Opinion ID: 577092
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Count Five Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine with Intent to Distribute

Text: 31 Count Five involved a conspiracy, lasting from October, 1983 to April, 1984, to locate a source of cocaine in New York. The government alleged that the participants included Coppola, co-defendant Papanier, and Biscuiti. Coppola, pointing out that the evidence on this count consists primarily of Biscuiti's testimony and that Papanier was acquitted, argues that the inconsistent verdicts show that the jury disbelieved Biscuiti and that this evidence is therefore insufficient to support the conviction. Inconsistent verdicts on a conspiracy count, however, do not defeat the propriety of a defendant's conviction, even if every defendant but one is acquitted of conspiracy. See United States v. Andrews, 850 F.2d 1557, 1561-62 (11th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1032, 109 S.Ct. 842, 102 L.Ed.2d 974 (1989); see also United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 67, 105 S.Ct. 471, 478, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984) (noting that sufficiency-of-the-evidence review is separate from, and should not be confused with, problems caused by inconsistent verdicts). In Andrews, we followed the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Powell that inconsistent verdicts could as easily be the result of mistake or lenity by the jury in acquittal as they could be proof of lack of evidence to support the conviction. Under the circumstances, 'the best course to take is simply to insulate jury verdicts from review on this ground.'  Andrews, 850 F.2d at 1562 (quoting Powell, 469 U.S. at 69, 105 S.Ct. at 479). There are no grounds, therefore, for reversing Coppola's conviction on Count Five.