Court Opinion

ID: 9581746
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:18:17.817733+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:37:13.443959
License: Public Domain

Smith, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. Whether sufficient evidence was presented from which the jury could have convicted the defendants of the crime charged is a close question. But given the circumstances of this case, I believe the issue of whether the defendants had the ability to exercise control over the contraband, even though it was in the trunk of the informant’s vehicle, was properly submitted to the jury and that evidence existed from which a rational trier of fact could have concluded that the defendants were in constructive possession of the cocaine.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge Pope and Judge Mikell join in this dissent.
*648J. Tom Morgan, District Attorney, Barbara B. Conroy, Andrette Watson, Assistant District Attorneys, for appellee.