U.S. v. Ojebode ( 1992 )

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 91-2091
United States of America,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
VERSUS
Folonsho Samuel Ojebode,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
For the Southern District of Texas
(March 30, 1992)
Before REAVLEY, HIGGINBOTHAM, and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.
DEMOSS, Circuit Judge:
I.
Folonsho Samuel Ojebode, a Nigerian citizen legally residing
in the United States, was indicted for:
Count One: Conspiracy to import in excess of 100 grams of
heroin from Nigeria into the United States in
violation of 21 U.S.C. § 952(a), 960(b)(2)(A), and
963;
Count Two: Importation in excess of 100 grams of heroin, in
violation of 21 U.S.C. § 952(a) and 960(b)(2)(A);
Count Three: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in
excess of 100 grams of heroin, in violation of 21
U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B) and 846;
Count Four: Possession with intent to distribute in excess of
100 grams of heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §
841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B); and
Count Five: Possession of in excess of 100 grams of heroin
aboard an aircraft entering the United States, in
violation of 21 U.S.C. § 955 and 960(b)(2)(A).
The case was tried to a jury. Ojebode called no witnesses.
He moved for acquittal at the close of the government's case-in-
chief and the motion was denied. The jury convicted him on all
counts.
Ojebode was sentenced to serve concurrent sixty-three month
terms in the custody of the Attorney General to be followed by five
years supervised release. On appeal Ojebode raises four grounds
for relief as follows:
1. The trial court abused its discretion in
refusing Ojebode's request for a subpoena
duces tecum.
2. The evidence was insufficient to support
Ojebode's conviction for conspiracy to import,
importation, conspiracy to possess, and
possession with intent to distribute.
3. The trial court erred when it instructed the
jury on scienter required for conviction for
conspiracy to import heroin.
4. The trial court erred when it charged the jury
on deliberate ignorance.
We AFFIRM in part and REVERSE and REMAND in part.
I.
On July 22, 1990, Folonsho Samuel Ojebode, a Nigerian national
but resident alien of the United States, was a passenger on a
Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt, West Germany to Mexico City, with
a scheduled stop in Houston, Texas. When the plane landed in
2
Houston, Ojebode and the other in-transit passengers were ordered
off the plane while the crew cleaned the cabin. The passengers
were directed to a transit lounge where they were to wait under the
supervision of airline representatives until they could reboard the
plane and continue their flight to Mexico City.
The corridor from the plane to the transit lounge was a
"sterile" area with limited access only to passengers arriving from
foreign ports. United States Customs Inspectors Clifford Shaefer
and Frederick Waters were assigned to the corridor and had
stationed themselves at the threshold of the transit lounge in the
international corridor. Their duties included the interdiction of
contraband and the detection of Customs law violations.
When the flight arrived, the inspectors interviewed various
passengers going into the transit lounge. These interviews
involved stopping the passengers and inspecting their tickets and
passports. Inspector Shaefer observed Mr. Ojebode, the only black
person on the Lufthansa flight, walking toward the transit lounge.
Shaefer noticed Ojebode because he was carrying an unusually large
carry-on bag for a transit passenger. When Ojebode approached,
Inspector Shaefer asked to see his passport and ticket. Ojebode
showed the inspector a Nigerian passport. Ojebode stated that he
had left his airline ticket on the plane. Noting that it was
unusual for an intransit passenger to be without a ticket, Shaefer
directed Ojebode to Inspector Waters for an interview. Inspector
Shaefer continued to screen passengers leaving the Lufthansa
flight. In response to questioning, Ojebode stated that he had
3
arrived from Frankfurt where he had been visiting a sick brother
and that he had travelled to Frankfurt on a round-trip ticket which
he had thrown away. Waters asked Ojebode if he had been anywhere
else, and Ojebode told him he had not. Waters inspected Ojebode's
passport and noted that he had visited Nigeria and the Ivory Coast
in October-November 1989. Waters also noticed that there was no
entry stamp on Ojebode's passport to indicate that he had legally
travelled to West Germany. When questioned further about his trip,
Ojebode stated that he had stayed in the Frankfurt Airport for two
days and was denied entry into Germany because he had no visa.
