⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit hears argument in United States versus Gibson, docket number 25-30445. The defendant, Cody Gibson, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and challenges the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal. The core legal issue is whether the government presented sufficient evidence at trial to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the controlled substance involved in the conspiracy was methamphetamine, as charged in the indictment and found by the jury in a special verdict, rather than some other drug such as marijuana or pills. The government's case rested on wiretapped phone calls using coded language, cash transfer records, and testimony from law enforcement agents about street prices and packaging. Critically, the government never recovered any physical drugs from the transactions involving Gibson, a fact that lies at the heart of the defense argument. The case raises questions about how much inferential evidence is enough when a mandatory minimum sentence hinges on the type of drug proven.

United States v. Gibson (No. 25-30445) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued July 8, 2026.