Vivian Brown v. United States

Brown was convicted on four counts, two charging violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174 , and two charging violation of 26 U.S.C. § 4705 . She was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for five years on each count to run concurrently.

Of the many points raised by appellant, only the entrapment issue concerns us. Appellant’s other contentions in regard to the constitutionality of 21 U.S.C. § 174 have long been put to rest by numerous decisions in this Circuit. See e. g., Ramirez v. United States, 350 F.2d 306 (9th Cir. 1965); Pool v. United States, 344 F.2d 943 (9th Cir. 1965); Brown v. United States, 370 F.2d 874 (9th Cir. 1966).

As in most entrapment cases, we are here faced with the presence of a government informant. The informant, Munoz, testified that he had known appellant for three months in Las Vegas in 1963, where she had sold him some narcotics. He met her again in Stockton, California, paying social visits to her home sometime in the latter part of 1964 and the early part of 1965. At about this same time, he began his activities as an informant. On January 23, 1965, he paid a visit to appellant in an attempt to obtain some narcotics. He informed her that he had a brother (Agent…