According to Ojebode, another brother flew to Germany from Nigeria
and gave him a ticket for Mexico. Ojebode explained that he was
going to Mexico to meet his wife for a vacation. Inspector Waters
became suspicious by Ojebode's responses. Waters and Shaefer
escorted Ojebode to a jetway where Shaefer conducted a pat-down
search of Ojebode. During the search, Inspector Shaefer noticed
that Ojebode's heart beat rapidly and that his stomach seemed
unusually hard and protruding. The inspectors also examined
Ojebode's carry-on zipper bag and discovered a computer-generated
flight itinerary and a temporary entry permit for Mexico. The
itinerary did not indicate any stopover in Houston, but it did show
that Ojebode had travelled from Lagos, Nigeria to Frankfurt and
that he was on his way from Frankfurt to Mexico City. Ojebode's
identification in his wallet indicated that he was a Houston-area
resident. Ojebode had given no indication to the inspectors that he
lived in Houston, Texas. The Customs inspectors thought it unusual
4
for someone living in Houston to be flying directly to Mexico and
bypassing his own city. The inspectors observed that Ojebode had
very little clothing in his bag and he told them that he had no
other luggage. Ojebode was dressed in a loose-fitting shirt and
short pants.
After the search, the inspectors removed Ojebode from his
flight for further investigation. They informed him that they
suspected that he was an internal body carrier of illegal
narcotics, and they requested that he consent to be X-rayed at a
local hospital. Ojebode refused to sign the consent form for such
an X-ray, although he had initially consented to being X-rayed.
The inspector transported Ojebode to a local hospital where he was
detained pending a monitored bowel movement. At the hospital,
Ojebode acceded to the inspector's requests that he sign a consent
form to be X-rayed. The X-ray revealed numerous, unusually-shaped
objects inside Ojebode's intestine. Ojebode was then admitted to
the hospital to permit monitored excretion of these foreign
objects. Eventually, he excreted 45 pellets containing 299.6 grams
of heroin.
Later, United States Customs Agent Sarah Scott and DEA Agent
Floyd Stanley came to the hospital to interrogate Ojebode. Ojebode
told the agents substantially the following:
In December 1989, he had travelled to Nigeria to attend
a brother's funeral and was introduced to a man named
Chuck who offered him money to smuggle heroin. After he
expressed interest through a third party, Chuck wrote him
a letter in which Chuck instructed him to obtain a visa
from the Mexican consulate, so that he could return with
the heroin from Lagos to Mexico City. Chuck further
5
instructed him to meet Chuck in Lagos to discuss the
details of the smuggling operation.
He purchased a plane ticket from Houston to Lagos to meet
Chuck. In Lagos, Chuck told him to deliver the heroine
to a man named Santos in Mexico City. Chuck's brother
furnished the heroin and the airline ticket to Mexico
City to him.
II.
A. DEFENDANT'S REQUEST FOR A SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM.
Ojebode first claims on appeal that the district court abused
its discretion in denying his request for a subpoena duces tecum
under Fed. R. Crim. P. 17 (b).
Prior to trial Ojebode moved the court, for issuance of a
subpoena duces tecum at the government's expense, requesting the
Regional Commissioner of the United States Customs Service,
Southern District of Texas to produce certain documents. The Court
denied the request without stating any grounds to support its
action.
Fed. R. Crim. P. Rule 17 (b) provides:
The Court shall order at any time that a
subpoena be issued for service on a named
witness upon an ex parte application of a
defendant upon satisfactorily showing that the
defendant is financially unable to pay the
fees of the witness and that the presence of
the witness is necessary to an adequate
defense.
Fed. R. Crim. P. Rule 17 (c) provides that "[a] subpoena may
also command the person to whom it is directed to produce the
books, papers, documents or other objects designated therein."
6
This Court has generally given district courts wide discretion
in determining whether a subpoena should issue under Fed. R. Crim.
