State v. Cottrell
Kansas Supreme Court
310 Kan. 150, 445 P.3d 1132 (2019)
- Written by Noah Lewis, JD
Facts
Ronald Cottrell (defendant) sold prescription narcotics to Eduardo Padron, an undercover detective. Padron texted Curtis asking to purchase eight oxycodone pills and 20 hydrocodone pills. Curtis said that her father had the product and told Padron to meet them at a convenience-store parking lot. Curtis and Padron arrived at the store. Curtis said that she was waiting on her father. Cottrell arrived, and Curtis talked to him. Curtis called and asked Padron to relocate to the post office. Padron refused and heard a male voice in the background say, “Fuck it, let’s just do it here.” Cottrell got in Padron’s vehicle and described the bottle as an “8 and 20.” Cottrell exchanged the bottle, which contained eight oxycodone pills and 20 hydrocodone pills, for $350 cash. Cottrell then spoke with Curtis. The charging document and the conspiracy jury instruction alleged five overt acts committed in furtherance of the conspiracy: (1) Curtis responding to Padron’s text and arranging the meeting; (2) Curtis contacting Cottrell with the order and arranging the meeting; (3) Cottrell showing up at the store; (4) Curtis waiting by Cottrell’s vehicle during the transaction; and (5) Curtis meeting with Cottrell after the transaction. A jury convicted Cottrell of distributing of a controlled substance and conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. Cottrell appealed, arguing the jury instruction on conspiracy, containing five overt acts, presented either (1) a multiple-acts case requiring a unanimity instruction; or (2) an alternative-means problem, with insufficient evidence to support each one. The appellate court affirmed. Cottrell appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Stegall, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.