Jessica Vennie v. United States

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 8(b) permits joinder of multiple defendants who are “alleged to have participated in the same act or transaction, or in the same series of acts or transactions, constituting an offense or offenses.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 8(b). Petitioner was charged with racketeering and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics. Petitioner was indicted along with eight co-defendants, and tried with one of those co-defendants. Although petitioner and her codefendant were alleged to have participated in the affairs of a single legal enterprise for purposes of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), they were not charged or alleged to have been part of the same conspiracy nor to have known each other. The question presented is: Whether charging two defendants with participating in the conduct of a single legal enterprise that has many legal purposes is sufficient to permit joinder under Rule 8(b), where the defendants have not been alleged to have coordinated with one another, connected with one another through any single conspiracy, or participated in a mutually beneficial plan.