United States v. Leland Lapier, Jr.

A federal jury convicted Defendant-Appellant Leland Lapier of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine under 21 U.S.C. § 846 (“Count One”) in addition to a separate offense of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Lapier challenges only his conspiracy conviction, arguing that (1) his conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence, as the evidence at trial established only “buyer-seller” relationships and not a conspiracy, and (2) the district court plainly erred in failing to give a “specific unanimity” instruction sua sponte. We reject the first argument but agree with the second. The record in this case reflects a genuine possibility that different jurors voted to convict on the basis of different conspiracies.

Count One alleged a single conspiracy “beginning in or before September 2011, and continuing through at least December 2012,” but the evidence at trial showed at least two separate conspiracies — not the single conspiracy charged. This created a “genuine possibility of jury confusion” and the risk of a nonunanimous verdict, United States v. Echeverry, 719 F.2d 974, 975 (9th Cir.1983), as some jurors might have…