P. 17(b). United States v. Samples, 897 F.2d 193 (5th Cir. 1990).
Rule 17(b), Fed. R. Crim. P., governs an indigent's right
to have witnesses subpoenaed at government expense. Of
course, the issue is not entirely procedural; it
implicates both the sixth amendment right to compulsory
process and the Fifth Amendment protection against
unreasonable discrimination based upon the ability to
pay. We have long held, however, that, within the limits
imposed by the Constitution, "[t]he decision to grant or
deny a Rule 17(b) motion is vested in the sound
discretion of the trial court." As a threshold matter,
an indigent seeking a Rule 17(b) subpoena must allege
facts that, if true, demonstrate "the necessity of the
requested witness' testimony." The trial court may then
exercise its discretion to deny the subpoenas if the
Government demonstrates that the indigent's averments are
untrue, or if the requested testimony would be merely
cumulative or irrelevant. United States v. Webster, 750
F.2d 307, 329-30 (5th Cir. 1984) (citations omitted).
United States v. Ramirez, 765 F.2d 438, 441 (5th Cir.
1985), cert. denied sub. nom. Perpignand v. United
States, 474 U.S. 1063, 106 S. Ct. 812 (1986).
Ojebode contends that he was the only black on the airplane
and the only passenger who was stopped. The subpoenaed records, he
claims, would produce information that the government targets
Nigerians that come through the airport and stops them solely
because they are Nigerian. Ojebode indicated in his request that
he would use the information to demonstrate that his detention by
the Customs' inspectors was motivated by his race and nationality
and was therefore "non-routine". Such a detention, he argues, is
illegal under the Fourth Amendment unless supported by reasonable
suspicion. United States v. Montoya de Hernandez, 473 U.S. 531,
541, 105 S. Ct. 3304, 3310, 87 L. Ed. 2d 381 (1985).
7
We do not agree. Ojebode's contention that a border search is
not routine if motivated by ethnicity of a person searched is
groundless. He offers no evidence to support his contention. "
Border searches are considered to be reasonable by the single fact
that the person or item in question enters into our country from
outside. There has never been any additional requirement that the
reasonableness of a border search depended on the existence of
probable cause". United States v. Ramsey, 431 U.S. 606, 619, 97 S.
Ct. 1972, 1980, 52 L. Ed. 2d 617 (1977). And even if such stops
are made largely on the basis of ethnicity, there is no
constitutional violation. United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428
U.S. 543, 563 (1976), 96 S. Ct. 3074, 3085 49 L. Ed. 2d 1116.
B. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT CONVICTIONS
Ojebode next challenges the sufficiency of the evidence
supporting his convictions for conspiracy to import, importation,
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with
intent to distribute heroin.
In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence,
this court "must examine the evidence and all reasonable inferences
that may be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the jury
verdict." United States v. Lechuga, 888 F.2d 1472, 1476 (5th Cir.
1989).
The evidence of a drug conspiracy must demonstrate the
existence of an agreement to import or to possess with intent to
distribute; knowledge of the agreement and voluntary participation
in the agreement. United States v. Lewis, 902 F.2d 1176, 1180-1181
8
(5th Cir. 1990). The government must prove at least the same
degree of criminal intent necessary for the underlying substantive
offense. United States v. Osgood, 794 F.2d 1087, 1094 (5th Cir.
1986). In order to convict a defendant of possession of a
contraband with intent to distribute under 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a) (1),
the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant's
possession of the illegal substance, knowledge, and intent to
distribute. United States v. Freeze, 707 F.2d 132, 135 (5th Cir.
1983). The same elements, along with proof that the defendant
played a role in bringing the controlled substance from a foreign
country into the United States, will prove importation. United
States v. Diaz-Carreon, 915 F.2d 951 953 (5th Cir. 1990). The
necessary knowledge and intent can be proved by circumstantial
evidence. United States v. Mitchell, 876 F.2d 1178, 1181 (5th Cir.
1989). Additionally, "intent to distribute a controlled substance
may generally be inferred solely from the possession of a large
amount of the substance." United States v. Prieto-Tejas, 779 F.2d
1098, 1101 (5th Cir. 1986).
1. Importation and Conspiracy to Import
Ojebode contends that the government failed to prove that he
had the specific intent to bring the heroin into the United States.
(that he knowingly imported heroin specifically into the United
States). Even though the Lufthansa Flight made a regularly
scheduled stop in Houston, enroute to Mexico City, he claims, no
evidence was presented at trial to show that he knew of this stop.
