United States v. Jean Robert Mori

444 F.2d 240, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 9808
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJune 4, 1971
Docket27908
StatusPublished
Cited by74 cases

This text of 444 F.2d 240 (United States v. Jean Robert Mori) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Jean Robert Mori, 444 F.2d 240, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 9808 (5th Cir. 1971).

Opinions

GOLDBERG, Circuit Judge:

Jean Robert Mori was indicted in 1967 on two counts involving narcotics violations : Count 1, conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 371, the general conspiracy statute; and Count 3, conspiracy to import a narcotic drug into the United States in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 174.1 Following a jury trial, defendant Mori was found guilty on both counts. He was subsequently sentenced to five years and a fine of $7,500 as to Count 1, and twenty years and a fine of $20,000 as to Count 3, the sentences of confinement to run concurrently. From these convictions and sentences defendant now appeals.

Mori first argues that the trial court erred in determining that he could be convicted and sentenced on both counts. In essence defendant contends that Counts 1 and 3 constitute a single conspiracy, not separate conspiracies. We agree.

Count 3 charged defendant Mori with conspiracy to import a narcotic drug in violation of the narcotic conspiracy see-[242]*242ti on of 21 U.S.C.A. § 174 2 Count 1, on the other hand, charged defendant with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States under the general conspiracy statute, 18 U.S.C.A. § 371.3 The offense against the United States which Mori was alleged to have conspired to commit was traveling in foreign commerce to promote unlawful activity in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 19524 Rounding out this somewhat circuitous, three-tiered scheme, the indictment charged that the unlawful activity which defendant traveled abroad to promote was the importation of a narcotic drug in violation of the substantive provisions of 21 U.S.C.A. § 174.5

A bare reading of the indictment readily reveals that in essence defendant was charged with participation in a single, indivisible conspiracy to import narcotic drugs, which conspiracy had [243]*243several illegal objects and violated two criminal conspiracy statutes. The parties, the duration, and the overt acts alleged in both conspiracy counts were the same.6 Thus, regardless of the number of criminal statutes involved, [244]*244the essence of the offense for which Mori was indicted was a single criminal agreement:

“For when a single agreement to commit one or more substantive crimes is evidenced by an overt act, as the statute requires [predecessor to 18 U.S.C.A. § 371], the precise nature and extent of the conspiracy must be determined by reference to the agreement which embraces and defines its objects. Whether the object of a single agreement is to commit one or many crimes, it is in either case that agreement which constitutes the conspiracy which the statute punishes. The one agreement cannot be taken to be several agreements and hence several conspiracies because it envisages the violation of several statutes rather than one.” Braverman v. United States, 1942, 317 U.S. 49, 63 S.Ct. 99, 87 L.Ed. 23.

Therefore, even though the conspiracy charged here envisioned the violation of several substantive provisions, including 18 U.S.C.A. § 1952 and 21 U.S.C.A. § 174, it was a single agreement which constituted a single offense subject to a single punishment. See generally Youst v. United States, 5 Cir. 1945, 151 F.2d 666.

The further fact that this single agreement theoretically violated the general [245]*245conspiracy statute as well as the more specific narcotics conspiracy statute is similarly irrelevant. Our case is unlike American Tobacco Co. v. United States, 1946, 328 U.S. 781, 66 S.Ct. 1125, 90 L.Ed. 1575, where the Supreme Court held that a conspiracy to violate section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1, and a conspiracy to violate section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 2, gave rise to separate, distinct statutory offenses. Sections 1 and 2 specifically provide that conspiracies to violate their provisions constitute separate criminal acts. In the instant case, however, we do not have two independent criminal conspiracy statutes. Rather, the defendant herein was indicted under a specific conspiracy statute and a general conspiracy statute. Under general principles of statutory constructions, the catchall provisions of section 371 become subsumed under the particular, specific provisions of section 174. Moreover, even in American Tobacco, the Court recognized that its holding would not apply to a course of conduct which constituted a single, indivisible agreement:

“We believe also that in accordance with the Blockburger case [Blockburger v. United States, 1932, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306], §§ 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act require proof of conspiracies which are reciprocally distinguishable from and independent of each other although the objects of the conspiracies may partially overlap.” 328 U.S. at 788, 66 S.Ct. at 1129.

See generally United States v. Edwards, 2 Cir. 1966, 366 F.2d 853, 866-867; Masi v. United States, 5 Cir. 1955, 223 F.2d 132, cert. denied, 350 U.S. 919, 76 S.Ct. 208, 100 L.Ed. 805; United States v. Anderson, 7 Cir. 1939, 101 F.2d 325; United States v. DeSapio, S.D.N.Y.1969, 299 F.Supp. 436, 440-442; United States v. American Honda Motor Co., N.D.Cal. 1967, 271 F.Supp. 979, 982-987. Since we find that defendant Mori was involved in only a single conspiracy, not “independent” and “distinguishable” conspiracies, cumulative punishment was impermissible under the rationale of Blockburger, Braverman, and American Tobacco. Accordingly, the trial court erred in imposing punishment on both counts.

Nevertheless, the Government contends that defendant was not prejudiced since the sentences of confinement were imposed to run concurrently. This argument, however, fails to take account of the fact that the trial court imposed cumulative fines on both counts with the result that the total fine exceeded the maximum possible fine under either con-piracy statute.7 Moreover, as we held in United States v. White, 5 Cir. 1971, 440 F.2d 978, where separate sentences on two or more counts are impermissible, the error is not cured by the existence of concurrent sentences. See also Holland v. United States, 5 Cir. 1967, 384 F.2d 370. Rather, in most instances the proper remedy is to vacate the sentences and remand to the district court for re-sentencing on one count.

Defendant would have us go further and remand for a new trial. In support of this position he cites Milanovich v. United States, 1961, 365 U.S. 551, 81 S.Ct. 728, 5 L.Ed.2d 773. In Milanovich

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Bluebook (online)
444 F.2d 240, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 9808, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jean-robert-mori-ca5-1971.