United States v. Rivero, No. 17-10114 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for attempting to smuggle ammunition from the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 554(a), and the revocation of defendant's supervised release from a prior conviction. The panel held that the district court did not err in overruling defendant's objections at trial to the jury instructions and the prosecutor's closing argument, because section 554 did not require the government to prove that the defendant knew the nature of the "merchandise, article, or object" that the defendant was exporting contrary to law.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed a conviction for attempting to smuggle ammunition from the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 554(a), and the revocation of the defendant’s supervised release from a prior conviction. Section 554(a) imposes criminal penalties on whoever fraudulently or knowingly exports or attempts to export any “merchandise, article, or object” contrary to any law or regulation of the United States. At trial, the defendant objected to the jury instructions and the prosecutor’s closing argument, contending that § 554(a) required the government to prove that the defendant knew he was exporting ammunition. The panel held that the district court did not err in overruling those objections, because § 554 does not require the government to prove that the defendant knew the nature of the “merchandise, article, or object” that the defendant was exporting contrary to law. UNITED STATES V. RIVERO 3
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