United States v. Joga Singh Johal

ORDER

Appellee’s motion to modify the court’s decision, filed October 18, 2005, is GRANTED.

The opinion filed August 30, 2005, is amended in its entirety. The Clerk is instructed to file the amended opinion concurrently with this order.

No further petitions for panel rehearing or petitions for rehearing en banc will be considered by the court.

OPINION

Joga Singh Johal (“Johal”) appeals his conviction for selling and possessing large quantities of over-the-counter cold pills containing the ingredient pseudoephedrine “knowing or having reasonable cause to believe” that they would be used to manufacture methamphetamine, an illegal substance under 21 U.S.C. § 841 (c)(2). Johal argues that § 841(c)(2) impermissibly imposes criminal liability without a mens rea requirement and that it mandates that the illegal substance actually be produced, foreclosing his conviction under a sting operation. Johal also alleges that the jury instructions failed to ensure a unanimous verdict and that the district court should have found him eligible for a sentence reduction because of his acceptance of responsibility.

We reject Johal’s contention that-a “reasonable cause to believe” standard, as…