The plane ticket to Mexico City, he contends, was purchased for him
9
in Nigeria and the stop-over did not appear on either his ticket or
his itinerary. Therefore, the evidence could not support a jury's
finding that he knowingly imported heroin into the United States.
In the alternative, Ojebode argues that in order to convict
for conspiracy to import, the government must prove not just that
he knowingly entered the United States with heroin but also that
the conspiracy to import was directed at the United States and that
the United States was the ultimate intended destination of the
heroin. He contends that the conspiracy could not have been
directed at the United States in this case because he and his co-
conspirators intended for the heroin to go to Mexico.
Defendant cites United States v. Conroy, 589 F.2d 1258, 1270-
71 (5th Cir. 1979) cert. denied 444 U.S. 831 (1979), the law in
this circuit, to support his contention that a conspiracy to import
a controlled substance into the United States requires proof that
the defendant knew the controlled substance "was destined for the
United States."
The only evidence in this case that Ojebode intended to import
heroin into the United States is the fact that he was a passenger
on a plane that had a scheduled stop in Houston, Texas. There is
no evidence that he knew that the plane would land in Houston.
Therefore, the only connection between Ojebode and United States
territory is the fact that he had to leave the plane when it landed
in Houston so that it could be cleaned by the airline crew.
The Fifth Circuit has not previously determined whether the
jury can infer knowledge by a drug carrier that a drug will enter
10
the United States by the mere fact that the carrier is present on
a flight scheduled to stop in the United States.
The First Circuit, however, has addressed the issue in United
States v. Franchi-Forlando, 838 F.2d 585, 587 (1st Cir. 1988), a
case concerning facts very similar to the facts in this case, and
found that the evidence was ample to show that the defendant knew
the controlled substance was destined for the United States. The
defendant, an Italian citizen living in Colombia, was on a flight
from Colombia to Spain when his airplane made a scheduled stop in
Puerto Rico. While waiting in the "in-transit" lounge at the
airport, a United States Customs Service officer boarded the
aircraft and inspected the luggage. The officer found cocaine in
defendant's suitcase. The defendant was convicted of importing
cocaine into the United States; possessing cocaine with intent to
distribute it, and unlawfully possessing cocaine on an aircraft
arriving in the United States. Aside from the flight schedule of
the accused's plane, there was no evidence that the defendant
intended to enter the United States.
On appeal, the defendant argued that the evidence did not
support the inference that he intended to import cocaine into the
United States because the government failed to prove that he knew
that his plane would stop in the United States. The First Circuit
affirmed the conviction and held that the evidence was sufficient
to show the defendant had specific intent to enter the United
States with drugs. It reasoned: "[R]egardless, we believe that
the jury could conclude from the facts that the trip was long, the
11
stops were few, and the stop was scheduled that appellant knew he
would land in the United States." Franchi-Forlano, 838 F.2d at
587. See also, United States v. Londona-Villa, 930 F.2d 994, 1000
(2nd Cir. 1991). ("[W]hen a person carrying drugs voluntarily
traveled on a plane that was scheduled to stop in the United
States, we see no reason why a jury may not infer that he or she
knowingly or intentionally entered the United States with drugs").
In this case the jury could have inferred knowledge by Ojebode
that the drug he was carrying would enter the United States because
he chose to be present on a flight that was scheduled to stop in
the United States. It is reasonable that the jury could conclude
from the facts of Ojebode's flight that the trip from Frankfurt to
Mexico was long, the stops were few, and that a stop was scheduled
in Houston, Texas, the defendant's place of residence, that he knew
he would land in the United States. Franchi-Forlando, 838 F.2d 585
at 587.
Ojebode cites no authority for his argument that he must
intend the United States to be the final destination of the heroin
in order to commit an importation offense.
While the evidence in this case that Ojebode intended and
conspired to import drugs into the United States is, at most,
minimal, in view of the First Circuit's holding, this evidence
appears to be adequate to support Ojebode's conviction for
importation and conspiracy to import. Furthermore, we believe such
a finding is consistent with Congress' interest in the detection,
prosecution and punishment of such drug offenses. Albernaz v.
