Opinion ID: 537041
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Penson's Motion to Sever and Motion to Acquit

Text: 32 Defendant Penson contends that he was unduly prejudiced by the trial court's refusal to sever his trial from that of Harley Surratt. He also argues that the trial judge erred in denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal. Both of these arguments are based on Penson's assertion that his activities were unconnected, in time and in manner, to those of Harley Surratt and to the rest of the conspiracy. A decision not to sever the trials of co-defendants is one within the sound discretion of the trial court and should be overturned only if it is found to be a clear abuse of discretion. United States v. Percival, 756 F.2d 600, 610 (7th Cir.1985). The standard of review of a denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 is whether at the time of the motion there was relevant evidence from which the jury could reasonably find [the defendant] guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.... United States v. Blasco, 581 F.2d 681, 684 (7th Cir.1978), certiorari denied, 439 U.S. 966, 99 S.Ct. 456, 58 L.Ed.2d 425. 33 The government does not dispute that Penson and Surratt had separate connections to the conspiracy. Instead, the government correctly asserts that its burden is not to show that each conspirator knew the others or knew the entire breadth of the conspiracy, but rather to show that each defendant knew the purpose of the conspiracy and intended to join it and further its ends. United States v. Moya-Gomez, 860 F.2d 706, 758 (7th Cir.1988) (Even a slight connection between the defendant and the conspiracy may support a conviction.), certiorari denied sub nom. Estevez v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 3221, 106 L.Ed.2d 571 (1989). 34 According to the testimony of Charles Podesta, Penson knew as early as 1979 that Podesta was a source for large amounts of marijuana. The jury could reasonably infer from this information alone that Podesta was involved in some larger scheme to bring drugs into the country and distribute them. The jury did not need to make such an inference, however, because additional evidence was presented that linked Podesta to Lanier and Kramer. In addition, the evidence established that Penson provided the crucial introduction of tugboat owner Brock who made the Connecticut shipment possible. 35 This situation is analogous to that in the seminal Supreme Court case on the subject of multiple conspiracies, Blumenthal v. United States, 332 U.S. 539, 68 S.Ct. 248, 92 L.Ed. 154 (1947). In Blumenthal several co-defendants each arranged with the central figures of an alleged conspiracy to sell whiskey at inflated prices. The Court concluded that each arrangement was part of a single conspiracy and that the co-defendants must have known that they were part of a larger overall scheme: 36 [The defendants] knew or must have known that others unknown to them were sharing in so large a project; and it hardly can be sufficient to relieve them that they did not know, when they joined the scheme, who those people were or exactly the parts they were playing in carrying out the common design and object of all. 37 Similarly, Penson must have known that the 500-pound allotment he was to receive in return for introducing Brock to the Lanier/Kramer organization was only a small part of the total shipment that was to come into Connecticut. Therefore, like the co-defendants in Blumenthal, Penson cannot be relieved of complicity in the conspiracy merely because he did not know exactly who else was involved or what parts the others were playing. Penson knew that the objective of all was to import and distribute marijuana. By proving that knowledge the government met its burden.