Opinion ID: 201627
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Estoppel by Entrapment Defense

Text: 11 Defendants seek reversal of their convictions because, they allege, their prosecution violates fairness elements of Due Process of Law under the Federal Constitution. They claim this to be so because they offered evidence, disputed by the Government's evidence at trial, that they reasonably relied on representations, which they allege were made by Ortiz, that the conduct upon which their convictions are based was part of a legitimate law enforcement project Ortiz was carrying out in his capacity as an FBI agent. This, they argue, implicitly represented to them that their conduct was legal. 7 Hence, they assert, the convictions should be vacated because the Government is estopped from prosecuting them by reason of their entrapment into the illegal activity. 12 The short answer to this contention is that the Defendants have the burden of proof to establish at trial their defense of estoppel by entrapment and they failed to do so. They had a full opportunity to adduce any evidence they wished in support of that defense, their counsel argued the defense to the jury, and the district court gave instructions to the jury concerning the defense (as to which there were no objections), and the defense was ultimately submitted to the jury on a disputed record. The result at trial was that the jury found for the Government. We conclude after a careful review of the trial record that the evidence is sufficient to support that result. 13 In briefing on this appeal, the Defendants simply reargue the factual aspects of the defense in juxtaposition to the Government's evidence that they, in fact, committed each of the charged offenses. On a general theory, Defendants assert that all of the evidence is insufficient to prove that they possessed specific criminal intent to commit the offense. There is no claim made here that evidence material to the defense was limited or excluded at trial. It is not contended that the issues generated by the defense were not submitted to the jury or that those issues were taken away from jury consideration on the evidentiary record. Moreover, it is not contended that there was any defect in the jury instructions given by the Court in respect to the defense. The thrust of the arguments as they are made can only be viewed as the assertion of a claim that the Defendants established at trial the defense of estoppel by entrapment as a matter of law. Review of such a claim is plenary because the issue is whether or not there was sufficient evidence to support a theory of defense. . . . Caron, 64 F.3d at 715. 14 In order to establish the subject defense at trial, the Defendants were required to establish that (1) a governmental official told them their conduct was legal; (2) they relied on that representation; (3) their reliance was reasonable in the circumstances; and (4) given that reliance, prosecution for the conduct is unfair. Ellis, 168 F.3d at 561; United States v. Smith, 940 F.2d 710, 715 (1st Cir.1991). 15 Our careful review of this record convinces us that there is no basis to conclude that the Defendants' proof warranted the acceptance of the defense as a matter of law. Clearly, the evidence made, at best, issues of fact for a fact-finder to resolve as to the viability of the defense. 16 Whether a reasonable fact-finder should be persuaded of the validity of the defense depends entirely, in the circumstances of this record, upon the resolution of any number of disputed issues of fact and the determination of the credibility, in whole or in part, of nearly every witness who testified at trial. These are typical jury functions for the resolution of disputed questions of fact. 17 The lynchpin for the resolution of the issue of the Defendants' intent is the determination of fact as to what Ortiz told them (and what they understood) about the legal status of the operation: either that it was an exercise in legitimate law enforcement (as the Defendants contend) or that it was to be assistance to a corrupt FBI agent in illegally transporting, escorting, and safeguarding a shipment of contraband drugs for a garden-variety civilian drug trafficker (as the Government contends). A choice among these two alternatives resolves the issue of whether there is sufficient evidence to establish the Defendants' guilty intent. 18 All Defendants asserted in ambiguous language that they were led to believe that the project was a covert or undercover police operation. Ortiz and Pelaez testified that the Defendants were told it was an illegal activity from the beginning. There is abundant evidence in the record to support the Defendants' convictions. It could be concluded that the Defendants were told the operation was an illegal one and that the description and circumstances of the project would have left them, as experienced police officers, no room to reasonably believe that it was a legitimate law enforcement effort. Further, the evidence supports a finding that they knew, because told by Ortiz, that there would be no arrest as a result of the seizure and transport of the contraband, a strange circumstance for a legal police operation. They were told that they were to be paid a sum of money (not less than $4000) for their participation in the project that was far in excess of the usual rate of compensation of line police officers for an a couple of hours of official work. They were told the ultimate amount of their compensation would depend upon the amount of drugs transported by them. They were told that the money for their compensation would come from the supposed owner of the drugs, not from FBI funds. They were ultimately paid and accepted $5000 each for their efforts and the payments were made in cash at Ortiz's apartment. The circumstances of their compensation and the determination of the amount of it were, alone, forceful, persuasive proof from which a reasonable jury could conclude that the Defendants knew they were not participating in a legitimate police operation and were a confirmation of Defendants' culpable knowledge and intent from the very beginning of their involvement in the operation. That confirmation is entirely consistent with all of the other evidence indicating the guilt of the Defendants. 19 We conclude that the defense was properly submitted to the jury on unchallenged instructions, that no error occurred in that respect, that the record amply supports the jury's verdict and that the Rule 29 Motion was properly denied.