United States v. Roger Lee Burkett, Saundra Navarro, Marguerite Constanza, and Gary Toughill

This interlocutory appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California is based upon the denial of appellants’ motions to dismiss the indictment because of alleged double jeopardy. Jurisdiction is established by 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651 , 97 S.Ct. 2034 , 52 L.Ed.2d 651 (1977).

The district court determined that this interlocutory appeal concerns strictly legal issues that could be decided without reviewing a transcript of the trial. We agree that only questions of law are raised by this appeal, and find that those questions have been clearly presented in the parties’ briefs. Accordingly, it is not necessary that we review a transcript of the proceedings.

On October 6, 1978, the Grand Jury returned a superseding indictment charging the appellants and five other persons with conspiracy to illegally import a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 963 (count one); illegal importation of a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 , 960 and 963 (count two); conspiracy to dispense and distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (count three); and possession of a controlled…