United States v. Nichelle K. Davis

981 F.2d 906, 1992 WL 367068
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 2, 1993
Docket92-3143
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 981 F.2d 906 (United States v. Nichelle K. Davis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Nichelle K. Davis, 981 F.2d 906, 1992 WL 367068 (6th Cir. 1993).

Opinions

GILMORE, Senior District Judge.

In this appeal, Defendant-Appellant contends the trial court erred in denying a Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal, that her conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence, and that the district court erred in its determination of Appellant’s base offense level for sentencing purposes. For the reasons stated herein, this Court affirms the judgment and sentence of the district court.

I

Appellant was charged in four counts of an eighty-one count indictment filed by the Grand Jury on June 8, 1989. Count 1 charged Davis and nine co-defendants with conspiracy to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and Count 8 charged Davis and one co-defendant with unlawful travel in interstate commerce on May 1, 1989, with intent to promote unlawful narcotics activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1952. Additionally, Davis was charged in Count 72 and Count 80 of the indictment, but judgments of acquittal under Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure were ordered by the district judge after the Appellant’s motion. Counts 1 and 8 were submitted to a jury, but the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any counts against Appellant. Consequently, the district court declared a mistrial, and denied Appellant’s motions for judgment of acquittal under Counts 1 and 8. The case was retried in August and September of 1990.

[908]*908At the second trial, Appellant was convicted of both Counts 1 and 8, Count 1 being conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, and Count 8 being unlawful travel to promote illegal narcotics activity.

On September 25, 1990, the Court denied Appellant’s motion for judgment of acquittal, and a lengthy sentencing proceeding started on February 5, 1991. After several adjournments and careful consideration of the proper sentence by the district judge, the district court determined that a base offense level of twelve (12) was applicable to the Appellant under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. A minor-role reduction was granted under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b). The district court determined that Appellant’s range of imprisonment was 6 to 12 months, and sentenced her to 10 months on each of Counts 1 and 8, to be served concurrently. In addition, Davis was sentenced to supervised release of five years on Count 1 and three years on Count 8, to be served concurrently with Count 1. A timely notice of appeal was filed.

II

First, Appellant contends there was insufficient evidence as a matter of law to support her conviction, and claims that the district court erred in denying her motion for judgment of acquittal. Second, she claims that, even if the the judgment of acquittal under Rule 29 was properly denied, the conviction was against the weight of the evidence and should be reversed.

Pursuant to Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, a judgment of acquittal must be granted if “there is no evidence upon which a reasonable mind might fairly conclude guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Fawaz, 881 F.2d 259, 261 (6th Cir.1989). In deciding a motion for judgment of acquittal, neither the district court nor the court of appeals may make independent determinations regarding the credibility of witnesses or the weight to be given such evidence. United States v. Levy, 904 F.2d 1026, 1032 (6th Cir.1990), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 111 S.Ct. 974, 112 L.Ed.2d 1060 (1991). Further, the Government must be given the benefit of all reasonable inferences drawn from the evidence, including circumstantial evidence. United States v. Adamo, 742 F.2d 927, 932 (6th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1193, 105 S.Ct. 971, 83 L.Ed.2d 975 (1985).

Thus, this Court must determine whether there was sufficient evidence presented to support the jury’s verdict on Counts 1 and 8. If there was sufficient evidence to support Appellant’s conviction, this Court must sustain the decision of the district court denying Appellant’s motion for judgment of acquittal.

Appellant asserts that there was insufficient evidence to establish her knowledge of illegal narcotics activity. Moreover, Appellant contends that the Government did not present sufficient evidence to show that she agreed to join the conspiracy. Accordingly, Appellant argues that no rational trier of fact could find the essential elements of conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt, even considering the evidence in a light most favorable to the Government.

Davis also asserts that her convictions are contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence because there was no evidence to support the Government’s allegations that on May 1, 1989: (1) Davis transported cocaine and money, for the conspiracy, from Columbus, Ohio to New York City in the secret compartment of a blue Oldsmobile, and (2) Davis knew or should have known of an unlawful reason for traveling from Columbus, Ohio to New York City.

In support of her contentions, Appellant relies heavily upon United States v. Bell, 954 F.2d 232 (4th Cir.1992). She claims that the fact pattern in Bell is nearly identical to the facts in the instant case because both the instant case and Bell involved vehicles with secret compartments, governmental allegations that the drivers were drug couriers, and appeals from the trial court’s denial of motions for judgment of acquittal. The Bell court concluded the Government had not presented sufficient evidence of the Defendant’s knowledge of [909]*909illegal activity, nor was there sufficient evidence presented to prove that Defendant conspired to engage in such activity. Accordingly, the Bell court reversed the conspiracy conviction.

To the contrary, the Government contends that the district court properly denied the motion for judgment of acquittal, and that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the convictions. In support of its response, the Government quotes from the district court’s memorandum of February 13, 1990, entered during the first trial and denying Appellant’s motion for judgment of acquittal. The district court stated:

Documents and testimony of [co-defendant] Bosley and the Defendant established that a blue Oldsmobile was purchased with money from [co-defendant] Fearon and was registered in Davis' name.

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

Related

Patton v. Nagy
E.D. Michigan, 2022
United States v. Terry Honeycutt
816 F.3d 362 (Sixth Circuit, 2016)
United States v. Storey
595 F. App'x 822 (Tenth Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Singleton
19 F. Supp. 3d 716 (E.D. Kentucky, 2014)
United States v. Danny Cathey
485 F. App'x 119 (Sixth Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Jaensch
665 F.3d 83 (Fourth Circuit, 2011)
United States v. Anderson
Sixth Circuit, 2008
United States v. Glass
189 F. App'x 788 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
United States v. Hayden
68 F. App'x 530 (Sixth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Gains
62 F. App'x 592 (Sixth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Cribbs
28 F. App'x 380 (Sixth Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Daniel
14 F. App'x 355 (Sixth Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Troy Anthony Ward
81 F.3d 162 (Sixth Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Lisa Marie Angel
77 F.3d 483 (Sixth Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Eric Taylor, A/K/A "Shug,"
66 F.3d 327 (Sixth Circuit, 1995)
United States v. Mark D. Clements
51 F.3d 273 (Sixth Circuit, 1995)
United States v. General Electric Co.
869 F. Supp. 1285 (S.D. Ohio, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
981 F.2d 906, 1992 WL 367068, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-nichelle-k-davis-ca6-1993.