Case Title: Ex parte Parker

Citation: 

Docket Number: 1110566

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 2013-04-05T00:00:00Z

Document:
REL: 04/05/2013 
Notice: T h i s 
o p i n i o n i s s u b j e c t t o f o r m a l 
r e v i s i o n b e f o r e 
p u b l i c a t i o n i n 
t h e 
advance 
s h e e t s o f 
Southern Reporter. 
R e a d e r s a r e 
r e q u e s t e d t o n o t i f y t h e 
Reporter of 
Decisions, 
Alabama A p p e l l a t e C o u r t s , 300 D e x t e r Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229¬
0 6 4 9 ) , o f 
any 
t y p o g r a p h i c a l o r 
o t h e r e r r o r s , i n 
o r d e r t h a t c o r r e c t i o n s may 
be 
made b e f o r e 
t h e o p i n i o n i s 
p r i n t e d i n 
Southern Reporter. 
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA 
OCTOBER TERM, 2012-2013 
1110566 
Ex parte Jermaine Lavar Parker 
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI 
TO THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS 
(In r e : 
Jermaine Lavar Parker 
v. 
State of 
Alabama) 
(Madison C i r c u i t Court, CC-10-1821; 
Court of Criminal Appeals, CR-10-0833) 
MURDOCK, 
J u s t i c e . 
Jermaine L a v a r 
P a r k e r was c o n v i c t e d o f c o n s p i r a c y t o 
commit a c o n t r o l l e d - s u b s t a n c e crime (the 
u n l a w f u l d i s t r i b u t i o n 
of c o c a i n e ) , a v i o l a t i o n o f 
A l a . Code 1975, § 13A-12-204, 
and 
of o b s t r u c t i n g g o v e r n m e n t a l o p e r a t i o n s , a v i o l a t i o n o f A l a . 
1110566 
Code 1975, § 13A-10-2. 
T h i s C o u r t g r a n t e d c e r t i o r a r i 
r e v i e w 
t o 
c o n s i d e r whether t h e d e c i s i o n o f t h e Alabama C o u r t o f 
C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s , a f f i r m i n g t h e c o n v i c t i o n s by an u n p u b l i s h e d 
memorandum, c o n f l i c t s w i t h Ex p a r t e W i l l i a m s , 468 So. 2d 99, 
101 ( A l a . 1985), o v e r r u l e d on o t h e r grounds, Ex p a r t e C a r t e r , 
889 So. 2d 528 ( A l a . 
2004), r e g a r d i n g t h e s u f f i c i e n c y o f 
t h e 
e v i d e n c e 
t o s u p p o r t 
P a r k e r ' s 
c o n v i c t i o n f o r c o n s p i r a c y t o 
commit a c o n t r o l l e d - s u b s t a n c e c r i m e . 
P a r k e r v. S t a t e (No. 
CR-
10-0833, Dec. 16, 2011), ___ So. 3d ___ ( A l a . Crim. App. 
2011) 
( t a b l e ) . 
T h i s C o u r t d e n i e d c e r t i o r a r i r e v i e w as t o P a r k e r ' s 
c o n v i c t i o n f o r 
o b s t r u c t i n g g o v e r n m e n t a l o p e r a t i o n s . 
F a c t s 
The 
e v i d e n c e 
a t 
t r i a l 
showed 
t h e 
f o l l o w i n g . 
On 
December 16, 2008, O f f i c e r s B l a k e Dean and 
Tony S h i v e r s o f 
t h e 
H u n t s v i l l e 
P o l i c e Department were d i s p a t c h e d t o i n v e s t i g a t e 
two 
s u s p i c i o u s v e h i c l e s p a r k e d 
near 
each 
o t h e r 
b e h i n d a 
LongHorn Steakhouse r e s t a u r a n t ; one o f t h e v e h i c l e s was a 
w h i t e N i s s a n Maxima. 
