United States v. Chadrick Griffin, 476 F. App'x 592

Griffin was arrested in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and three counts of intent to distribute narcotics.
He was convicted on the firearm count and one drug count, acquitted on two drug counts, based on DNA and other corroborating evidence including drugs found at the sister’s house and in Tyler’s car trunk.
A Glock 21 and crack cocaine were found in Griffin’s sister’s home; Griffin was the only other occupant of the room where the gun and wallet were located.
Griffin was represented by court-appointed counsel, and the trial proceeded after pretrial proceedings in which no significant defense conflict was disclosed.
On the morning of trial, Griffin requested a continuance to obtain new, retained counsel, which the district court denied after questioning the reasons for dissatisfaction.
The government’s parole-status reference during testimony was challenged as an improper prejudice issue, but the court found the error harmless given overwhelming evidence of guilt.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court abused its discretion by denying a continuance to obtain new counsel	Griffin asserts right to counsel of choice and continuity was violated	Griffin argues denial prevented effective representation and trial delay was warranted	No abuse; no clear conflict or prejudice; trial delay not warranted
Whether the denial of the continuance violated Griffin's Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice	Right to choose counsel was violated by denial	Delay to obtain retained counsel was justified and not required	Not violated; right is not absolute and not a basis to delay trial
Whether admitting reference to Griffin's parole status improperly prejudiced the jury	Parole reference was prejudicial and inadmissible under FRE 403	Parole status is less prejudicial where felony status is already established for felon-in-possession	Harmless error; overwhelming guilt evidence supports ruling
Whether the felon-in-possession statute violates Griffin's Second Amendment rights	Felon-in-possession restriction is unconstitutional	Statute consistently upheld post-Heller; no constitutional flaw	Statute does not violate the Second Amendment; affirmed

United States v. Lewis, 605 F.3d 395 (6th Cir. 2010) (continuance for counsel of choice requires good cause)
United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. 140 (S. Ct. 2006) (right to counsel of choice is not absolute)
Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (S. Ct. 1967) (harmless error standard for evidentiary error)
United States v. Carey, 602 F.3d 738 (6th Cir. 2010) (felon-in-possession not unconstitutional under Second Amendment)
United States v. Griffin, 389 F.3d 1100 (10th Cir. 2004) (parole status evidence and prejudice discussion in similar context)
McDonald v. City of Chicago, 130 S. Ct. 3020 (S. Ct. 2010) (Second Amendment incorporation framework cited for context)