Casella v. United States

• Citation: 449 F.2d 277
• Decision Date: 29 September 1971
• Docket Number: No. 18447.,18447.
• Parties: Peter CASELLA v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellant.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)

449 F.2d 277 (1971)

Peter CASELLA v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellant.

No. 18447.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued June 24, 1971.

Decided September 29, 1971.

As Amended October 27, 1971.

D. William Subin, Asst. U. S. Atty., Camden, N. J. (Frederick B. Lacey, U. S. Atty., Newark, N. J., on the brief), for appellant.

Edward C. Toole, Jr., Clark, Ladner, Fortenbaugh & Young, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellee.

Before BIGGS, and VAN DUSEN, Circuit Judges, and KRAFT, District Judge.

OPINION OF THE COURT

BIGGS, Circuit Judge.

This is a proceeding brought by Casella pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 2255 to relieve himself of judgments of conviction and of sentence as set out hereinafter. He was indicted on a four count indictment¹ filed April 15, 1958, along with Santore. It will be observed that Casella and Santore were indicted as principals but that an aider and abettor is liable as a principal pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 2.² In the Casella-Santore trial, Marshall, a narcotics agent of the United States, testified that Santore told him and other narcotics agents that upon inquiry of Santore as to where were the cans of opium, Santore stated that "the opium was still being cooked down south, and not all the cans were ready for delivery." (Emphasis added). This was the only statement or "explanation", if the latter term may be justly used, respecting the origin of the drugs.

The Trial Judge (Madden, J.) after reciting in substance the four counts of the indictment, in charging the jury, stated: "In common parlance * * * the first count is the count which charges the sale of narcotic drugs, the second count is the count which charges receipt, concealment or the buying of certain narcotic drugs, the third count charges the sale of narcotic drugs which weren't in the original stamped package, tax-stamp container, and the fourth count is the count which charges the sale of narcotic drugs not in pursuance of a written order form as designated by the United States Treasury Department."

As to 21 U.S.C. Section 174, Judge Madden went on to say: "I repeat what I consider the important portions of this statute, as it pertains to this case: `Whoever * * * receives, conceals, buys, sells, or in any manner facilitates the transportation, concealment, or sale of any such narcotic drug after being imported or brought into the United States contrary to law, shall be * * * guilty. * * *' `Whenever on trial for a violation of this subsection the defendant is shown to have or have had possession of the narcotic drug, such possession shall be deemed sufficient evidence to authorize conviction unless the defendant explains the possession to the satisfaction of the jury.' Congress, likewise, has seen fit to pass another section relating to the handling in proper fashion of narcotic drugs, and the prohibition of them. I am now reading from section 4704 of Title 26: `It shall be unlawful for any person to purchase, sell, dispense, or distribute narcotic drugs except in the original stamped package or from the original stamped package; and the absence of appropriate tax paid stamps from narcotic drugs shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this subsection by the person in whose possession the same may be found.' Now, another thing that Congress has forbidden is this, and I am now reading from Section 4705(a) of Title 26: `It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, barter, exchange, or give away narcotic drugs except in pursuance of a written order of the person to whom such article is sold, bartered, exchanged, or given, on a form to be issued in blank for that purpose by the Secretary or his delegate.' That means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. You know when you go to the doctor, and he prescribes a narcotic drug, he gives you a prescription on a blank piece of paper that he writes out. That is the form that is normally prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury."

