United States v. Santiago Mos

In a jury trial, Mos was found guilty of having violated 21 U.S.C. § 174 and 26 U.S.C. § 4705 (a). In his appeal, he presents numerous contentions, of which only one merits discussion. This is the contention that he did not have effective assistance of counsel, as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment.

Mos was tried together with a codefendant, one Louis Sipeo. They were both represented by the same attorney, who, incidentally, is not representing Mos on this appeal. During the course of the trial, the Government agreed to allow Sipeo to plead guilty to a lesser charge, thus escaping the risk of conviction for the graver crimes with which he, and Mos, were originally charged. However, the prosecution, with the consent of the defense attorney, requested the trial judge to grant permission that the remainder of the trial should proceed as if both defendants were still being tried for the original offenses. The request was granted, three prosecution witnesses testified, and three exhibits were introduced into evidence against both defendants. The jury was not told that Sipeo was no longer involved in the case until just before the commencement of counsel’s arguments in summation. Mos…