A l t h o u g h 
o n l y one o f t h e v e h i c l e s was 
o c c u p i e d , t h e e n g i n e s i n 
b o t h v e h i c l e s were r u n n i n g . 
O f f i c e r 
Dean 
and 
O f f i c e r 
S h i v e r s 
approached 
t h e w h i t e 
Maxima 
( b e l o n g i n g t o P a r k e r ' s w i f e ) and saw P a r k e r i n t h e d r i v e r ' s 
s e a t and a man l a t e r 
i d e n t i f i e d as T e r r e n c e 
C o r b e t t i n 
t h e 
p a s s e n g e r ' s 
s e a t . 
O f f i c e r Dean t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t , as he and 
2 
1110566 
O f f i c e r 
S h i v e r s 
approached 
the 
v e h i c l e , 
P a r k e r 
began 
" [ r ] e a c h i n g down and around [ a n d ] a c r o s s " i n the c a r . 
O f f i c e r 
Dean 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t he opened the 
d r i v e r ' s door and 
t o l d 
P a r k e r 
t o get 
out 
of the 
v e h i c l e . 
However, a c c o r d i n g 
t o 
O f f i c e r Dean, P a r k e r " i m m e d i a t e l y 
y e l l e d , no, and slammed the 
door, 
almost 
slamming 
[ O f f i c e r 
Dean's] r i g h t hand 
i n 
the 
d o o r . " 
O f f i c e r Dean s t a t e d t h a t P a r k e r c o n t i n u e d t o 
r e a c h 
around between the s e a t and the c e n t e r c o n s o l e . 
O f f i c e r Dean 
then drew h i s weapon and o r d e r e d P a r k e r out of the c a r , 
and 
P a r k e r c o m p l i e d . 
Once P a r k e r was out of the v e h i c l e , 
O f f i c e r 
Dean p l a c e d him 
under 
a r r e s t 
f o r o b s t r u c t i n g g o v e r n m e n t a l 
o p e r a t i o n s . 
The o f f i c e r s saw money i n P a r k e r ' s c a r i n b u n d l e s of 
$100 
each. 
The money, which t o t a l e d $2,115, was l o c a t e d i n s e v e r a l 
a r e a s i n the c a r , i n c l u d i n g the d r i v e r ' s s e a t , the f l o o r b o a r d , 
and 
the 
c e n t e r 
c o n s o l e . 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , 
p o l i c e 
s e a r c h e d 
C o r b e t t ' s 
v e h i c l e and 
found 
i n 
the 
b a c k s e a t 
a r e a 
a 
bag 
c o n t a i n i n g 
seven 
s m a l l e r bags, 
t h r e e 
of 
w h i c h 
c o n t a i n e d 
c o c a i n e and f o u r of w h i c h c o n t a i n e d m a r i j u a n a . 
The 
o f f i c e r s 
a l s o found a s e t of d i g i t a l s c a l e s w i t h t h e s e bags. 
A s h o r t time a f t e r P a r k e r ' s a r r e s t , O f f i c e r Gary Trampas 
and 
a 
t r a i n e d 
p o l i c e 
dog 
a r r i v e d 
a t the 
scene. 
The 
dog 
e x h i b i t e d an "odor r e s p o n s e " a t the d r i v e r ' s s e a t of P a r k e r ' s 
3 
1110566 
c a r and i n the b a c k s e a t of C o r b e t t ' s c a r where the drugs had 
been r e c o v e r e d .
1 
W i t h r e s p e c t t o b o t h v e h i c l e s , the dog d i d 
not e x h i b i t the "odor i n d i c a t i o n " t h a t s i g n i f i e s t h a t he 
had 
a c t u a l l y 
found 
d r u g s . 
