Opinion ID: 778180
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Carf's Claim of Withdrawal Through Incarceration

Text: 27 Nor do we find merit in Carf's contention that he is entitled to a new trial because the jury was not properly instructed as to the factors it should consider in determining whether his participation in the conspiracy ended with his 1995 incarceration. [W]hile arrest or incarceration may constitute a withdrawal from a conspiracy, it does not follow that in every instance it must,  United States v. Agueci, 310 F.2d 817, 839 (2d Cir.1962) (emphases in original), cert. denied, 372 U.S. 959, 83 S.Ct. 1013, 10 L.Ed.2d 11 (1963), and whether a coconspirator's imprisonment constitutes a withdrawal must be decided by the jury in light of the length and location of the internment, the nature of the conspiracy, and any other available evidence, United States v. Panebianco, 543 F.2d at 454 n. 5. A conspirator who presents evidence of his imprisonment during the course of the conspiracy is entitled to a jury instruction on withdrawal. United States v. Salameh, 152 F.3d 88, 150 (2d Cir.1998) (per curiam), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1112, 119 S.Ct. 885, 142 L.Ed.2d 785 (1999). However, the failure to give such an instruction is not a basis for reversal unless the defendant can show that a properly instructed jury would likely have found that he withdrew from the conspiracy. See id. 28 Carf has made no such showing. The conspiracy endured for some six or seven years. Carf was incarcerated nearby and for only a few months, from May to September of 1995. Prior to his incarceration, he played an integral role in the conspiracy, serving as a lieutenant for both Hamilton and Bruce. Although Carf testified that he thereafter worked as a truck driver and did not sell drugs, the government presented evidence that after his release from jail he in fact resumed, and perhaps even elevated, his participation in the conspiracy. For example, Joel Lipsky, a customer, testified that Carf participated in a sale of crack cocaine to Lipsky in November 1996. Butler, a street-seller beginning in 1996, testified that Carf was a lieutenant in 1996, replenishing Butler's drug supplies and paying him; Hamilton testified that Carf remained one of his lieutenants until at least mid-1997. And Hamilton testified that Carf took charge of several of Hamilton's allotted weeks in 1996-1997. Given the ample evidence of Carf's participation in the conspiracy after his September 1995 release from jail, together with the relative brevity of his incarceration, Carf cannot demonstrate that the jury, if properly instructed, would likely have found that he withdrew from the conspiracy. 29