United States v. Small, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 7018

Small, a felon, was on state probation and sought to hunt with his son; he was advised by his probation officer that possessing a firearm would be unlawful.
Maine game wardens observed Small and the boy in the woods and later found a shotgun with live and spent shells in Small's pocket.
Small was indicted under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) for possession of a firearm by a felon and sought to defend on an estoppel theory based on government-official advice.
Evidence of the probation officer and prior counsel confirming the advice was excluded as irrelevant at the in limine stage, and Small entered a conditional guilty plea awaiting a jury trial on other issues.
Small moved to withdraw the guilty plea three months later; the district court denied the motion.
At sentencing, the court treated Small’s Maine escape conviction as a crime of violence under USSG § 2K2.1(a)(2); Small challenged this classification.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the in limine exclusion was an abuse of discretion	Small argues the officer's testimony and prior counsel corroboration were admissible to prove state of mind.	Small contends the testimony bears on intent to possess and should be admitted	Exclusion affirmed; evidence irrelevant to federal issue, not admissible
Whether the denial of withdrawal of guilty plea was an abuse of discretion	Small claims coercion and loss of defense due to in limine ruling undermine voluntariness	Small asserts fair and just reason given the sequence and counsel pressures	Denied; no abuse; plea knowingly and voluntarily entered
Whether Maine escape from official custody is a crime of violence under USSG	Escape should not be categorically violent; may be treated as non-violent	Escape from secure/official custody fits the violent category under precedent	Escape from official custody in Maine is categorically violent; upheld sentencing classification

United States v. Jadlowe, 628 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2010) (standard for evidentiary rulings on appeal)
United States v. Sousa, 468 F.3d 42 (1st Cir. 2006) (motion to withdraw guilty plea standard)
United States v. Mastera, 435 F.3d 56 (1st Cir. 2006) (de novo review of crime-of-violence classifications)
Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137 (2008) (inspects violent category under ACCA-like guidelines)
United States v. Pratt, 568 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2009) (interpretation of violence categories for escape)
United States v. Willings, 588 F.3d 56 (1st Cir. 2009) (escape-from-official-custody considered violent)
Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (1990) (categorization of conduct by generally occurring characteristics)
Chambers v. United States, 555 U.S. 122 (2009) (distinguishes failing to report from violent conduct)
United States v. Caron, 64 F.3d 713 (1st Cir. 1995) (estoppel defense related to government advice)
United States v. Smith, 940 F.2d 710 (1st Cir. 1991) (estoppel-based defenses in entrapment context)
United States v. Wight, 968 F.2d 1393 (1st Cir. 1992) (definition of constructive possession)