P o l i c e 
d i d not 
f i n d 
any 
drugs 
i n 
P a r k e r ' s c a r or on P a r k e r ' s p e r s o n and d i d not f i n d any 
drug 
p a r a p h e r n a l i a , weapons, s c a l e s , 
or r e c o r d s or n o t a t i o n s of 
drug t r a n s a c t i o n s . 
O f f i c e r 
Jimmy Anderson, 
a 
n a r c o t i c s agent 
w i t h 
the 
H u n t s v i l l e P o l i c e Department, t e s t i f i e d t h a t he responded t o 
the scene of the a r r e s t and saw the c o c a i n e and m a r i j u a n a t h a t 
had been s e i z e d from C o r b e t t ' s c a r : a p p r o x i m a t e l y 7 grams of 
c o c a i n e and 
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 
21 grams of m a r i j u a n a . 
O f f i c e r 
Anderson 
t e s t i f i e d 
(1) 
t h a t he 
c o n s i d e r e d 
the amount 
of 
c o c a i n e found 
t o be 
a " d i s t r i b u t i o n amount," (2) t h a t 
the 
s t r e e t v a l u e of the c o c a i n e would be between $200 and $400, 
and 
(3) 
t h a t the 
s t r e e t 
v a l u e 
of 
the m a r i j u a n a 
would 
be 
between $300 and $700. 
O f f i c e r Anderson t e s t i f i e d t h a t the 
v a l u e of the drugs was 
c l e a r l y l e s s than the $2,115 found i n 
P a r k e r ' s c a r . 
1 O f f i c e r Trampas t e s t i f i e d t h a t the dog was 
t r a i n e d t o 
d e t e c t 
s e v e r a l common drugs, 
i n c l u d i n g 
b o t h 
c o c a i n e 
and 
m a r i j u a n a . 
Because no drugs were found i n P a r k e r ' s c a r , i t 
cannot 
be 
d e t e r m i n e d 
t o what 
drug, 
i f any, 
the 
dog 
was 
r e s p o n d i n g when he e x h i b i t e d a response t o P a r k e r ' s c a r . 
4 
1110566 
O f f i c e r S h i v e r s t e s t i f i e d t h a t C o r b e t t 
t o l d him d u r i n g 
the 
i n c i d e n t t h a t he and P a r k e r 
"were 
t a l k i n g " when t h e 
o f f i c e r s approached t h e v e h i c l e . 
No o t h e r e v i d e n c e o f 
any 
statement 
by P a r k e r o r C o r b e t t was p r e s e n t e d 
d u r i n g t h e 
S t a t e ' s 
c a s e .
2 
S t a n d a r d o f Review 
In Ex p a r t e M a u r i c i o , 523 So. 2d 87, 91 ( A l a . 1987), 
t h i s 
C o u r t d i s c u s s e d t h e t e s t f o r r e v i e w i n g t h e s u f f i c i e n c y o f t h e 
e v i d e n c e i n 
a c r i m i n a l 
c a s e : 
" ' I n 
r e v i e w i n g 
a 
c o n v i c t i o n 
based 
on 
c i r c u m s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e , 
t h i s c o u r t must view t h a t 
e v i d e n c e 
i n t h e 
l i g h t 
most 
f a v o r a b l e 
t o t h e 
p r o s e c u t i o n . The t e s t t o be a p p l i e d i s 
whether t h e 
j u r y 
might 
r e a s o n a b l [ y ] 
f i n d 
t h a t t h e 
e v i d e n c e 
e x c l u d e d e v e r y r e a s o n a b l e h y p o t h e s i s e x c e p t t h a t o f 
g u i l t ; n o t whether 
such 
e v i d e n c e 
e x c l u d e s 
e v e r y 
r e a s o n a b l e h y p o t h e s i s b u t g u i l t , b u t 
whether a j u r y 
might r e a s o n a b l y so c o n c l u d e 
'" 
I d . 
( q u o t i n g Cumbo v. S t a t e , 368 So. 2d 871, 
874 ( A l a . Crim. 
App. 
