Opinion ID: 1191657
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Caraballo's Sufficiency Challenge and Standard of Review

Text: Caraballo contends that his § 848(e)(1)(A) conviction for the murder of Jose Fernandez cannot stand because the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to prove that he committed this murder while engaging in an offense punishable under [21 U.S.C. §] 841(b)(1)(A). [2] Relying on United States v. Desinor , in which this court observed that the engaging in element of § 848(e)(1)(A) did not require the government to prove that a drug-related motive was the sole, primary, or most important reason for a killing as long as it was one purpose, 525 F.3d at 202, Caraballo submits that the trial evidence in this case was insufficient to satisfy even this modest requirement because his sole motivation for the Fernandez murder was his romantic relationship with Quincy Martinez, a circumstance unrelated to the charged drug distribution conspiracy, Appellant's Br. at 38-39. The rule of constitutional sufficiency derived from the Due Process Clause instructs that a conviction cannot be obtained except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime . . . charged. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970). A defendant raising a sufficiency challenge nevertheless bears a heavy burden because a reviewing court must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution and uphold the conviction if  any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (emphasis in original); accord United States v. Jones, 531 F.3d 163, 168 (2d Cir.2008). Applying these principles to this case, we conclude that Caraballo's sufficiency challenge fails because proof that the purpose of a killing was related to a defendant's drug activities is not the only means of satisfying the engaging in element of § 848(e)(1)(A). Here, a rational jury could find that element established by evidence that Caraballo used his position in the charged drug conspiracy to effect the Fernandez murder, specifically, by inducing drug confederates to participate in the killing through promises to forgive drug debts and to supply drugs in the future.