Opinion ID: 532821
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Firearms Charge--Sufficiency of the Evidence

Text: 14 Mr. Edun's first contention is that the government failed to present sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c). That statute provided in relevant part: 15 (1) Whoever, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime ... uses or carries a firearm, shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking crime,, [sic] be sentenced to imprisonment for five years.... 16 (2) For purposes of this subsection, the term drug trafficking crime means any felony violation of Federal law involving the distribution, manufacture, or importation of any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)). 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c). 1 17 At the outset, we note that Mr. Edun bears a heavy burden. In reviewing a sufficiency challenge, [t]he test is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, 'any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.'  United States v. Pritchard, 745 F.2d 1112, 1122 (7th Cir.1984) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (emphasis in original). 18 We recently had occasion to explore the meaning of section 924(c) in United States v. Rosado, 866 F.2d 967 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 117, 107 L.Ed.2d 79 (1989). We noted that the starting point for our analysis of section 924(c) is the plain language employed by Congress. Id. at 969 (citing Indiana Port Comm'n v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 835 F.2d 1207, 1210 (7th Cir.1987)); see also United States v. Nash, 876 F.2d 1359, 1362 (7th Cir.1989) (to construe the meaning of Sec. 924(c)(2) the court began with the statute's plain language); United States v. Rawlings, 821 F.2d 1543, 1545 (11th Cir.) (When examining [section 924(c) ], we must assume that Congress used the words of the statute as they are commonly and ordinarily understood.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 979, 108 S.Ct. 494, 98 L.Ed.2d 492 (1987). Read in this manner, section 924(c) contains two essential elements. First, the defendant must have used or carried the firearm, and second, this use or carrying of the firearm must have been during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense. The government must prove each component of section 924(c) beyond a reasonable doubt before the defendant may be found in violation of the statute and thus subject to the mandatory five-year prison sentence.
19 Before proceeding further with our analysis, it is necessary to pause and examine in some detail how this issue was presented in the district court and how the parties present it to us on this appeal. 20 As we noted earlier, unlike the vast majority of federal criminal trials, the proceeding in the district court was a bench trial. During that bench trial, little attention was given to the offense of carrying or using a weapon during the commission of a drug offense. At the end of the government's opening statement, there was a brief mention of the weapon: 21 An inventory search of the BMW later found a fully loaded semi-auto revolver in the trunk of the car. And that is the basis for the charge that he was carrying a firearm during and in relation to the drug crimes. 22 Tr. at 8. At the close of the government's case, the Assistant United States Attorney read into the record a stipulation regarding the discovery of the weapon: 23 Government Exhibit No. 2 is a firearm; namely, an Armi F. LL I tang Foglio-Gardone VT model GT .380 caliber semi-automatic weapon, serial number 64341 and ammunition. 24 Government Exhibit 2 was found in the trunk of the BMW VIN number, which was just read, driven by defendant Ajibola G. Edun at the time of his arrest. The Chicago Police Department laboratory was unable to find any fingerprints on the firearm, Government Exhibit 2. 25 Tr. at 90. The record contains no suggestion why the government, throughout trial, relied exclusively on whether the defendant carried the weapon and did not argue the broader proposition that he used the weapon. During closing arguments, defense counsel argued briefly that his client had no knowledge that the gun was in the trunk of the car. Although no mention had been made of the firearms charge in the government's earlier closing argument, the Assistant United States Attorney did address the matter briefly in rebuttal: 26 Your Honor, I ask you also to use your common sense. A .38 semi-automatic fully loaded gun in the trunk of the car is there for a purpose. The purpose is the fact that the defendant is a drug dealer. He's about to pick up a large load of heroin from Tessy Akinwande. 27 Tr. at 107. No mention of this firearms charge was made in the defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal. Nor was there any specific reference to the firearms charge when the court rendered a verdict. 