In Rosemond v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that to convict of a federal crime of firearm use during drug trafficking, the government must show that the defendant knew beforehand that another party would use a gun — and this must occur far enough in advance that the defendant can abort commission of the crime, if so desired.
The case involved a drug deal gone wrong where a buyer decided to rob Rosemond and his associates. In turn, somebody pulled a gun and fired in defense. However, Rosemond argued he was not the shooter and had no idea a gun would be used at all.
Carrying or using a firearm in such instances has a penalty of a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.
Aiding and abetting charge was added for Rosemond
Since the government could not identify which person was the shooter, they added an aiding and abetting charge for Rosemond. The crime of aiding and abetting is intended to punish people who help others commit crimes. The jury was instructed that it would be enough for them to find that the defendant knew it was a drug trafficking offense and that his associate used a gun. Not surprisingly, Rosemond was convicted and the Tenth Circuit affirmed.
However, the Supreme Court found that the person assisting must have the required mental state. In other words, even if the person only helps with part of the offense, he or she must know the entire crime that will be committed. So a person who aids a drug trafficking crime but does not know a gun will be used will not be charged with the additional gun usage crime.
In the 7-2 decision, the Court reversed and remanded due to the erroneous jury instruction.
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