Seventh Circuit Week in Review: A Good Week for Defendants
The Seventh Circuit had two new opinions in criminal cases last week, both of which delivered partial wins to the defendant. In United States v. Colon (No. 07-3929), the defendant was arrested after purchasing cocaine from two sellers, Saucedo and Rodriguez, who happened to be under police surveillance at the time. Colon was then charged and ultimately convicted of (1) possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, (2) conspiring with Saucedo and Rodriguez to distribute cocaine, and (3) aiding and abetting the conspiracy. However, the Seventh Circuit (per Judge Posner) ultimately found that the evidence did not support convictions on the latter two charges.
Criminal law students (at least my criminal law students) will immediately recognize the basic legal issue: when does a buyer-seller relationship give rise to conspiracy and complicity liability?