United States v. Jewell

Brief Fact Summary.

Defendant was convicted of knowingly transporting marijuana in his car from Mexico to the United States despite his testimony that he had been unaware that the car contained marijuana. Defendant appealed based on the jury instruction which provided that “willful ignorance” constitutes knowledge.

Synopsis of Rule of Law.

A court can find that willful blindness satisfies the knowledge requirement where the government can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s lack of actual knowledge was “solely and entirely a result of