12
United States, 450 U.S. 333, 343, 101 S. Ct. 1137, 1144 67 L. Ed.
2nd 275 (1981). The United States has a valid "federal interest"
in prohibiting importation of drugs into our country where a drug
carrier actually enters this country with drugs. (Compare with
Conroy supra where this court found there is "no federal interest"
in prohibiting importation into another country by a drug carrier
who is discovered with drugs outside United States' territory.)
The fact that the carrier does not intend the United States to be
the final destination is not important. The reasoning behind this
holding is that the United States be free from drug trafficking and
the crime and violence that accompany it. Id.
This court finds that the evidence in this case is sufficient
to support defendant's conviction for Conspiracy to Import and to
Import heroin.
2. Possession and Conspiracy with Intent to Distribute
Ojebode also contends that he cannot be convicted of
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute under 21 U.S.C. §
846 unless the government proves the existence of an agreement to
commit such underlying offenses and that each conspirator knew of,
intended to join, and participated in the conspiracy. United
States v. Basey, 816 F.2d 980, 1002 (5th Cir. 1987). Further, he
claims, to sustain a conviction under 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a) (1) for
possession of heroin with intent to distribute it, the government
must show knowing, possession of heroin, with intent to distribute
it, United States v. Palella, 846 F.2d 977, 982 (5th Cir 1988),
cert denied, 488 U.S. 863, 109 S. Ct. 162, 102 L. Ed. 2d 133. The
13
intent required by § 841(a)(1), he claims, must be an intent to
distribute narcotics within the United States. Id., United States
v. Pentapati, 484 F.2d 450, 451 (5th Cir. 1973). There must be, he
claims, some nexus between the United States' territory and the
defendant's acts or intentions in order to convict him of
possession with intent to distribute. Id.
Ojebode argues that he cannot be convicted under the facts of
this case, therefore, because the evidence was that he was
travelling to Mexico City and had no intent to distribute the
heroin he possessed in the United States. He argues that when he
landed at Houston Intercontinental Airport he had no contact with
the general public because he was required to remain in the
"sterile" area of the lounge until the plane was ready for
reboarding. Thus, it would have been impossible for him to have
distributed the contraband in the United States because he was
carrying it inside his body. Accordingly, the evidence does not
support the intent to distribute the heroin.
This circuit has not yet resolved the issue of whether a
conviction under 21 U.S.C. 841 (a) requires proof of an intent to
distribute the illegal drug inside the United States. The question
was left open in United States v. Sindin, 620 F.2d 87, 90 (5th Cir.
1980) and United States v. Pentapali, 484 F.2d 400. However, the
First, Second, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits have each addressed the
issue and have held that mere possession of the drug in the United
States is sufficient to supply the territorial nexus with the
United States regardless of where distribution may have been
14
intended. United States v. McKenzie, 818 F.2d 115 (1st Cir. 1987);
United States v. Muensch, 694 F.2d 28, 33-34 (2nd Cir. 1982) cert
denied, sub. nom. Lewis v. United States, 461 U.S. 908, 1038 S. Ct.
1881, 75 L. Ed. 2d 811; United States v. Gomez-Tostado, 597 F.2d
170 (9th Cir. 1979); United States v. Montoya, 782 F.2d 1554 (11th
Cir. 1986).
This position, we believe, is consistent with Congress's
interest in prohibiting possession of drugs in the United States
with intent to distribute outside the United States. Drug
transport and drug couriers may be accompanied by crime and
violence, even if the drug ends up abroad. The United States also
has treaty obligations to prevent drug trafficking into other
countries. Allowing United States airports to become drug conduits
and trading centers for distribution throughout the world is not
consistent with those obligations. United States v. Muensch, 694
F.2d 28.
Further, there is nothing in the legislative history to
indicate that Congress intended to limit the application of § 841
(a) (1) to only those persons who possess drugs with intent to
distribute within the United States, nor does the plain language of
the statute distinguish between an intent to distribute in this
country and an intent to distribute elsewhere. Therefore, we find
that the government was not required to establish that Ojebode
intended to distribute the heroin in the United States but only
that he intended to distribute.
