United States v. Peter Ayika

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States v. Peter Ayika, 584 F. App'x 239 (5th Cir. 2014)

United States v. Peter Ayika

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Peter Victor Ayika appeals the district court’s order denying his motion to dismiss his indictment pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3)(B) and his motions for summary disposition of his Rule 12(b)(3)(B) motion. Ayika was convicted after a jury trial of drug offenses in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841. In his Rule 12(b)(3)(B) motion, Ayika argued that the indictment was jurisdictionally defective because he was a licensed pharmacist and that he therefore could not be prosecuted under § 841. The district court determined that Ayika’s Rule 12(b)(3)(B) motion *240 was untimely and alternatively that it was precluded from considering his challenge to the indictment because that issue was already rejected by this court on direct appeal.

We need not address whether Ayika’s Rule 12(b)(3)(B) motion was timely as the district court’s alternative ruling was correct. Although Ayika framed his Rule 12(b)(3)(B) challenge to the indictment as a jurisdictional issue, it is substantively the same as the challenge that he raised to his indictment on direct appeal. Our rejection of that argument on direct appeal constitutes the law of the case. See United States v. Lawrence, 179 F.3d 343, 351 (5th Cir. 1999); United States v. Ayika, 542 Fed.Appx. 344 (5th Cir. 2013). The district court’s denial of Ayika’s Rule 12(b)(3)(B) motion and his motions for summary disposition are AFFIRMED.

*

Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.

Reference

Full Case Name
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Peter Victor AYIKA, Defendant-Appellant
Cited By
3 cases
Status
Unpublished