# United States v. Gustavo Alvarado, United States of America v. Oscar Oqueli-Hernandez

> Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · January 28, 1988 · 838 F.2d 311

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9477173

## Case

- **Full name:** UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. Gustavo ALVARADO, Defendant/Appellant; UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. Oscar OQUELI-HERNANDEZ, Defendant/Appellant
- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- **Decided:** January 28, 1988
- **Citations:** 838 F.2d 311
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurring in part by Canby
- **Judges:** Anderson, Canby, Wiggins
- **Cited by:** 70 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9477173

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding that the district judge committed error by using an “inappropriate” jury instruction
- finding that an improper Jewell instruction was a harmless error
- applying harmless error doctrine after finding improper Jewell instruction where evidence “lucidly demonstrated” actual knowledge and was “abundantly clear”

## Opinion text

CANBY, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I concur in all portions of Judge Anderson’s amended opinion except that which finds the Jewell instruction to have been harmless error with regard to defendant Alvarado. As the amended opinion correctly states, we may find the error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt only if the evidence was so overwhelming that a conviction was compelled. While there was certainly sufficient evidence for the jury to convict Alvarado, I cannot say that the evidence compelled such a result. The jury could rationally have chosen to believe Alvarado’s statements that the black bag was Oqueli’s and that he, Alvarado, did not know its contents. Indeed, something kept the jury deliberating for two days before *318 the Jewell instruction was given. I would therefore reverse Alvarado’s conviction and remand for a new trial.
Oqueli’s behavior in picking up the suitcases after Alvarado’s arrest, on the other hand, can only be consistent with guilt. I therefore agree with the majority that his conviction should be affirmed.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9477173. Public record. Not legal advice.