1 9 7 8 ) ) . 
L e g a l A n a l y s i s 
2 C o r b e t t 
t e s t i f i e d f o r 
t h e defense 
t h a t he worked as a 
cook a t t h e LongHorn Steakhouse r e s t a u r a n t where t h e a r r e s t 
o c c u r r e d . 
He and P a r k e r were former 
teammates on a h i g h 
s c h o o l 
f o o t b a l l team b u t had n o t seen each o t h e r f o r 
some 
t i m e . 
When P a r k e r v i s i t e d t h e r e s t a u r a n t on t h e 
n i g h t o f t h e 
a r r e s t , 
C o r b e t t 
s u g g e s t e d 
t h a t t h e y 
v i s i t 
a f t e r h i s s h i f t 
ended. 
C o r b e t t a l s o t e s t i f i e d t h a t he had s o l d drugs, b u t 
he 
d e c l i n e d t o name h i s s u p p l i e r , o t h e r than t o say t h a t i t 
was 
not P a r k e r . 
C o r b e t t t e s t i f i e d t h a t P a r k e r had 
no c o n n e c t i o n 
t o t h e 
drugs i n 
C o r b e t t ' s 
c a r . 
5 
1110566 
P a r k e r 
was 
c o n v i c t e d of v i o l a t i n g § 13A-12-204, 
w h i c h 
p r o v i d e s 
i n p e r t i n e n t 
p a r t : 
"(a) 
A 
p e r s o n 
i s 
g u i l t y 
of 
c r i m i n a l c o n s p i r a c y t o commit a c o n t r o l l e d s u b s t a n c e crime i f 
he engages i n the conduct d e f i n e d i n S e c t i o n 13A-4-3(a), 
and 
the o b j e c t o f the c o n s p i r a c y i s a c o n t r o l l e d s u b s t a n c e c r i m e . " 
S e c t i o n 13A-4-3(a), A l a . Code 1975, 
p r o v i d e s : 
"A p e r s o n i s g u i l t y of c r i m i n a l c o n s p i r a c y 
i f , 
w i t h 
the i n t e n t t h a t conduct c o n s t i t u t i n g an o f f e n s e 
be 
p e r f o r m e d , 
he agrees w i t h one 
o r more p e r s o n s 
t o 
engage i n or cause the performance o f such conduct, 
and any one o r more o f such p e r s o n s does an 
o v e r t 
a c t t o e f f e c t an o b j e c t i v e o f the agreement." 
The c o n t r o l l e d - s u b s t a n c e crime t h a t was the o b j e c t o f the 
a l l e g e d 
c o n s p i r a c y 
was 
the 
d i s t r i b u t i o n 
o f 
c o c a i n e 
i n 
v i o l a t i o n of A l a . Code 1975, § 13A-12-211, w h i c h s t a t e s : 
"A 
p e r s o n 
commits 
the 
c r i m e 
o f 
u n l a w f u l 
d i s t r i b u t i o n 
of 
c o n t r o l l e d s u b s t a n c e s i f , 
e x c e p t as o t h e r w i s e 
a u t h o r i z e d , he 
or she s e l l s , f u r n i s h e s , g i v e s away, d e l i v e r s , or d i s t r i b u t e s 
a c o n t r o l l e d s u b s t a n c e enumerated i n S c h e d u l e s I t h r o u g h V." 
The 
C o u r t 
of 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s 
has 
h e l d 
t h a t 
" [ s ] e c t i o n 
13A-12-211 does not 
i n c l u d e 
' p u r c h a s i n g ' 
or 
' r e c e i v i n g ' a 
c o n t r o l l e d s u b s t a n c e i n i t s 
p r o s c r i b e d a c t i v i t i e s . " 
T y l e r v.  
S t a t e , 
587 So. 2d 1238, 1242 
( A l a . Crim. App. 
1991). 
