Opinion ID: 202016
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Pinkerton v. United States

Text: 51 As we discussed in connection with the Booker challenge, the district court gave the jury a Pinkerton instruction that allowed the jury to find that Hansen, by virtue of his membership in the charged conspiracy, was criminally liable for the substantive offenses committed by his co-conspirators during the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy. See Pinkerton, 328 U.S. at 645-48, 66 S.Ct. 1180. Hansen attacks his conviction under Pinkerton, arguing (1) he was not afforded adequate notice of the essential nature of the charges against him; (2) the evidence does not support a finding that Fidler's use of a firearm to commit armed robbery was reasonably foreseeable to Hansen; and (3) the district court's wording of the Pinkerton instruction was improper. 52 As to notice, the indictment told Hansen that he was being charged in Counts 1-3 for aiding and abetting robbery affecting commerce, conspiring to affect commerce by robbery, and using a firearm during a crime of violence and thereby causing murder. The unambiguous language of the indictment, combined with our decisions which have made abundantly clear that a co-conspirator is liable for acts committed by other members in furtherance of the conspiracy, see, e.g., United States v. Sanchez, 917 F.2d 607, 612 (1st Cir.1990), convince us that Hansen, represented by experienced defense counsel, suffered no unfair surprise. 53 Nor is Hansen able to persuasively challenge the sufficiency of the evidence that was presented against him. The Government's case relied primarily on the damaging testimony of Hansen's childhood friend, Brennan. We previously described their friendship as unfortunate, and undoubtedly it was — their combined actions resulted in a tragic loss of life and countless other offenses. Their partnership was particularly unfortunate for Hansen, because, as the district court observed, [w]ithout Brennan, there was no case. Hansen, 256 F.Supp.2d at 69. Brennan's testimony revealed not only that Hansen was aware of the possibility that the minivan might be used in an armed robbery, but that Fidler told him the minivan was needed for an armored car robbery and guns would be used during the robbery. Moreover, Brennan and Hansen discussed how armored car robberies often resulted in killings, and knew their payment was contingent on the success of the heist. Under de novo review and taken in the light most favorable to the jury's guilty verdict, see United States v. Felton, 417 F.3d 97, 104 (1st Cir.2005), Hansen's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence is simply unavailing. 54 Because there was sufficient evidence to allow the jury to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Hansen and others were members of the same underlying conspiracy, the Pinkerton charge to the jury was proper. See United States v. Torres, 162 F.3d 6, 10 (1st Cir.1998). We, thus, are not confronted with the sort of `marginal case' in which the Pinkerton instruction sometimes causes concern. Sanchez, 917 F.2d at 612 n. 4 (citation omitted). Additionally, after review of the district court's charge, we find it contains all elements of a standard Pinkerton instruction, including emphasis that the jury was obligated to find each element of Pinkerton beyond a reasonable doubt.