Opinion ID: 382937
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence Supporting Manley's Conviction.

Text: 41 Manley argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for attempted possession of narcotics with intent to distribute. Preliminarily, he contends that his arrest was unjustified and that the cash horde discovered on his person and his incriminating statements made pursuant to his arrest should have been suppressed. Further, he asserts that the jury could not have properly concluded that his behavior rose to the level of a criminal attempt to violate the narcotics law. We disagree. 42 There is no substance to Manley's initial argument since at the time he was detained the agents had probable cause to believe he had engaged in a criminal act. It will be recalled that his arrest came after the agents had spotted him running from a room in which a substantial quantity of cocaine and narcotics paraphernalia were in plain sight and some portion of that cocaine was in the process of being measured. Manley thereupon attempted to conceal himself from the agents. Cf. United States v. Gomez, supra, 633 F.2d at 1007. Under these circumstances, the agents were justified in placing him in custody. United States v. Webb, supra, 623 F.2d at 761-63. Consequently, the money found on his person and his subsequently uttered inculpatory statements were properly received at trial. 43 We also reject appellant's second contention, that his behavior fell short of an illicit attempt. There is no general federal statute proscribing attempt, and it is therefore actionable only where, as in the present case, a specific criminal statute makes impermissible its attempted as well as actual violation. United States v. York, 578 F.2d 1036, 1038 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1005, 99 S.Ct. 619, 58 L.Ed.2d 682 (1978). This Court, along with the Fifth Circuit, has adopted the view set forth in Section 5.01 of the American Law Institute's Model Penal Code (Proposed Official Draft 1962), that the requisite elements of attempt are an intent to engage in criminal conduct and the performance of acts which constitute a substantial step towards the commission of the substantive offense. United States v. Jackson, 560 F.2d 112, 117-20 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 941, 98 S.Ct. 434, 54 L.Ed.2d 301 (1977); United States v. Stallworth, 543 F.2d 1038, 1040 (2d Cir. 1976); see also United States v. Mandujano, 499 F.2d 370, 376 (5th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1114, 95 S.Ct. 792, 42 L.Ed.2d 812 (1975), and see United States v. Alvarez, 610 F.2d 1250, 1254 n.3 (5th Cir. 1980); United States v. Oviedo, 525 F.2d 881, 885-86 (5th Cir. 1976). 44 A substantial step must be something more than mere preparation, yet may be less than the last act necessary before the actual commission of the substantive crime, and thus the finder of fact may give weight to that which has already been done as well as that which remains to be accomplished before commission of the substantive crime. United States v. Jackson, supra, 560 F.2d at 118-19. In order for behavior to be punishable as an attempt, it need not be incompatible with innocence, yet it must be necessary to the consummation of the crime and be of such a nature that a reasonable observer, viewing it in context could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that it was undertaken in accordance with a design to violate the statute. 45 As we noted in United States v. Busic, 549 F.2d 252, 257 n.9 (2d Cir. 1977), Judicial inquiry into whether a defendant is chargeable with an attempt is necessarily predictive and focuses on the point when the accused's conduct has progressed sufficiently to minimize the risk of an unfair conviction. A second useful formulation may be found in United States v. Monholland, 607 F.2d 1311, 1318 (10th Cir. 1979): 46 The cases universally hold that mere intention to commit a specified crime does not amount to an attempt. It is essential that the defendant, with the intent of committing the particular crime, do some overt act adapted to, approximating, and which in the ordinary and likely course of things will result in, the commission of the particular crime. 47 Whether conduct represents a substantial step towards the fulfillment of a criminal design is a determination so dependent on the particular factual context of each case that, of necessity, there can be no litmus test to guide the reviewing courts. With respect to the case at bar, however, it is clear that the district judge properly submitted the matter to the trier of fact, and that the jury's verdict was supported by evidence amply demonstrating both essential elements of criminal attempt. There can be no doubt that the evidence warranted a finding that Manley possessed the requisite state of mind. The circumstances constituting the probable cause for his arrest have been noted above and plainly bespeak an evil intent. Additionally following his detention he was found to be carrying a large sum of money, roughly equivalent to the purchase price of the quantity of cocaine found on the scale. His explanations for his presence at Williams' home and for the extravagant amount of cash he was carrying were unpersuasive if not inherently improbable. Certain of his post-arrest statements could reasonably have been construed as falsely exculpatory while others might well be interpreted as admissions. Furthermore, he took the stand at trial and the jury was entitled not only to reject his testimony, but to draw adverse inferences from what could reasonably have been viewed as a fabrication. United States v. Tramunti, 500 F.2d 1334, 1338 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1079, 95 S.Ct. 667, 42 L.Ed.2d 673 (1974). 