United States v. Craig Ivester

Ivester appeals from his conviction and sentence for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1), and aiding and abetting another’s possession of ten pounds of the drug for distribution in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1). He was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, five years of supervised release, and fined $25,000. The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231 . We have jurisdiction over this timely filed appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742 . We affirm.

I.

Ivester raises a number of issues on appeal. In this opinion, we deal only with his argument regarding the district court’s handling of a security problem raised by jurors during the trial. We address his other arguments in a companion unpublished disposition.

At the close of the second day of trial, the district judge notified the parties that some jurors had expressed concern for their safety to court staff. The court learned that alternate juror Kenny told jury pool clerk Young that he and a few of the other jurors felt concerned for their safety because of the intimidating appearance of…