Opinion ID: 2994954
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: 09 to the letter. However, the second sentence

Text: of the pattern instruction states: Therefore if you find a defendant guilty of the conspiracy charged in Count(s) ___ and if you find beyond a reasonable doubt that while he/she was a member of the conspiracy, his/her fellow conspirator(s) committed the offense(s) in Count(s) ___ in furtherance of and as a foreseeable consequence of that conspiracy, then you should find him/her guilty of Count(s) ___. Seventh Circuit Pattern Instruction 5.09 (emphasis added). At no other point in the instructions was the jury informed that, in order to hold a defendant liable for his coconspirator’s crimes, the crimes must have been in furtherance of or a foreseeable consequence of the conspiracy. We are not convinced that the instruction as given properly informed the jury of the necessary requirements for applying the Pinkerton doctrine. We have stated: For a Pinkerton instruction to be adequate, it must focus the jury on the coconspirator’s act, on whether it is a crime, on whether the coconspirator’s guilt of this crime was proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and on whether it was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy in which the defendant participated. The instruction must also advise the jury that the government bears the burden of proving all elements of the doctrine beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Sandoval-Curiel, 50 F.3d 1389, 1394-95 (7th Cir. 1995) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Here the instruction neither focused the jury on whether [the crime] was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy nor instructed the jury that this element must be found beyond a reasonable doubt. We previously have rejected Pinkerton instructions on similar bases. See United States v. Elizondo, 920 F.2d 1308, 1317 (7th Cir. 1990) (finding instructional error because the Pinkerton instruction failed to advise jurors that the government bore the burden of proving that all elements of the powerful Pinkerton doctrine must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt). Consequently, we cannot conclude that, under these circumstances,/14 the jury understood all of the elements necessary to hold a defendant vicariously liable for the acts of his coconspirators. Although here the Pinkerton instruction was lacking, we believe that the defect cannot be characterized as plain error. Pinkerton liability is vicarious liability. However, with respect to Mr. Gaughan, there was direct evidence to support his convictions for Count III (possession with intent to distribute cocaine on December 8, 1997) as an aider and abetter. See Elizondo, 920 F.2d at 1317 (Alternative theories of direct and vicarious liability raised below exist for affirming the substantive-count convictions despite the defective Pinkerton instruction.). As we explained earlier, the fronting of drugs can support a conviction for aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute narcotics. Here, Bonner testified that Mr. Gaughan had fronted Bonner the cocaine that he was carrying when he was arrested on December 8, 1997. There is also direct evidence that Mr. Gaughan aided and abetted a violation of the Travel Act as set forth in Count VI (interstate travel in aid of an unlawful activity involving possession with intent to distribute cocaine). In order to aid and abet the Travel Act violation, the evidence must demonstrate that Mr. Gaughan had the state of mind required for the Travel Act offense and took some action intended to make the endeavor succeed, see id. at 1318; it was not necessary for the Government to show that Mr. Gaughan induced or even had knowledge of Bonner’s interstate travel./15 See United States v. Abadie, 879 F.2d 1260, 1266 (5th Cir. 1989); see also United States v. Sigalow, 812 F.2d 783 (2d Cir. 1987) (Our holding that an aider and abettor of a Travel Act violation need not have assisted in the use of interstate facilities is consistent with the reasoning of other circuits.). Mr. Gaughan’s fronting of the drugs to Bonner meets this criterion. Mr. Ford’s challenge is even less meritorious. Mr. Ford was not convicted of the conspiracy charged in Count I. However, the court’s Pinkerton instruction required the jury to find that the defendant participated in the conspiracy before it could hold him vicariously liable for the actions of the coconspirators. See R.295, Inst. 52 (Therefore, if you find a defendant guilty of conspiracy as charged in Count 1 . . . then you should find him guilty of Counts 2, 3, 4, and/or 5. (emphasis added)). Absent evidence to the contrary, we presume that the jury understood and followed the district court’s instructions. United States v. Cornett, 232 F.3d 570, 574 (7th Cir. 2000). Because the jury had no occasion to apply the Pinkerton instruction to Mr. Ford, he was not prejudiced by the instruction. Consequently, we shall not reverse his conviction on this basis. (b) Mr. Ford and Mr. Gaughan were convicted of violating the Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. sec. 1952, on or about December 8, 1997. The indictment charged both the principal offense of violating the Travel Act and aiding and abetting a violation of the Travel Act. ’To establish a violation [of the Travel Act], it is sufficient to show interstate travel or the use of an interstate facility with intent to promote or carry on an unlawful activity, and facts constituting the promotion or carrying on of the unlawful activity.’ United States v. Auerbach, 913 F.2d 407, 410 (7th Cir. 1990) (quoting United States v. Craig, 573 F.2d 455, 489 (7th Cir. 1977)). Mr. Ford and Mr. Gaughan argue that, because they did not promote or carry on unlawful activity, their Travel Act conviction cannot stand. Mr. Ford and Mr. Gaughan acknowledge that their arguments on the Travel Act count are, essentially, claims of a derivative nature, Reply Br. at 9; that is, because they were improperly convicted on other counts, they were improperly convicted under the Travel Act. However, we have affirmed Mr. Ford’s and Mr. Gaughan’s convictions on the other counts that provide a basis for the Travel Act violation. Mr. Ford and Mr. Gaughan do not challenge their conviction on any other basis; accordingly, we affirm their Travel Act conviction.