State v. Barraza-Martinez

84 P.3d 560, 139 Idaho 624, 2003 Ida. App. LEXIS 90
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 10, 2003
Docket28662
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 84 P.3d 560 (State v. Barraza-Martinez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Barraza-Martinez, 84 P.3d 560, 139 Idaho 624, 2003 Ida. App. LEXIS 90 (Idaho Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

PERRY, Judge.

Luis Angel Barraza-Martinez appeals from the judgment of conviction entered by the district court after a jury found him guilty of trafficking in cocaine. We affirm.

*625 i.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

On January 31, 2001, law enforcement officers conducted a controlled purchase of cocaine. In accordance with prior arrangements, an undercover officer waited at a local restaurant for a drug dealer from whom to purchase 3 ounces of cocaine for $2,250. The drug dealer and Barraza-Martinez arrived and were greeted at the restaurant by the undercover officer. While all three sat at a booth, the conversation turned to the potential for future drug sales and the quantities, prices, and availability of drugs. During this conversation, the drug dealer and Barraza-Martinez consulted each other in Spanish. The drug dealer passed to the undercover officer three containers of cocaine in exchange for $2,250 in cash. The drug dealer and the undercover officer again discussed quantities and prices for future drug buys and agreed to meet again for the sale of a larger amount of cocaine.

On February 9, 2001, the undercover officer met the drag dealer and Barraza-Mar-tinez in the parking lot of a restaurant to purchase more cocaine. The three entered the restaurant, sat at a table, and discussed future drug sales. A few minutes into the conversation, the undercover officer initiated the pre-planned drug transaction by producing a bag of money. Barraza-Martinez removed from his coat a black bag containing approximately 9 ounces of cocaine and gave the bag to the drag dealer. In exchange for $6,750 in cash, the drug dealer gave the bag of cocaine to the undercover officer.

For his part in the second drug transaction, Barraza-Martinez was charged with, and found guilty by a jury of, trafficking in 200 grams or more of cocaine by delivery. I.C. § 37-2732B(a)(2)(B). Pursuant to I.C.R. 29(e), Barraza-Martinez filed a motion for judgment of acquittal. The district court denied the motion, entered a judgment of conviction, and sentenced Barraza-Martinez to a ten-year term of imprisonment, with five years fixed.

On appeal, Barraza-Martinez argues that the district court erred when it denied his motion for judgment of acquittal. Barraza-Martinez contends that I.C. § 37-2732B(a)(2) requires the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew that the quantity of cocaine he delivered was 28 grams or more and that the state failed to do so.

II.

ANALYSIS

Idaho Criminal Rule 29 provides that when a verdict of guilty is returned, the court, on motion of the defendant, shall order the entry of a judgment of acquittal if the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction of the offense. The test applied when reviewing the district court’s ruling on a motion for judgment of acquittal is to determine whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain a conviction of the crime charged. State v. Fields, 127 Idaho 904, 912-13, 908 P.2d 1211, 1219-20 (1995). When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence where a judgment of conviction has been entered upon a jury verdict, the evidence is sufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdict if there is substantial evidence upon which a reasonable trier of fact could have found that the prosecution sustained its burden of proving the essential elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Herrera Brito, 131 Idaho 383, 385, 957 P.2d 1099, 1101 (Ct.App.1998); State v. Knutson, 121 Idaho 101, 104, 822 P.2d 998, 1001 (Ct.App.1991). We do not substitute our view for that of the jury as to the credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be given to the testimony, and the reasonable inferences to be drawn from the evidence. Knutson, 121 Idaho at 104, 822 P.2d at 1001; State v. Decker, 108 Idaho 683, 684, 701 P.2d 303, 304 (Ct.App.1985). Moreover, we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. Herrera-Brito, 131 Idaho at 385, 957 P.2d at 1101; Knutson, 121 Idaho at 104, 822 P.2d at 1001.

Idaho Code Section 37-2732B(a)(2) provides:

Any person who knowingly manufactures, delivers, or brings into this state, or who is knowingly in actual or constructive possession of, twenty-eight (28) grams or more of cocaine ... is guilty of a felony, *626 which felony shall be known as “trafficking in cocaine.” If the quantity involved: .
(B) Is two hundred (200) grams or more, but less than four hundred (400) grams, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum fixed term of imprisonment of five (5) years and fined not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000);

Barraza-Martinez contends that I.C. § 37-2732B(a)(2) unambiguously requires the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew that the quantity of cocaine he delivered was 28 grams or more and that the state failed to do so. The state argues that the statute is ambiguous in that the word “knowingly” may be read to modify all of the remaining phrases in the statute and may also be read to modify only the subsequent phrase — delivers cocaine. The state asserts that the legislature intended that the prosecution need not prove knowledge of the quantity involved.

This Court exercises free review over the application and construction of statutes. State v. Schumacher, 131 Idaho 484, 485, 959 P.2d 465, 466 (Ct.App.1998). When this Court must engage in statutory construction, it has the duty to ascertain the legislative intent and give effect to that intent. State v. Rhode, 133 Idaho 459, 462, 988 P.2d 685, 688 (1999). To ascertain the intent of the legislature, not only must the literal words of the statute be examined, but also the context of those words, the public policy behind the statute, and its legislative history. Id.

The statute in question may reasonably be read in the ways suggested by both parties. Although the Idaho appellate courts have never addressed the issue of whether Idaho’s trafficking statute requires that the accused know the quantity of the controlled substance, the pattern jury instructions adopted by the Idaho Supreme Court require only that the state prove that the defendant knew the substance was a controlled substance. See ICJI 404, 406. Idaho Criminal Jury Instruction 406, on trafficking in controlled substances, states:

If you find the defendant guilty of [manufacturing] [delivering] [or] [possessing] [name of substance] you must next determine whether the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt the [weight of the (name of substance) ] [number of marijuana plants] [manufactured] [delivered] [or] [possessed] by the defendant.

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Bluebook (online)
84 P.3d 560, 139 Idaho 624, 2003 Ida. App. LEXIS 90, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-barraza-martinez-idahoctapp-2003.