United States v. Jasper Lee Simon

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States v. Jasper Lee Simon, 488 F.2d 133 (5th Cir. 1973)
1973 U.S. App. LEXIS 6608
Goldberg, Per Curiam, Roney, Thornberry

United States v. Jasper Lee Simon

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Simon was convicted of violating 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(a)(1) by distributing and possessing with intent to distribute marijuana. His sole defense was entrapment, and to rebut it the government offered the testimony of three law enforcement officers to show his predisposition to deal in narcotics.

Each officer based his testimony on conversations with a confidential informant. One said an informer told him Simon had a reputation for dealing in drugs, and each of the other two testified an informer had said Simon was dealing in drugs. On appeal Simon claims this testimony was hearsay and a violation of his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. In this circuit, however, we have consistently held that “when entrapment is asserted as a defense, hearsay is admissible to show prior disposition to commit an offense charged in the indictment and that the government is not required to disclose the names of the informants.” United States v. Brooks, 5th Cir. 1973, 477 F.2d 453. Accord, Rocha v. United States, 5th Cir. 1968, 401 F.2d 529, cert. denied, 393 U.S. 1103, 89 S.Ct. 905, 21 L.Ed.2d 796; Washington v. United States, 5th Cir. 1960, 275 F.2d 687. Therefore we affirm Simon’s conviction.

Affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jasper Lee SIMON, Defendant-Appellant
Cited By
9 cases
Status
Published