United States v. Wallette, No. 11-2215 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseA jury convicted Defendant of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. The district court denied Defendant's motion for a new trial and sentenced him to 360 months' imprisonment, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. The court also ordered that, upon his release, Defendant abstain from the use of alcohol and from possessing sexually explicit materials. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Defendant's new trial motion, as Defendant did not meet his burden of proving that the loss of an exhibit after trial resulted in a miscarriage of justice; and (2) the district court did not plainly err by requiring Defendant to participate in an alcohol and drug abuse treatment program and by prohibiting Defendant from possessing sexually explicit materials.
Court Description: Criminal case - Criminal law and Sentencing. Loss of defense exhibit did not require the granting of a mistrial as the record showed all of the trial exhibits were given to the jury at the beginning of their deliberations and it was reasonable to conclude that the jury had the opportunity to review the exhibit; even if the exhibit was not given to the jury, defendant has failed to show loss of the exhibit, a doctor's report, resulted in a miscarriage of justice; district court did not err in imposing special conditions of supervision which included lifetime bans on alcohol consumption and possession of sexually explicit materials. Judge Wollman, concurring.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.