Opinion ID: 477845
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Entrapment or Outrageous Conduct by the Government

Text: 24 Smith contends that the undisputed facts establish entrapment as a matter of law. We review questions of law de novo. Christensen v. United States, 755 F.2d 705, 707 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 2914, 91 L.Ed.2d 543 (1986). Smith's argument that the government's conduct was so outrageous as to violate his due process rights is also reviewed de novo. United States v. Bogart, 783 F.2d 1428, 1431 (9th Cir.1986).
25 Entrapment is generally a jury question. United States v. Marcello, 731 F.2d 1354, 1357 (9th Cir.1984). To establish entrapment as a matter of law, the defendant must point to undisputed evidence making it patently clear that an otherwise innocent person was induced to commit the illegal act by trickery, persuasion, or fraud of a government agent. United States v. Hsieh Hui Mei Chen, 754 F.2d 817, 821 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 2684, 86 L.Ed.2d 701 (1985); see Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369, 373-76, 78 S.Ct. 819, 821-22, 2 L.Ed.2d 848 (1958). If the defendant is predisposed to commit the crime, then the entrapment defense is unavailable. Hampton v. United States, 425 U.S. 484, 488-89, 96 S.Ct. 1646, 1649, 48 L.Ed.2d 113 (1976); United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 436, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 1645, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973). In determining whether a criminal defendant is so predisposed, we examine: 26
27 (2) whether the government initially made the suggestion of criminal activity;(3) whether the defendant engaged in the criminal activity for profit; 28 (4) whether the defendant evidenced reluctance to commit the offense that was overcome by repeated government inducement or persuasion; and 29 (5) the nature of the inducement or persuasion supplied by the government. 30 United States v. Busby, 780 F.2d 804, 807 (9th Cir.1986). Of these factors, the defendant's reluctance to engage in criminal activity is the most important. Id. 31 In this case, the jury concluded that Smith had been entrapped as to the October 23rd transaction, but rejected the entrapment defense as to the December 11th charges. Such verdicts are not inconsistent. An initial entrapment does not immunize a defendant from criminal liability for subsequent transactions that he readily and willingly undertook. United States v. North, 746 F.2d 627, 630 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1058, 105 S.Ct. 1773, 84 L.Ed.2d 832 (1985). Thus, the issue is whether the undisputed evidence establishes that Smith was entrapped as a matter of law with respect to the December 11th cocaine purchase. 32 It is undisputed that Michael, the government informant, initiated both cocaine deals and that Smith on several occasions refused to carry out the purchases. In addition, Smith was having financial difficulties, and Michael owed Smith money for the van he had purchased from him. Smith also had emotional problems. He was estranged from most of his family, and upon Michael's return to Spokane, he and Michael were seeking to establish a closer relationship. Balanced against these factors is the fact that, as Smith admits, he had a reputation as a drug user and dealer. Although he was no longer using drugs, he admits that he still had drug contacts. Moreover, when arrested, Smith had $100 of marked DEA money, demonstrating that he had made a profit for arranging the drug transaction. Cf. Sherman, 356 U.S. at 375, 78 S.Ct. at 822 (no evidence that defendant made a profit on the narcotics sale and his prior drug convictions were five- and nine-years-old). Because it is not patently clear on the record that Smith was not predisposed to commit the crime, the issue was one for the jury to decide after weighing the testimony and credibility of the witnesses. Accordingly, the district court did not err in concluding that Smith had failed to demonstrate entrapment as a matter of law.
33 Smith argues that the government's conduct was so outrageous that it violated his due process rights. A defendant may raise a due process-based outrageous government conduct defense to a criminal indictment. Bogart, 783 F.2d at 1433. In evaluating such a defense, the court looks only to the government's conduct objectively without regard to the defendant's criminal predisposition. Id. 34 Smith claims that the government's conduct was outrageous because it generated new crimes merely for the sake of pressing charges against him. The outrageous conduct defense is not limited to cases where law enforcement conduct involves extreme physical or mental brutality, but extends also to those situations where the crime is manufactured by the government from whole cloth. Id. at 1436, 1438. In the latter situation, the reasoning is that no crime would have been committed absent the government's interference and engineering of the crime. Id. at 1436. However, courts must be careful not to apply this due process defense so broadly that it swallows up the subjective entrapment defense. United States v. Jannotti, 673 F.2d 578, 608 (3d Cir.) (en banc) (We must be careful not to undermine the Court's consistent rejection of the objective test of entrapment by permitting it to reemerge cloaked as a due process defense.), cert. denied, 457 U.S. 1106, 102 S.Ct. 2906, 73 L.Ed.2d 1315 (1982). Consequently, law enforcement conduct becomes constitutionally unacceptable only when it shocks the conscience. Bogart, 783 F.2d at 1438. 35 The government's conduct in this case, although close, did not cross over the line into a due process violation. The agents used Smith's own brother to solicit the drug transactions, but those two had not been very close in the past, and the agents had no indication that Smith was emotionally dependent on his brother. 1 The agents were aware that Smith had tax problems and that Michael owed him money for the van; however, the record does not indicate that they knew how large this liability was or whether Michael's payment was necessary to meet the liability. Concerning Smith's reputation, the agents understood that while Smith was not using drugs, he still had contacts to acquire them, although the agents were not sure whether he was presently dealing. Such an understanding was not patently unreasonable since Smith admits that he used and dealt drugs in the recent past. Finally, the agents supplied the money and the opportunity for Smith to arrange the drug sale, but they did not suggest or set up the source from which Smith would purchase the cocaine. Smith alone arranged for the buy. 36 We recognize that government agents may lawfully use methods that may cause concern if judged by abstract societal standards. See Bogart, 783 F.2d at 1438. But although some aspects of this case are disturbing, we do not find the government conduct sufficiently outrageous to constitute a violation of Smith's due process rights.