Opinion ID: 567926
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The District Court's Refusal To Give A Multiple Conspiracies Instruction.

Text: 13 The indictment in the instant case charged all of the defendants with participation in a single conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. The defendants requested the district court to give the jury an instruction on multiple conspiracies. The defendants also requested an instruction that a mere buyer-seller relationship in a single transaction does not alone support a conspiracy conviction. See United States v. Morris, 836 F.2d 1371, 1374 (D.C.Cir.1988); United States v. Mancillas, 580 F.2d 1301, 1307 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 958, 99 S.Ct. 361, 58 L.Ed.2d 351 (1978). These two requests are interrelated as the overarching defense theory was that there were two conspiracies afoot: a buyer conspiracy and a seller conspiracy. According to defendants Mata and Marmolejo, there existed a conspiracy involving Medina, Polanco, and Marmolejo to sell cocaine for the DEA informants to Mata, as the sole buyer, or to Mata and whatever unknown persons were associated with him. Alternatively, defendant Polanco claims that the evidence demonstrated a conspiracy between him and Medina to sell cocaine to Marmolejo and Mata, who allegedly formed a separate buyer conspiracy. The district court refused to give either requested instruction, finding that no view of the facts supported the existence of multiple conspiracies or justified giving a buyer-seller instruction. On appeal, all three defendants contend that the district court erred in refusing to give the requested instructions. We disagree. 14 It is well-established that a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury instruction reflecting his or her theory of defense for which there is some foundation in the proof, no matter how tenuous that defense may appear to the trial court. United States v. Dove, 916 F.2d 41, 47 (2d Cir.1990). The defense theory in the instant case was that instead of the single conspiracy to possess (buy) cocaine with the intent to distribute, there were separate conspiracies consisting of a buyer group and a seller group. 15 Where there is evidence supporting an inference that there existed more than one conspiracy, the issue of single versus multiple conspiracies is a jury question. See, e.g., United States v. Alkins, 925 F.2d 541, 553-54 (2d Cir.1991) (citation omitted). However,  'if only one conspiracy has been alleged and proved [, a] defendant[ is] not entitled to a multiple conspirac[ies] charge.'  United States v. Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d 934, 962 (2d Cir.1990) (quoting United States v. Martino, 664 F.2d 860, 875 (2d Cir.1981), cert. denied, 458 U.S. 1110, 102 S.Ct. 3493, 73 L.Ed.2d 1373 (1982)), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 2811, 115 L.Ed.2d 984 (1991). To prove the existence of a single conspiracy, the government must demonstrate that the alleged conspirators agreed on a common unlawful goal. Alkins, 925 F.2d at 554; Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d at 963. Co-conspirators need not, however, agree on the details of the conspiracy, so long as they agree[ ] on the essential nature of the [unlawful] plan. Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d at 963; United States v. Bagaric, 706 F.2d 42, 63 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 840, 104 S.Ct. 134, 78 L.Ed.2d 128 (1983). Moreover, it is not essential that the alleged conspirators know the identities of the other conspirators for a single conspiracy to exist. Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d at 963. 16 Even if a multiple conspiracies charge should have been given, the failure to do so does not automatically require reversal. Alkins, 925 F.2d at 554. To obtain a reversal, a defendant must show  'both the likelihood of multiple conspiracies having existed, and substantial prejudice resulting from the failure to give the requested charge.'  Id. (quoting United States v. Barlin, 686 F.2d 81, 89 (2d Cir.1982)). In order to demonstrate the existence of multiple conspiracies, a defendant must show evidence of  'separate networks operating independently of each other.'  Id. (quoting Barlin, 686 F.2d at 89); see also Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d at 962 (citation omitted). 17 In the instant case, the district court did not err in refusing to give the requested multiple conspiracies instruction because the evidence showed only a single conspiracy involving all of the indicted defendants in an integrated, common effort to buy cocaine for distribution. Upon learning that DEA informant Maria was a drug trafficker, Medina and Polanco undertook to find buyers. After DEA informant Perez indicated his cocaine was for sale at $19,000 per kilogram, Polanco contacted Marmolejo, who in turn contacted Mata, the money man. Highlighting their role as allies in the buy transaction, Medina, Polanco, and Marmolejo traveled together to meet Perez and to pick up Mata, who joined them in their taxi to proceed to his apartment. Perez traveled alone each time in his own car. In addition, Marmolejo's comment that if Perez had more drugs, he would buy[ ] for somebody else further underscores his role as a buyer. Similarly, in light of the fact that Perez offered no monetary reward to any of the defendants, Polanco's offer to pay Medina $500 if the deal went through indicates that Polanco stood to gain from the purchase and distribution of the cocaine. Finally, given the quoted price of the cocaine, and the amount of buy money recovered from Mata's apartment (almost $47,000), it is clear that the transaction was for wholesale quantities of cocaine (two to three kilograms) destined for resale. 18 There is thus no credible evidence suggesting the existence of an independent sellers conspiracy that operated separately from the single conspiracy charged in the indictment. The court was therefore justified in refusing to give the requested multiple conspiracies instruction. See Alkins, 925 F.2d at 554; Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d at 963. In addition, even if it could have been inferred that there were multiple conspiracies operating, the defendants would not be entitled to reversal. Given the overwhelming evidence indicating the defendants' participation in the charged conspiracy, they could not demonstrate substantial prejudice from the court's refusal to give the multiple conspiracies instruction. See Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d at 964. 19 Similarly, because the evidence indicated that the defendants formed only a single conspiracy to buy cocaine for redistribution, the district court did not err in refusing to give the related buyer-seller instruction. Moreover, even if the defendants could rationally be divided into buyers and sellers, defendants' requested instruction that a mere buyer-seller relationship is insufficient to establish a distribution conspiracy is unwarranted under the facts of this case. The rationale for holding a buyer and a seller not to be conspirators is that in the typical buy-sell scenario, which involves a casual sale of small quantities of drugs, there is no evidence that the parties were aware of, or agreed to participate in, a larger conspiracy. See Morris, 836 F.2d at 1374; United States v. McIntyre, 836 F.2d 467, 471-72 (10th Cir.1987); United States v. Meyers, 646 F.2d 1142, 1145 (6th Cir.1981). This rationale does not apply, however, where, as here, there is advanced planning among the alleged co-conspirators to deal in wholesale quantities of drugs obviously not intended for personal use. Under such circumstances, the participants in the transaction may be presumed to know that they are part of a broader conspiracy. See United States v. Magnano, 543 F.2d 431, 434-35 (2d Cir.1976) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1091, 97 S.Ct. 1101, 51 L.Ed.2d 536 (1977); see also United States v. Zabare, 871 F.2d 282, 286-87 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 856, 110 S.Ct. 161, 107 L.Ed.2d 119 (1989). As a result, labels such as buyer or seller are essentially superfluous. Because the facts of this case transcend the usual buyer-seller scenario, the district court was justified in concluding that the buyer-seller issue was not in the case and in refusing to give the requested buyer-seller instruction. See United States v. Figueroa, 900 F.2d 1211, 1217 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 3228, 110 L.Ed.2d 675 (1990). 20