First Circuit -- Rare Aquittal on Appeal

Finding the evidence insufficient, the First Circuit in United States v. Burgos reversed a conspiracy conviction and remanded with an order to enter a judgment of acquittal. Carlos Burgos, a Worcester police officer, had been charged with involvement in a drug dealing conspiracy allegedly run out of an auto repair shop where his brother-in-law had worked at one time. The Government's theory was that the officer knew of the drug activity and appeared to have warned the participants that they were under surveillance. The First Circuit concluded that the inferences required for a conviction were not supported by the Government's evidence, and the Court therefore reversed and ordered a judgment of acquittal.