United States v. Melhuish, No. 19-485 (2d Cir. 2021)
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Defendant appealed her conviction for assaulting a federal officer stemming from a violent altercation with a United States Border Patrol Agent. Defendant argued that the district court erred by providing a written response to a jury note without affording the parties an opportunity to offer input on the response, and by orally instructing the jury to continue deliberations without sufficient cautions and guidance. The court concluded that the district court erred in both respects but that neither error rose to the level of plain error.
In regard to defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the court concluded that the crime of assaulting a federal officer in violation of 18 U.S.C. 111(a)(1) and (b) is a general intent crime, and therefore counsel's performance was not deficient for failing to offer evidence showing a lack of specific intent. Nevertheless, the court concluded that further fact-finding is necessary and that the district court must conduct a hearing regarding certain decisions of defendant's counsel, including the decision not to offer expert testimony regarding her mental health condition with respect to an insanity defense. Accordingly, the court remanded the ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
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