48 A somewhat more difficult question arises with respect to the second essential element of intent, namely, the proximity of Manley's conduct to the accomplishment of the crime. In essence, Manley is being punished for intending to purchase narcotics, and in furtherance of that design, carrying to Williams' home a sufficient amount of cash to consummate the transaction and participating in the weighing of the contraband. There is no challenge to the court's instruction on this facet of attempt, and Judge Pratt properly charged the jury that in order to find Manley guilty, his conduct, objectively evaluated, must have been a substantial step towards the acquisition of narcotics. The issue posed on appeal is simply whether Manley's actions as described above can, as a matter of law, be viewed as having crossed the frequently imperceptible boundary from preparation into the forbidden territory of attempt. We answer this question in the affirmative. 49 By his own testimony, Manley enjoyed only the most casual relationship with Williams, deriving almost entirely from Williams' occasional purchase of a sandwich at Manley's Brooklyn food store. Notwithstanding the insubstantiality of their acquaintance, Manley asserts that on Thursday, April 12, 1979, he received, for the first time, a purely social invitation to visit Williams at home that very night. Manley, who testified to working long and regular hours at his store further claimed to have accepted that week-night invitation, though he had never been to Williams' home before. He claimed that after having closed his store at 10:00 p. m., and after having already returned home and eaten dinner, he drove a considerable distance, late at night, from his home in Brooklyn to Williams' home in West Hempstead, Long Island, purely for purposes of socializing. 50 More significantly, Manley brought with him on this social call, a very considerable amount of cash, the nocturnal transportation of which, through a high-crime area of Brooklyn seems most surprising both because it was unnecessary to his visit's reputed purpose and in light of his earlier assertion that he felt Brooklyn to be sufficiently dangerous as to require him to carry a gun. Manley explained that a portion of this money was to be used the following day for legitimate business expenses; however, the jury was fully entitled to reject that partial justification, particularly in light of the fact that the amount of cash Manley was carrying, according to expert testimony, was roughly equivalent to the wholesale purchase price of the quantity of cocaine found on the scale seized in the kitchen. It bears repeating in this connection that Manley was seen running from a room in which cocaine was found lying in the open, both on the scale and on the table. Cocaine is a powdery substance, soluble in liquid and otherwise easily susceptible to spoilage or unintended dispersion, and the jury could thus have properly concluded that at the time the agents made their approach to the house, Manley himself was engaged in its weighing. His attempt to conceal himself does little to bolster his claim of innocence. 51 Under these circumstances, we decline to reverse the jury's determination that Manley's conduct constituted a substantial step towards the actual possession of narcotics. We recognize that this question is always a troublesome one for both judge and jury, and it presents a particularly thorny issue when the offense being attempted is the simple possession of a substance which is easily concealed, rather than mechanically more complex crimes, such as bank robbery, which involve numerous preliminary steps uniquely criminal and generally incompatible with innocent purpose. 52 Despite the evidentiary difficulties inherent in establishing a criminal attempt to possess narcotics, courts have sustained verdicts where the evidence might be viewed as less compelling than the instant case. See United States v. Mandujano, supra (receipt of $650 from undercover agent in exchange for unfulfilled promise to procure narcotics held a substantial step). On review of the proof submitted in the case at bar, we find that the jury was justified in concluding that Manley's conduct was part of an attempt to possess narcotics. Indeed, it is hard to conceive of any additional preliminary steps which he could have taken short of the actual acquisition of the narcotics. In sum, the facts of this case render the likelihood of an unfair conviction minimal. 53 We have carefully considered the various other claims of error raised by appellants and find them to be without sufficient merit to warrant discussion. 54 The judgments of conviction are affirmed.