United States v. Tschacher, No. 11-2681 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseA jury found Appellant guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the district court did not err by (1) permitting Appellant to represent himself pro se, as Appellant's waiver to counsel was knowing and voluntary and the district court adequately warned him of the dangers of self-representation; (2) denying Appellant's motion to suppress evidence recovered from a warrantless search of his vehicle; and (3) denying Appellant's motion for judgment of acquittal, as the evidence was sufficient to prove that Appellant knowingly possessed the weapons discovered in the truck he was driving.
Court Description: Criminal case - Criminal law. District court did not err in finding defendant knowingly and voluntarily waiving his right to counsel when he decided to proceed pro se at trial; because the trooper's search of defendant's vehicle was permissible under binding pre-Gant precedent as part of a vehicle search incident to arrest, the exclusionary rule does not apply even if the search is illegal, and the evidence was admissible; evidence was sufficient to show defendant, a felon, was in knowing possession of a firearm.
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