United States v. Valdez

15 F. App'x 530
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided August 1, 2001·No. No. 00-50308; D.C. No. CR 99-771-TJW·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM *

Eric Jason Valdez appeals his jury-trial conviction and 121-month sentence for seven counts of drug trafficking under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Valdez contends that the district court erred by: (1) failing to submit the issue of drug quantity to the jury; (2) failing to adequately instruct the jury on the issue of entrapment; (3) denying his motion for acquittal; and (4) denying his motion for a reduction based upon sentencing entrapment. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

I.

Valdez contends that the district court erred under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), by failing to instruct the jury that it must determine the drug quantity involved in each count. Because Valdez interposed no objection to the sentencing court’s determination of the amount of drugs, we review the issue under the plain error standard. United States v. Nordby, 225 F.3d 1053, 1059-60 (9th Cir.2000).

Valdez was sentenced to 121 months based on the amount of methamphetamine involved in the offense; his sentence was not affected by the additional amounts of cocaine or marijuana. The statutory maximum penalty for an unspecified amount of methamphetamine is twenty years. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C). Because Valdez received less than the twenty-year prescribed statutory maximum to which he was subject under the facts as found by the jury, his Apprendibased claim must fail. See United States v. Garcia-Guizar, 234 F.3d 483, 489 (9th Cir.2000), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 121 S.Ct. 1629, 149 L.Ed.2d 490 (2001); United States v. Garcia-Sanchez, 238 F.3d 1200 (2001).

To the extent Valdez separately argues that Apprendi prohibits the increase of the prescribed minimum statutory penalty to which a defendant is exposed, his contention is foreclosed by our decision in United States v. Garcia-Sanchez, 238 F.3d 1200, 1201 (9th Cir.2001) (rejecting Apprendibased challenge to 121 month sentence and explaining that “Apprendi dealt with the consideration of facts in sentencing enhancement beyond the statutory maximum. In the instant case, the sentence imposed was nine years and eleven months below the statutory maximum”), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 121 S.Ct. 1629, 149 L.Ed.2d 490 (2001).

II.

Valdez next contends that the trial court committed plain error when it failed to include the question of quantity in its entrapment instructions to the jury. Because Valdez failed to object to the court’s entrapment instructions, we review the issue under the plain error standard. See United States v. Baron, 94 F.3d 1312, 1316 (9th Cir.1996).

Valdez’s specific argument is that under Apprendi and its progeny, the jury must now also determine the type and quantity of drugs that the defendant was predisposed to deliver or possess. This court has not addressed the issue of sentencing entrapment in light of Apprendi. However, even assuming that sentencing entrapment is an issue that should be sub[533] mitted to the jury, Valdez cannot establish plain error.

Under the instructions given by the trial court, the jury did find that Valdez was not entrapped with regard to each type of drug. The general entrapment instructions combined with the court’s directive that the jury must find the defendant was not entrapped with regard to each count point to such a conclusion. See United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 740, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993) (explaining that it is presumed that jurors follow the instructions given to them). Moreover, the verdict forms indicating guilt for each count specifically list the controlled substance in question. Although Valdez may have preferred a pinpoint instruction stating that evidence indicating a predisposition to deliver marijuana does not establish predisposition to engage in transactions involving cocaine or methamphetamine, the jury was not prevented from coming to such a conclusion under the instructions given by the trial court. Furthermore, there is no law suggesting that such a cross-typing argument—even in the context of sentencing entrapment—is a viable one.1

Nor can Valdez establish plain error with regard to the jury’s failure to make findings regarding the specific quantity of drugs he was predisposed to either deliver or possess. Throughout the entire course of proceedings Valdez never contested the quantity of drugs he was predisposed to deliver, but instead argued that he was entitled to a reduction in sentence because the evidence showed only a predisposition to deliver marijuana, not cocaine or methamphetamine. See Nordby, 225 F.3d at 1061 & n. 6 (concluding that plain Apprendi error was established where defendant vigorously contested quantity of drugs throughout sentencing proceedings and raised evidence “sufficient to support a contrary finding”).

III.

Valdez contends that the evidence presented at trial established entrapment as a matter of law. We review de novo an entrapment claim, when asserted as a matter of law. See United States v. Tucker, 133 F.3d 1208, 1214 (9th Cir.1998).

When an entrapment defense is submitted to and rejected by the jury, we will reverse the jury’s determination if, “viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, no reasonable jury could have concluded that the government had disproved either of the elements of the entrapment defense.” See United States v. Poehlman, 217 F.3d 692, 698 (9th Cir.2000). “It is inappropriate for an appellate court to determine whether a defendant was entrapped when such a determination would necessarily entail choosing between conflicting witnesses and judging credibility.” See Tucker, 133 F.3d at 1217 (internal quotations omitted).

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

United States v. Valdez, 15 F. App'x 530 (9th Cir. 2001).

15 F. App'x 530 (United States v. Valdez) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Anderson v. City of Bessemer City
470 U.S. 564 (Supreme Court, 1985)
United States v. Olano
507 U.S. 725 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Apprendi v. New Jersey
530 U.S. 466 (Supreme Court, 2000)
United States v. Jose Luis Ramirez-Ramirez
875 F.2d 772 (Ninth Circuit, 1989)
United States v. Walter R. Tucker, III
133 F.3d 1208 (Ninth Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Mark Douglas Poehlman
217 F.3d 692 (Ninth Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Kayle Nordby
225 F.3d 1053 (Ninth Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Conrado Garcia-Guizar
234 F.3d 483 (Ninth Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Rutilio Garcia-Sanchez
238 F.3d 1200 (Ninth Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Robinson
94 F.3d 1325 (Ninth Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Lopez
106 F.3d 309 (Ninth Circuit, 1997)