Opinion ID: 202877
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Sufficiency Instruction

Text: Duval and Doucette also argue that the court erred by refusing to instruct the jurors that, if they do not believe Mr. Dyott's testimony beyond a reasonable doubt [that Doucette had told Dyott about the stolen guns], . . . they must acquit the defendant. As we have already explained, the court correctly gave detailed instructions on the elements of the offenses with which Duval and Doucette were charged and a defendant is not entitled to an instruction on every particular that conceivably might be of interest to the jury. Rosario-Peralta, 199 F.3d at 567. Nevertheless, Duval and Doucette put a new twist on their claim, arguing that the requested instruction was necessary because the prosecutor suggested on closing that, in fact, there was sufficient evidence apart from Dyott's testimony to convict Duval and Doucette. In analyzing this claim of prosecutorial misconduct, our first step is to determine whether the prosecutor did in fact make improper statements to the jury on closing. See United States v. Lowe, 145 F.3d 45, 50 (1st Cir.1998) (reaching other elements of test for prosecutorial misconduct only after determining that statements made by the prosecutor were improper). We set forth the standard for establishing constructive possession in Wight: the Government must show that the defendant had dominion and control over the area where the contraband was found. 968 F.2d at 1397. While circumstantial evidence can be used to satisfy this burden, mere presence or association with another who possessed the contraband is insufficient to establish constructive possession, id., nor is it sufficient to show only that a defendant had access to the weapons, see United States v. Kelso, 942 F.2d 680, 682 (9th Cir.1991). [T]he ability and intent to exercise dominion and control over the firearm or area where it is located, however, is sufficient to support a finding of constructive possession. United States v. Robinson, 473 F.3d 387, 399 (1st Cir.2007). The prosecutor argued to the jury that, even if they disregarded Dyott's testimony (which had been heavily impeached at trial), the remaining evidence was sufficient to convict. Duval and Doucette argue that the Government's evidence was insufficient, as a matter of law, for the jury to infer constructive possession because apart from Dyott, there was no direct evidence that they knew that the firearms were in the trunk. In support of this claim, Duval and Doucette provide a litany of supposedly analogous cases in which findings of constructive possession were overturned. See, e.g., United States v. Reece, 86 F.3d 994, 996 (10th Cir.1996) (holding that [w]here possession is not clear, constructive possession requires some nexus, link, or other connection between the defendant and the contraband.); United States v. Soto, 779 F.2d 558, 560 (9th Cir.1986) (It is well established that mere presence as a passenger in a car from which the police recover weapons does not establish possession. The mere proximity of a weapon to a passenger in a car goes only to its accessibility, not to the dominion or control which must be proved to establish possession. (citations omitted)). Furthermore, Duval and Doucette emphasize that here the guns were hidden in the trunk of their car rather than in the passenger compartment, which they argue distinguishes their situation from prior appeals where we upheld jury inferences of constructive possession. See, e.g., United States v. Liranzo, 385 F.3d 66, 69-70 (1st Cir.2004) (affirming defendant's conviction where the precarious, angled position of weapon suggested it was stashed after car came to stop, and defendant was only person observed moving.). Lastly they aver that, as in Kelso, access to a place where a firearm is located is insufficient to infer knowledge that the firearm is there. 942 F.2d at 682. Absent Dyott's testimony, Duval and Doucette's argument goes, the Government did not offer sufficient evidence to prove that they were aware of the contents of the trunk. We agree that the evidence could have supported a jury inference that Duval and Doucette did not constructively possess the weapons. However, that is not the question on appeal. The jury found Duval and Doucette guilty, and thus we must determine whether, as a matter of law, the prosecutor was incorrect when he stated that the jury could infer from the evidence presented that Duval and Doucette constructively possessed the firearms found in the trunk even if they disregarded Dyott. We conclude that there was sufficient evidence apart from Dyott's testimony for the jury to infer that Duval and Doucette constructively possessed the firearms found in the trunk, and thus that the prosecutor's arguments were not improper. Like the defendants in Liranzo, the evidence suggests Doucette and Duval exercised exclusive dominion and control over the location of the gun. 385 F.3d at 70. Doucette had the keys when the two were apprehended, Duval appeared to avoid opening the trunk upon sight of police officers, and the guns were not in the car when it was stolen. Although much of the Government's evidence was circumstantial, we have held that circumstantial evidence may support a finding of constructive possession. United States v. McFarland, 445 F.3d 29, 31 (1st Cir.2006). Accordingly, this is not a situation where the evidence showed only a defendant's mere proximity to weapons. See Soto, 779 F.2d at 560-61; United States v. Madkins, 994 F.2d 540, 542 (8th Cir.1993) (holding that it was unreasonable for a jury to infer constructive possession of a weapon from the fact that the defendant was found working under the hood of a car where the weapon was found). Duval and Doucette's reliance on United States v. Blue, 957 F.2d 106 (4th Cir.1992), is similarly misplaced. In Blue, the Fourth Circuit overturned a conviction where the only evidence presented was the presence of a gun under the defendant-passenger's seat and testimony that the defendant dipped his shoulder as the police officer approached the vehicle. Id. at 107-08. Here, not only was there evidence that guns were in the trunk of the stolen car and that Duval turned away from the trunk when he noticed a police officer, but also that Doucette had the keys to the trunk, that Duval and Doucette had stolen the car and had exclusive possession of it thereafter, and that they had suspiciously registered under a false name at the Chelmsford motel, where the car and the guns were eventually found. This quantum of evidence was legally sufficient for the jury to infer that Duval and Doucette constructively possessed the weapons at issue. Thus, because there was sufficient evidence apart from Dyott's testimony that Defendants constructively possessed the weapons found in their car, we find no error in the denial of a jury instruction to the contrary.