28 On appeal, we also are confronted with an unusual situation. Relying on United States v. Nelson, 733 F.2d 364, 370-71 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 937, 105 S.Ct. 341, 83 L.Ed.2d 276 (1984), and United States v. Barber, 594 F.2d 1242, 1244 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 835, 100 S.Ct. 69, 62 L.Ed.2d 46 (1979), Mr. Edun submits that the government failed to prove the firearms offense because there was no proof that he knew the weapon was in the trunk. Notably, he does not argue in his brief that the government's case with respect to this offense is deficient in any other way. Specifically, he does not argue that, assuming he had knowledge of the weapon's presence, its location in the locked trunk of the car could not constitute either carrying or using the weapon during the commission of the drug offense. 2 By contrast, the government fails to address the appellant's contention that he did not know of the weapon's presence; instead, it focuses on the location of the weapon and submits that Mr. Edun carried the weapon despite its presence in the trunk of his car. 3
29 We must, of course, deal with the issue tendered by Mr. Edun in his appellate brief and at oral argument. As he points out, there is authority for the proposition that the government does have to prove that the defendant knowingly carried a firearm in order to sustain a conviction under section 924(c)(2). Nelson, 733 F.2d at 370; accord Barber, 594 F.2d at 1244. However, as the Chief Judge pointed out at oral argument, this rudimentary mental element, Barber, 594 F.2d at 1244, can be established not only by direct but also by circumstantial evidence. Indeed, Barber makes that specific point abundantly clear. Id. The evidence of record permitted the trier of fact, here the district court, to conclude that Mr. Edun had driven a newly purchased BMW automobile, registered in the names of Mr. Edun and his wife, to Midway Airport. The trip was for the purpose of picking up a mule who, acting according to a plan devised with Mr. Edun's participation, was importing into our country a quarter of a million dollars worth of heroin. Throughout this venture, the car was under the exclusive control of Mr. Edun. From this evidence, it was reasonable for the district court to conclude that Mr. Edun knew of the presence of the weapon. See United States v. Anderson, 881 F.2d 1128, 1141 (D.C.Cir.1989) (jury properly could conclude that defendant knowingly possessed a weapon found in his apartment); United States v. Talkington, 875 F.2d 591, 595 n. 2 (7th Cir.1989) (knowledge that defendant possessed counterfeit money may be inferred from the surrounding circumstances).
30 As we have noted already, the government also addresses whether, despite the location of the weapon in the trunk of the car, Mr. Edun can be convicted of having carried the weapon during the commission of the drug offense. The government is replying to an argument that was never made. Indeed, it invites us to define carries broadly and suggests that we should reject the more restrictive approach of some, but not all, of the circuits that have met the issue. We must decline this invitation to address definitively the outer limits of the statutory language. Even assuming that the constitutional constraint that forbids our rendering advisory opinions might allow us to address the issue, see U.S. Const. art. III, Sec. 2, prudential considerations certainly counsel against such a course. Defining the scope of the statutory term carries (upon which the government places sole reliance) has not been an easy task for our colleagues in other circuits. Cf. Anderson, 881 F.2d at 1140-41 (instruction that defendant could be found to carry the weapon if it were convenient of access or within reach was not plainly erroneous); United States v. Cardenas, 864 F.2d 1528, 1536 (10th Cir.) (mere transportation of a firearm insufficient although dominion and control may extend beyond defendant's person in the context of a motor vehicle), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 3197, 105 L.Ed.2d 705 (1989); United States v. Feliz-Cordero, 859 F.2d 250, 253 (2d Cir.1988) (weapon must be within reach of defendant); United States v. Stewart, 779 F.2d 538, 540 (9th Cir.1985) (weapon in trunk might serve as basis for conviction if, under proper instructions, the jury finds that the firearm is within possession or control of person who commits offense and weapon facilitated or had a role in crime such as emboldening an actor), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 867, 108 S.Ct. 192, 98 L.Ed.2d 144 (1987). Our court has dealt with the concept in a far more conventional context. See United States v. Ocampo, 890 F.2d 1363, 1371 (7th Cir. 1989). 4 Courts must decide difficult issues such as this one on the basis of the record before them; this record is, to put it mildly, meager. Since resolution of the matter is not necessary to our decision today, we shall await a more plenary record and a case where we have the benefit of the adversary process which sharpens the presentation of issues. Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 204, 82 S.Ct. 691, 703, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962).