Case library · Square Grouper
Below a Closed Hatch
United States v. Willis (1981)
Charge: Conspiracy to smuggle marijuanaCourt: U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th CircuitState: LouisianaDocket: Square Grouper
Was there enough evidence that the two deckhands knew what the closed hold carried and agreed to the plan?
The facts
A shrimping boat was watched from a hundred miles offshore and stopped at one in the morning, forty-three miles out. Seventeen tons of marijuana sat in the fish hold. The hold was shut during the boarding and no smell reached the deck. The captain produced a months-old safety certificate, had logged a leak around the shaft, and his log showed he was uneasy at being watched. Two other men were aboard as crew.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: United States v. Willis, 639 F.2d 1335 (5th Cir. 1981)
Read more at openjurist.org. The source reveals the outcome.