United States v. Jimenez Recio
Headline: Court rejects Ninth Circuit rule that a conspiracy automatically ends when the government makes its goal impossible, allowing prosecutors to charge people who join unaware and preserving liability for the agreement.
Holding:
- Allows prosecutors to charge people who join criminal agreements even if police already thwarted the plan.
- Preserves use of undercover and sting operations that frustrate crimes but leave agreements intact.
- Remands case so lower court can consider other defendant arguments properly raised.
Summary
Background
On November 18, 1997, police stopped a truck in Nevada, found and seized illegal drugs, and used the drivers to set up a sting. The truck was taken to a mall in Idaho. The drivers paged a contact who said he would call someone to get the truck. Three hours later two men, Francisco Jimenez Recio and Adrian Lopez-Meza, arrived; one drove the truck away and both were arrested. A jury convicted them and the drivers of conspiring to possess and distribute drugs. The trial judge ordered a new trial for Recio and Lopez-Meza because of a Ninth Circuit rule about when a conspiracy ends. A second jury again convicted them. The Ninth Circuit reversed, applying its rule that a conspiracy ends when the government makes the conspiracy’s goal impossible.
Reasoning
The Court asked whether a conspiracy ends automatically when the government frustrates its objective, even if conspirators do not know. The Court rejected the Ninth Circuit’s "automatic termination" rule. It explained that a conspiracy is the agreement to commit a crime and is dangerous even if the planned crime cannot succeed. The Court noted most other courts and commentators refuse to treat impossibility as a defense. It found the Ninth Circuit had altered earlier language without justification, so it reversed and sent the case back for further consideration of other issues.
Real world impact
The ruling lets prosecutors pursue people who join a criminal agreement even if law enforcement has already made the plan impossible, so long as the conspiratorial agreement exists. It preserves the value of undercover and sting operations that foil crimes but leave the agreement intact. The decision is not a final ruling on all issues in the case; the court remanded for the Ninth Circuit to consider other arguments the defendants raised.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Stevens agreed that the Ninth Circuit rule was wrong but objected to the Court reaching the issue because the Government failed to preserve the argument earlier at trial and on direct appeal.
Opinions in this case:
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