P a r k e r ' s 
i n d i c t m e n t 
s p e c i f i c a l l y 
a l l e g e d 
t h a t 
P a r k e r 
"agree[d] w i t h ... C o r b e t t t o s e l l c o c a i n e t o [ C o r b e t t ] , " and 
t h a t 
P a r k e r 
" d i d an o v e r t a c t t o e f f e c t an o b j e c t of the 
6 
1110566 
agreement, t o w i t ; meet w i t h 
[ C o r b e t t ] i n t h e p a r k i n g l o t o f 
Longhorn Steakhouse t o s e l l him c o c a i n e . " 
P a r k e r ' s 
i n d i c t m e n t 
d i d n o t a l l e g e t h a t P a r k e r a g r e e d t o buy c o c a i n e from C o r b e t t , 
and i t d i d 
n o t a l l e g e t h a t t h e c o n s p i r a c y i n v o l v e d the s a l e o r 
d i s t r i b u t i o n o f 
m a r i j u a n a .
3 
Thus, t o c o n v i c t P a r k e r , t h e S t a t e was r e q u i r e d t o prove 
beyond a r e a s o n a b l e doubt (1) t h a t P a r k e r a g r e e d w i t h C o r b e t t , 
(2) t o s e l l o r d i s t r i b u t e 
c o c a i n e t o C o r b e t t , and (3) t h a t 
P a r k e r 
o r 
C o r b e t t 
d i d an 
o v e r t 
a c t i n s u p p o r t 
o f t h e 
c o n s p i r a c y . 
T h i s C o u r t g r a n t e d 
c e r t i o r a r i r e v i e w t o c o n s i d e r whether 
the 
d e c i s i o n 
o f t h e C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s 
i n 
i t s 
u n p u b l i s h e d memorandum c o n f l i c t s w i t h W i l l i a m s , w h i c h h e l d : 
"'While a j u r y i s 
under a d u t y t o draw whatever 
p e r m i s s i b l e 
i n f e r e n c e s 
i t may 
from the 
e v i d e n c e , 
i n c l u d i n g c i r c u m s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e , mere s p e c u l a t i o n ,  
c o n j e c t u r e , o r s u r m i s e t h a t t h e a c c u s e d i s g u i l t y o f  
the o f f e n s e charged does n o t a u t h o r i z e a c o n v i c t i o n . 
A 
d e f e n d a n t 
s h o u l d 
n o t be 
c o n v i c t e d 
on 
mere 
s u s p i c i o n 
o r out o f 
f e a r 
t h a t 
he 
might 
have 
committed t h e c r i m e . 
W h i l e 
r e a s o n a b l e 
i n f e r e n c e s 
from t h e e v i d e n c e may 
f u r n i s h a b a s i s f o r p r o o f 
beyond 
a 
r e a s o n a b l e 
doubt, 
mere 
p o s s i b i l i t y , 
 
s u s p i c i o n , o r guesswork, no m a t t e r how s t r o n g , 
w i l l 
 
not o v e r t u r n t h e p r e s u m p t i o n o f i n n o c e n c e . ' " 
3The j u r y i n s t r u c t i o n s r e q u i r e d t h e S t a t e t o prove t h a t 
P a r k e r 
" d i d 
i n h i s own p e r s o n o r t h r o u g h t h e d i r e c t i o n o f 
a n o t h e r , 
s e l l , 
f u r n i s h , g i v e away, d e l i v e r o r d i s t r i b u t e a 
c o n t r o l l e d s u b s t a n c e , namely 
c o c a i n e . " 
7 
1110566 
W i l l i a m s , 
468 
So. 
2d 
a t 101 
( q u o t i n g Thomas v. 
S t a t e , 
363 
So. 
2d 
1020, 
1022 
( A l a . Crim. App. 
1978) 
(emphasis added; 
c i t a t i o n s 
o m i t t e d ) ) . 
