United States v. Montgomery

Bernard Vincent Montgomery (Defendant) was found guilty of conspiracy to manufacture, conspiracy to distribute, conspiracy to import, and distribution of methamphetamine. He was also convicted of possession of ephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. A co-defendant, Lloyd Ray Buxton (Defendant) was also found guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. At trial, Lance Blondin, an employee of a Canadian chemical supply company identified Defendant at trial as the purchaser of a large quantity of red phosphorous, a key ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine. When shown photographs of Defendant and two other men initially, Blondin identified Defendant as “Jim Luna,” who had purchased the red phosphorous. Additionally, prior to his testimony, Blondin had requested that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) fax him a photograph of Defendant, to “have it right in [his] mind that [he] could identify Defendant.” Blondin also pinned this photo to the wall in his office and looked at it several times prior to testifying. The day before he was scheduled to testify, Blondin entered the courtroom with a DEA agent and looked at Defendant. Blondin testified that he did so in order to “have it straight in my mind that Defendant was the fellow that had purchased the chemicals from us…” Defendant appealed his convictions, arguing that the prosecution impermissibly employed suggestive in-court identification procedures to identify him of the crimes thereby violating his right to due process.