United States v. Jones

• Decision Date: 09 April 2013
• Docket Number: No. 12–1497.,12–1497.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Terrance JONES, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

713 F.3d 336

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.Terrance JONES, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 12–1497.

United States Court of Appeals,Seventh Circuit.

Argued Dec. 3, 2012.

Decided April 9, 2013.

Stephen P. Baker (argued), Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Linda Amdur (argued), Attorney, Chicago, IL, for Defendant–Appellee.

Before WOOD and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges, and DARROW, District Judge. ^*

HAMILTON, Circuit Judge.

We have often said that after a guilty verdict, a defendant seeking a judgment of acquittal faces a “nearly insurmountable hurdle,” e.g., United States v. Moore, 115 F.3d 1348, 1363 (7th Cir.1997), but the height of the hurdle depends directly on the strength of the government's evidence. The Constitution requires the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 313–14, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). If a reasonable jury could not find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the court may not enter judgment on a guilty verdict.

A jury found Terrance Jones guilty of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and of using a telephone to facilitate possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b). Jones moved for a judgment of acquittal under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29. The district court granted Jones' motion, concluding that “the inferences the jury had to draw in order to reach a guilty verdict fall into the realm of impermissible speculation.” United States v. Jones, 2012 WL 366893, at *12 (N.D.Ill. Feb. 1, 2012). The government has appealed and asks us to reinstate the jury verdict. We affirm the district court's judgment. We agree with the district court that the government's circumstantial case against Jones simply required too much speculation to support a guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.

I. Jurisdiction and Standard of Review

We have jurisdiction to consider this appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3731 and 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo the grant of a Rule 29 motion. United States v. Presbitero, 569 F.3d 691, 704 (7th Cir.2009). The district court properly grants such a motion when the “evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction.” Fed.R.Crim.P. 29(a), (c). When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we ask “whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781;Presbitero, 569 F.3d at 704. The inquiry does not ask what we would have decided if we were on the jury. We need not be convinced by the evidence ourselves. Our inquiry is whether a reasonable jury considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the government could have found each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Moore, 572 F.3d 334, 337 (7th Cir.2009).

The government's case against Jones was entirely circumstantial. No witnesses testified that they saw Jones in possession of any cocaine, and the intercepted telephone calls that the government relies upon were not tied directly to actual or constructive possession of any cocaine. Entirely circumstantial cases are not unusual, of course, and they certainly can provide constitutionally sufficient proof beyond a reasonable doubt. “A verdict may be rational even if it relies solely on circumstantial evidence.” Moore, 572 F.3d at 337. In such cases we, like the district court here, must carefully consider each inference necessary to prove all elements of the offense. We do not suggest that there is a bright line between reasonable and unreasonable inferences from circumstantial evidence, but there is a line. The government may not prove its case, as we have said, with “conjecture camouflaged as evidence.” Piaskowski v. Bett, 256 F.3d 687, 693 (7th Cir.2001).

A Rule 29 motion calls on the court to distinguish between reasonable inferences and speculation. Each step in the inferential chain must be supported by evidence that allows the jury to “draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts.” Coleman v. Johnson, 566 U.S. ––––, ––––, 132 S.Ct. 2060, 2064, 182 L.Ed.2d 978 (2012). “Although a jury may infer facts from other facts that are established by inference, each link in the chain of inferences must be sufficiently strong to avoid a lapse into speculation.” Piaskowski, 256 F.3d at 693. We “will overturn a jury verdict for insufficiency of the evidence only if the record is devoid of evidence from which a reasonable jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Stevenson, 680 F.3d 854, 855–56 (7th Cir.2012).

II. The Government's Theory of the Case and the Trial Evidence

The government's case against Jones arose from an investigation of Dominique Finley's drug organization in Chicago. In 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Chicago Police Department began investigating Finley's drug organization using physical surveillance, controlled buys using confidential informants, and eventually Title III wiretaps. The affidavit seeking authority for the Title III wiretaps did not identify Jones as a target or person of interest in Finley's organization. Tr. 246–49.