Judge Madden also said: "There has been considerable comment, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, made that there is no showing that the defendant Casella ever had possession of the narcotics in question or that they were imported into the United States. I will now read to you section 2 of Title 18: `Whoever commits an offense against the United States, or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces, or procures its commission is a principal.' That means one who aids, abets, counsels, induces or procures another in the commission of a crime is just as guilty as one who actually performs the act. I have read to you the statute making one who aids, abets, counsels or procures another in the commission of a crime equally guilty as a principal, so, if you find that the defendant Santore had possession of the narcotics in question, and you further find that the defendant Casella had knowledge of Santore's conduct, and that Casella aided and abetted Santore in carrying on such enterprise, then he, Casella, would be legally held to have possession of the narcotics the same as Santore. This, then, if you so find, would bring into full force and effect that portion of the statute that I have previously read to you: `Whenever on trial for a violation of this subsection, the defendant is shown to have or have had possession of the narcotic drug, such possession shall be deemed sufficient evidence to authorize conviction unless the defendant explains the possession to the satisfaction of the jury.' So, ladies and gentlemen, if you find that the defendants had possession of the drug, you will then consider whether the defendant or defendants have explained their possession to your satisfaction, as required under the statute, and not concern yourself with the question of importation of the drug³ into the United States unless such importation would play some part in the explanation made by the defendants. If the explanation of possession made by the defendants is sufficient to raise in your mind a reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendants, then they would be entitled to a verdict of acquittal."⁴ (Emphasis added.)

Nothing more was said by the Court in its charge relevant to the issues of importation or possession or presumptions related to possession by Santore.

Casella and Santore were found guilty on all counts and Casella was sentenced as appears from the judgment of sentence thus: "It is adjudged that the defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the Attorney General or his authorized representative for imprisonment for a period of 15 years on each of Counts 1 and 2, and on Counts 3 and 4 a term of ten years on each of said counts. It is the further Order of this Court that the sentence on Counts 1 and 2 be concurrent with each other, and the sentence on Counts 3 and 4 be concurrent with each other, but that the sentence on Counts 3 and 4, while concurrent with each other, shall be consecutive to the terms imposed on Counts 1 and 2. The said terms imposed hereunder of a total of 25 years shall be concurrent with the first 25 years of the sentence of 40 years imposed by the Honorable Gregory F. Noonan, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on July 31st, 1958."⁵ Casella appealed to this court, principally on the ground of entrapment but the judgments of conviction were affirmed.⁶

In 1969 Casella filed the present Section 2255 motion to vacate the judgments of conviction and sentence imposed on him in 1959. After hearing the Trial Judge in the Section 2255 proceeding (Cohen, J.) ordered "that the judgment and sentence of * * * Casella on Criminal Indictment No. 151-58, be and the same are hereby vacated.",⁷ and further ordered "that he shall stand trial or otherwise plead to the aforesaid indictment."⁸

We have quoted the words of Agent Marshall in testifying to the statement made to him by Santore when all of the ordered cans of opium had not been delivered that the opium was still being cooked "down south".⁹ Judge Cohen addressed himself to the issue of importation, stating in part: "Certainly, the time interval confined the term `south' to the southern portion of the United States and obviously not to the southern regions of China or Asia. See Marks v. United States, 196 F. 476 (2nd Cir. 1912) holding that the conversion of hard crude opium into a molasses-like substance fit for smoking by cooking within the United States was a manufacturing of the narcotic drug contrary to law. It would seem, then, that opium, and its derivative heroin, may well be manufactured within the United States, rather than merely imported from without, with or without the actual knowledge of the majority of users charged with its possession; further, that the problem of logical probability as a foundation for the statutory presumption of knowledge of illegal importation from mere possession in criminal cases still persists. In Erwing v. United States, 323 F.2d 674 (9 Cir. 1963), no proof was introduced to show cocaine hydrochloride was imported. However, extensive expert testimony was introduced at trial to the effect that all of the cocaine hydrochloride derived from coca leaves, a South American shrub, dispensed in California in the Los Angeles area came from domestic sources."¹⁰

As we read the record of the trial before Judge Madden and Judge Cohen's opinion in the Section 2255 proceeding, we think it is clear that both Judges viewed Santore's statement as some evidence of non-importation of the drugs and we conclude that they were correct in doing so. Judge Cohen also stated: "In the instant case the essential element of the guilty knowledge of illegal importation of narcotic drugs was predicated upon `possession,' which in turn depended upon a finding of aiding and abetting one who did in fact have possession. * * *" 304 F.Supp. at 760. But Judge Cohen went further and concluded that the language quoted from Judge Madden's charge compelled the jury to find importation into the United...