United States Seventh Circuit

Conviction and sentencing of a defendant for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of firearm in furtherance of that conspiracy is affirmed where: 1) the district court correctly determined that under 21 U.S.C. section 846, it is not whether the government can sustain a conspiracy charge without proving conclusively that every alleged co-conspirator had more than a buyer-seller relationship with the defendant, but rather, whether the government can prove the requisite agreement between the defendant and at least one other conconspirator; 2) a jury could conclude that defendant constructively possessed the guns found at his home and a jury could rely on circumstantial evidence in finding that a gun in defendant's constructive possession was kept to further the drug trafficking crime; 3) district court's decision to give the jury a "dynamite charge" during deliberations and the charge itself was not in error as there is no basis to conclude that the court encouraged the jurors to cast aside their opinions for the expedience of reaching a verdict; and 4) district court's sentencing of the defendant was presumptively reasonable based on the properly calculated guidelines range.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/05/2008
• Decided 08/24/2009
• Published 08/24/2009

Judges

• ROVNER, Circuit Judge., Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and RIPPLE and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Gordon P. Giampietro, Attorney (argued), Michelle L. Jacobs, Office of the United States Attorney, Milwaukee, WI, for Plaintiff-Appellee., Dennis P. Coffey, Attorney (argued), Mawicke & Goisman, S.C., Milwaukee, WI, for Defendant-Appellant.