Charles Carlisle v. United States (517 U.S. 416)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 29, 1996 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 517 U.S. 416 · 116 S. Ct. 1460
- Decided
- April 29, 1996
- Term
- October Term 1995
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court. This case presents the question whether a district court has authority to grant a postverdict motion for judgment of acquittal filed one day outside the time limit prescribed by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29(c). I Petitioner Charles Carlisle, along with several co-defendants, was tried by jury in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U. S. C. §§ 841, 846, 84 Stat. 1260, 1265. He did not move during the trial for a judgment of acquittal under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29(a). On July 13,1993, the jury returned a guilty verdict and was discharged. On July 23, 1993, Carlisle filed a “Motion for a Judgment of Acquittal Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29(c),” arguing that there was insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction. App. 6-9. Rule 29(c) provides that “a motion for judgment of acquittal may be made or renewed within 7 days after the jury is discharged or within such further time as the court may fix during the 7-day period.” Excluding the intermediate Saturday and Sunday (as Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 45(a) requires), the 7-day period in this case ended on July 22,1993. The United States’ response to Car-lisle’s motion argued that it should be denied as untimely and,…
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