A c o n s p i r a c y need not be proven by d i r e c t and p o s i t i v e 
e v i d e n c e but may 
be proven by c i r c u m s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e . 
Jones 
 
v. 
S t a t e , 
578 
So. 
3d 
595, 
599 
( A l a . Crim. 
App. 
2008) 
. 
C o n v i c t i o n may 
not be based, however, on "mere s p e c u l a t i o n , 
c o n j e c t u r e , 
or s u r m i s e . " 
W i l l i a m s , 
468 
So. 
2d a t 101. 
As 
t h i s C o u r t s t a t e d i n M a u r i c i o , where a c o n v i c t i o n depends on 
c i r c u m s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e , 
t h a t " [ c ] i r c u m s t a n t i a l 
e v i d e n c e must 
not 
o n l y 
be 
c o n s i s t e n t 
w i t h 
g u i l t , 
but 
must 
a l s o 
be 
i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h any r a t i o n a l h y p o t h e s i s 
of i n n o c e n c e . " 
523 
So. 
2d a t 93. 
See 
a l s o Jones v. S t a t e , 90 A l a . 628, 
630, 
8 
So. 383, 384 
(1890) ("If the e v i d e n c e r a i s e s a mere s u s p i c i o n , 
o r , a d m i t t i n g a l l i t tends t o p r o v e , d e f e n d a n t ' s g u i l t i s l e f t 
i n u n c e r t a i n t y , or dependent upon c o n j e c t u r e or p r o b a b i l i t i e s , 
the 
c o u r t 
s h o u l d 
i n s t r u c t 
the 
j u r y t o a c q u i t . " ) ; Ex 
p a r t e 
 
S m i l e y , 
655 
So. 2d 1091, 
1094 
( A l a . 1995). 
The S t a t e p r e s e n t e d the t e s t i m o n y of f o u r p o l i c e o f f i c e r s 
as t o what t h e y saw and h e a r d a t the crime s c e n e .
4 
The 
S t a t e 
4The S t a t e a l s o p r e s e n t e d 
f o r e n s i c e v i d e n c e e s t a b l i s h i n g 
t h a t 
the drugs s e i z e d from C o r b e t t ' s 
c a r were c o c a i n e 
and 
m a r i j u a n a and e v i d e n c e of C o r b e t t ' s g u i l t y p l e a t o the 
o f f e n s e 
of p o s s e s s i o n 
of m a r i j u a n a a r i s i n g out of t h i s i n c i d e n t . 
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p r e s e n t e d no d i r e c t e v i d e n c e t h a t P a r k e r had e v e r s o l d drugs 
and no d i r e c t t e s t i m o n y as t o what P a r k e r and C o r b e t t were 
d o i n g i n t h e v e h i c l e s on the n i g h t t h e y were a r r e s t e d , o t h e r 
than C o r b e t t ' s statement t o O f f i c e r S h i v e r t h a t t h e y "were 
t a l k i n g . " 
The e v i d e n c e , i n t h e l i g h t most f a v o r a b l e t o t h e 
S t a t e , shows: (1) t h a t t h e p o l i c e found m a r i j u a n a , 
c o c a i n e , 
and a d i g i t a l 
s c a l e i n a bag on t h e b a c k s e a t o f C o r b e t t ' s  
v e h i c l e 
(but no e v i d e n c e 
l i n k i n g 
t h o s e 
drugs t o P a r k e r ) ; 
(2) 
t h a t 
t h e r e was 
$2,115 
i n cash 
i n P a r k e r ' s 
v e h i c l e , 
a r r a n g e d i n b u n d l e s of $100 and p l a c e d i n s e v e r a l l o c a t i o n s i n 
the f r o n t s e a t a r e a of t h e v e h i c l e ; (3) t h a t t h e p o l i c e dog 
e x h i b i t e d an odor response i n P a r k e r ' s c a r (but t h a t no drugs 
were found i n P a r k e r ' s c a r o r on h i s p e r s o n ) ; and (4) t h a t 
P a r k e r 
r e a c t e d 
a n g r i l y 
and 
s u s p i c i o u s l y when t h e 
p o l i c e 
a r r i v e d . 
