8th Circuit decides N.D. case Tuesday, July 16, 2024

The United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit said in their opinion that they, "...reverse Darius’s continuing criminal enterprise conviction and remand for a new trial, remand to the district court on Baquan’s drug conspiracy conviction, but affirm the judgments in all other respects."

Darius Sledge and Baquan Sledge were involved in a large-scale drug distribution conspiracy in North Dakota, targeting several Indian Reservations. They transported thousands of oxycodone pills from Michigan and recruited local residents as sub-distributors. Despite being arrested, Baquan continued his involvement from jail. Both were charged with multiple counts, including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, money laundering, and maintaining drug-involved premises. A jury found Baquan guilty on all counts and Darius on all but one.

The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota denied Baquan's motion to be returned to North Dakota from a Colorado facility, deeming it moot as he had already been returned. The court also denied Darius and Baquan's motion for a new trial based on alleged juror bias, finding no dishonesty in juror responses during voir dire. Both were sentenced to 360 months for the continuing criminal enterprise (CCE) count and 240 months for other counts, to run concurrently.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reviewed the case. It reversed Darius’s CCE conviction due to an error in jury instructions, specifically the lack of a unanimity instruction regarding the predicate felonies. The court found this error affected Darius’s substantial rights and the fairness of the proceedings. The court remanded for a new trial on this count and remanded Baquan’s drug conspiracy conviction to the district court to vacate the lesser-included offense. The court affirmed the judgments in all other respects, including the denial of a new trial based on juror bias and the handling of Baquan’s pre-trial detention location. (From: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca8/23-1099/23-1099-2024-07-16.html?utm_source=summary-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2024-07-17-us-court-of-appeals-for-the-eighth-circuit-4c4b72e09c&utm_content=text-case-title-5)

Read the opinion here: https://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/24/07/231096P.pdf