Opinion ID: 530736
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Importation As an Object of a Sec. 846 Conspiracy

Text: 16 The indictment charged Escruceria with violating 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 by conspiring to violate both 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1) and 21 U.S.C. Sec. 952. Section 846 provides for the punishment of [a]ny person who ... conspires to commit any offense defined in this subchapter. Section 846 is located in subchapter I of Title 21, while Sec. 952 is found in subchapter II. A Sec. 952 violation is punishable under 21 U.S.C. Sec. 963, which contains language identical to that found in Sec. 846. 17 Escruceria claims that because a Sec. 952 violation is not punishable under Sec. 846, and because the jury found him guilty only of a conspiracy to import, his sentence on Count 1 must be vacated. Fed.R.Crim.Pro. 7(c)(3), however, provides that [e]rror in the citation [of the statute which the defendant allegedly violated] or its omission shall not be ground for dismissal of the indictment or information or for reversal of a conviction if the error or omission did not mislead the defendant to the defendant's prejudice. Because the language of Sec. 846 and Sec. 963 is identical, we find that Escruceria was not prejudiced by a misleading indictment. Precedent supports this finding. In United States v. Massuet, 851 F.2d 111 (4th Cir.1988), this court applied Rule 7(c)(3) to sustain the conviction of two defendants under Sec. 841(a)(1), even though the indictment charged them with violating Sec. 959(b)(2). The language of the two statutes was identical, and the court held that the fortuity of an appropriate statute proscribing conduct charged in the indictment sustained the prosecution. 851 F.2d at 116. Such fortuity occurs again in this case. See also United States v. Rios, 611 F.2d 1335, 1338, n. 2 (10th Cir.1979) (holding that a conviction under Sec. 963 may be sustained, notwithstanding the indictment's citation to Sec. 846; United States v. Martinez, 496 F.2d 664, 669 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1051 (1974) (affirming a conviction under Sec. 963, even though the indictment charged a conspiracy under Sec. 846).