US v. Holler

No. 03-50129 (6-13-05). This is a case arising from a reverse "sting" operation. The defendant wanted to buy lots of cocaine and he was put in touch with the DEA by a CI. Suffice it to say that when the defendant came to the hotel room in Ontario, California, he had to bring the money in one of those roll suitcases. That is when he was popped. On appeal he makes a stretched argument that because he intended to distribute the drugs outside the US, the US didn't have extrajuridictional jurisdiction. The 9th had little trouble distinguishing the "high seas" cases from this one, where the defendant was sin the US and conspiring to buy drugs. The 9th also found no outrageous gov't misconduct in conducting the reverse sting.