United States v. Ronald Finley, Jr., No. 21-1052 (8th Cir. 2023)
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Defendants (D1 and D2) were each convicted of unlawfully possessing a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2) after the district court denied their motions to suppress. On appeal, Defendants challenged the district court's denial of their motions to suppress. D2 also challenged the court's withholding of the juror questionnaires that were completed during voir dire.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of D2's motion to suppress, finding that officers arrested him after he fled from them, at which point they had probable cause to arrest him for fleeing with intent to avoid arrest. However, the court remanded D2's case to the district court for the limited purpose of disclosing the completed questionnaires to defendant D2. Based on the record, the court could not conclude that the district court's questioning was adequate to determine if juror bias contributed to D2's conviction.
Court Description: [Shepherd, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Benton, Circuit Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court correctly denied defendant Finley's motion to suppress as the totality of the circumstances - his interaction with police during the day in a public area, that law enforcement officers wore tactical vests emblazoned "Police" and displayed badges, and that the officers repeatedly issued commands consistent with arrest - was sufficient to lead a reasonable police officer to believe Finley was fleeing with intent to avoid arrest in violation of Minnesota law; with respect to defendant Sommerville, officers arrested him after he fled from them, at which point they had probable cause to arrest him for fleeing with intent to avoid arrest, and the court properly denied his motion to suppress the weapon seized as part of the arrest; even assuming the district court erred in granting the government's motion in limine and in permitting the government to introduce evidence connecting defendant Sommerville with an earlier drive-by shooting, the error was harmless; where the district court sent the voir dire pool a written questionnaire and then declined to let the defendants see the written responses, the court could not determine whether the subsequent voir dire questioning was adequate, and the matter is remanded to the district court for the limited purpose of disclosing the completed questionnaires to defendant Sommerville and the government and taking any steps it deems necessary to determine whether concealed jury bias prejudiced Sommerville, including holding a hearing - see McDonough Power Equip., Inc v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548,556 (1984); the court retains jurisdiction over the appeal to review the district court's supplemental order.
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