Opinion ID: 654601
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Interpretive Case-Law and the Issue of Duplicity

Text: 67 We find additional support for this conclusion in the federal cases interpreting the statute. Most telling is the line of cases which instructs that the number of firearms used or carried is irrelevant for conviction purposes; employment of more than one firearm will not support more than one conviction under 924(c) based upon the same predicate crime. United States v. Privette, 947 F.2d 1259, 1262-63 (5th Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1279, 117 L.Ed.2d 505 (1992). The fact that virtually all federal courts consider it to be one offense regardless of how many weapons are actually used or carried tends to shed light upon the federal courts' view of the level of concurrence necessary. See, e.g.,United States v. Henning, 906 F.2d 1392, 1399 (10th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1069, 111 S.Ct. 789, 112 L.Ed.2d 852 (1991); United States v. Henry, 878 F.2d 937, 942 (6th Cir.1989); United States v. Fontanilla, 849 F.2d 1257, 1258-59 (9th Cir.1988). But seeUnited States v. Freisinger, 937 F.2d 383, 390 (8th Cir.1991) (although one predicate crime may support multiple counts based upon number of weapons, sentences must run concurrently). The reasoning in these cases reinforces our conclusion that the focus of the statute is upon the use of any firearm so long as it is used in the commission of an enumerated predicate crime. As noted above, where alternative factual scenarios will support only one crime even if all are proven, the courts appear less likely to require factual concurrence. E.g.,Schad, --- U.S. at ----, 111 S.Ct. at 2496 (In Arizona, first degree murder is only one crime regardless of whether it occurs as a premeditated murder or a felony murder.) (quoting State v. Schad, 163 Ariz. 411, 788 P.2d 1162, 1168 (1989)); United States v. Sutherland, 656 F.2d 1181, 1202 (5th Cir.1981) (no need for jury to agree as to single object in multiple-object conspiracy), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 949, 102 S.Ct. 1451, 71 L.Ed.2d 663 (1982). Cf.Hill, 971 F.2d at 1468 (Jurors need not agree as to which predicate crime was the intended objective of a conspiracy to violate Section 924(c) as long as they are convinced that each conspirator intended to use a firearm in the commission of a drug trafficking offense). Conversely, where each instance of allegedly criminal activity could be a separate offense, courts are more inclined to require that jurors be unanimous as to which instance is the basis of liability. Holley, 942 F.2d at 928-29. See alsoUnited States v. Payseno, 782 F.2d 832, 837 (9th Cir.1986) (Where three separate acts of extortion, directed at different victims, are introduced in support of one count, jury must agree as to one such act for the basis of liability.); Beros, 833 F.2d at 460-62 (Jury must unanimously agree as to which act was committed by the defendant where each of two challenged counts alleges multiple theories of criminal activity predicated on several transactions any of which might have provided the basis for a guilty verdict.). Although, as we stated earlier, duplicity is not the sole consideration for determining whether unanimity is necessary, it is a relevant concern, and it weighs heavily in favor of the government's position in this case. 68 Other cases expanding the reach of Section 924(c) are enlightening from a corollary standpoint. For example, this court has determined that Section 924(c)'s qualification that the weapon be used during and in relation to a crime means only that the firearm have played an integral part [in] the felony. United States v. Robinson, 857 F.2d 1006, 1010 (5th Cir.1988). The weapon need not actually be used or brandished. United States v. Coburn, 876 F.2d 372, 375 (5th Cir.1989). The firearm does not even have to be visible. Robinson, 857 F.2d at 1010 (citing with approval United States v. Matra, 841 F.2d 837, 839 (8th Cir.1988)). Moreover, an unloaded gun can serve as the basis for a conviction. Coburn, 876 F.2d at 375. As in the instant case, [i]t is enough that the firearm was present at the drug-trafficking scene, that the weapon could have been used to protect or facilitate the operation, and that the presence of the weapon was in some way connected with the drug trafficking. United States v. Boyd, 885 F.2d 246, 250 (5th Cir.1989). These broad-sweeping interpretations of the during and in relation to provision demonstrate this court's willingness to construe the statute broadly. 69 Correa argues that the Third Circuit's opinion in United States v. Theodoropoulos, 866 F.2d 587, 597 (3d Cir.1989), should be adopted by this court for the proposition that specific unanimity is required as to which gun was the basis for a Section 924(c) conviction. In Theodoropoulos, the court of appeals was presented with a fact-setting similar to that in the instant case. The Third Circuit noted with approval that the trial judge had properly instructed the jury that they must unanimously agree on which weapon [the defendant] had used.... Id. 32 Although giving such an instruction may be proper if the court believes it to be warranted by the facts, 33 we do not read Theodoropoulos to require it.