15
The quantity of heroin that Ojebode possessed supported the
inference that the substance was not for his personal consumption;
and, since Ojebode admitted that he intended to turn the heroin
over to his contact in Mexico, the evidence supported a finding
that he possessed the heroin with intent to distribute.
Ojebode's position is not supported by authority. We find
that the evidence was more than sufficient to support the jury's
verdict.
C. SCIENTER CHARGE FOR IMPORTATION OF HEROIN.
Ojebode further contends that the district court erred when it
improperly failed to instruct the jury on the specific intent
necessary to sustain his convictions for conspiracy to import
heroin and for importation of heroin.
Defendant argues that the charge failed to include an
essential element of the offense, that is, that he intended or knew
that the heroin he possessed was to be imported into the United
States. Further, he complains, the error was compounded by the
prosecutor's closing argument over defendant's objection that:
"You must only import or intend to import a substance and be in the
customs territory of the United States, and you're guilty."
Title 21, U.S.C. § 952 (a) and 960 (a) (1) provides in
pertinent part that:
[I]t shall be unlawful for any person knowingly
or intentionally . . . to . . . import into the
customs territory of the United States from any
place outside thereof any controlled substance
in Schedule I.
16
According to Ojebode, Ojebode and the government initially
agreed to the following instruction:
I instruct you that the government need not prove
that the defendant intended or attempted to bring
the contraband through Customs, but only that the
defendant intended to bring the contraband into any
territory of the United States.
The prosecutor, however, changed the instructions when he had
them typed for court. The jury instruction Nos. 21 and 22 then
read:
I instruct you that the government need not prove
that the defendant intended or attempted to bring
the heroin through customs, but only that the
defendant brought the heroin into any territory of
the United States.
Ojebode objected to the instructions because it did not
require the jury to find that he "intended to bring the heroin into
any territory of the United States." The court overruled the
objection.
Ojebode was relying upon the law in this circuit, United
States v. Conroy, 589 F.2d 1258, when he agreed on the original
charge with the prosecutor. This court held in Conroy that a
conviction for importation of a controlled substance requires proof
that the defendant knew that the drug would enter United States
territory.
The Government on the other hand cited United States v.
Muench, 694 F.2d 28 at 32 as its authority when it changed the
agreed-upon instruction to the final version of the charge that the
Court read to the jury.
17
The defendants in Muench complained of their conviction of
possession of narcotics with intent to distribute because they were
on an international flight and did not go through Customs. The
court there held upon defendant's appeal:
[A]s we accept the appellant's implicit assumption that
cases decided under §952 (a) are to some degree
instructive in prosecutions under §841 (a) (1), we must
also take note of cases such as United States v.Catano,
553 U.S. 865, 98 S. Ct. 199 (1977), and Palermo v.United
States, 112 F.2d 922, 924 (1st Cir. 1942). These cases
held that the crime of importation is complete when
contraband is brought into the United States territory,
regardless of whether an attempt is made to bring the
contraband through customs.
Muench, 694 F.2d at 32. (emphasis added)
The government claims that in view of the holding in Muench,
the charge was sufficient. Conceding that there is a mens rea
requirement for the act of importation. United States v. Diaz-
Carreon, 915 F.2d 951, 953 (5th Cir. 1990); United States v. Lara-
Velasquez, 919 F.2d 946, 950 (5th Cir. 1990), the government
argues, however, that the required mens rea extends only to the act
of importation and does not extend to the jurisdictional
requirement that the importation take place into the United States.
The court, it contends, does not have to reach the issue of whether
the statute requires knowledge or intent that the area entered into
was, in fact, the United States. United States v. Londono-Villa,
930 F.2d 994.
This argument has no merit. It is true that courts are given
wide latitude in framing jury instructions, United States v.
Kimmel, 777 F.2d 290, 293 (5th Cir. 1985) cert. denied, 476 U.S.
1104, 106 S. Ct. 1947, 90 L. Ed. 2d 357 (1986). However it is
18
reversible error if the court refuses to submit an instruction
that:
(1) is substantially correct; (2) was not substantially
covered in the charge actually delivered to the jury; and
(3) concerns an important point in the trial so that the
failure to give it seriously impaired the defendant's
ability to present a given defense.
