Source: http://openjurist.org/105/f3d/603
Timestamp: 2016-07-28 09:03:03
Document Index: 49840427

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 841', '§ 822', '§ 125', '§ 802', '§ 841', '§ 802']

105 F3d 603 United States v. O Steele | OpenJurist
105 F. 3d 603 - United States v. O Steele HomeFederal Reporter, Third Series105 F.3d
105 F3d 603 United States v. O Steele 105 F.3d 603
10 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 696
William H. Mills, Redden, Mills & Clark, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee.
P. Michael Patterson, U.S. Attorney, Nancy Hess, Asst. U.S. Atty., Pensacola, FL, for Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant.
Before TJOFLAT and BIRCH, Circuit Judges, and SMITH*, Senior Circuit Judge.
This appeal presents the issue of whether an indictment charging a pharmacist with dispensing controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) must allege conduct outside the scope of professional practice. The indictment in this case did not allege that the pharmacist's conduct was outside the scope of professional conduct, but the pharmacist was convicted. We REVERSE.
Whether an indictment sufficiently alleges a crime is a question of law. Rodriguez v. Ritchey, 556 F.2d 1185, 1191 n. 22 (5th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1047, 98 S.Ct. 894, 54 L.Ed.2d 799 (1978). We review questions of law de novo. United States v. Shenberg, 89 F.3d 1461, 1478 (11th Cir.1996). Steele argues that, because he is a registered pharmacist who can lawfully dispense controlled substances under 21 U.S.C. § 822(b), the indictment must allege that he dispensed the controlled substances outside the scope of his professional practice.1 The government contends that the indictment includes each element of the offense because it tracks the language of section 841(a)(1) and because the exception for practitioners is an affirmative defense which must be raised by the defendant.
Practitioners, such as physicians and pharmacists,2 who legally can dispense controlled substances can be convicted under section 841(a)(1) when their actions fall outside the scope of legitimate professional practice. The Supreme Court affirmed a conviction of a physician under section 841(a)(1) because he exceeded the bounds of legitimate medical practice. United States v. Moore, 423 U.S. 122, 96 S.Ct. 335, 46 L.Ed.2d 333 (1975). We subsequently held that pharmacists are similarly subject to conviction under the statute when their activities fall outside the usual course of professional practice. United States v. Hayes, 595 F.2d 258 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 866, 100 S.Ct. 138, 62 L.Ed.2d 89 (1979). The issue here is whether behavior outside the scope of professional practice must be alleged in the indictment when a pharmacist is charged under section 841(a)(1) for dispensing controlled substances. It is an established rule that each essential element of an offense must be alleged in an indictment. E.g., United States v. Debrow, 346 U.S. 374, 376, 74 S.Ct. 113, 114, 98 L.Ed. 92 (1953). Thus, an indictment using only statutory language is sufficient only if the statute itself sets forth all essential elements of the offense. United States v. Carll, 105 U.S. 611, 612, 26 L.Ed. 1135 (1881). "If the statute omits an essential element of the offense, or includes it only by implication, then pleading the statutory language will not suffice, and the omitted element must be alleged directly and with certainty." 1 Charles A. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure § 125, at 369-70 (2d ed. 1982) (collecting cases). In contrast, an affirmative defense need not be negated in an indictment, United States v. Sisson, 399 U.S. 267, 288, 90 S.Ct. 2117, 2128, 26 L.Ed.2d 608 (1970). Thus, in this case, the necessity of including an allegation of behavior outside the scope of professional practice in the indictment turns on whether it is an essential element of the offense or an affirmative defense that should properly be proved by Steele.
The government sought to distinguish Outler from the present case on the basis of language in the Outler indictment that is lacking in Steele's indictment. The government argued that, because the indictment in Outler included the phrase "by means of a prescription," the indictment on its face was misleading to the grand jury without an allegation that the drugs were prescribed without a legitimate medical purpose. The government further argued that use of the word "prescription" in the Outler indictment implied a practitioner whereas Steele's indictment made no reference to his status as a pharmacist and was, consequently, sufficient on its face.
We are unpersuaded by the government's arguments for several reasons. First, the word "dispense," like the word "prescribe," implies a practitioner. Section 802(10) defines "dispense" as "deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user ... by, or pursuant to the lawful order of, a practitioner, including the prescribing and administering of a controlled substance and the packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for delivery." 21 U.S.C. § 802(10) (emphasis added). Thus, "dispense" by statutory definition is delivery performed by a practitioner.
Second, the analysis in Outler did not turn on the use of the language "by means of a prescription." In fact, we used the terms "prescribe" and "dispense" interchangeably in Outler, 659 F.2d at 1308 ("Counts One through Fifteen involved charges of prescribing or, in the language of the [Controlled Substances Act], 'dispensing' controlled drugs.").
Finally, we reject the government's argument because an indictment which on its face does not identify the defendant as a practitioner does not change the essential elements of the offense when a practitioner is prosecuted under section 841(a)(1) for illegally dispensing controlled substances. In Outler we held that the element of behavior beyond professional practice must be alleged in an indictment "whenever a physician is charged with [dispensing] drugs in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)." Id. at 1310 (emphasis added). The reasoning in Outler logically extends to practitioners like pharmacists who "dispense" controlled substances.
As in Outler, we have little doubt that an indictment alleging behavior outside the scope of professional practice would have allowed a grand jury to find probable cause for the offense in this case. The rule that each essential element must be alleged in an indictment, however, serves to ensure certain basic protections provided by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution.3 We cannot speculate as to the grand jury's decision in view of the government's failure to allege each essential element of the offense without potentially "depri[ving] the defendant of a basic protection which the guarantee of the intervention of a grand jury was designed to secure." Outler, 659 F.2d at 1311 (quoting Russell v. United States, 369 U.S. 749, 770, 82 S.Ct. 1038, 1050, 8 L.Ed.2d 240 (1962)). Thus, the indictment is insufficient to support the conviction.
Although Steele makes several arguments to support his allegation that the indictment is insufficient, we need address only whether the indictment fails to allege each element of the offense
Physicians and pharmacists are both defined as "practitioners" in 21 U.S.C. § 802(20)
The Sixth Amendment provides that the criminal defendant "be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation." U.S. Const. amend. VI. The Fifth Amendment guarantees that "[n]o person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury." U.S. Const. amend. V. Requiring that each essential element be alleged in the indictment serves to inform the defendant of the alleged offense and to ensure that the grand jury properly determines probable cause