Opinion ID: 706953
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 99 Nobles' next contention is that the evidence received at trial was insufficient to prove his guilt of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute beyond a reasonable doubt. In support of the defendant's argument, he asserts that neither Opiola nor Triner were credible because their testimony was riddled with inconsistencies. 13 Additionally, Nobles maintains that the fact that the jury originally informed the judge that it could not come to a unanimous verdict with respect to the charges of possession of cocaine and cocaine base with intent to distribute, and subsequently rendered a split verdict, acquitting him of possession of crack, proves that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a finding of guilt. 100 The government responds that the inconsistencies Nobles alleges in the officers' testimony were minor, at worst, and the jury, as the finder-of-fact, chose to believe Triner and Opiola, rather than the defendant. The government further asserts that the evidence against Nobles was more than sufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he knowingly possessed the cocaine with the intent to distribute. 101 In challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support [a] conviction, [the defendant] bears a heavy burden. United States v. Hill, 40 F.3d 164, 166 (7th Cir.1994), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 1385, 131 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995). 102 As this court has often stated, [i]t is not the function of this [appellate] court to reweigh the evidence or to substitute its judgment for that of the trier of fact. When reviewing challenges to sufficiency of evidence supporting a conviction we consider the evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to the government; if we conclude that any rational trier of fact could have found that essential elements of the crime were proven beyond a reasonable doubt, we will reject the defendant's sufficiency challenge.... Because questions of credibility are solely for the trier of fact, such arguments are wasted on an appellate court. 103 United States v. Hatchett, 31 F.3d 1411, 1416 (7th Cir.1994) (citations and quotations omitted). 104 As an appellate court, we will not second-guess the jury on [the credibility determination], which was best resolved through giving the ... jury the opportunity to observe the verbal and non-verbal behavior of the witnesses focusing on the subject's reactions and responses to the interrogatories, their facial expressions, attitudes, tone of voice, eye contact, posture and body movements, rather than looking at the cold pages [of a transcript]. 105 United States v. Lakich, 23 F.3d 1203, 1210-11 (7th Cir.1994) (quotation omitted). 106 The evidence presented at trial established that Nobles fit the profile of a drug courier in that less than an hour before departure, he purchased two one-way airline tickets from Los Angeles, a drug source city, with $1346 in cash, and he carried an electronic pager. After departing from the plane and before the confrontation with the officers, Nobles and his father were continuously looking around and over their shoulders, as if to avoid detection, and while Nobles was speaking with the officers, he appeared to be less than calm for his hands were visibly shaking, he was breathing rapidly, was constantly moving around nervously, and looked at his father before answering any of the officers' questions. 107 The defendant had $14,928 in cash in his pockets and it is inconceivable and unbelievable that he was unaware that he was carrying this amount of money in his pockets. In addition to carrying the drugs with a street value of some $300,000, when queried by the officers concerning the contents of his bag, he stated that he packed it himself and that it did not contain any packages of which he did not know the contents. Officer Triner found cocaine and crack in the defendant's bag and when Officer Opiola specifically asked the defendant if he knew what was in his bag, Nobles responded kinda. Finally, it is undisputed that these drugs could have been processed to produce approximately 24,000 individual doses of cocaine for street sale, an amount that the expert testimony of Agent Lane established could only have been intended for distribution. When we view this evidence in the light most favorable to the government, a reasonable jury could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Nobles knowingly possessed cocaine with the intent to distribute it. Hatchett, 31 F.3d at 1416. 108 Nobles posits that neither Officer Triner nor Officer Opiola were credible. We addressed Nobles' attack on Triner's credibility in Section III.C., supra, and we need not reiterate the discussion. Nobles posits that Opiola was not credible because when he described Nobles' and Townsend's demeanor while they were being questioned at O'Hare, Opiola stated that the two men were [c]ool and casual. They were answering questions. They--shuffling around a little bit. They appeared to be a little nervous. They weren't cocky or mad. It seemed like they were answering questions real nice and polite. Nobles maintains that describing him and his father as both cool and casual, and nervous, is contradictory, and therefore, Opiola's testimony should not be considered credible. We disagree with counsel's interpretation of the meaning of Opiola's description of the men, as an individual can be easily described as acting cool and casual and still display nervousness. 109 We examined a similar detail in Eddy, where the [defendant] argued that the agents undermined their credibility by contradicting themselves about whether one of them made small talk with the defendant while his bags were being searched. 8 F.3d at 581. We found the detail about small talk to be a minor discrepancy, id., as is Opiola's description of Nobles and Townsend. We are confident that Nobles and his father were doing their utmost to appear confident and relaxed, as if they had nothing to hide, but in truth and in fact, the two men were caught red handed. They were transporting the equivalent of three kilos of street quality cocaine, were looking around to see if they were being followed, and began sweating and breathing rapidly upon questioning from the officers, they had no identification, and allegedly no airline tickets. Under these circumstances, a trained officer, such as Officer Opiola, could certainly see through the facade and observe that the two men were truly nervous, in spite of their best efforts to appear otherwise. 110 Nobles also argues that his acquittal on the charge of possessing cocaine base with the intent to distribute is further proof of the insufficiency of the evidence because the evidence supporting both charges was identical. His reliance on the split verdict, however, is pure speculation because it is impossible to determine which party has been prejudiced by a split verdict. Lakich, 23 F.3d at 1211 (quotation omitted). 111 [E]ach count in an indictment is to be treated as a separate indictment and an acquittal on one count does not dictate an acquittal on any other count. When a jury returns inconsistent verdicts, ... it may do so for reasons other than a determination of innocence, such as mistake, compromise, or lenity. 112 Id. 113 Therefore, there is nothing but speculation to support the defendant's assumption, id., that the split verdict is an indication that the evidence against him was insufficient to establish his guilt of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute. We note that it is not unusual for a jury to convict on one charge, and acquit on another, if they want to give the defendant a break for whatever reason, or they also might feel that the punishment for one crime is appropriately severe for both offenses. We refuse to venture a hypothesis as to why the jury split the verdict, 114 but we point out that even if [the verdict] had been inconsistent, our Supreme Court, after noting that inconsistent verdicts 'often are a product of jury lenity,' has rejected as 'imprudent and unworkable' a rule permitting defendants 'to challenge inconsistent verdicts on the ground that the verdict was not the product of lenity, but of some error that worked against them.' 115 Id. (quoting United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 66, 105 S.Ct. 471, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984)). As the court explained: 116 Such an individualized assessment of the reason for the inconsistency would be based either on pure speculation, or would require inquiries into the jury's deliberations that courts generally will not undertake.... Courts have always resisted inquiring into a jury's thought processes; through this deference the jury brings to the criminal process, in addition to the collective judgment of the community, an element of needed finality. 117 Id. (quoting Powell, 469 U.S. at 66-67, 105 S.Ct. at 477-78). 118 Whatever their reasons for acquittal on the possession of cocaine base charge, we will defer to the jury's collective judgment, and will not overturn their verdict based on Nobles' pure speculation into their reasons for returning a split verdict. Id. The government presented sufficient evidence to support Nobles' conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, and we refuse to reweigh the jury's determination of the witnesses' credibility nor will we question the wisdom of their verdict.