United States v. Boyd

53 F.3d 631 (4th Cir. 1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D supplied large quantities of marijuana to James Todd Hibler in Maryland. D obtained the marijuana he sold from two different sources. One was Manual Jaramillo (Jaramillo); the other was brothers Joseph and Arthur Nieto. D, Jaramillo, and brothers Joseph and Arthur Nieto were indicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute marijuana and other related offenses. During trial, D objected to the admission of evidence that D personally used marijuana and cocaine. D claimed that the evidence only showed that he had a bad character, and, therefore, must have committed the crimes of which he was charged. P sought to admit the testimony as proof of D’s motive. The government's theory was that D participated in the charged conspiracies in order to support his personal drug use. The district court permitted the government to elicit this testimony as proof of D's motive. The witness briefly testified that during 1989, he observed D using marijuana and cocaine. D was convicted and, in part, appealed claiming that the admission of this testimony was an abuse of discretion.