Latest Case: United States v. Russell (Criminal Law)

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United States v. Russell

Docket: 18-11202

Opinion Date: May 4, 2020

Judge: Charles R. Wilson

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

Defendant was convicted of possessing a firearm and ammunition as an immigrant illegally or unlawfully in the United States. After defendant appealed his conviction and sentence, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Rehaif v. United States, 588 U.S. ___, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), which reversed a decision from this court and held that under 18 U.S.C. 922(g), the government must prove that a defendant knew "his status as a person barred from possessing a firearm" when he knowingly possessed a firearm. The Eleventh Circuit held that defendant established the necessary prejudice under plain error review and vacated defendant's section 922(g) conviction, remanding for further proceedings. In this case, the district court committed an error that was made plain by the Supreme Court in Rehaif. Furthermore, defendant has sufficiently shown a reasonable probability that but for the error, the outcome of his trial would have been different.