USA v. LOPEZ
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in USA v. LOPEZ, No. 06-10062, a criminal appeal. The panel consisted of Thomas G. Nelson, Ronald M. Gould, and Consuelo M. Callahan, Circuit Judges.
T.G. NELSON, Circuit Judge:
Carlos Lopez (”Lopez”) appeals his convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)). Lopez contends that insufficient evidence supported his convictions under these counts because no rational jury could have found each of the essential elements of the crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. He further contends that the district court plainly erred by failing to provide the meaning of the term “in furtherance” to the jury, and that the district court abused its discretion when it denied his motion to sever his drug-related counts from the other charges. Harris v. United States and United States v. Dare foreclose Lopez’s final claim, that the mandatory minimum sentence imposed under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) violated his Sixth Amendment rights. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm. I. BACKGROUND The Government charged Lopez on five counts. Counts One and Two charged Lopez with being a felon and an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. Count Three charged him with possessing that same firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Count Four charged Lopez with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Count Five charged him with illegal reentry. Before trial, Lopez moved to sever the firearm and illegal reentry charges from the drug-related counts. The district court denied his motion. . . .