Whether a conspiracy conviction can be affirmed when the jury instructions for the underlying substantive offense were erroneous and misstated the mens rea requirement in violation of Ruan v. United States

Where the district court misinforms and errone ously instructs the jury as to the mens rea requirement for Title 21 U.S.C. § 841( a), in violation of Ruan v. United States, and thereby commits reversible error as to the substantive § 841(a) counts of conviction, can a conviction for conspiracy to unlawfully distribute or dispense controlled substances, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. § 846, tr ied in the same proceedings, be affirmed notwithstanding the fact that the conspiracy jury instructions tracked verbatim the district court’s erroneous misstatement of law as to the mens rea requirement for § 841(a) (the underlying substantive offense and sole object of the conspiracy), rendering both instructions “inextricably intertwined”, and resulting in a jury charge that failed to require the jury to find, and the Govern ment to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt the requisite culpable mental state? ii LIST OF PROCEEDINGS U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit No. 22 -20328 United States of America, Plaintiff -Appellee , v. Parvez Anjum Qureshi, Defendant -Appellant . Final Opinion : November 20, 2024 _ U.S. District Court, S.D. Texas, Houston Division No. 4 :17-CR-00389 United States of America v. Parvez Anjum Qureshi, Defendant . Verdict : October 15, 2021