State v. Taylor

• Decision Date: 19 September 2014
• Docket Number: No. 40553.,40553.
• Citation: 335 P.3d 31,157 Idaho 186
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Respondent–Cross Appellant, v. Matthew Steven TAYLOR, Defendant–Appellant–Cross Respondent.

157 Idaho 186

335 P.3d 31

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Respondent–Cross Appellant,

v.Matthew Steven TAYLOR, Defendant–Appellant–Cross Respondent.

No. 40553.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, June 2014 Term.

Sept. 19, 2014.

Nevin, Benjamin, McKay & Bartlett, LLP, Boise, for appellant. Dennis A. Benjamin argued.

Honorable Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued.

J. JONES, Justice.

This appeal arises from the conviction of Matthew Taylor for conspiracy to manufacture, deliver or possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance; conspiracy to deliver or possess with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia; and delivery of a controlled substance. After the jury returned a guilty verdict, Taylor filed a motion to acquit and a motion for a new trial. The district court denied the motion to acquit, as well as the motion for new trial on the delivery charge, but granted the motion for a new trial on the conspiracy charges, holding that the jury should have been instructed that mistake of law is a defense to conspiracy. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

I.BACKGROUND

In September 2011, in response to a tip regarding suspicious activity, the Boise Police Department began investigating a warehouse in Boise leased by a man named Morgan Alley. The police conducted surveillance of the warehouse, observing who came and went, and seized trash discarded outside the warehouse on multiple occasions. Upon obtaining a warrant, Detective Joseph Andreoli searched the warehouse and found synthetic cannabinoids and the materials necessary to manufacture products containing synthetic cannabinoids.¹ Andreoli testified that the warehouse contained "all of the items necessary" to manufacture synthetic marijuana, "including chemical; plant material; acetone, which is used as a solvent; and tobacco flavoring." The warehouse also contained "the packaging materials, such as the small plastic containers, lids, and sticker labels" necessary to package a finished synthetic marijuana product. In fact, the warehouse was set up in an assembly line fashion and contained synthetic marijuana in various stages of completion. The warehouse also contained finished synthetic marijuana products in small plastic containers labeled with stickers reading "Twizted Potpourri."

During the course of the investigation, the police expanded their surveillance to include the Red Eye Hut, a Boise store owned by the limited liability company for which Morgan Alley was the registered agent. Detective Andreoli stated that the Red Eye "appeared to be a head shop"² due to the nature "of the items for sale inside." The shop contained various types of pipes, concealment containers, grinders, digital scales, drug testing kits, and "body-cleansing solutions to defeat drug tests." One evening, Detective Andreoli visited the Red Eye in an undercover capacity and purchased three containers of Twizted Potpourri from Matthew Taylor. Testing showed that two of these containers contained JWH–019 and the other contained AM–2201. Both JWH–019 and AM–2201 are synthetic cannabinoids. Thereafter, the police executed search warrants on the warehouse and the Red Eye, seizing approximately 30,000 containers of Twizted Potpourri from the warehouse and over 9,000 containers of Potpourri and 340 pipes from the Red Eye.

Taylor was subsequently charged with conspiracy to manufacture, deliver or possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance in violation of Idaho Code sections 37–2732(a), 18–1701, and 37–2732(f) ; conspiracy to deliver or possess with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia in violation of Idaho Code sections 37–2734B and 18–1701 ; and delivery of a controlled substance in violation of Idaho Code section 37–2732(a). His case was consolidated with co-defendants Morgan Alley, Tashina Alley, Cadee Peterson, Charlynda Goggin, Hieu Phan, and Tonya Williams. Prior to trial, Taylor moved to dismiss all charges against him arguing that the State could not prove that he knew the Twizted Potpourri contained a controlled substance. The district court denied this motion.³

Taylor proceeded to jury trial along with three other defendants including Goggin. Taylor was convicted on all counts, as was Goggin.⁴ Taylor then filed a motion pursuant to I.C.R. 29 for judgment of acquittal on all charges and a separate motion for new trial. The district court issued a memorandum decision denying the motion for acquittal and denying a new trial on the delivery count, but granting a new trial on the two conspiracy counts because it did not instruct the jury that a mistake of law is a defense to conspiracy. Taylor timely appeals the order denying his motion to acquit and denying his motion for a new trial on the delivery charge. The State cross-appeals from the order granting a new trial on the conspiracy charges.⁵

