Opinion ID: 691979
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: insufficient evidence of effect on interstate commerce

Text: 27 Box and Yarbrough argue that the government offered no evidence to show that the arrests of individuals committing crimes in violation of state laws at the rest area park in Wise County, Texas affected interstate commerce. The statute defines commerce to mean: 28 commerce within the District of Columbia, or any Territory or Possession of the United States; all commerce between any point in a State, Territory, Possession, or the District of Columbia and any point outside thereof; all commerce between points within the same State through any place outside such State; and all other commerce over which the United States has jurisdiction. 29 Section 1951(b)(3). Proving that interstate commerce has been affected is critical because federal jurisdiction rests on that basis. Wright, 797 F.2d at 248. However, the effect on commerce need only be slight. Tomblin, 46 F.3d at 1482. The determination whether interstate commerce has been affected is made on a case-by-case basis. Wright, 797 F.2d at 248. 30 In Stephens, supra, we found a sufficient effect on interstate commerce based on the following evidence. 31 The highway on which the cars were stopped and towed was six-tenths of a mile of U.S. Highway 171, a major four-lane highway that runs north and south through the western corridor of Louisiana. This highway provides access to other highways that lead to Texas if one travels west, and to Arkansas if one travels north. Testimony introduced at trial indicates that most of the people who were stopped and had their cars towed were not local residents, but individuals travelling to other states. Accordingly, we find Stephens' argument that interstate commerce was not affected to be without merit. 32 Stephens, 964 F.2d at 429. 33 In the case at bar, the arrests occurred at a roadside park on U.S. Highway 287, which also provided access to other highways leading to other states. The detained travelers were residents of various states, including Oklahoma, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Colorado. They were traveling to and from such places as New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, and Seoul, Korea. 34 The only significant difference between Stephens and the case at bar is that here, the arrests were made at a roadside park adjacent to the U.S. Highway, and in Stephens, the vehicles were stopped actually on the highway. However, it is apparent that the roadside park was constructed for such interstate travelers to provide comfort for them and to facilitate their travels. 8 Further, the travelers undoubtedly were delayed by the arrests. Although the interference with interstate commerce may have been minimal, that is all that is required. See United States v. Villarreal, 764 F.2d 1048, 1052 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 904, 106 S.Ct. 272, 88 L.Ed.2d 233 (1985). We are persuaded that it was sufficient to sustain Box's and Yarbrough's conspiracy convictions under the Hobbs Act. 9 Nevertheless, we must make a closer examination of the evidence to determine if it is sufficient to sustain each substantive conviction under the Hobbs Act based on the arrests at the roadside park. 35 In regard to counts 2, 4, and 7, the named extortion victims lived in Texas and were traveling between locations within the state. Because they were Texas residents and traveling within the state, there has been no showing that interstate commerce was affected. We do not believe that even a slight effect on interstate commerce was occasioned simply because of the location of the roadside park, or because of such location in conjunction with the extortion visited upon an intrastate traveler. The convictions of Box and Yarbrough for the Hobbs Act violations in counts 2, 4, and 7 must be reversed for insufficient evidence. 36 The named extortion victim in count 3 was a Texan traveling from Fort Worth to Oklahoma. Count 5 involved an Austin, Texas resident traveling to Colorado and New Mexico. Finally, the named victim in count 9 was a Colorado resident traveling through Texas on his way to Oklahoma. Thus, the evidence was sufficient to show that interstate commerce was affected as to counts 3, 5, and 9. The convictions of Box and Yarbrough pursuant to counts 3, 5, and 9 (Box only) must be affirmed. 37 Next, all three appellants contend that, as to the counts involving the forfeiture of the drug proceeds, 10 the government failed to demonstrate any affect on interstate commerce. That argument is precluded by this Court's decision in United States v. Davenport, No. 93-1216, 36 F.3d 89 (5th Cir. Sept. 6, 1994) (unpublished), which is binding on this panel. In Davenport, we rejected the argument that illegal drug business is not the type of interstate commerce that the Hobbs Act was intended to protect. There, two former police officers and an accomplice were convicted of, among other things, conspiracy to extort cash payments from drug dealers in violation of the Hobbs Act. Recognizing that we previously held that 'drug trafficking affects interstate commerce,'  11 and that such holding was based on Congress' findings, 12 we therefore reasoned that extortion which depleted funds otherwise available for drug trafficking obstructed interstate commerce within the meaning of the Hobbs Act.