Albert Adelman v. United States

Adelman appeals from a judgment in a jury tried case sentencing him to ten years in the penitentiary on an indictment charging that he did, after importation, knowingly and unlawfully receive, conceal and facilitate the transportation of a certain narcotic drug, to-wit, approximately one grain of heroin, which said heroin, as the defendant then and there well knew, had been imported into the United States of America contrary to law, in violation of Section 174, Title 21 United States Code Annotated.

The concluding sentence of 21 U.S.C.A. § 174 reads:

The accused took the stand but made no effort to sustain his burden of proof that the heroin was not imported or that he otherwise was entitled to possess it under other provisions of the Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act.

The sole contention of Adelman is that the District Court erred in denying his motion for an acquittal on the ground that the United States failed to produce evidence to constitute a prima facie case against him of the possession of the heroin. The evidence is as follows:

Adelman and one Allen drove from San Francisco to Reno to gamble. They took a room at the Pony Express Motel in Sparks, just outside of…