United States v. Chambers, 922 F.2d 228, 241 (5th Cir. 1991),
quoting United States v. Mollier, 853 F.2d 1169, 1174 (5th Cir
1988).
"[A] jury's verdict cannot stand if the instructions provided
the jury do not require it to find each element of the crime under
the proper standard of proof". Cabana v. Bullock, 474 U.S. 376,
384, 106 S. Ct. 689, 696 88 L. Ed. 2d 704 (1986). See United
States v. Musgrave, 444 F.2d 755, 764 (5th Cir. 1971).
Conviction for importation of a controlled substance requires
proof that the defendant knew that the drug would enter United
States territory. Conroy supra. The holding in Muench does not
negate that requirement. The court simply found there that the
government need not prove that the defendant attempted to pass
through the Customs with the drugs but only that he was present
with contraband on United States soil.
The trial court approved a jury charge in Ojebode that failed
to comply with the Fifth Circuit Pattern Instructions for the
offense of importation and one that delivered an incorrect
statement of the law. The court omitted to charge the jury on an
essential element of the crime of importation, that of specific
intent, therefore misleading the jury about the elements of an
19
importation offense. Thus, the jury was allowed to find that
Ojebode did not intend or know that the heroin he possessed was to
be imported into the United States.
The government also argues that the jury charge, when read as
a whole and in context, sufficiently charged the jury with regard
to the necessary mens rea for the offense and was a correct
statement of the law.
The jury, the government contends, was instructed by the court
that the statutory scheme makes it "unlawful for any person to
knowingly or intentionally import into the customs territory of the
United States from any place outside thereof any controlled
substance in Schedule I". The term "import" was defined as "with
respect to any article, any bringing in or introduction of such
article into any area". Further, the court instructed the jury
that, to find the defendant guilty, they had to find that the
defendant brought a controlled substance into the United States and
that he knew the substance he was bringing into the United States
was a controlled substance.
The additional instruction with regard to the jurisdictional
element, it contends, did not negate its burden but instead, when
read in context, was a correct statement of the law that the
importation need only take place in the United States and that
there was no requirement on the government to prove that the
defendant took the drugs through Customs.
This argument also fails. It is true that this court reviews
claimed deficiencies in a jury charge "by looking to the entire
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charge as well as the arguments made to the jury." United States
v. Chagra, 807 F.2d 398, 402 (5th Cir. 1986).
However, nowhere in the jury instructions is found the proper
scienter requirement for an importation offense. Rather, the
instructions include only the words of the statute (21 U.S.C. §§
952 (a), 960 (a)) and the definition of "willfully."
The recitation of only statutory language is not an adequate
charge to the jury. The danger is that the language of the
importation statute can be construed to allow conviction without
proof of specific intent to import into the United States, an
element of the offense. Given that Ojebode's only defense was that
he did not intend to enter the United States and given that the
evidence was extremely close on precisely this issue, we find that
the district court committed reversible error in its instructions
on the importation charge on this issue.
D. DELIBERATE IGNORANCE JURY CHARGE
Finally Ojebode claims that the district court improperly
instructed the jury on "deliberate ignorance" as to the conspiracy
to import charge and its companion count, importation. The
instruction, he contends was not supported by the evidence.
In its charge, the district court instructed the jury, over
Ojebode's objection, as follows:
You may find that a defendant had knowledge of a fact if
you find that the defendant deliberately closed his eyes
to what would otherwise have been obvious to him. While
knowledge on the part of the defendant cannot be
established merely by demonstrating that the defendant
was negligent, careless, or foolish, knowledge can be
inferred if the defendant deliberately blinded himself to
the existence of a fact.
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The standard of review of a defendant's claim that a jury
instruction was error is "whether the court's charge, as a whole,
is a correct statement of the law and whether it clearly instructs
jurors as to the principles of law applicable to the factual issues
confronting them." United States v. Stacey, 896 F.2d 75, 77 (5th
Cir. 1990) (quoting United States v. August, 835 F.2d 76, 77 (5th
Cir. 1987). (emphasis added). The Court "may not instruct the jury
on a charge that is not supported by the evidence. United States
v. Ortega 859 F.2d 327, 330 (5th Cir. 1988)
In the instant case, the district court instructed the jury
that it could infer guilty knowledge "if the defendant blinded
himself to the existence of a fact." It based its instruction upon
the government's argument that Ojebode deliberately avoided
learning the details of his flight, including the fact that it was
going to stop in Houston.
