Yesterday, Southern District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued a carefully reasoned and highly instructive opinion holding that a defendant’s prior drug offenses were inadmissible under Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) to prove his intent to distribute crack cocaine. The short opinion, available here, is a must-read. The defendant in United States v. Robinson, 17-cr-249, is charged with … Read more
United States v. Scott, No. 10-3978-cr (2d Cir. April 6, 2012) (Pooler, Parker, CJJ) In 2009, two NYPD detectives arrested defendant Scott after witnessing him engage in what they said was a hand-to-hand drug sale. At trial, the district court permitted the detectives to testify, over objection, that they had seen Scott several times before, … Read more
United States v. Curley, No. 09-3314-cr (2d Cir. April 25, 2011) (Jacobs, Wesley, Chin, CJJ) In this circuit, it is a fairly rare occurrence for a conviction to be vacated based on a Rule 404(b) error. But here, James Curley, convicted of interstate stalking offenses, will get a second bite at the apple. Background In … Read more
United States v. Jackson, No. 08-5151-cr (2d Cir. 2009) (McLaughlin, Katzmann, CJJ, Korman, DJ) Here, the circuit concluded that erroneous introduction of prejudicial “other acts” evidence required a new trial. The Facts Police officers responding to a “shots fired” call in Queens encountered Jackson and others outside the target apartment building. Jackson fled, and has … Read more
United States v. Young, No. 07-2729-cr (2d Cir. October 8, 2009) (Jacobs, Walker, Leval, CJJ) Defendant Laval Farmer was a member of the Bloods street gang, charged with a 2001 gang-related murder and and 2002 gang-related attempted murder, along with various associated firearms offenses. At least three years before the charged offenses he acquired the … Read more
United States v. Mercado, No. 08-1017-cr (2d Cir. July 17, 2009) (Calabresi, Wesley, CJJ, Droney, DJ) In this split decision, the court upheld the admission of Rule 404(b) evidence – prior firearms sales – on the issue of intent in a drug conspiracy trial. The majority did not delve too deeply into the facts; instead, … Read more
United States v. Bermudez, No. 06-5119-cr (2d Cir. June 17, 2008) (Walker, Calabresi, CJJ, Underhill, DJ) Richie Bermudez was convicted, after a jury trial, of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, he challenged an evidentiary ruling, as well as the district court’s jury selection method. The Evidentiary Ruling Police officers were … Read more