John Pauling contested two counts at trial in an eight-count indictment relating to various drug and gun charges. First, he challenged a 924c charge (possessing a gun in furtherance of a drug conspiracy) and was acquitted by the jury. Second, he challenged the weight of the drugs in the drug conspiracy count that would have triggered a five-year mandatory minimum. The jury convicted him on that count. Judge Oetken now vacates that conviction, leaving Pauling with no mandatory minimum. A copy of the opinion is attached here.
In an opinion worth reading for its explanation of the distinction between a single conspiracy and multiple conspiracies, Judge Oetken in referencing the common wheel analogy, found that the government failed to show there was “a ‘rim’ around the ‘spokes,’ such that the spokes became coconspiractors.” At trial, the Court gave a multiple conspiracies instruction over the government’s objection, finding the government’s …