Professional Documents
Culture Documents
United States v. Dodd, 1st Cir. (1994)
United States v. Dodd, 1st Cir. (1994)
United States v. Dodd, 1st Cir. (1994)
with whom
on brief
appellant.
Despena Fillios Billings, Assistant
________________________
whom Donald K. Stern, United States
_________________
appellee.
was
on brief
____________________
January 6, 1995
____________________
_____________________
*Of the District of New Hampshire, sitting by designation.
Leon
Dodd
was
convicted
on
criminal
U.S.C.
charges
On appeal,
was convicted.
Background
Background
__________
Because
Dodd challenges
evidence supporting
his conviction,
the
v. Innamorati,
__________
sufficiency
we recite the
to the verdict.
996 F.2d 456,
of
the
facts in
See,
___
e.g., United
____ ______
469 (1st
Cir.), cert.
_____
Army
Reserves,
preparation for
shipped
out
to
Saudi
in the
Arabia
in
additional
duties
he was
Military Police,
trained
-22
inspection
of
by the
the
Customs Service,
the
Agriculture to serve
In
August
container to
with
of
1991,
ordered
to his
reserve unit,
RPG ground-propelled
rocket
home post
Bedford, Massachusetts.
placed
condition,
Army,
the
launchers and
inside the
at Hanscom Air
all
shipped to
Force Base
in
he
of
which
container.
two
Dodd did
weapons,
Along
Dodd stored
had
shipping
equipment belonging
three Iraqi
Dodd
were
in
Consequently,
of record, did
working
the
U.S.
was a
physical security
at Hanscom Air
Force Base,
container
arrived in
vacation
opened
civilian job
when
it
the
Massachusetts.
container
and discovered
arrived,
the
weapons.
another
Dodd was
that
weapons as war
Subsequently,
an
and then
proceeded to
purportedly authorized
trophies.
on
individual
responded affirmatively
documents
Because
Prior to
Dodd
create false
the shipment
of the
____________________
1. The
area.
-33
Dodd had told this same officer that he (the officer) did not
want
to
know
what
equipment
was
being
shipped
in
the
container.
On December
charging
U.S.C.
and
545.2
Following
a four-day
jury
issues on appeal:
(1)
____________________
2. Dodd's indictment specifically tracked the language of
the second prong of the second paragraph of 18 U.S.C.
545,
which provides punishment for, inter alia:
_____ ____
Whoever fraudulently or knowingly . . .
in
any
manner
facilitates
the
transportation, concealment, or sale of
such
merchandise
after
importation,
knowing the same to have been imported or
brought into the United States contrary
to law. . . .
18 U.S.C.
2 provides:
(a) Whoever commits an offense against
the
United
States or
aids, abets,
counsels, commands, induces or procures
its commission, is
punishable as
a
principal.
(b) Whoever willfully causes an act to be
done which if directly performed by him
or another would be an offense against
the United States, is punishable as a
principal.
-44
the
"contrary
U.S.C.
language of 18
convicted.3
illegally
reasonable
that
the
Iraqi
United States.
to prove
weapons
Dodd
were
does not
assessing
the
We do not agree.
sufficiency
of
the
evidence,
evidence
whole and
and
reasonable inferences
in the
light most
therefrom,
favorable to the
States v.
______
Mena-Robles, 4
___________
denied, 114
______
S.
Ct. 1550
taken
(1994),
as a
prosecution,
beyond a reasonable
guilty as charged."
States v.
______
cert.
_____
instead argues
United
______
1993),
modified on
________ __
other
_____
____________________
3. Additionally, Dodd recharacterizes his second argument as
a challenge to the district court's jury instructions.
We
reject this assignment of error for essentially the same
reasons as discussed infra part II.B.
_____
-55
must
evaluating
do
so
different
without
pieces
judgments."
of
proof
or
the
relative
venturing
weight
of
credibility
we
do
not
ask
whether
the
government
has
record as a
reasonable doubt.
of guilt beyond a
v. Vavlitis, 9
________
F.3d
the shipment
Saudi Arabia
Base in
to its ultimate
Massachusetts.
of the
military container
Each of these
to Dodd in
Hanscom Air
Force
documents referenced
None of
them disclosed
container.
that the
Iraqi weapons
Furthermore,
one
were
document was
stored in
the
stamped with
of the
government
also
the container
introduced
stamped by U.S.
carrier
Customs that
-66
the
customs
officials
Clearly, a
evidence
would
reasonable jury
that the
have
noted
them
on
this
declared and
form.
from this
thus were
his
second
assignment
of
error,
Dodd
portion of 18 U.S.C.
545
that occurs
concealment
of
after importation.
could not facilitate
"merchandise"
while
Dodd further
the shipment
to the
United
Dodd's
statutory construction,
Assuming arguendo
________
statute,
U.S.C.
2.
argument
presents
we need not
he nevertheless
was
an
also
interesting
address it
correctly construed
indicted under
18
____________________
4. We assume without comment that the Army's failure to
declare the
weapons to U.S. Customs
would constitute
importation or shipment into the United States "contrary to
law."
-77
States, is punishable as
2(b) (emphasis
this
added).5
section even
commit
intent.
A defendant may
though
the substantive
a principal."
United States v.
_____________
lacked
18 U.S.C.
be convicted under
the individual
act
against the
who
did in
the necessary
fact
criminal
(1st Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1102 (1981); accord United
_____ ______
______ ______
States v. Knoll,
______
_____
16 F.3d
Cir. 1994),
cert.
_____
United States
_____________
Laurins, 857 F.2d 529, 535 (9th Cir. 1988), cert. denied,
_______
_____ ______
U.S. 906
remove
(1989).
The purpose
of
section 2(b)
commission of an
is guilty
as
a principal
is to
agent or
even though
he
the
completed
See
___
offense."
18
U.S.C.
revisor's note.
246, 262
(D.C.
____________________
5. Dodd's indictment clearly stated that he was charged
under both 18 U.S.C.
545 and 18 U.S.C.
2.
Moreover, as
we have noted before, "an aider and abettor charge [referring
to subsections 2(a) and 2(b)] is implicit in all indictments
for substantive offenses, so it need not be specifically
pleaded for
an aiding and abetting
conviction to be
returned."
United States v. Sabatino, 943 F.2d 94, 99-100
_____________
________
(1st Cir. 1991).
-88
incapable
whether
Dodd's
importation
an object
prohibited by 18 U.S.C.
under 18 U.S.C.
of committing
Therefore, regardless
in Saudi
Arabia
was
directly
2(b) if it
that, had
offense."),
Dodd directly
performed them,
after
would
545.
at Port
deliberate actions
individuals
of
in
to take actions
Saudi
Arabia caused
U.S.C.
these acts
545
transportation
directly,
because
of the
illegally imported.
they been
violations of
through
he
18
facilitated
the
they had
been
knowing that
he caused acts to be
performed directly
545.
have violated
have
Therefore, 18 U.S.C.
18 U.S.C.
various
he would
would
weapons
Hence,
performed
had
in Bedford, Massachusetts.
by him,
2(b) proscribed
performed that,
would have
In other words,
been
by acting
importation of
the weapons
-99
knowing them to
have
were sufficient
U.S.C.
In
sum, Dodd's
to support
-1010
actions in
his conviction
Saudi
under 18
III.
III.
____
Conclusion
Conclusion
__________
For
the
foregoing
conviction is affirmed.
reasons,
the
defendant's
-1111