United States v. Donald Hugh Hall

Hall was convicted of three counts of distributing cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1) and (b). Hall claims that the district judge improperly defined cocaine to the jury and refused to instruct the jury on his theory of the case. He also claims that the district judge erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal. We affirm.

I

Hall’s challenges to the guilty verdict are based upon one central contention: The substance which he sold to government agents was not properly proven to be cocaine. Under federal narcotics law, cocaine is defined as:

21 C.F.R. § 1308.12 , Schedule 11(b)(4); see 21 U.S.C. § 812 (a) and (c), Schedule 11(a)(4). Thus it was necessary for the government to prove that the substance which Hall sold was either “natural” cocaine, derived from coca leaves, or a chemical equivalent thereof.

The government’s expert witness, Medina, testified that he had performed various tests and concluded that “cocaine was detected in the exhibits submitted.” On cross-examination, Medina stated that cocaine, like most organic compounds, has many “isomers.” Isomers are two or more compounds which have the same molecular formula but different molecular…