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332 F.2d 565

Docket No. 20459.

Borne v. United States

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Decided June 5, 1964.

Rehearing Denied July 16, 1964.

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1964-06-05

2 counsel of record

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““Whenever on trial for a violation of this subsection, the defendant is shown to have or to have had the marihuana in his possession, such possession shall be deemed sufficient evidence to authorize conviction unless the defendant explains his possession to the satisfaction of the jury.””

quoted by 2 later decisions, including Thomas v. United States, Maltos-Roque v. United States

Applies 28 U.S.C. § 46

Relies on Sorrells v. United States · Manning v. United States · Barrett v. United States

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Opinion by (per_curiam) · Decided 1964-06-05

How this case has been cited

Cited by 14 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently July 1987

10 federal appellate · 1 district · 2 state decisions

100196419701980decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1*566Dean A. Andrews, Jr., James T. Davis, Marcel J. Meunier, Jr., New Orleans, La., for appellants.

¶2Peter E. Duffy, John C. Ciolino, Asst. U. S. Attys., Louis C. LaCour, U. S. Atty., New Orleans, La., for appellee.

¶3Before CAMERON* WISDOM and GEWIN, Circuit Judges.

¶5PER CURIAM:

¶6Appellants were convicted for unlawfully selling a quantity of marihuana cigarettes in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 176a and 26 U.S.C.A. § 4742(a). The case was tried by a jury. Appellant Borne contends that the statutory presumption 1 *embodied in 21 U.S.C.A. § 176a violates his constitutional rights. Appellant Walker contends that his conviction is invalid by reason of entrapment.

¶7 After a careful consideration, of the entire record, we find to the contrary. The constitutionality of the presumption contained in 21 U.S.C.A. § 176a, relating specifically to the importation,, possession and sale of narcotic drugs, has-been consistently upheld. Manning v. United States, 5 Cir., 1960, 274 F.2d 926. A legislative presumption of one fact, from evidence of another does not constitute a denial of due process of law · Case Law">denial of due process of law when there is some rational connection between the fact proved and the ultimate-fact presumed. Barrett v. United States,. 5 Cir., 1963, 322 F.2d 292.

¶8 The undisputed testimony contained in the record disclosed that it was appellant Walker who initiated the proposal to sell marihuana to Agent Robinson on their first meeting, and it was he who was the principal figure in bringing appellant Borne into negotiations for the subsequent sale of marihuana. When the actions of government agents “merely afford opportunities or facilities for the commission of the offense” there has been no entrapment. Sorrells v. United States, (1932) 287 U.S. 435, 53 S.Ct. 210, 77 L.Ed. 413. Such were the facts in this case. Therefore, the convictions are affirmed.

¶9It should be observed that Judge Cameron participated in the hearing and decision of this cause but died before the opinion was filed. See 28 U.S.C.A. § 46.

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