674 F.3d 821
8th Cir.2012Background
- Anderson was convicted in federal court of being a felon in possession of ammunition under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2).
- District court applied a perjury enhancement (U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1) after finding Anderson testified falsely about knowledge of the ammunition.
- The court also conducted a traditional departure for overstated criminal history and then granted a downward variance to impose 45 months.
- State parole conditions prohibited firearms but did not specifically prohibit ammunition; federal ammunition possession remained a potential probation/conditioning issue.
- Five shotgun shells were found in a blaze-orange hunting vest during a motel-room search conducted under consent; vest reportedly contained shells in a shell compartment.
- At sentencing, the court relied on trial testimony denying knowledge of the ammunition and parole-revocation testimony admitting awareness, to justify perjury and the sentence.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the search of the room was constitutional under consent. | Anderson | Anderson | Search within scope of consent; upheld |
| Prosecutorial misconduct plain-error review | Anderson | Anderson | No plain error affecting fairness; no reversible prejudice shown |
| Sufficiency of evidence of knowing possession | Anderson | Anderson | Sufficient evidence for knowing possession; conflicting testimony for jury to resolve |
| Perjury enhancement proper | Anderson | Anderson | District court's credibility finding supported; perjury enhancement affirmed |
| Substantive reasonableness of sentence | Anderson | Anderson | Sentence not substantively unreasonable given § 3553(a) considerations |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Dinwiddie, 618 F.3d 821 (8th Cir. 2010) (scope of consent limited by reasonable understanding; clothing items can hold weapons)
- United States v. Lopez-Mendoza, 601 F.3d 861 (8th Cir. 2010) (scope of search defined by expressed object)
- United States v. Garcia, 512 F.3d 1004 (8th Cir. 2008) (credibility of witnesses and district court findings near-undeliberable)
- United States v. Hill, 552 F.3d 686 (8th Cir. 2009) (review of sentencing decisions under abuse-of-discretion standard)
- Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (standard for reviewing sentence reasonableness)
- Augustine v. United States, 663 F.3d 367 (8th Cir. 2011) (clear error standard for sentencing factual findings; de novo for guidelines interpretation)
- United States v. Delgado, 653 F.3d 729 (8th Cir. 2011) (plain-error standard and prejudice considerations)
- United States v. Jones, 662 F.3d 1018 (8th Cir. 2011) (waiver versus forfeiture considerations governing appellate review)