Opinion ID: 445690
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: defectiveness of the indictment.

Text: 40 Count I of the indictment did not list the specific violations of federal narcotics law constituting the alleged continuing criminal enterprise. Becton contends that this causes the indictment to be impermissibly vague. As a general rule, due process requires that the indictment give a defendant notice of each element of the charge against him so that he can prepare an adequate defense. However, if the defendant has actual notice of the charges, due process may be satisfied despite an inadequate indictment. Goodloe v. Parratt, 605 F.2d 1041, 1045-46 (8th Cir.1979). In this case, other counts of the indictment gave Becton notice of the underlying felonies. Counts II and V specifically charged two narcotics law violations and the overt acts section of Count II listed allegations comprising additional violations. Significantly, Becton fails to allege that any of the felonious activities proved at trial took him by surprise. Furthermore, he did not raise this objection to the indictment before or during trial, and on appeal he raised it for the first time in his reply brief. These facts lead us to conclude that the government's failure to specify underlying felonies in Count I of the indictment did not prejudice Becton in any way. 41 Becton also argues that the underlying felonies must always be listed in a CCE indictment to protect defendants from the possibility of double jeopardy. If the felonies are not specified, a defendant could be acquitted on the CCE charge, then tried again for the substantive felonies, because he would have no way to show that those felonies were tried as predicate offenses at his first trial. We do not consider this a realistic possibility. A CCE charge would seem to include any and all federal narcotics violations committed during the time period specified in the charge. Thus, an acquittal on the CCE charge would in all likelihood bar further prosecution for any acts that would constitute underlying violations, and a CCE conviction would include all underlying felonies committed during the time period covered by the indictment. 42 We do not, by this opinion, necessarily approve of the government's handling of the indictment in this case. We think it would be far preferable to list the felonies comprising the criminal enterprise in the CCE count of an indictment, thereby eliminating the potential problems suggested by Becton. However, we conclude on the facts in this case, that Becton received adequate notice of the charges against him and had an opportunity to present an adequate defense. 43 In a related vein, Becton contends that the instructions to the jury were inadequate because they did not specify the alleged felonies underlying the CCE charge. The government in this case initially offered an instruction that did not specify the underlying felonies. Becton objected on the grounds of vagueness, and the court ordered the government to submit a more specific instruction. Government attorneys met with Becton's counsel, but the parties could not agree on a more specific instruction. The court then gave the government's original instruction to the jury, without objection by Becton. Under these circumstances, we conclude that Becton has waived his objection to the jury instruction. Moreover, the instructions adequately defined the felonies that can underlie a CCE charge. 44