Opinion ID: 366610
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: facilitation of the conspiracy

Text: 52 Dixon, Johnson, Andrews and Davenport contest the validity of their convictions under 21 U.S.C. § 843(b) for the use of a telephone to facilitate the conspiracy to possess with the intention to distribute and to distribute cocaine or heroin. We do not reach the contentions of Dixon, Johnson and Andrews, for the reason that their sentences under this conviction run concurrently with the sentences on the conspiracy conviction which we affirm. This circuit follows the concurrent sentence doctrine under which the appellate court, as a matter of discretion, may decline to review a conviction under one count if a conviction under another count is affirmed and the sentences run concurrently and no adverse collateral legal consequences for the appellant result from the additional conviction. United States v. Walls, 577 F.2d 690, 699 (9th Cir. 1978). We find no adverse collateral legal consequences to these applicants; and, in the exercise of our discretion, we decline to review these appellants' arguments on this issue. 53 Appellant Davenport's sentence on the felony facilitation count runs concurrently with the misdemeanor conviction for possession. However, he received a three-year sentence on the felony count, suspended to six months' confinement, with three years' probation upon release from confinement, whereas he received a sentence of six months only on the misdemeanor. We must therefore review the conviction on the facilitation count. 54 Davenport's appeal on this count presents us with a question of interpretation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b), which prohibits the use of a telephone to facilitate certain drug-related felonies. 1 55 Davenport specifically was charged in Count 19 of the indictment as follows: 56 On or about October 28, 1975, in the State and Northern District of California, STEPHEN BRUCE DAVENPORT, aka Steve, defendant herein, did, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b), knowingly and willfully use a communication facility namely, a telephone, in facilitating a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846 and 841(a) (1). 57 The telephone call specified in the indictment as the basis for the charge was a telephone call between Davenport and Johnson, in which Davenport attempted to purchase a small amount of cocaine. The evidence does not support a finding that Davenport knew of the existence of the conspiracy to distribute, nor that he had any involvement in the distribution of cocaine or heroin himself. Davenport, in the telephone conversation was, at most, attempting to purchase cocaine for his personal use. 58 Although there was some effort by the prosecution to establish from the telephone conversation that Davenport was attempting to acquire cocaine for distribution, the small amount he sought to obtain (2-4 grams) is not ordinarily consistent with an intent to distribute. There was mention in the conversation of wishing to borrow scales to weigh something out and of splitting it up, but it was apparent from the testimony of an expert witness and a lay witness associated with Davenport that this had nothing to do with the cocaine conspiracy, but rather, related to the division of some marijuana that he and a friend had purchased. Furthermore, it is evident from a careful review of the transcript, the instructions of the court, and the numerous questions from the jury concerning those instructions, that both the judge and the jury were of the opinion that Davenport was not attempting to purchase cocaine for distribution, but was attempting to purchase cocaine from Johnson for his own use. 59 The basic premise of Davenport's argument is that a purchaser's relationship to the distribution conspiracy from which he buys is of such a marginal nature that he cannot be considered a facilitator within the meaning of the statute. Simply stated, he argues that a buyer cannot facilitate the very sale which creates his status. The government argues that a conspiracy is an ongoing enterprise, a continuing agreement, and that buyers encourage and facilitate the continuation of that agreement through their purchases. In spite of its logical appeal, the strength of the government's argument breaks down in the face of contrary considerations. 60 We have found no decisions of this circuit which lend support to the government's position that the distribution of drugs or an agreement to distribute drugs is facilitated by a purchaser of the drugs. In each case in which we have upheld a conviction for facilitation, the defendant's role in the distribution of drugs has been far more substantial than that of a buyer for personal consumption. E. g., United States v. Turner, 528 F.2d 143 (9th Cir.), Cert. denied sub nom. Grimes et al. v. United States, 423 U.S. 996, 96 S.Ct. 426, 46 L.Ed.2d 371 (1975) (conspirator); United States v. Padilla, 525 F.2d 308 (9th Cir. 1975) (conspirator/seller); United States v. Smith, 519 F.2d 516 (9th Cir. 1975) (conspirator; United States v. Veon, 474 F.2d 1 (9th Cir. 1973) (sellers). 61 In Rewis v. United States, 401 U.S. 808, 91 S.Ct. 1056, 28 L.Ed.2d 493 (1971), the Supreme Court approved the Fifth Circuit's ruling in Rewis v. United States, 418 F.2d 1218 (5th Cir. 1969), which held that a gambler whose participation in a gambling business was only that of a bettor, and not a proprietor, could not be found guilty of acting with intent to facilitate the unlawful gambling activities in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1952. The Supreme Court agreed that intent to . . . facilitate requires more than a mere desire to patronize the illegal activity. Rewis, supra 401 U.S. at 811, 91 S.Ct. at 1059. Therefore, a mere customer did not facilitate the business he patronized. This interpretation of the ambiguous term facilitation was supported in the opinion by the legislative history behind the statute in question, and by reference to the general principle that ambiguity concerning the ambit of criminal statutes should be resolved in favor of lenity . . .. Accord, United States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336, 347, 92 S.Ct. 515, 522, 30 L.Ed.2d 488 (1971). Our circuit has since applied this interpretation of the term facilitation under 18 U.S.C. § 1952 in United States v. Gibson Spec. Co., 507 F.2d 446, 450-51 (9th Cir. 1974). A difference in the nature of the illicit business should not change the basic principle enunciated by the Supreme Court and by our circuit that a mere customer's contribution to the business he patronizes does not constitute the facilitation envisioned by Congress. 62 Our conclusion is also supported by the legislative history of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, of which § 843(b) is a part. The scheme of the Act shows that Congress intended to draw a sharp distinction between distributors and simple possessors, both in the categorization of substantive crimes and in the resultant penalties. See United States v. Swiderski, 548 F.2d 445, 449-50 (2d Cir. 1977) (discussing legislative history). To hold that persons who merely buy drugs for their personal use are on equal footing with distributors by virtue of the facilitation statute would undermine this statutory distinction. Davenport's conviction on the facilitation count is therefore reversed.