “bigger dealer” in narcotics.

At trial, defendant elected not to testify and he presented no defense witnesses.

I.

We agree with defendant’s assertion that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict finding defendant guilty of sale of narcotics with intent to aid or induce another to unlawfully use or possess. In oral argument, the attorney general conceded this to be so.

The record is totally devoid of any evidence from which it could reasonably be inferred that defendant initiated the transaction, solicited the sale, persuaded or enticed the buyers to make the purchase, or sold with intent to aid or induce the buyers to use or possess the narcotic. In the ab[258]*258sence of such evidence, or of further circumstances from which such an intent could reasonably be drawn, a conviction cannot stand under this section of the drug statute. People v. Morris, 190 Colo. 215, 545 P.2d 151; People v. Steed, 189 Colo. 212, 540 P.2d 323; People v. Duran, 188 Colo. 420, 535 P.2d 505; People v. Patterson, 187 Colo. 431, 532 P.2d 342; People v. Bowers, 187 Colo. 233, 530 P.2d 1282.

The conviction of defendant of sale with intent to aid or induce must therefore be vacated and set aside. The record, however, without dispute, supports the conviction of the lesser included offense of simple sale of narcotics under C.R.S. 1963, 48-5-2,3 and upon remand the district court should enter a judgment of conviction under this section of the drug statute and re-sentence defendant accordingly.

II.

Defendant argues that we should reverse for the reason that the court denied his pretrial motion to compel the prosecution to disclose the identity of the anonymous informant who set up and was present at the illegal drug transaction. It is clear that the informant was an eyewitness and an earwitness. It is not at all clear, however, and no showing was made by the defendant, that disclosure of the informant’s identity would have in any way assisted his defense. In Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53, 77 S.Ct. 623, 1 L.Ed.2d 639, the Supreme Court stated:

“We believe that no fixed rule with respect to disclosure is justifiable. The problem is one that calls for balancing the public interest in protecting the flow of information against the individual’s right to prepare his defense. Whether a proper balance renders nondisclosure erroneous must depend on the particular circumstances of each case, taking into consideration the crime charged, the possible defenses, the possible significance of the informer’s testimony, and other relevant factors.”

Each case must therefore be determined on its own facts. This is demonstrated by the diverse results obtained in the various cases concerned with the problem. See, e.g., United States v. Herbert, 502 F.2d 890 (10th Cir. 1974); United States v. Williams, 488 F.2d 788 (10th Cir. 1973); United States v. Martinez, 487 F.2d 973 (10th Cir. 1973); People v. Duran , supra; People v. Musgrave, 187 Colo. 135, 529 P.2d 313.

The foregoing cases suggest some of the many factors that must be considered in the balancing process mandated by Roviaro, supra'. whether the informant was an eyewitness and earwitness to the criminal transaction and whether the informer himself is available or could, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, be made available; whether other witnesses to .the transaction are in a position to testify; the likelihood that the testimony of the informer will vary significantly from that of other avail[259]*259able or potentially available witnesses; whether the defendant himself knows the identity of the informant or could without undue effort discover his identity; whether the informant was deeply or only peripherally involved in the criminal transaction. And while, as the Supreme Court noted in Roviaro, the desirability of calling a witness is a matter for the accused rather than for the government, the accused must at least make some minimal affirmative showing of this need for disclosure. Parlapiano v. Dist. Ct., 177 Colo. 36, 492 P.2d 626. It would defeat the purpose of the balancing process to require such disclosure upon the defendant’s unsupported assertion that he desires it.

In the present case, the trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on defendant’s motion to disclose, and concluded under the facts that the public interest in protecting the anonymity of the informant outbalanced the need for disclosure to defendant.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Jones
796 P.2d 68 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1990)
People v. Walters
768 P.2d 1230 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1989)
People v. Villanueva
767 P.2d 1219 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1989)
People v. District Court in & for the First Judicial District
767 P.2d 1208 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1989)
People v. Flores
766 P.2d 114 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1988)
People v. Vazquez
768 P.2d 721 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1988)
People v. Garcia
752 P.2d 570 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1988)
People v. Vigil
729 P.2d 360 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1986)
People v. Roy
723 P.2d 1345 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1986)
People v. Cook
722 P.2d 432 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1986)
People v. McLean
661 P.2d 1157 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1983)
People v. Bueno
646 P.2d 931 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1982)
People v. Gable
647 P.2d 246 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1982)
People v. Dailey
639 P.2d 1068 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1982)
People v. McLean
633 P.2d 513 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1981)
People v. Hodges
624 P.2d 1308 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1981)
People v. Del Alamo
624 P.2d 1304 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1981)
People v. Gutierrez
622 P.2d 547 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1981)
People v. Korte
602 P.2d 2 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1979)
State v. Wandix
590 S.W.2d 82 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1979)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
546 P.2d 482, 190 Colo. 255, 1976 Colo. LEXIS 782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-marquez-colo-1976.