United States v. Beaty

722 F.2d 1090 (1983)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Beaty (D) was a longtime friend of Clark. D asked Clark to help smuggle hashish into the United States. Clark arranged for D to meet Soleau, a commercial fisherman. Soleau agreed to provide the Falcon to carry the hashish and a safe boat, Tanqueray, to carry two people to count the bales. The operation was carried out on October 9, 1981. Due to bad weather and the overloading of the Falcon, the boat sank. Beaty then engaged in two unsuccessful attempts to salvage the lost hashish. Another party, Ballouz was also spotted on the Falcon. D presented no evidence, but Ballouz presented an alibi defense. Ballouz testified that he could not have been on the Falcon because he had gone to visit his parents and had dinner with Mrs. Axelson. During trial, the trial judge constantly criticized D's counsel and showed favoritism to the government. D claims that he was denied a fair trial. D was convicted and appealed.