Defendants were convicted on drug and firearm charges resulting from their participation in a drug-trafficking conspiracy. On appeal, they challenged their conspiracy convictions, arguing that they had only buyer-seller relationships and not conspiratorial agreements with the leader of the conspiracy. One defendant also challenged the sufficiency of the evidence on his firearms conviction and both defendants challenged the denial of their joint motion to sever the drug-trafficking counts from the firearm counts. The Seventh Circuit rejected the arguments and affirmed, explaining that the evidence at trial established that the defendants repeatedly purchased distribution quantities of drugs and that this was sufficient to support a drug conspiracy conviction. The Seventh Circuit also found sufficient evidence to support a theory of constructive possession and that the drug-trafficking and firearm counts were properly joined. (RIPPLE and LEE, concurring)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Criminal Conspiracy