United States v. Little, No. 15-2019 (10th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant-appellant Cody Little was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and of possessing a stolen firearm. Little appealed, challenging how the jury was instructed at trial. After review of the trial court record, the Tenth Circuit agreed with Little's contention that constructive possession required proof of intent to exercise dominion and control over an object following the Supreme Court’s opinion in "Henderson v. United States," (135 S. Ct. 1780 (2015)). However, because the evidence presented at trial compelled the conclusion that Little intended to exercise control over the weapons, the Court held that district court’s error in omitting the intent element from its jury instruction was harmless. Furthermore, the Court concluded the district court permissibly issued instructions regarding aiding and abetting and possible guilt of others, and that a deliberate indifference instruction was harmless. However, the Court found that the district court erroneously relied on the Sentencing Guidelines’ residual clause in calculating Little’s offense level. The Court affirmed the convictions, but remanded for resentencing.
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