Temporary insanity

US v. Figueroa

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:44:47 +0000

US v. Figueroa, No. 061595 (18 Nov 2008)
Conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm is affirmed where:

1) although the trial court violated defendant’s right under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment when it prohibited defense counsel from cross-examining a government witness about his swastika tattoos despite the fact that the defendant was a member of a minority group; however

2) the error was harmless because it “did not contribute to the verdict obtained.”

People v. Zavala

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:48:55 +0000

People v. Zavala, No. F051843 (24 Nov 2008)
Conviction for second degree murder, torture, and kidnapping, and firearms-related allegations is affirmed over claims of error that:

1) the doctrine of collateral estoppel required reversal of the torture count;

2) the admission of certain hearsay statements as adoptive admissions violated both the hearsay rule and the confrontation clause and that his attorney rendered ineffective assistance of counsel if the absence of a constitutional objection forfeited his right to appellate review; and

3) CALCRIM No. 220 impermissibly precluded the jury from considering lack of evidence on the issue of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

People v. Genovese

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:46:32 +0000

People v. Genovese, No. C055486 (24 Nov 2008)
Conviction for second degree murder is affirmed where there was no instructional error in the CALCRIM homicide instructions given to the jury.

People v. Jean-Baptiste

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:20:36 +0000

People v. Jean-Baptiste, No. 174 (25 Nov 2008)
Reduction of conviction to manslaughter in the second degree is affirmed where, because the Appellate Division properly applied the present standard for depraved indifference murder, the evidence introduced at trial was not legally sufficient to establish defendant’s guilt of depraved indifference murder.

US v. Blixt

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:03:35 +0000

US v. Blixt, No. 07-30198 (26 Nov 2008)
In an appeal from a jury conviction and sentence for mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. section 1341 and aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. section 1028A, motion to dismiss, motion for acquittal, proposed jury instructions relating to the aggravated identity theft count, and sentence are affirmed where:

1) forging another’s signature constitutes the use of that person’s name and thus qualifies as a “means of identification” under 18 U.S.C. section 1028A;

2) steps taken in furtherance of a fraudulent purpose are material;

3) the jury instructions provided the jury with adequate and accurate guidance to determine the issues of mail fraud and/or aggravated identity theft;

4) the district court properly considered the defendant’s non-conviction conduct in determining her sentence; and

5) the sentence imposed was reasonable.

US v. Spotted Elk

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:58:11 +0000

US v. Spotted Elk, No. 071914 (26 Nov 2008)
Conviction for multiple drug and gun crimes in connection with the operation of a drug trafficking business on the state Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux Reservation is affirmed in all respects except is reversed and remanded where:

1) the indictment in Count VI was misleading as it suggested that receiving as well as giving a gun in exchange would constitute “use” of a gun in connection with the drug transaction; and

2) the district court’s findings regarding the amount of drugs for which co-defendant was responsible at sentencing were based on a legally erroneous interpretation of section 1B1.3 and because the evidence could well have supported a different finding had the district court applied the correct rule the case is remanded for resentencing.

People v. Rubin

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 02:45:36 +0000

People v. Rubin, No. b201672 (1 Dec 2008)
Conviction for selling marijuana and possessing marijuana for sale is affirmed over claim that the trial court erred in excluding references to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, United States Constitution, and the state Constitution as part of defendant’s religious freedom defense.

People v. Hassan

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:28:19 +0000

People v. Hassan, No. B194141 (8 Dec 2008)
In a prosecution involving marriage fraud for immigration purposes, a conviction for offering false or forged instrument for recording and offering false evidence is reversed in part and affirmed in part where:

1) there was undisputed evidence defendant did not live in the same dwelling as his alleged wife;

2) “living together” as written in section Penal Code section 115 means cohabitating; and

3) defendant was improperly convicted of offering false evidence.

Jianniney v. State of Delaware

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:18:06 +0000

Jianniney v. State of Delaware, No. 350, 2007 (10 Dec 2008)
Judgment of the Superior Court is affirmed, as the trial court erred in admitting Mapquest printouts under an exception to the hearsay rule for published compilations. The printouts were admitted for the truth of the website’s driving time estimates, but the State offered no evidence that those estimates are relied upon by the public or by professional drivers.

Hardy v. State of Delaware

mrkooenglish — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:08:34 +0000

Hardy v. State of Delaware, No. 126, 2008 (9 Dec 2008)
Convictions for Rape First Degree, Unlawful Imprisonment First Degree, and Aggravated Menacing are reversed and remanded where the prosecutor vouched for the State’s case by commenting, in his closing remarks to the jury, that falsely reported rapes do not go to trial.