Marvin Pippins v. United States

I. The most serious of the charges upon which Petitioner was tried concerned his having killed Sean Peart in retaliation for the murder of Petitioner's twin brother, Melly. Count One of Superseding Indictment S-3 charged RICO Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)); Count Two charged Conspiracy to Murder in Aid of Racketeering (18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5)); Count Three charged Murder in Aid of Racketeering (18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(l)); and Count Four charged Unlawful Use of the Firearm (used in Count Three) Resulting in Death (18 U.S.C. § 924G)(l).1 At trial, both during opening statements and during his testimony, Petitioner admitted that he killed Peart but said he did so purely for personal reasons and not because of his affiliation with the named gang, the "5-9 Brims." Substantial evidence supported his position. The government argued otherwise. Petitioner therefore asked the trial court to instruct the jury that to find a sufficient enterprise-related motive it must find it was a "substantial" one or one "integral" to his position in the 5-9 Brims. The court denied this request. It said the proper instruction was subject to "reasonable debate" (Tr. 1826); (Pet. App. 78a). 2 and it was concerned "there's a possibility that a jury might find that it [i.e., the 5-9 Brims] was a motive but maybe not the substantial motivating factor" and therefore acquit Additionally, Count Six charged Petitioner with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(b)(l)(C)), and Count Seven charged him with Unlawful Use of a Firearm (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(l)(A)(i)). Petitioner was not charged in Count Five and Counts Eight through Eleven. 2 Citations to "Tr." or a number refer to the trial transcript from the lower court proceedings. Certain transcript excerpts are reproduced herein as part of Petitioner's Appendix.