United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1998-07-30
21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)
Case and law context
Role: applied; posture: criminal; bench trial conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute; on appeal defendant challenges (besides suppression and Guidelines rulings) the sufficiency of the evidence that he knowingly possessed the cocaine found in his vehicle; conviction and sentence affirmed; result: claimant-won; claim: (a)(1)
Uncertainty
Element possession: holding: the appellate court analysed knowledge, not dominion and control; possession is recorded as the trial judge's finding left standing by the affirmance
Element intent-to-distribute: holding: not separately contested on appeal; recorded as the trial judge's finding left standing by the affirmance
Misfit
None recorded
B · Case × element grid
Top-level elements follow claim order in panels of up to six elements. Case rows repeat across panels. Every recorded block retains its holding and basis; multiple blocks are not merged into a case-level verdict. ✓ satisfied · ✗ not satisfied · ○ not reached · · not addressed. Muted blocks are not counted. Sub-element evidence remains on case and element pages.
Elements 1–6 of 18
Elements 7–12 of 18
| Case | Death or serious bodily injury results from the use of such substance (§ 841(b)(1)(A)-(C) 20-year mandatory minimum) | Recidivist enhancement for prior conviction for a serious drug felony or serious violent felony (§ 841(b)(1), 21 U.S.C. § 851) | Prohibited act under § 841(a)(1): manufacture, distribute, or dispense | Cross-statute route alias: see separate aiding-abetting (§ 2) and x-conspiracy-846 (§ 846) routes | Aiding and abetting route under 18 U.S.C. § 2 (cross-statute) | Categorical / modified categorical comparison of state drug offense to 21 U.S.C. § 841 (INA / ACCA / Guidelines) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Griffin — 150 F.3d 778 (1998) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1998 (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed |
Elements 13–18 of 18
| Case | Drug conspiracy route under 21 U.S.C. § 846 (cross-statute) | Fifth Amendment Due Process / Equal Protection challenge to carrier-medium weight sentencing (Chapman) | Affirmative defense of entrapment (government inducement + lack of predisposition) | Rule of lenity in construing ambiguous penalty provisions of § 841(b) | Fifth Amendment void-for-vagueness challenge to "mixture or substance" or analogue provisions | Continuing-offense venue for § 841(a)(1) possession with intent to distribute / distribution (18 U.S.C. § 3237(a)) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Griffin — 150 F.3d 778 (1998) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1998 (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed |
Instances and excluded annotation blocks
| Case | Element | Holding and scope | Pattern | Exact source quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Griffin — 150 F.3d 778 (1998) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1998 — satisfied · proved (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | Specific intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense the possessed controlled substance | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: proved; claim: (a)(1) Ten compressed packages of cocaine, a digital gram scale and a loaded pistol. Intent to distribute was not separately challenged on appeal. | ten-compressed-packages-scale-and-loaded-pistol | Detective Bobko, armed with the search warrant, opened the box and found ten plastic wrapped compressed packages filled with what appeared to be cocaine, as well as a cardboard box with a small electronic digital gram scale.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [7669:7893] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.They also uncovered a briefcase on the floor of the front passenger side of Griffin’s Yukon which contained a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a cellular phone, and two safety deposit box keys.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [7894:8096] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.The court also considered the evidence of Griffin’s reactions to Detective Bobko’s inquiry about drugs and that a loaded gun and scale were found after the police searched Griffin’s vehicle, which are the usual tools of a drug dealer.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [22910:23144] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d. |
| United States v. Griffin — 150 F.3d 778 (1998) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1998 — satisfied · proved (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | Mens rea: "knowingly or intentionally" (including knowledge that the substance is a controlled substance) | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: proved; claim: (a)(1) Knowledge inferred from extreme nervousness during the investigatory stop, contradictory explanations about vehicle use, leaving the scene without his driver's license, and the high value ($1.25M) of the cocaine. This is the only § 841 element actually contested on appeal. | nervousness-contradictory-statements-and-high-value | When Detective Bobko questioned Griffin he was nervous, had difficulty speaking, and was breathing rapidly.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [20707:20814] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.During Detective Bobko’s interrogation, Griffin explained that during the day someone had used his Yukon, yet he conveniently could not remember who had used his vehicle nor who the person was who had told him that someone else had driven the vehicle.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [20815:21066] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.After obtaining a search warrant, the officers entered his car and uncovered $1,250,000 worth of cocaine, a digital gram scale, and a gun in Griffin’s briefcase.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [21067:21228] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.The police officers were surveilling Boutique Chicago as they witnessed Griffin hand the key to his Yukon to the Hispanic male, who drove to a different area of Chicago, loaded a large, tan box in the cargo space of the vehicle, and returned to Boutique Chicago.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [15633:15895] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.However, the trier of fact is entitled to infer knowledge from circumstantial evidence.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [19325:19412] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.From the totality of the circumstances surrounding the arrest and Griffin’s extreme anxiety, the district court, as trier of fact, was entitled to infer that Griffin knew of the cocaine in his vehicle’s cargo space.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [21229:21444] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d. |
| United States v. Griffin — 150 F.3d 778 (1998) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1998 — satisfied · proved (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | Possession (actual, constructive, sole, or joint dominion and control) | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: proved; claim: (a)(1) Driver was sole occupant of his own vehicle when stopped, with the box of cocaine in the rear cargo space that police had watched being loaded earlier. Dominion over the vehicle was not disputed; the appeal attacked only the "knowing" half of knowing possession. | sole-occupant-of-own-vehicle-holding-cargo-box | When Griffin pulled over after exiting the expressway without direction from the police officers, he was the only person in the Yukon.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [20572:20706] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.The officers found a large, tan box in the middle of the rear cargo space which they had seen the Hispanic male place in Griffin’s Yukon earlier in the day.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [7512:7668] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.Detective Bobko testified that he watched the Yukon for the remainder of that day, observing that no one else had access to Griffin’s vehicle.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [20429:20571] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d.During the bench trial and from reviewing the record, we are convinced that the trial court weighed the evidence, made credibility determinations, and found that Griffin was guilty of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute beyond a reasonable doubt.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [22442:22704] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d. |
| United States v. Griffin — 150 F.3d 778 (1998) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1998 — satisfied · conceded (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | Controlled substance (21 U.S.C. §§ 802(6), 812 Schedules I-V) or counterfeit substance (§ 841(a)(2)) | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: conceded; claim: (a)(1) The identity of the substance as cocaine was never disputed. | cocaine-identity-undisputed | After obtaining a search warrant, the government discovered not only $1,250,000 worth of cocaine, but also a digital gram scale, and a gun in Griffin’s briefcase.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_150.jsonl#/f3d/150/0778-01; Unicode character offsets [17130:17292] (end exclusive); SHA-256 c12bcba9bd82c213622c83568cb4d96b4026be74acb6bbc0a0083f4083d2318d. |