United States v. Macias

After being convicted of conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, Macias created a bus company to transport legal Mexican immigrants. He was paid for moving money from the U.S. to Mexico. He claims that he did not know that the money consisted of proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs. Macias was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine and of conducting an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The Seventh Circuit reversed the conspiracy conviction and remanded. The court erred in giving the “ostrich” instruction: “You may find that the defendant acted knowingly if you find beyond a reasonable doubt that he had a strong suspicion that the money … was the proceeds of narcotics trafficking and that he deliberately avoided the truth. You may not find that the defendant acted knowingly if he was merely mistaken or careless in not discovering the truth, or if he failed to make an effort to discover the truth.” An ostrich instruction should not be given unless there is evidence that the defendant engaged in behavior that could reasonably be interpreted as intended to shield him from confirmation that he was involved in criminal activity. Macias’s responsibilities in facilitating the transmission of money did not require him to know how the money was obtained. Having no need or duty to know, he was not acting unnaturally in failing to inquire. View "United States v. Macias" on Justia Law