United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 2019-02-13
21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)
Case and law context
Role: applied; posture: criminal; jury convictions for conspiracy (§ 846) and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; on appeal defendant challenges sufficiency of the evidence of knowing (constructive) possession and the refusal of a "mere presence" instruction; drug convictions affirmed (separate misprision conviction reversed on Fifth Amendment grounds); result: claimant-won; claim: (a)(1) & (b)(1)(A)
Uncertainty
opinion: the last paragraph @15584..15675 is the opinion's own footnote appended by the IR; one span.
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. Solis — 915 F.3d 1172 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 2019 (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. Solis — 915 F.3d 1172 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 2019 (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. Solis — 915 F.3d 1172 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 2019 — 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 Excluded from merits counts applied / lower-court basis: proved; claim: (a)(1) & (b)(1)(A) Jury finding only: on appeal Solis attacked knowing possession, not intent to distribute, and the court does not discuss it. | two-and-half-kilograms-methamphetamine-in-car-seats | Using the cordless drill and the Phillips bit, he disassembled the car seats and found $19,000 in rubber-banded cash and 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [3022:3176] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5.After the trooper found a cordless screwdriver with a single Phillips bit and a suitcase containing Ziploc bags, he examined the car seats and found them abnormally heavy.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [2850:3021] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5. |
| United States v. Solis — 915 F.3d 1172 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 2019 — 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) & (b)(1)(A) Circumstantial evidence established knowledge of the contraband concealed in the vehicle. | knew-boyfriend-purchased-drugs-stashed-in-her-vehicle | After Pedraza, Solis, and the children arrived in Dallas, DEA agents intercepted a phone conversation in which Solis asked Pedraza if he had "fix[ed] everything there."Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [2307:2475] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5.He found another $1,796 in rubber-banded cash in Solis's purse.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [3177:3240] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5.Here, unlike in Ramos, the evidence supported a finding that Solis: knew that Pedraza had purchased methamphetamine in Dallas; allowed Pedraza to store the drugs in her vehicle; knew that the drugs were stashed in her children's car seats; and had access to those car seats.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [6388:6662] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5. |
| United States v. Solis — 915 F.3d 1172 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 2019 — 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) & (b)(1)(A) Sufficiency upheld: the drugs were in the children's car seats of defendant's own vehicle on the return leg of a drug-buying trip she joined; the court found the nexus (knowledge plus access/control) that mere joint occupancy lacks. | drugs-hidden-in-childrens-car-seats-in-defendants-vehicle | Using the cordless drill and the Phillips bit, he disassembled the car seats and found $19,000 in rubber-banded cash and 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [3022:3176] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5.Using one of Solis's vehicles, Pedraza drove Solis and two of her children to Dallas, Texas, on July 17, 2015, where he planned on purchasing ten kilograms of methamphetamine.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [1837:2012] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5.Solis consented to a search of the vehicle.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [2806:2849] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5.The government may prove knowing possession by showing constructive possession-that is, that Solis had both knowledge of and control over the contraband.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [5675:5828] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5.Mere presence or physical proximity alone cannot support such a finding. There must be "some nexus between a defendant and the contraband."Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [5893:6032] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5.Accordingly, a reasonable jury could find that Solis had knowledge of and control over the methamphetamine.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_915.jsonl#/f3d/915/1172-01; Unicode character offsets [6663:6770] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6728c81148db0694782b8aad773a56b2cf5cfbdc284dbfb893aec52d848ffcf5. |