Bujol v. Cain

• Citation: 713 F.2d 112
• Decision Date: 29 August 1983
• Docket Number: No. 82-3649,82-3649
• Parties: Melvin BUJOL, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Nathan Burl CAIN, Warden, and The Attorney General of the State of Louisiana, William J. Guste, Jr., Respondents-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

Page 112

713 F.2d 112

Melvin BUJOL, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Nathan Burl CAIN, Warden, and The Attorney General of the

State of Louisiana, William J. Guste, Jr.,

Respondents-Appellees.

No. 82-3649.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Aug. 29, 1983.

Jane Johnson, James E. Slatten, III, Student Atty., New Orleans, La., for petitioner-appellant.

John H. Craft, Asst. Dist. Atty., New Orleans, La., for respondents-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Before BROWN, WISDOM and JOHNSON, Circuit Judges.

WISDOM, Circuit Judge:

Melvin Bujol appeals from the denial of a writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, Bujol contends that his conviction for possession of heroin violated his fourteenth amendment due process rights because the evidence produced at trial was not sufficient to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. He raises two challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence. First, he contends that the evidence did not show that he exercised dominion and control over the illegal substance. Second, he contends that the evidence did not prove that he knowingly possessed the drug. We affirm the district court because we conclude that the evidence produced at trial was sufficient for a rational factfinder to find that the elements of the crime of possession were proved beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 1979, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560.

On May 13, 1976, three New Orleans police officers responded to a call to investigate a suspicious person with a gun at 2002 1/2 Ursuline Street, the residence of Leonard Jourdan. Upon arriving at the scene, officers saw Bujol and another man on the back porch. When Bujol saw the officers, he jumped off the porch and ran. One of the officers chased him for a block and a half before catching him. When the officer patted Bujol down, he found a syringe in his pants pocket. The syringe contained a clear liquid and had a small amount of what appeared to be blood on the needle. The officer testified that Bujol had fresh needle marks on his arm. Bujol was taken back to the residence at 2002 1/2 Ursuline Street.

The officers then obtained a warrant and searched the house. The search revealed various types of drug paraphenalia, including a bottle cap used as a "cooker" for heroin. ¹ The bottle cap was still wet when it was found in the kitchen of Jourdan's residence. The kitchen, where the cooker was found, opened onto the back porch, where the officers had first seen Bujol.

The bottle cap and the syringe were taken to the New Orleans Police Department Crime Laboratory. The cap showed traces of heroin residue, but the syringe did not. The testimony, given at trial by an experienced narcotics officer, showed that syringes rarely tested positive for heroin.

Bujol was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance. ² He was convicted at a bench trial of possession of heroin in violation of La.Rev.Stat.Ann. 40:966C (West 1977), ³ and was sentenced as a multiple offender to twenty years at hard labor. The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. ⁴ The trial court and the Louisiana Supreme Court denied post-conviction relief. After exhausting the state court remedies, Bujol filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. In accordance with the recommendation of the magistrate, the petition was denied. This appeal followed.

In a federal habeas corpus proceeding when a defendant contends that the evidence produced in a state court trial is insufficient to sustain a conviction, the proper standard of review is whether any rational trier of fact could have found that the essential elements of the crime were proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 1979, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560. See also Harris v. Blackburn, 5 Cir.1981, 646 F.2d 904, 905. The reviewing court does not substitute its conclusion on the sufficiency of the evidence for that of the factfinder; it determines whether any rational factfinder could conclude that the evidence was sufficient to meet this standard. In determining whether the evidence meets the Jackson test, the court must consider all the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. This requirement preserves the integrity of the trier of fact as the weigher of the evidence. Jackson v. Virginia, 1979, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560.

To meet the constitutional requirement that guilt be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, sufficient evidence must be produced to establish each element of the crime. ⁵ Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 316, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2787, 61 L.Ed.2d 560. Bujol was convicted of the state crime of possession of a controlled substance. The substantive law of the State of Louisiana defines the elements of the crime that must be proved. Harris v. Blackburn, 5 Cir.1981, 646 F.2d 904, 905 n. 2. Possession, under Louisiana law, may be established by proof of the defendant's actual or constructive possession. Harris v. Blackburn, 5 Cir.1981, 646 F.2d 904, 906; State v. Trahan, La.1983, 425 So.2d 1222; State v. Baker, La.1976, 338 So.2d 1372, 1376; State v. Marks, La.1976, 337 So.2d 1177; State v. Alford, La.1975, 323 So.2d 788; State v. Cann, La.1975, 319 So.2d 396; State v. Smith, 1971, 257 La. 1109, 245 So.2d 327. Constructive possession may be exercised jointly with a companion who has actual physical possession of the controlled substance. State v. Smith, 1971, 257 La. 1109, 245 So.2d 327.

Bujol is charged with constructive possession of the heroin found in the bottle cap in Jourdan's kitchen. To prove constructive possession, the state must show that the defendant exercised dominion and control over the controlled substance and must establish the defendant's guilty knowledge. State v. Trahan, La.1983, 425 So.2d 1222, 1226; State v. Smith, 1971, 257 La. 1109, 245 So.2d 327, 329. The factfinder may draw reasonable inferences based upon the evidence presented. Garza v. United States, 5 Cir.1967, 385 F.2d 899, 901; State v. Edwards, La.1978, 354 So.2d 1322; see also La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 15:446 (West 1977). The Louisiana Supreme Court, however, has held that neither the mere presence in the area where the drug is found nor the mere association with the person in actual possession is sufficient to prove constructive possession. State v. Alford, 1975, 323 So.2d 788, 790.

Although the Louisiana Supreme Court prohibits an inference of constructive possession based solely upon proximity or association, it has not identified any facts or circumstances that must be present to establish constructive possession. Each case must be analyzed on its own merits, and previous cases are illustrative only. ⁶ State v. Cann, 1975, 319 So.2d 396, 400. The leading case in this circuit applying the Jackson standard to constructive possession is Harris v. Blackburn, 5 Cir.1981, 646 F.2d 904. In Harris, the court held that a rational factfinder could not have found that a passenger in a car had dominion and control over heroin found in the console of the car, even though the drugs were in plain view. Id. at 907. Harris, however, is distinguishable from the present case. In Harris, although the defendant had fresh track marks on his arms, the car contained no evidence of the recent use of heroin. Because the evidence did not link Harris's recent injection of heroin to the heroin in his companion's car, his...