United States v. Quang Van Nguyen

296 F. App'x 779
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedOctober 15, 2008
Docket07-11996
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 296 F. App'x 779 (United States v. Quang Van Nguyen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. Quang Van Nguyen, 296 F. App'x 779 (11th Cir. 2008).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Quang Van Nguyen appeals his conviction for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 846, and his 364-month sentence. On appeal, he first argues the evidence was insufficient to show any agreement to distribute methamphetamine. He argues that, at best, the evidence shows a series of buy-sell relationships, which show no objective beyond that immediately accomplished by the transaction. Further, he asserts the testimony of the investigating police officer was not supported by the witnesses who cooperated with the government in exchange for leniency. Nguyen argues that, to prove conspiracy, the government must prove more than a series of arms-length drug transactions.

We review de novo challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence in criminal trials, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government. United States v. Futrell, 209 F.3d 1286, 1288 (11th Cir.2000) (per curiam). To prove a conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. § 846, the evidence must show “(1) an agreement between the defendant and one or more persons, (2) the object of which is to do either an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means.” United States v. Toler, 144 F.3d 1423, 1426 (11th Cir.1998). Conspiracy is primarily a mental offense, so “it is frequently necessary to resort to circumstantial evidence to prove its elements.” Id. Agreement to conspire may be inferred from a continuing relationship that results in the repeated transfer of drugs to the purchaser. United States v. Mercer, 165 F.3d 1331, 1335 (11th Cir.1999) (per curiam). However, buyer-seller transactions in themselves do not support a conspiracy conviction. See United States v. Dekle, 165 F.3d 826, 829-30 (11th Cir.1999) (noting that “evidence that the parties understood their transactions to do no more *781 than support the buyer’s personal drug habit is antithetical to a finding of conspiracy”). “If the evidence shows only a buy-sell relationship, the fact that sales are repeated, without more, does not support an inference that the buyer and the seller have the same joint criminal objective to distribute drugs.” Id. at 830. Testimony by the defendant, if disbelieved by the jury, may be considered as substantive evidence of guilt. United States v. Williams, 390 F.3d 1319, 1325 (11th Cir. 2004). A jury is free to choose among reasonable constructions of the evidence. Id. at 1323.

The district court did not err by finding sufficient evidence to show Nguyen conspired to distribute methamphetamine because there was testimony from the investigating officer that Nguyen helped Cu Hunyh sell methamphetamine, and the jury could reasonably have considered Nguyen’s denials as evidence against him.

Nguyen also argues that the district court plainly erred by failing to instruct the jury that a buyer-seller relationship does not alone establish a conspiracy. Specifically, he claims the standard jury instructions on the elements of conspiracy fail to inform the jury that the buyer-seller relationship does not, by itself, establish the intent to agree required for a conspiracy. Nguyen argues that the district court’s use of the plural word “purposes” in the pattern jury instruction allowed the jury to find a conspiracy even if no potential member of the conspiracy agreed with any other as to the goal of the conspiracy. Further, he claims that the weakness of the government’s case required the district court to give a buyer-seller instruction.

Here, where the defendant asserts that the district court erred by not giving a jury instruction that the defendant did not request, review is for plain error. United States v. Beasley, 2 F.3d 1551, 1561 (11th Cir.1993). Plain error exists if there was “(1) error, (2) that is plain, and (3) affects substantial rights. If all three conditions are met, an appellate court may then exercise its discretion to notice a forfeited error, but only if (4) the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” United States v. Heath, 419 F.3d 1312, 1314 (11th Cir.2005) (per curiam) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

We find reversible error in the refusal to give a requested jury instruction only if “(1) the requested instruction correctly stated the law; (2) the actual charge to the jury did not substantially cover the proposed instruction; and (3) the failure to give the instruction substantially impaired the defendant’s ability to present an effective defense.” United States v. Palma, 511 F.3d 1311, 1315 (11th Cir.2008) (per curiam), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 215, 172 L.Ed.2d 161 (2008) (internal quotation marks omitted).

In a case involving the use of the same pattern instruction as used in Nguyen’s trial, we held the instruction “address[ed] the substance of the requested [buyer-seller] instruction.” United States v. Lively, 803 F.2d 1124, 1128-29 (11th Cir.1986). We explained that the instruction adequately addresses that the defendant must knowingly and willfully become a member of the conspiracy. Id. at 1129. We further explained that “a person who has no knowledge of a conspiracy, but who happens to act in a way which advances some purpose of one, does not thereby become a conspirator.” Id. Thus, the instruction “adequately and correctly covered” the requested buyer-seller instruction. Because the conspiracy instruction covered the substance of the buyer-seller instruction, we find no plain error.

*782 In addition, Nguyen argues that the distinct court plainly erred by using facts found by a judge and not by the jury in determining his sentence. Nguyen asserts the statutory maximum was the guideline range that would have been calculated without the use of those facts, and therefore, his Sixth Amendment rights have been violated.

When a defendant does not object to fact finding by the district court, review is for plain error. United States v. Cartwright, 413 F.3d 1295, 1300 (11th Cir.2005) (per curiam). When a defendant does not object to the facts in the pre-sentence investigation report, the defendant admits those facts. United States v. Williams,

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Related

Fields v. Ayers
128 S. Ct. 1875 (Supreme Court, 2008)
United States v. Mercer
165 F.3d 1331 (Eleventh Circuit, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
296 F. App'x 779, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-quang-van-nguyen-ca11-2008.