Opinion ID: 200697
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Castillo's Trial Strategy

Text: 14 Castillo was charged with trafficking in a controlled substance, an offense with the following elements: (1) knowing or intentional possession of a controlled substance, (2) with the specific intent to distribute the controlled substance, and (3) if the controlled substance is cocaine (as defined in Mass. Gen. Laws. Ann. ch. 94C § 31), the controlled substance has a net weight of fourteen grams or more. Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 94c, § 32E(b). The statute sets out escalating penalties for amounts in excess of the fourteen grams necessary for conviction. Specifically, the statute sets a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for 28 grams or more but less than 100 grams, and a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years for 200 grams or more. Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 94c, § 32E(2), (4). Two lesser included offenses of trafficking are possession with intent to distribute and simple possession. To gain a trafficking conviction rather than the lesser offense of possession with intent to distribute, the prosecution must establish possession with intent to distribute a minimum weight of fourteen grams of cocaine. Simple possession is merely knowing or intentional possession of a controlled substance — there is no intent to distribute or minimum weight requirement. Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 94c, § 34. The sentence for simple possession is imprisonment for not more than one year. 15 Castillo's trial strategy was to win a not guilty verdict by defeating the prosecution's proof of the first element of the trafficking offense: knowing or intentional possession of a controlled substance. Thus, attorney Fernandez did not contest that the substance in question found at the apartment was cocaine and that the amount of the substance was 200 grams or more. Instead, she argued that Castillo did not know there were any drugs in the apartment or that the other people in the apartment were engaged in drug dealing. Castillo was merely present in someone else's apartment where drugs happened to be found. 16 The Commonwealth opened its case by calling Officer Hogan to the stand, who testified to the activities he witnessed in the apartment. In accordance with her trial strategy, Fernandez established through her cross-examination of Officer Hogan that he did not see Castillo handle any of the drugs and that in order to be able to see the drugs inside the bag on the kitchen table, a person had to be standing over the bag. She further established that if Castillo had been sitting at the kitchen table he would not have been able to see into the bag that was on the table. 17 The following morning, the Commonwealth called Officer Griffin, who testified in a manner similar to Officer Hogan about the events leading to Castillo's arrest and added that at the police station a beeper and $467 in cash were recovered from Castillo's person. On cross-examination, Fernandez established that not all beepers are used to conduct drug transactions and that no drugs were ever found in Castillo's possession. The Commonwealth also called Lieutenant Stevens who testified generally about the drug trade in Lynn at the time of Castillo's arrest. 18 At the conclusion of the Commonwealth's case, Fernandez moved for a judgment of acquittal on the ground that the Commonwealth's evidence established only Castillo's mere presence in an apartment where narcotics were seized and that this was insufficient to establish guilt under Massachusetts law. The judge denied the motion. Fernandez then called Castillo to the stand to explain the circumstances of his presence in Lynn and to offer his account of what transpired on the night of his arrest. Castillo testified that he was a resident of the Bronx, New York, where he lived with his wife and daughter. He worked in Manhattan delivering clothes for a weekly income of $260 to $280. He had come to Lynn to help his former mother-in-law locate his missing son, and the cash he brought with him was to buy clothes and gifts for his son. While in Lynn he met Rodriguez, a resident of the apartment, at a telephone place (a business providing inexpensive long distance telephone service as an alternative to pay phones), where they spoke on several occasions. On October 30, 1994, Rodriguez invited Castillo to his apartment at 102 Cottage Street. After being at the apartment for ten or fifteen minutes, Castillo testified that he got up to leave and was confronted by a police officer as he attempted to exit the back door. Castillo denied having any knowledge of any drugs in the apartment prior to the arrival of the police officers. 19 After the examination of witnesses, the Court reviewed the jury charge. Fernandez rejected an instruction on simple possession offered by the trial judge. Although she initially requested a joint venture instruction, 4 Fernandez immediately objected to the judge's decision to offer such an instruction when she fully comprehended the significance of it. After receiving instructions from the judge, the jury returned a verdict that Castillo was guilty of trafficking in 200 grams or more of cocaine.