United States v. Martinez

182 F.3d 1107 (1999)

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United States v. Martinez

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
182 F.3d 1107 (1999)

SC

Facts

Crystal York, the girlfriend of Serrano, was arrested at the airport. She was smuggling methamphetamine from San Francisco to Hawaii for Serrano and Martinez (defendant). After being caught, York agreed to cooperate with the authorities and called Serrano to pick her up at the airport. Serrano did not have a car and asked Martinez for a ride to the airport. When they arrived at the airport, they were arrested. Martinez was charged with importing methamphetamine. He argued that he believed he was merely giving Serrano a ride to the airport and that he had no idea that it was a drug retrieval. At Martinez’s 1996 trial, the district court permitted the prosecution (plaintiff) to introduce, over Martinez’s objection, evidence that Martinez was previously convicted for importing heroin. Martinez had been convicted in 1993 for the conduct, which occurred in 1986. The judge instructed the jury that the conviction evidence was not to show that Martinez had a propensity to import drugs but to show that he knew why he was driving Serrano to the airport. Martinez was convicted, and he appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kleinfeld, J.)

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