Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-88-01649/USCOURTS-ca10-88-01649-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Terry Lynn Skaggs
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

FILED 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

United St.at.es Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 

FEB 101989 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

v. 

TERRY LYNN SKAGGS, 

Defendant-Appellant. 

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No. 88-1649 

(D.C. No. 87-CR-89-B) 

( N. D. Ok la • ) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT 

Before MCKAY and MCWILLIAMS, Circuit Judges, and BROWN, District 

Judge*. 

In August 1987 Mr. Terry Lynn Skaggs was convicted of distribution of amphetamine under 21 u.s.c. S 84l(a)(l) (1982) and 

aiding and abetting under 18 U.S.C. S 2 (1982) for acts committed 

in April and May 1987. One attorney represented both Mr. Skaggs 

and his co-defendants, Mr. Teafatiller and Mr. Jones. A few days 

prior to trial Mr. Teafatiller pled guilty to the distribution 

charge. In February 1988 the trial court granted Mr. Skaggs and 

Mr. Jones new trials under Fed. R. Crim. P. 33 with new, separate 

counsel after it found that the defendants' attorney had admitted 

accepting illegal drugs from Mr. Teafatiller as attorney fees. At 

his second trial in March 1988 Mr. Skaggs was acquitted. 

*Honorable Wesley E. Brown, United States Senior District Judge 

for the District of Kansas, sitting by designation. 

Appellate Case: 88-1649 Document: 01019962704 Date Filed: 02/10/1989 Page: 1 
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Prior to the February 1988 Rule 33 motions, Mr. Skaggs had 

been indicted with others for conspiracy to manufacture, possess, 

and distribute amphetamine under 21 U.S.C. S 846 (1982) for acts 

committed from July 1986 through May 1987, and in a superceding 

indictment filed in March 1988 for the manufacture, possession, 

and distribution of amphetamine under 21 u.s.c. S 84l(a)(l) 

(1982). The alleged overt acts attributed to Mr. Skaggs in the 

conspiracy occurred in April and May 1987 and were the same acts 

alleged as part of the August 1987 distribution charge for which 

Mr. Skaggs was acquitted. The trial court denied Mr. Skaggs' 

Motion to Dismiss which was made on the ground of double jeopardy 

in violation of the Fifth Amendment. 

Although Mr. Skaggs was acquitted of the substantive charge 

arising out of the acts occurring in April and May 1987, those 

same acts were used as the overt acts upon which his conspiracy 

indictment was based. This case is controlled by United States v. 

Blanton, 531 F.2d 442 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 935 

(1976). Unfortunately, this case represents the abuses possible 

if the double jeopardy clause is not construed more broadly. The 

United States Supreme Court has dictated the result we reach 

today, and any double jeopardy argument raised must be directly 

addressed to our highest Court. See United States v. Blanton, 

supra. 

AFFIRMED. 

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Entered for the Court 

Monroe G. McKay 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 88-1649 Document: 01019962704 Date Filed: 02/10/1989 Page: 2