United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989-11-15
Case and law context
Role: applied; posture: criminal; jury convictions of two defendants (drug conspiracy, possession with intent, and a 924(c)(1) use/carry count); direct appeal challenging suppression, sufficiency of the evidence on the firearm count, and the 841(b) sentence; pre-Bailey (1984 version of the statute, use/carry only); result: claimant-won; claim: (c)(1)
Instances and excluded annotation blocks
| Case | Element | Holding and scope | Variant | Exact source quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 | Section 2 aiding and abetting route | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits claim: (c)(1); party: Escobar (driver); subject: party=Escobar (driver) Escobar's 924(c) conviction is affirmed, but NOT on the section 2 aiding-and-abetting route this id declares: the court relies on Pinkerton co-conspirator liability (see misfit). No ruling on aiding and abetting. | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 | Knowingly possess and convey the firearm | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: proved; claim: (c)(1); party: Ocampo (passenger); subject: party=Ocampo (passenger) Sufficiency upheld. The court states no test for "carry"; it treats having the gun in hand inside the car and hiding it under the seat as carrying. Whether the species is on-person or vehicle is not resolved by the opinion; filed under the vehicle hint because the gun was recovered from under the seat of the car the defendants had just entered. | vehicle/conveyance | he observed Ocampo bent over inside the vehicle placing an object on the floor of the passenger sideSource: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [5372:5472] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.they did observe Ocampo attempting to kick it underneath the passenger seatSource: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [5545:5620] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.Dailey recovered the object, a loaded blue steel revolver, from underneath the passenger seatSource: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [5673:5766] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.the gun was never displayed or brandished and was not found in the actual possession of either defendantSource: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [20556:20660] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.there was ample evidence for the jury to find that he had the gun in his possession and was in the process of hiding it under the seat as the police approached the automobileSource: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [21212:21386] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.Under these circumstances it was reasonable for the jury to conclude he "carried" the weapon as required by the statute.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [21388:21508] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe. |
| /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 | During and in relation to the predicate | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: proved; claim: (c)(1); party: Ocampo (passenger); subject: party=Ocampo (passenger) The court rejects the argument that the 1984 "in relation to" wording demands a stronger link: it only excludes inadvertent carrying during an unrelated crime. The variant label is borrowed from the furtherance hints (same fact pattern: loaded gun protecting a drug shipment); the law file declares no variant for during-relation. | protection/drugs-or-proceeds | The cocaine in the vehicle was found in the white plastic bag which Escobar was observed carrying into and out of the apartment premises.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [6708:6845] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.Ocampo walked down the stairwell first to the parking lot and again engaged in counter-surveillance while Escobar remained in the stairwell.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [4677:4817] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.the gun was recovered from underneath the passenger seat and was not displayed in any manner during the encounterSource: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [23182:23295] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.namely, that a person could not be prosecuted for inadvertently carrying a firearm in an obviously unrelated crime.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [24013:24128] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.The evidence on the record in this case places Ocampo's conduct clearly within the parameters of § 924(c)(1) as the government produced sufficient evidence at trial to link the gun to the narcotics offenses and to prove that the weapon was not inadvertently carried in relation to an obviously unrelated crime.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [24153:24463] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe. |
| /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 | Firearm object | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits claim: (c)(1) A loaded blue steel revolver; its status as a firearm was not contested. | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 | Enumerated federal drug felony | satisfied Excluded from merits counts applied / lower-court basis: proved; claim: (c)(1); party: Ocampo and Escobar; subject: party=Ocampo and Escobar Jury verdicts on the drug counts; their sufficiency is not challenged on appeal (only suppression and the 841(b) quantity finding are), so the predicate is a finding below that this court does not review. | csa/felony | Defendants Juan Carlos Ocampo and Luis Alfonso Escobar were each convicted by a federal jury of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute approximately ten kilograms of cocaine (Count I), possessing with intent to distribute approximately ten kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Counts II and III)Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [22:367] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe. |
| /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 | Active employment of a firearm | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: proved; claim: (c)(1); party: Ocampo (passenger); subject: party=Ocampo (passenger) CAVEAT: dated authority. This is pre-Bailey "use": possession that emboldens or protects counts as use even though the gun was never displayed. Bailey v. United States, 516 U.S. 137 (1995), later required active employment and rejected the possession-facilitates test this block applies; on these facts the use holding would not survive (the carry holding would). A true 1989 instance, not good law for `use`. The second fact line is the court's statement of the permissible inference, not a primary fact. | possession-as-facilitation/loaded-gun-within-reach-in-drug-vehicle | They executed the warrants and found 5,000 grams of cocaine in Apartment 3-D and 4,998 grams of cocaine in the Datsun.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [6589:6707] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.Given the value of the cocaine and the known risks of conducting an illegal drug business, the jury could reasonably infer from all of the evidence that Ocampo possessed a loaded revolver in order to protect himself, his partner, and his cocaine shipment.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [21820:22075] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.While Ocampo never displayed or fired the weapon during the encounterSource: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [21141:21210] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe."Using" a weapon under § 924(c)(1) includes the possession of a firearm which in any manner facilitates the execution of a felony.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [21627:21757] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.If the firearm is within the possession or control of a person who commits an underlying crime as defined by the statute, and the circumstances of the case show that the firearm facilitated or had a role in the crime, such as emboldening an actor who had the opportunity or ability to display or discharge the weapon to protect himself or to intimidate others, whether or not such a display or discharge in fact occurred, then there is a violation of the statute.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [22574:23037] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.There was also ample evidence to support a finding that Ocampo "used" the weapon during the commission of the felony.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [21509:21626] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe.Furthermore, the jury surely was entitled to find that the presence of a loaded revolver so close at hand provided Ocampo with the security and confidence necessary to undertake such a large drug transaction.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_890.jsonl#/f2d/890/1363-01; Unicode character offsets [22137:22345] (end exclusive); SHA-256 e699608e067b8f06d6f5b6d302a4c98cc2cc7bf61d9d69b090e1570dffbe3abe. |