II.ISSUES ON APPEAL

I. Did the district court err when it denied Taylor's motion to acquit for insufficient evidence?

II. Did the district court err when it denied Taylor's motion for a new trial on the delivery charge?

III. Did the district court err when it granted Taylor's motion for a new trial on the conspiracy charges?

III.ANALYSIS

Taylor contends that the district court erred in denying his motion for acquittal on the delivery and conspiracy charges. He argues in the alternative that the district court erred in denying his motion for a new trial on the delivery charge. The State cross-appeals, arguing that the district court erred in granting a new trial on the conspiracy counts. These issues will be addressed in turn.

A. Motion to Acquit

Taylor contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to acquit because there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions. Under I.C.R. 29, the district court may set aside a jury verdict and enter judgment of acquittal "if the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction."

The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to due process, and the U.S. Supreme Court has held that as a part of that due process, "no person shall be made to suffer the onus of a criminal conviction except upon sufficient proof—defined as evidence necessary to convince a trier of fact beyond a reasonable doubt of the existence of every element of the offense."

State v. Adamcik, 152 Idaho at 445, 460, 272 P.3d 417, 432 (2012) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 316, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2787, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, 571 (1979) ). Nonetheless, "[a]ppellate review of the sufficiency of the evidence is limited in scope." State v. Herrera–Brito, 131 Idaho 383, 385, 957 P.2d 1099, 1101 (Ct.App.1998).

The relevant inquiry is not whether this Court would find the defendant to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but whether "after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt."

Adamcik, 152 Idaho at 460, 272 P.3d at 432 (quoting Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d at 573 ) (emphasis in original).

Thus, "the only inquiry for this Court is whether there is substantial evidence upon which a reasonable jury could have found that the State met its burden of proving the essential elements" of the charged crimes "beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. "Substantial evidence is more than a scintilla of proof, but less than a preponderance. In short, it is relevant evidence which a reasonable mind might accept to support a conclusion." Matter of Wilson, 128 Idaho 161, 164, 911 P.2d 754, 757 (1996). In conducting its analysis, "the Court is required to consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the State," but will not substitute its "judgment for that of the jury on issues of witness credibility, weight of the evidence, or reasonable inferences to be drawn from the evidence." Adamcik, 152 Idaho at 460, 272 P.3d at 432.

The statute under which Taylor was convicted for delivery of a controlled substance provides that "[e]xcept as authorized ..., it is unlawful for any person to ... deliver ... a controlled substance." I.C. § 37–2732(a). The statute under which Taylor was convicted for conspiracy to deliver drug paraphernalia provides that "[i]t is unlawful for any person to deliver ... drug paraphernalia, knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to ... ingest ... a controlled substance." I.C. § 37–2734B.

Taylor's conspiracy convictions were based on two statutes: I.C. § 18–1701 and § 37–2732(f). Idaho Code section 18–1701 provides:

If two (2) or more persons combine or conspire to commit any crime or offense prescribed by the laws of the state of Idaho, and one (1) or more of such persons does any act to effect the object of the combination or conspiracy, each shall be punishable upon conviction in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided under the laws of the state of Idaho for the punishment of the crime or offenses that each combined to commit.

Idaho Code section 37–2732(f) provides: "If two (2) or more persons conspire to commit any offense defined in this act, said persons shall be punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both, which may not exceed the maximum punishment prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy." Thus, Taylor's conspiracy convictions require that he combine or conspire with another person to deliver a controlled substance and to deliver paraphernalia used with a controlled substance.

As to the delivery conviction, Taylor states that the district court denied the motion for acquittal on the basis that there was evidence Taylor knew he was dealing with a synthetic cannabinoid. He then contends, "even if someone believed that there was evidence Mr. Taylor knew that he was dealing with a synthetic cannabinoid.... there was absolutely no evidence that Mr. Taylor knew either that every synthetic cannabinoid is illegal or in the alternative that ...