United States v. Hellems, No. 16-2157 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the name and nature of defendant's prior felony convictions into evidence because defendant never agreed to a stipulation that he had a prior felony conviction; the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting two prior felony convictions as oppose to just one; any error in admitting evidence of a third gun was harmless; and defendant voluntarily forfeited his constitutional right to be present at his trial considering defendant's conduct in court the day before and the marshals' report of his refusal to even leave his cell for the second day of trial.
Court Description: Shepherd, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Fenner, District Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. Defendant never agreed to stipulate that he was a felon in this felon in possession of a firearm case, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the name and nature of his prior convictions; the government may introduce evidence of multiple prior felony convictions and is not limited to admitting just one; any error in admitting evidence of a third handgun where there was no charge relating to its possession was harmless; a district court's decision to remove a recalcitrant defendant is reviewed for an abuse of discretion and, under the facts here, the court did not abuse its discretion by removing defendant and conducting the trial and sentencing in absentia.
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