Opinion ID: 765432
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Constructive Possession of Documents

Text: 37 Appellant Barajas was convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. S 1028, which makes it a crime to knowingly possess with the intent to use or transfer unlawfully five or more identification documents. 10 It is undisputed that when the government executed a search warrant on Barajas's house at 2121 Osborn Street, they found border-crossing cards, temporary residence cards, a resident alien card, a social security card, two California driver's licenses, and a California identification card; these documents were issued in several different names. 38 Appellant Barajas does not contest that these documents were false within the terms of the statute, or that they were found in a ceramic vase in a bedroom of her house. Barajas, however, challenges the sufficiency of the evidence establishing her constructive possession of these documents. 39 To prove constructive possession, the government must establish a sufficient connection between the defendant and the contraband to support the inference that the defendant exercised dominion and control over the substance. United States v. Disla, 805 F.2d 1340, 1350 (9th Cir. 1986). It is not the same as merely knowing the [contraband] is nearby. The circum stances of each case must be examined to determine if there is `such a nexus or relationship between the defendant and the goods that it is reasonable to treat the extent of the defendant's dominion and control as if it were actual possession.'  United States v. Cousins, 427 F.2d 382, 384 (9th Cir. 1970) (quoting United States v. Casalinuovo, 350 F.2d 207, 209-11 (2nd Cir. 1965)). 40 United States v. Terry, 911 F.2d 272, 278 (9th Cir. 1990). When evidence is found in a residence occupied by more than one person, this court has required some additional evidence tying one or both of them to the contraband in order to establish possession. See, e.g., Delgado v. United States, 327 F.2d 641, 642 (9th Cir. 1964) (marijuana cigarettes found in night stand of couple does not establish whether either person alone or both together had possession, and therefore convictions of both reversed). 41 Our constructive possession precedents have refused to uphold convictions in the absence of some evidence tying the defendant to the particular contraband. For example, in United States v. Reese, 775 F.2d 1066 (9th Cir. 1985), this court found the evidence insufficient to support a conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm when one gun was found under a pillow in the largest bedroom of the house and another was found behind a painting in the living room. Id. at 1073, 1074. Reese shared the house with his wife, and this court found it important that no evidence established that Mr. Reese used either the bedroom or the pillow beneath which the gun was found. Id. at 1074. Further, the court noted the absence of fingerprint evidence in the case. The court relied on United States v. Chesher, 678 F.2d 1353, 1358 (9th Cir. 1982), which found that shared occupancy of a house and access to the area containing a methamphetamine lab did not by itself support a conviction for possession, but that the additional evidence of methamphetamine in the defendant's bedroom (of which he was the sole occupant) tipped the scales. See also United States v. Valenzuela, 596 F.2d 824, 830-831 (9th Cir. 1979) (evidence that wife lived in house with husband and that she shut the door on officers attempting to enter found insufficient to support her conviction for heroin possession). 42 In this case, the evidence demonstrates that the documents were found in a ceramic vase on a night-stand next to a bed in a bedroom of the house shared by appellant, her boyfriend Esquivel, and their respective daughters Cynthia and Erika. The same bedroom contained appellant's purse and briefcase, as well as bills in appellant's name. No evidence, however, establishes that this bedroom was occupied only by appellant, and was not shared with Esquivel, who also received a sentence enhancement in this case for being an organizer or leader of the criminal activity involved in this case. 11 Furthermore, no evidence ties appellant directly to the documents, the vase, or even the night-stand. In addition, there was no evidence presented that appellant actually knew the documents existed or where they were kept. 12 Cf. Terry, 911 F.2d at 278 (relying on evidence that defendant knew of the existence of a firearm, that he had unfettered access to it when his wife was not home, and that the firearm was found in a closet on the same shelf as numerous items of menswear to establish constructive possession of the firearm); United States v. Frushon, 10 F.3d 663, 664-65 (9th Cir. 1993) (receipt for the gun in defendant's name and photograph of him holding the gun sufficient to tie him to the gun, when no evidence existed tying the gun to his wife even though she shared the house in which it was found). In light of Delgado and subsequent cases, the showing in this case is not sufficient to prove that appellant constructively possessed the documents. Appellant's conviction for possession of five or more false documents (count fourteen) is therefore reversed.