United States v. Sophia Jean-Baptiste

192 F. App'x 910
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 11, 2006
Docket05-12697
StatusUnpublished

This text of 192 F. App'x 910 (United States v. Sophia Jean-Baptiste) 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. Sophia Jean-Baptiste, 192 F. App'x 910 (11th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Co-defendants Marie and Sophia Jean-Baptiste were charged with: (1) conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Count 1); (2) attempt to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(l)(A)(ii), and 846 (Count 2); (3) conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce with the intent that murder be committed, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958 (Count 3); (4) conspiracy to use a firearm in a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1951(a), 1958 and 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Count 4); and (5) conspiracy to commit robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), (b)(1), (3) (Count 5). Marie appeals convictions on all five counts. Sophia appeals convictions on Counts 1 and 5.

I. Defendants’Entrapment Defense

Both defendants argue that the district court erroneously denied them judgments of acquittal, claiming that the government insufficiently rebutted their affirmative defense of entrapment. We review this preserved claim de novo, “viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, and drawing all reasonable inferences and credibility choices in favor of the jury’s verdict.” United States v. Rodriguez, 218 F.3d 1243, 1244 (11th Cir.2000).

Once the Jean-Baptistes produced some evidence of inducement, it was for the government to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they were predisposed to commit the offense. United States v. Ryan, 289 F.3d 1339, 1343 (11th Cir.2002). Predisposition is a “fact-intensive” and subjective inquiry, and a jury’s credibility assessments are critically important to gauging “the defendant’s readiness and willingness to engage in the charged crime absent any contact with the government’s ... agents.” United States v. Brown, 43 *913 F.3d 618, 624-25 (11th Cir.1995). Predisposition may be demonstrated by “the defendant’s ready commission of the charged crime [or] evidence that the defendant was given opportunities to back out of illegal transactions but failed to do so.” Id. at 625.

The evidence was clearly sufficient under these standards to convince a reasonable jury that the Jean-Baptistes were predisposed to commit the planned crimes prior to contact with the government’s confidential informant (Cl). The evidence showed that Marie gave the Cl instructions on the best way to murder their victim and gain access to hidden drugs, including specific direction on how to “persuade” a different victim to reveal the drugs’ location. There was also evidence that Sophia herself initiated contact with the Cl and expressed independent concern that a drug theft accompany the murder. On the basis of these facts, the jury was entitled to find predisposition beyond a reasonable doubt.

II. Outrageous Conduct by Government against Sophia Jean-Baptiste

[2] Citing her one-time romantic relationship with the Cl, Sophia argues that the government’s conduct in securing her conviction was outrageous as to violate due process under United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 431-32, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 1642-43, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973). We disagree. Looking to the totality of the circumstances, we do not find that the government’s use of the Cl in this case shocks the “universal sense of justice,” as required by our caselaw. United States v. Edenfield, 995 F.2d 197, 200-01. The many recorded conversations between the Cl and the Jean-Baptistes provided substantial evidence that Sophia was a willing participant in the planned crimes, quite apart from her prior intimate involvement with the Cl.

III. Sufficiency of the Evidence for Sophia Jean-Baptiste’s Conspiracy Conviction

Sophia claims that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that she knowingly and voluntarily joined the conspiracies. 1 She argues that the government failed to prove her knowledge of the essential nature of the conspiracy, including the specific purpose of the alleged robbery. On the basis of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), she further argues that the government was obligated but failed to show that she had specific knowledge of the five kilograms of cocaine to be stolen. These arguments fail for at least two reasons. First, the same evidence which refutes Sophia’s entrapment defense adequately demonstrates her willing and knowing participation in the charged conspiracies. Second, Sophia’s Apprendi argument is clearly foreclosed by the well settled rule that “in the context of federal drug cases, drug type and quantity do not have to be charged in the indictment or submitted to the jury for proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” except where a defendant’s sentence would exceed the prescribed statutory maximum. United *914 States v. Tinoco, 304 F.3d 1088, 1100 (11th Cir.2002).

IV. Federal Jurisdiction over § 1958 Charge

Marie Jean-Baptiste appeals her conviction for conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce — here, interstate telephone lines — with the intent to commit murder. She urges this Court to hold that purely intrastate use of an interstate facility does not support federal jurisdiction under § 1958(a), which states:

Whoever ... uses ... any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, with intent that a murder be committed in violation of the laws of any State or the United States as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for a promise or agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary value, or who conspires to do so shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both.

This provision was recently amended to address the courts’ difficulty in interpreting it, with Congress changing the phrase “any facility in interstate or foreign commerce” to “any facility

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Related

United States v. Rodriguez
218 F.3d 1243 (Eleventh Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Diaz
248 F.3d 1065 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Terrance Ryan
289 F.3d 1339 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Pedro Luis Christopher Tinoco
304 F.3d 1088 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Charles McGhee
313 F.3d 1278 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Russell
411 U.S. 423 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Apprendi v. New Jersey
530 U.S. 466 (Supreme Court, 2000)
United States v. Warren
772 F.2d 827 (Eleventh Circuit, 1985)
United States v. John M. Edenfield, James C. Edenfield
995 F.2d 197 (Eleventh Circuit, 1993)
United States v. Carl M. Drury, Jr., M.D., Doctor
396 F.3d 1303 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Keep Chicago Livable v. City of Chicago
913 F.3d 618 (Seventh Circuit, 2019)

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Bluebook (online)
192 F. App'x 910, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sophia-jean-baptiste-ca11-2006.