Finding that the facts of this case do not support the
issuance of a deliberate ignorance instruction, we find that the
district court erred.
Deliberate ignorance "denotes a conscious effort to avoid
positive knowledge of a fact which is an element of an offense
charged". United States v. Restrepo-Granda, 575 F.2d 524, 528 998
S. Ct. 331, 58 L. Ed. 2d 332 (5th Cir. 1978), cert. denied 439 U.S.
935, 99 S. Ct. 331, 58 L. Ed. 2d 332 (1978). The evidence will
support a finding of deliberate ignorance only if there is
"conscious action by the defendant--the defendant consciously
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attempted to escape confirmation of conditions or events he
strongly suspected to exist." Lara-Velasquez, 919 F.2d at 951.
A deliberate ignorance instruction allows the jury to convict
without finding that the defendant was aware of the existence of
illegal conduct. It therefore creates a risk that the jury might
convict on a lesser negligence standard. The jury, for example,
might find deliberate ignorance merely because it believed the
defendant should have been aware of the illegal conduct. United
States v. Alvarado , 838 F.2d 311, 314 (9th Cir. 1987), cert.
denied, 487 U.S. 1222, 108 S. Ct. 2880, 101 L. Ed. 2d 915 (1988).
Therefore the instruction should rarely be given. Id.
This court has framed a two part test which must be met before
a deliberate ignorance instruction can properly be given. The
evidence must show that: (1) the defendant was subjectively aware
of a high probability of the existence of the illegal conduct; and
(2) the defendant purposely contrived to avoid learning of the
illegal conduct. United States v. Farfan-Carreon, 935 F.2d 678,
680 (5th Cir. 1991).
The government argues that both prongs of the test have been
met. The evidence, it contends, supported the inference that
Ojebode was subjectively aware of the high probability that the
airplane he was on would stop in the United States. The government
relies on Ojebode's statements to Customs Agent Scott that he did
not know the last name, telephone number, or address of "Chuck",
the co-conspirator, and that he was ignorant of some of the
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circumstances of his travel, such as why his passport was not
stamped in Lagos.
The Court however does not agree that this evidence supports
the fact that Ojebode purposely contrived to avoid learning of his
illegal conduct. The government presented evidence that Ojebode
travelled on a flight scheduled to land in Houston. The government
does not suggest that Ojebode tried to avoid learning of the
flight's scheduled landing in Houston. No where do we find that
Ojebode deliberately 'shut his eyes' to avoid knowing what would
otherwise be obvious to view. Restrepo-Granda 575 F.2d 524. There
is no evidence that Ojebode refused to view the posted flight
schedule or absented himself from places where he would be likely
to learn of his Lufthansa Flight's likely stops. There is no
reason to believe that Ojebode cared one way or other about where
the plane would stop. Ojebode's statements may indicate
deliberate ignorance of something, but not necessarily deliberate
ignorance of the fact that the flight would land in Houston. It is
difficult to see what Chuck's name, address, phone number, or the
Lagos passport stamp have to do with Ojebode's flight schedule.
The only fact that the government lists with any relevance to
Ojebode's "deliberate ignorance" of the circumstances of his travel
is the fact that someone else purchased his ticket. Perhaps there
is a greater likelihood of learning of a plane stop when one goes
to a ticket counter and buys the ticket oneself. However, in this
case, the purchase of the plane ticket by Chuck for Ojebode was
part of the package deal. We therefore find that the government
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has failed to prove that a reasonable person in Ojebode's position
would have been suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his
plane's stop in Texas. Farfan-Carreon, 935 F.2d 681.
III. CONCLUSION
The convictions for Counts Three, Four and Five are AFFIRMED
and the sentence issued for each count is left in tact. We REVERSE
the convictions for Counts One and Two because of the defects in
the court's charge relating to intent and deliberate ignorance as
applied to these Counts and Remand the case as to Counts One and
Two for retrial, if the government so elects.
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