US v. Delgado, No. 07-41041

Marijuana Possession Conviction Vacated

In US v. Delgado, No. 07-41041, the court vacated defendant's conviction and sentence for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute where 1) there was no evidence that defendant entered into an agreement with anyone other than the informer to engage in anything beyond a simple buyer-seller transaction; and 2) two members of the prosecution team engaged in trial misconduct that was unfairly prejudicial to defendant.

As the court wrote:  "Defendant-Appellant Maria Aide Delgado was convicted of (1) possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and (2) conspiracy to commit the same offense, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) & (b)(1)(B);  18 U.S.C. § 371.0. She was sentenced to a concurrent term of 100 months imprisonment for each conviction.   Delgado appealed.   For the reasons assigned herein, we vacate her convictions and sentences, dismiss the conspiracy charge of the indictment because the government failed to introduce sufficient evidence to convict her of conspiracy, and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings on the possession with intent to distribute charge."

Related Resources

• Read the Fifth Circuit's Decision in US v. Delgado, No. 07-41041