Feijoo Tomala v. United States

Background

A woman who had just arrived from Ecuador with her two young daughters was arrested at Kennedy International Airport after Customs found three kilograms of cocaine hidden in a suitcase she was carrying. She testified that a stranger had asked her to deliver the suitcase and had opened it to show dresses. She was charged with importing cocaine under federal law, tried twice, and after a hung jury was convicted on retrial and sentenced to 60 months in prison.

Reasoning

The core question described in the papers is whether a jury can be told that a defendant's knowledge of drugs may be proved by showing she deliberately avoided learning about drugs in her luggage. The trial judge gave an instruction saying knowledge could be shown if the defendant was aware of a high probability of drugs unless she actually believed there were none. The defendant argued that this instruction allows conviction based on recklessness or negligence and that the Government had not argued deliberate avoidance. The Government acknowledged conflicting rulings in other appeals courts and suggested the high court should hear the case, but the Court declined to review the conviction.

Real world impact

Because the Court refused to take the case, the lower-court conviction and the contested jury instruction remain in place for this defendant. The broader legal question about using 'conscious avoidance' instructions across different circuits remains unsettled and could lead to different outcomes for similar defendants depending on where they are tried.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice White, joined by Justice Thomas, dissented from the denial of review and would have granted review to resolve the conflicting appeals-court decisions so outcomes do not depend on the circuit.