United States v. Charles Onyenmwonsa Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706 (2d Cir. 1993). · Go Syfert
United States v. Charles Onyenmwonsa Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706 (2d Cir. 1993). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
23 citation events (8 in the last 25 years) across 5 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: United States v. Gonzalez (ca6, 2007-08-30)
Treatment trajectory · 1993 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1993 2009 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 9 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Gonzalez
6th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
This example mirrors the factual scenario from a Second Circuit case, United States v. Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706, 707 (2d Cir.1993), where the defendant was held accountable for the full amount of the drugs found in a suitcase that he mistakenly believed held less, and is directly analogous to the scenario presented in the case before us.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Gonzalez
6th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
This example mirrors the factual scenario from a Second Circuit case, United States v. Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706, 707 (2d Cir. 1993), where the defendant was held accountable for the full amount of the drugs found in a suitcase that he mistakenly believed held less, and is directly analogous to the scenario presented in the case before us.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Diaz-Calderon (2×)
4th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
Such concerns are not at issue here because the district court held that none of the appellants could have foreseen any of the drug quantities involved and the government does not challenge this finding on appeal. 16 1B1.3, illustration (a)(1) (noting that a defendant who carries a suitcase filled with a controlled substance “is accountable for the controlled substance in the suitcase regardless of his knowledge or lack of knowledge of the actual type or amount of that controlled substance”); United States v. Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706, 707-08 (2d Cir. 1993) (holding defendant liable for full…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Lara
2d Cir. · 1995 · confidence medium
Another example is the dictum, first stated in United States v. Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706, 708 (2d Cir.1993), that in an unusual situation where the gap between the quantity of drugs actually possessed by a defendant and the lesser quantity reasonably believed to have been possessed is so great as to make application of the Guidelines grossly unfair, a downward departure might be warranted.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Lara
2d Cir. · 1995 · confidence medium
Another example is the dictum, first stated in United States v. Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706, 708 (2d Cir.1993), that in an unusual situation where the gap between the quantity of drugs actually possessed by a defendant and the lesser quantity reasonably believed to have been possessed is so great as to make application of the Guidelines grossly unfair, a downward departure might be warranted.
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Ana Marin De Velasquez (3×) also: Cited "see"
2d Cir. · 1994 · confidence medium
See, e.g., Ekwunoh, 12 F.3d at 369 (defendant thought she possessed 400 grams of heroin instead of one kilogram); Imariagbe, 999 F.2d at 707 (defendant thought his briefcase contained 400 grams of heroin instead of 850 grams); Obi, 947 F.2d at 1032 (defendant thought he was importing cocaine rather than heroin); Collado-Gomez, 834 F.2d at 281 (defendant thought he was dealing heroin instead of crack cocaine); United States v. Normandeau, 800 F.2d 953, 955-56 (9th Cir.1986) (defendants thought they were importing less than 1,000 pounds of marijuana).
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Caroline Oyibo Ekwunoh (4×) also: Cited "see, e.g."
2d Cir. · 1993 · confidence medium
Since Martinez, we have ruled that a conspirator could be punished for the actual quantity in his possession where such quantity was reasonably foreseeable, United States v. Pico, 2 F.3d 472, 475-76 (2d Cir.1993), and have made a similar ruling as to a defendant convicted of a substantive importation offense, United States v. Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706, 707-08 (2d Cir.1993).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Powell
E.D.N.Y · 2017 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706, 707 (2d Cir. 1993) (per curiam); United States v. de Velasquez, 28 F.3d 2, 3 (2d Cir. 1994) (“We now conclude that, as a general proposition, a defendant may be sentenced for the entire quantity of drugs in his possession even if the total quantity was not foreseeable.”).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Chukwune Ivonye
2d Cir. · 1994 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Imariagbe, 999 F.2d 706, 708 (2d Cir.1993) (referring to “an unusual situation in which the gap between belief and actuality was so great as to make the Guideline grossly unfair in application, meriting at least a downward departure_”); see also De Velasquez, 28 F.3d at 6 .
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,
v.
Charles Onyenmwonsa IMARIAGBE, Defendant-Appellant
1771, Docket 93-1141.
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Jul 29, 1993.
999 F.2d 706
1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19726
Abraham L. Clott, New York City (Hen-riette D. Hoffman, The Legal Aid Soc., Federal Defender Services Unit, New York City, of counsel), for defendant-appellant., Joseph Nocella, Asst. U.S. Atty., Brooklyn, NY (Zachary W. Carter, U.S. Atty. for the E.D. of N.Y., Susan Corkery, Asst. U.S. Atty., Brooklyn, NY, of counsel), for appellee.
Newman, Van Graafeiland Pratt.
Cited by 13 opinions  |  Published
1 passage pin-cited by 1 case
Pinpoint authority: bottom 65%
Citer courts: Seventh Circuit (1)
PER CURIAM:

Charles Imariagbe appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Sifton, J.) seeking vacatur of the sentence which followed his plea of guilty to a charge of importing heroin. 21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a), 960(a)(1) and 960(b)(3). Imariagbe contends that the district court erred in basing his sentence on the total quantity of heroin he possessed rather than on the quantity he believed he possessed. We affirm.

On September 12, 1992, Imariagbe arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport from Nigeria carrying a suitcase which contained heroin having a net weight of 850 grams. He subsequently pled guilty to one count of importing an indeterminate quantity of heroin. The recommended sentence in Imariagbe’s presentence report was based on possession of 850 grams of heroin. Imar-iagbe objected, contending that his sentence should be based on possession of only 400 grams, the quantity that he believed he was carrying at the time of his arrest.

At sentencing, Imariagbe testified that he was told the suitcase contained only 400 grams. The district court found Imariagbe’s testimony credible. However, it also found it was reasonably foreseeable that the suitcase could have held 850 grams, and based Imar-iagbe’s sentence on that amount. From the applicable base offense level of 30, U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(7), the court deducted four levels for Imariagbe’s minimal role in the offense, id. § 3B1.2(a), and an additional three levels for acceptance of responsibility, id. § 3E1.1, ending up with a final offense level of 23. The court sentenced Imariagbe to 46 months, the minimum term of imprisonment permitted by the Guidelines, imposed a three-year term of supervised release and assessed the mandatory $50 fee.

In arriving at the base offense level, the district court followed U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a) and Application Note 2 thereunder, which provide that a defendant is accountable for all quantities of a controlled substance with which he was directly involved. Appellant contends that where, as here, a defendant reasonably believed he was carrying less than the actual amount in his possession, the doctrine of mens rea and due process require that the base offense level be based upon that reasonable belief rather than actual quantities. We disagree.

In United States v. Pineda, 847 F.2d 64 (2d Cir.1988), the defendant challenged the ten year minimum sentence requirement of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) on the ground that the statute did not require that a defendant know the amount of narcotics involved. Id. at 65. We held that the ten year minimum requirement “did not in any way criminalize otherwise innocent activity or create a trap for the unwary, because the statute requires proof that a defendant knowingly and intentionally possessed a controlled substance.” Id.; see also United States v. Jackson, 968 F.2d 158, 163 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 664, 121 L.Ed.2d 589 (1992); United States v. Collado-Gomez, 834 F.2d 280, 281 (2d Cir.1987), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 969, 108 S.Ct. 1244, 99 L.Ed.2d 442 (1988). Section 960(a)(1) also requires proof of know[*708] ing and intentional conduct, i.e., knowing or intentional importation of a controlled substance. If, in fact, appellant had a mistaken belief as to the amount of narcotics he was carrying in his suitcase, his sentence, nonetheless, was computed correctly.

Perhaps one might hypothesize an unusual situation in which the gap between belief and actuality was so great as to make the Guideline grossly unfair in application, meriting at least a downward departure and perhaps raising a constitutional issue. “ ‘It is difficult to think of a law that is utterly devoid of potential for unconstitutionality in some conceivable application.’ ” New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747, 772 n. 27, 102 S.Ct. 3348, 3362 n. 61, 73 L.Ed.2d 1113 (1982) (quoting Note, The First Amendment Overbreadth Doctrine, 83 Harv.L.Rev. 844, 859 n. 61 (1970)). However, no such application is involved in the instant case.

The judgment appealed from is affirmed.