SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Criminal Law Keyed to Osler
United States v. Muessig
Facts
Sonny and Nga Tran are spouses and owner-operators of Sonny’s Express Grocery and Smoke for Lesss. Ms. Meussig operated Sonny’s Express Grocery during the period in question. Both stores were part of an undercover operation looking into illegal sales of pseudoephedrine, which is legal to purchase but in large amounts can be used to manufacture methamphetamine.
On June 29, 2000 Detective Mark Wenthold went into Sonny’s and asked to buy a large amount of pseudoephedrine. Sonny said he could only sell 6 bottles at a time, but the detective could come back in immediately after to purchase more in those 6-bottle increments. Detective Wenthold even mentioned that he was going to make methamphetamine with the pills, and Sonny Tran still sold him hundreds of dollars of pills.
On June 30, 2000 Detective Wenthold returned to Sonny’s where Sonny’s wife Nga was working. He did the same thing with purchase bottles, leaving, and immediately coming back in to purchase more, except Nga allowed him to purchase 8 bottles at a time. He bought 24 bottles of pills for $672 in cash. Detective also asked Nga if she wanted to have any of the “stuff” he was using the pills to make, noting it could help her work on her feet and stay awake for days. She declined.
On April 6, 2001, Detective Wenthold went to Sonny’s again when Ms. Muessig was working. She was reluctant to sell him that much pseudoephedrine, but the detective asked her to call Nga who had sold them to him previously. Nga offered for the Officer to go to their other store, Smoke for Less, to purchase the pills there. Ms. Muessig eventually was talking into selling the pills by the detective and Nga, and he bought 24 boxes of pseudoephedrine for $250 in cash.
On April 13, 2001, Detective Wenthold went to Smoke for Less. Nga said she had recognized him and sold him 24 boxes of pills for $260. She also said that he scared people and that Ms. Muessig thought he was an FBI agent. On April 19, 2001, Detective Wenthold bought 24 boxes of pseudoephedrine from Ms. Muessig for $300, and the same day bought 16 bottles from Sonny Tran at Smoke for Less for $400. He told Sonny that he liked the bottles better because it was easier to get the pills out than popping them out individually. The Detective also discussed the process of cooking methamphetamine before his purchase from Sonny.
On May 21, 2001 Detective Wenthold visited Smoke for Less again. Nga was working, and he asked specifically for the bottles because it was easier to get the pills out of those. Nga told the detective that he scared people and he seemed like undercover FBI, but still sold him 25 bottles for $700.
Finally, on September 27, 2001 Detective Wenthold bought 48 bottles of pseudoephedrine from Nga Tran at Smoke for Less for $1,200, again stating before how he liked the bottles over the packets. The government then indicted Nga Tran, Sonny Tran, and Muessig for distributing a precursor drug that would be used to manufacture a controlled substance.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.
Topic Resources
Topic Outline
Topic Refresher Course