T h i s e v i d e n c e 
does not l i n k 
P a r k e r t o t h e 
p a r t i c u l a r 
drugs i n C o r b e t t ' s c a r , e x c e p t t h r o u g h s u r m i s e , s p e c u l a t i o n , 
and c o n j e c t u r e . 
No drugs or o t h e r items commonly a s s o c i a t e d 
w i t h the s a l e o f i l l e g a l drugs were found i n P a r k e r ' s c a r or 
on h i s p e r s o n . 
The drugs found were found i n C o r b e t t ' s c a r , 
and n o t h i n g l i n k s those drugs t o P a r k e r (the S t a t e d i d not 
p r e s e n t any e v i d e n c e o f P a r k e r ' s 
f i n g e r p r i n t s on the drugs 
found i n C o r b e t t ' s c a r o r any e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e absence of 
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the same). 
I t i s s u s p i c i o u s t h a t P a r k e r had $2,115 i n 
$100 
b u n d l e s s c a t t e r e d about t h e i n s i d e o f h i s c a r . The p o s s e s s i o n 
of 
t h i s money may w e l l 
suggest 
some s o r t o f d r u g - r e l a t e d 
t r a n s a c t i o n by P a r k e r a t some p o i n t . 
I t does n o t , however, 
p r o v i d e s u f f i c i e n t e v i d e n c e from w h i c h a j u r y c o u l d 
c o n c l u d e 
beyond a r e a s o n a b l e doubt t h a t P a r k e r had a c o n n e c t i o n t o 
t h e 
p a r t i c u l a r drugs found i n C o r b e t t ' s 
c a r . 
Even i f we were t o assume, however, t h a t t h e p r e s e n c e o f 
the money i n P a r k e r ' s c a r 
was a s u f f i c i e n t b a s i s f o r a j u r y t o 
f i n d beyond a r e a s o n a b l e doubt t h a t P a r k e r had a c o n n e c t i o n t o 
the p a r t i c u l a r drugs found i n C o r b e t t ' s c a r , t h e S t a t e 
s t i l l 
d i d n o t prove t h a t P a r k e r 
committed t h e crime 
c h a r g e d 
-¬
c o n s p i r a c y t o s e l l 
c o c a i n e . 
See Ex p a r t e Washington, 448 
So. 2d 404, 407 ( A l a . 1984) ("The p e r s o n a c c u s e d o f a crime i s 
r e q u i r e d a t t r i a l t o answer o n l y t h e s p e c i f i c charge c o n t a i n e d 
i n t h e i n d i c t m e n t . " ) . The e v i d e n c e i s 
c o n s i s t e n t w i t h each o f 
s e v e r a l h y p o t h e s e s : 
t h e S t a t e ' s h y p o t h e s i s 
t h a t P a r k e r had 
a l r e a d y s o l d t h e c o c a i n e t o C o r b e t t and C o r b e t t had a l r e a d y 
p a i d him; t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t P a r k e r was about t o buy drugs 
from C o r b e t t (a crime n o t a l l e g e d i n 
t h e i n d i c t m e n t ) ;
5 and 
t h e 
5We note t h a t C o r b e t t was t h e p e r s o n w i t h t h e s c a l e s , a 
f a c t t h a t i s 
a t l e a s t c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e n o t i o n t h a t C o r b e t t 
was a s e l l e r . 
F u r t h e r , t h e S t a t e p r e s e n t e d no e v i d e n c e o f 
f i n g e r p r i n t s o r o t h e r d i r e c t e v i d e n c e t h a t P a r k e r had e v e r had 
p o s s e s s i o n o f t h e 
bags found i n C o r b e t t ' s c a r 
o r t h a t C o r b e t t 
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h y p o t h e s i s t h a t t h e drugs were C o r b e t t ' s and had n o t h i n g a t 
a l l t o 
do w i t h P a r k e r . 