The investigation showed that Finley led an extensive drug conspiracy. The government eventually indicted Finley and several of his cohorts on multiple charges arising from the conspiracy. Jones, however, was not charged or indicted as a part of the overarching conspiracy. He was charged only with two specific offenses based on the events of one day: June 17, 2009. He was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and with use of a telephone to facilitate that possession. The government's case against Jones focused exclusively on the events of June 17, 2009.

The government's theory was that Finley had obtained a kilogram of powder cocaine early in the day on June 17, 2009. He then met with an undercover government informant who asked to buy 63 grams of crack cocaine. Based on this order, the government argued, Finley needed someone to “cook” some of the cocaine into crack cocaine so that he could complete the sale to the confidential informant.

The government's theory was that Finley telephoned both his regular “cooker,” Clarence Johnson, and Jones to see if either or both would cook the cocaine for him. The government argued that its interpretation of two recorded telephone conversations between Jones and Finley, detailed below, showed that Jones agreed to cook the cocaine. From there, the government argued that Jones' comings and goings throughout the day, as well as his exit from a particular residence at 1447 South Christiana with Finley, proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Jones cooked the cocaine for Finley inside the South Christiana residence.

No witness testified that Jones cooked any cocaine or was ever in possession of any cocaine. The surveillance team saw Jones exit the residence with Finley and then get into Finley's car with him. The surveillance team had not seen Jones enter the South Christiana residence. After their exit, police attempted to stop Finley's car. Finley tried to escape, and the police started a chase. Police officers saw Finley throw a bag from the car. The bag was recovered and turned out to contain crack cocaine. The police in pursuit eventually forced Finley to stop the car. Finley ran away on foot; Jones remained with the car. Finley was caught, but the police later allowed both men to leave the scene. The government does not contend that Jones had actual or constructive possession of the crack cocaine that Finley threw from his car.

Since this case turns on whether the inferences leading to a guilty verdict based on circumstantial evidence were reasonable or speculative, we must review the government's evidence in detail. The government argued that the telephone conversations and surveillance of both Jones and Finley showed that Jones (1) purchased the necessary chemicals and gathered the necessary supplies and utensils to cook the cocaine, and (2) then actually cooked the cocaine for Finley at the South Christiana residence. At trial, the government presented tapes and transcripts of the conversations intercepted by the wiretap on Finley's telephone, testimony from two of Finley's co-conspirators, and testimony from law enforcement officers who conducted surveillance of Finley.

Finley and Jones first spoke at 2:00 p.m. on June 17, 2009. The conversation went as follows:

Jones: What up, cuz?

Finley: Where you at?

Jones: I'm on Concord.

Finley: Doin' somethin'?

Jones: What you say?

Finley: Doin' somethin'?

Jones: Yeah, yeah, at all times, at all time.

Finley: Get this punk out a here, man. I need you, man.

Jones: Okay. I'm always available for my family, man, even though you treat me like shit. I'm on Concord, where you at?

Finley: I'm gonna come that way, man on the real. I need uh, I need you uh, to do that what you done for Sonny for me.

Jones: Come bend on me, Joe, you on yo' way?

Finley: Yeah.

Doc. No. 298, Call No. 5881. The government argued that this telephone conversation formed the basis for the charge of using a telephone to facilitate possession with intent to distribute, arguing that the jury could reasonably infer from Finley's reference to “Sonny” that Jones had cooked crack for Sonny in the past. The government did not present any evidence as to who Sonny was or what Jones might have done for him in the past. The government argued to the jury that this conversation “got things rolling.” Tr. 558, 592.¹

At 2:20 p.m., police officers saw Finley inside his parked car talking to Jones, who was outside the car. At 2:35 p.m., Finley called Johnson, his regular cooker. At trial, Johnson testified that he had cooked crack for Finley in the past and that Finley called him on June 17 to ask him to...