Opinion ID: 4513522
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Unpreserved Sufficiency Arguments

Text: “This court will not entertain a defendant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal unless the defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal under Rule 29 at the close of the government’s case-in-chief and at the close of all the evidence.” United States v. Dandy, 998 F.2d 1344, 1356 (6th Cir. 1993), as amended (Aug. 11, 1993). “Although specificity of grounds is not required in a Rule 29 motion, where a Rule 29 motion is made on specific grounds, all grounds not specified are waived . . . .” Id. at 1356–57 (internal citation omitted). Hamm and Shields make several sufficiency arguments for the first time on appeal. They jointly contend that they are not liable for Myers’s distribution of carfentanil to her cellmates because it was unforeseeable (or, alternatively, outside the scope of their agreement) that she would smuggle drugs into jail. Shields argues that Myers’s distribution of carfentanil (rather than heroin or fentanyl) was also outside the scope of the conspiracy. Finally, Hamm argues that he had withdrawn from the conspiracy by the time Myers gave carfentanil to her cellmates. Because Hamm and Shields made Rule 29 motions on specific grounds at trial, and did not include the arguments that they now make on appeal, they forfeited these other arguments, and we will not consider them. 5In making his Rule 29 motion for a judgment of acquittal, Hamm’s attorney conceded that Hamm “believed he was purchasing” fentanyl. Nos. 17-6383/18-5121 United States v. Hamm, et al. Page 12