Opinion ID: 532986
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Possession and Possession With Intent to Distribute

Text: 27 To convict Troop of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of 480 grams of cocaine, the government had the burden of proving Troop (1) knowingly or intentionally possessed cocaine; (2) possessed cocaine with the intent to distribute it; and (3) knew the substance was a controlled substance. See 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1). At the close of the trial, the jury was instructed on the theory of constructive possession and on the Pinkerton doctrine. 28 Under the Pinkerton doctrine established in Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 90 L.Ed. 1489 (1946), a conspirator can be found guilty for a co-conspirator's crimes but the jury must be instructed on this theory of guilt. See United States v. Manzella, 791 F.2d 1263, 1267 (7th Cir.1986); United States v. Wozniak, 781 F.2d 95, 97 (7th Cir.1985). The doctrine is based on the idea that the conspirators are agents of each other and just as a principal is bound by the acts of his agents within the scope of the agency, so is a conspirator bound by the act of his co-conspirators. 29 Troop argues that the Pinkerton doctrine cannot provide a basis for his conviction because he was not a member of the conspiracy. We have already determined, however, that the evidence was sufficient to support Troop's conviction for conspiracy charged in Count I of the indictment. See supra Part I.A.1. Thus, the only question remaining is whether the trial judge adequately instructed the jury on the Pinkerton doctrine. 30 We conclude that the instruction given by the trial judge was adequate to instruct the jury on the Pinkerton doctrine. The record reveals that the trial judge instructed the jury as follows: 31 A conspirator is responsible for offenses committed by his fellow conspirators, if he was a member of the conspiracy when this offense was committed, and if the offense was committed in furtherance of or as a natural consequence of the conspiracy. Therefore, if you find a defendant guilty of the conspiracy charged in count one, and if you find beyond a reasonable doubt that while he was a member of the conspiracy, his fellow conspirators committed an offense alleged in another count of the indictment, in furtherance of or as a natural consequence of that conspiracy, then you should find him guilty of the offense charged in the other count. 32 We upheld a substantially similar Pinkerton instruction in United States v. Galiffa, 734 F.2d 306 (7th Cir.1984). 6 Although we note that the instruction might have been more complete, see, e.g. United States v. Zabic, 745 F.2d 464 (7th Cir.1984), 7 we find that the instruction given by the trial judge in this instance includes all the elements of the Pinkerton doctrine and presents the doctrine to the jury in an intelligible manner. 8 Given the sufficiency of the evidence to show Troop's participation in the conspiracy and the adequacy of the Pinkerton instruction given by the trial judge, we conclude that a well-reasoned jury could have found Troop guilty under the Pinkerton doctrine of possession and possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of Sec. 841(a)(1) and Sec. 2. Because we hold that Troop's conviction can be supported by this doctrine, we need not address the issue of constructive possession.