Feijoo Tomala v. United States, 504 U.S. 932 (1992). · Go Syfert
Feijoo Tomala v. United States, 504 U.S. 932 (1992). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
32 citation events (6 in the last 25 years) across 20 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Duke Street Ltd. P'ship v. BOARD OF CTY. COMMISSIONERS CALVERT CTY. (mdctspecapp, 1996-11-01)
Treatment trajectory · 1992 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1992 2009 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 4 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited "see" Duke Street Ltd. P'ship v. BOARD OF CTY. COMMISSIONERS CALVERT CTY.
Md. Ct. Spec. App. · 1996 · signal: see · confidence high
See National Advertising Company v. Raleigh, 947 F.2d 1158 (4th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 931 , 112 S.Ct. 1997 , 118 L.Ed.2d 593 (1992), Bireline v. Seagondollar, 567 F.2d 260 (4th Cir.1977), cert. denied 444 U.S. 842 , 100 S.Ct. 83 , 62 L.Ed.2d 54 (1979).
cited Cited "see, e.g." Napa Valley Publishing Co. v. City of Calistoga
N.D. Cal. · 2002 · signal: see also · confidence low
See also National Advertising Co. v. City of Raleigh, 947 F.2d 1158, 1168 (4th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 931 , 112 S.Ct. 1997 , 118 L.Ed.2d 593 (1992).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Home Builders Ass'n v. City of Scottsdale (2×)
Ariz. Ct. App. · 1995 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence low
See, e.g., Commercial Builders of N. Cal. v. City of Sacramento, 941 F.2d 872 (9th Cir.1991) (applying a takings analysis to an ordinance conditioning building permits on payment of fee to offset burdens of providing low-income housing for workers at such developments), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 931 , 112 S.Ct. 1997 , 118 L.Ed.2d 593 (1992); Blue Jeans Equities W. v. City and County of San Francisco, 3 Cal. App.4th 164 , 4 Cal. Rptr.2d 114 (1992) (applying a takings analysis to an ordinance conditioning building permit on payment of fee for traffic control programs).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Jade Aircraft Sales, Inc. v. City of Bridgeport
D. Conn. · 1994 · signal: see also · confidence low
Nollan v. California Coastal Comm’n, 483 U.S. 825 , 834 n. 3, 107 S.Ct. 3141 , 3147 n. 3, 97 L.Ed.2d 677 (1987) (pronouncing “substantially advances” test for unconstitutional conditions); Parks v. Watson, 716 F.2d 646, 652 (9th Cir.1983) (using “rational relationship” test *12 for analysis of unconstitutional condition); see also Commercial Builders v. Sacramento, 941 F.2d 872, 874 (9th Cir.1991) (holding that Nollan did not materially change the level of scrutiny set forth in Parks), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 1997 , 118 L.Ed.2d 593 (1992); Dolan v. Tigard, 317 Or. 110 , 8…
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Ana Feijoo Tomala
v.
United States
White, Thomas.
Cited by 30 opinions  |  Published
Reporter's Syllabus — editorial summary, not part of the Court's opinion

On petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.

Justice WHITE, with whom Justice THOMAS joins, dissenting.

Lead Opinion

C. A. 2d Cir. Certiorari denied.

Dissent

Justice White, with whom Justice Thomas joins,

dissenting.

The issue in this ease is whether the trial court erred in instructing a jury that petitioner could be convicted for importing illegal drugs if she consciously avoided knowledge that drugs were concealed in a suitcase she was carrying.

Petitioner, who had just arrived from Ecuador with her two young daughters, was arrested at Kennedy International Airport when a Customs inspector found three kilograms of cocaine in a hidden compartment of a suitcase. She was charged with importing cocaine into the United States in violation of 21 U. S. C. § 952(a). At trial, petitioner defended on the theory that she had been unwittingly duped into serving as a drug courier. She testified that a woman had approached her at the Ecuador airport, identified herself as Maria Alcivar, and asked her to deliver the suitcase to Alcivar’s sister, Georgina de Rodrigues. The woman opened the suitcase to show petitioner that it contained several new dresses and explained that she was returning the dresses to her sister because she had been unable to sell them in Ecuador. She provided petitioner with an incomplete New Jersey address and a telephone number, which had a New Jersey area code followed by an eight-digit number.

The trial court charged the jury that the Government bore the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that petitioner knew she possessed narcotics. But the court added:

“‘[I]t is not necessary for the government to prove to an absolute certainty that [petitioner] knew that she possessed narcotics. [Petitioner’s] knowledge may be established by proof beyond a reasonable doubt that [petitioner] was aware, was aware of a high probability that the suitcase contained narcotics unless, despite this high probability, the facts show that [petitioner] actually believed that the suitcase did not contain narcotics.’ ” Brief for United States 6.

Petitioner’s first trial ended in a hung jury. On retrial, she was convicted and sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed. 946 F. 2d 883 (1991) (judgment order).

Petitioner contends that the trial court erred in giving the instruction quoted above because the Government" had: not argued[*933] that she consciously avoided knowledge that she was transporting drugs and because the instruction allows a conviction on the basis of recklessness or negligence, thereby vitiating the statutory requirement that the Government prove petitioner acted knowingly. She urges that the outcome of her case would have been different had she been tried in another circuit. The Government concedes as much, citing conflicting decisions by the Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Tenth Circuits, and suggests that we grant certiorari. See United States v. De Francisco-Lopez, 939 F. 2d 1405 (CA10 1991); United States v. Sanchez-Robles, 927 F. 2d 1070 (CA9 1991).

I agree with petitioner and the Government that the outcome of a federal criminal prosecution should not depend upon the circuit in which the case is tried. I therefore would grant certiorari to resolve the conflict in the Courts of Appeals.