United States v. Mack

Stanley Phillip Mack appeals his conviction by a jury on three counts of violating laws relating to controlled substances. Under Count I, he was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine and to possess cocaine with intent to distribute it, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Under Counts II and III respectively, he was convicted of distributing cocaine and hashish, these counts brought under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). On appeal, he urges (1) that to rebut his entrapment defense, the court admitted evidence of another sale of drugs by him which took place after the commission of the offenses charged in the indictment, (2) that the prosecutor made references to his lawyers in closing argument in such a way as to penalize him for exercising his Sixth Amendment right to counsel, (3) that the prosecutor in opening argument expressed his own personal view of the merits of the government's case, and (4) that the prosecutor made reference to ""sting"" operations in questioning a witness so as to cause the jury to make prejudicial assumptions about his claim of entrapment. We find Mack's contentions on appeal without merit and affirm his convictions.