Source: http://openjurist.org/546/f2d/145/united-states-v-godwin
Timestamp: 2017-02-28 06:18:37
Document Index: 652985800

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3237', '§ 176', '§ 952', '§ 176', '§ 952', '§ 3237', '§ 952', '§ 963', '§ 952', '§ 1101']

546 F2d 145 United States v. Godwin | OpenJurist
546 F. 2d 145 - United States v. Godwin HomeFederal Reporter, Second Series 546 F.2d.
546 F2d 145 United States v. Godwin 546 F.2d 145
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.Carlton Errol GODWIN, Defendant-Appellee.
Appellee argues that the gravamen of the offense charged is smuggling, which crime was complete in San Francisco. The authority he urges most strenuously, and adopted by the district court, is United States v. Lember, 319 F.Supp. 249 (E.D.Va.1970). In Lember the government claimed unsuccessfully that under 18 U.S.C. § 3237,3 transportation in foreign and interstate commerce and use of the mails rendered defendant's alleged violation of 21 U.S.C. § 176a a continuing offense. The Lember court rejected this argument:
319 F.Supp. at 251.
We decline the invitation to anoint Lember as the rule of this circuit. Instead, we think the reasoning of United States v. Jackson, 482 F.2d 1167 (10th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1159, 94 S.Ct. 918, 39 L.Ed.2d 111 (1974), is persuasive. Jackson concededly involved a violation of a different statute, 21 U.S.C. § 952.4 However, § 176a and § 952 are similar in that neither expressly fixes venue but both prohibit certain importation. The Jackson court stated:
Section 952(a) prohibits importation of heroin into the United States from any place outside thereof. The statute does not necessarily pertain to any particular locality such as the place of entry, for it prohibits importation anywhere in the United States. Appellants charge, however, the offense was completed the moment the smuggling attempt was discovered in California and thus does not continue to the smuggling attempt's destination point in Colorado. Admittedly a crime was committed the moment the heroin package entered the United States, but discovery of the crime in California did not exhaust it. See United States v. Kissel, 218 U.S. 601, 31 S.Ct. 124, 54 L.Ed. 1168 (1910). The illicit scheme originated in Thailand and from there it extended to Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado. During the illicit venture the heroin was discovered in California but certainly the crime was not completed there. It was a continuous crime which received no finality until the package arrived at Lowry Air Force Base. Since an offense committed in more than one district "may be inquired of and prosecuted in any district in which such offense was . . . continued," 18 U.S.C. § 3237, venue for § 952(a) lies in any district used by appellants to complete their crime. See United States v. Cores, 356 U.S. 405, 78 S.Ct. 875, 2 L.Ed.2d 873 (1958). We therefore reject United States v. Lember, supra, in all respects inconsistent with our holding herein.
Appellee argues that Jackson included a conspiracy charge and is therefore inapposite. The conspiracy charge arose out of 21 U.S.C. § 963; the language quoted above clearly refers to § 952. Further support for the Jackson approach can be found in United States v. Barnard, 490 F.2d 907, 911 (9th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 959, 94 S.Ct. 1976, 40 L.Ed.2d 310 (1974).5
Section 176a was repealed on October 27, 1970 by Pub.L. 91-513, Title III, § 1101(a).