United States v. Walking Bull, No. 20-2378 (8th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). The court concluded that there was no error in denying defendant's motion in limine to exclude the jail calls because the government promptly provided defendant with the evidence as soon as it became aware of its existence and obtained the calls; there was no error in refusing to admit testimony from defendant's proposed expert witness on matters of law where, under court precedent, informing the jury about the law is reserved for the trial judge; there was no error in rejecting defendant's two proposed jury instructions; and the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction where a rational jury could have readily inferred defendant's knowledge that he was a prohibited person from the circumstances.
Court Description: [Smith, Author, with Shepherd and Grasz, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court did not err in admitting recordings of jail house calls as the government promptly provided defendant with the evidence as soon as it became aware of its existence and obtained the calls; no error in refusing to admit testimony from defendant's proposed expert witness on matters of law; no error in rejecting defendant's two instructions on his South Dakota sentences; in this felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm prosecution, the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's finding that defendant knew at the time he possessed a firearm that he was a prohibited person - i.e., that he was previously convicted of a crime punishable by over a year imprisonment.
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