The s p e c u l a t i v e n a t u r e o f t h e e v i d e n c e 
i n t h i s case i s i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e u n c e r t a i n t y e x p r e s s e d i n 
the C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s ' 
u n p u b l i s h e d memorandum: 
"A 
j u r y 
c o u l d 
have 
d e t e r m i n e d 
t h a t 
C o r b e t t 
and P a r k e r had 
exchanged [which would mean t h a t P a r k e r was t h e s e l l e r ] , o r 
were about t o exchange 
[which would make P a r k e r t h e buyer] 
money f o r 
t h e c o c a i n e . " 
(Emphasis added.) 
As i t 
i s , 
we a r e 
l e f t t o guess as t o what, i f 
a n y t h i n g , had happened o r was 
about t o happen. 
The degree t o w h i c h t h i s case i s 
based on s p e c u l a t i o n 
and 
c o n j e c t u r e i s f u r t h e r i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e f o l l o w i n g passage 
from t h e C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s ' u n p u b l i s h e d memorandum: 
" P a r k e r p o i n t s out i n h i s b r i e f t h a t t h e amount o f 
money found i n 
t h e 
c a r 
exceeded t h e e s t i m a t e d s t r e e t 
v a l u e o f t h e drugs s e i z e d from C o r b e t t ' s 
v e h i c l e . 
However, 
t h e r e was 
a l s o 
t e s t i m o n y 
from 
O f f i c e r 
Anderson 
t h a t , 
based 
on 
h i s 
e x p e r i e n c e 
i n 
i n v e s t i g a t i n g drug d e a l s , t h e e x t r a money c o u l d have  
been a debt from a p r e v i o u s t r a n s a c t i o n . " 
(Emphasis added.) 
"'[A] p r i s o n e r , charged w i t h a f e l o n y , s h o u l d n o t 
be 
c o n v i c t e d 
on 
c i r c u m s t a n t i a l 
e v i d e n c e , 
u n l e s s i t 
shows by a f u l l measure o f p r o o f t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t 
i s g u i l t y . Such p r o o f i s 
always i n s u f f i c i e n t , u n l e s s 
i t 
e x c l u d e s , 
t o a m o r a l 
c e r t a i n t y , 
e v e r y 
o t h e r 
r e a s o n a b l e h y p o t h e s i s , b u t t h a t o f t h e g u i l t o f 
t h e 
accused. No m a t t e r how s t r o n g t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , i f 
had e v e r had p o s s e s s i o n o f t h e 
money found i n P a r k e r ' s c a r . 
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t h e y can be r e c o n c i l e d w i t h t h e t h e o r y t h a t some 
o t h e r 
p e r s o n 
may 
have 
done 
t h e a c t , then 
t h e 
d e f e n d a n t i s not shown t o be g u i l t y , by t h a t 
f u l l 
measure of p r o o f w h i c h t h e law r e q u i r e s . . . . ' " 
W i l l i a m s , 468 So. 2d a t 101 ( q u o t i n g Ex p a r t e A c r e e , 63 
A l a . 
234 (1879)). 
T h i s s t a n d a r d has not been met i n t h i s 
case. 
C o n c l u s i o n 
Based on the f o r e g o i n g , we r e v e r s e t h e judgment o f t h e 
C o u r t of C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s 
a f f i r m i n g t h e c o n v i c t i o n o f t h e 
charge of c o n s p i r a c y and remand t h e case t o t h a t c o u r t f o r 
p r o c e e d i n g s 
c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h i s o p i n i o n . 
REVERSED AND REMANDED. 
Moore, C.J., and S t u a r t , B o l i n , P a r k e r , Main, Wise, and 
B r y a n , J J . , concur. 
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