One Small Step for Man ... One Giant Step for the Government

US v. Perason, No. 03-30441 (12-14-04). This is a sufficiency of the evidence appeal concerning possession of meth with intent to distribute and use of a firearm. The 9th holds that the evidence, in the light most favorable to the gov't, was sufficient as the defendant sought to purchase meth in order to give it to another (and use it with her). The other person was passive in the transaction, and the defendant was the prime mover. This fact pattern draws the distinction between simultaneously getting drugs and sequential steps. It appears to draw steps in a continuum of action that is artificial. Summary by Jon Sands.