United States v. Turner, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 4709

Turner was convicted in a first trial of robbery in interstate commerce, use of a firearm in relation to robbery, and felon in possession; carjacking and related gun-use charges were retried and Turner was convicted on those counts.
Robbery at Title & Payday Loans in Jackson involved two masked gunmen; Turner confessed on video; issue of coercion in confession raised.
Popeyes robbery occurred the same day; pursuit ended with a crashed car and Turner allegedly firing at Officer Collier, leading to Turner’s arrest near the crime scene.
DNA and blood evidence discovered after the first trial on bags found at the police station raised questions about Turner’s role and potential third participant.
Turner moved for a new trial under Brady and Rule 33; district court denied; Turner pursued additional challenges on severance, Rule 404(b) evidence, suppression of confession, Batson, surrebuttal, and other trial issues on appeal.
Second trial included an aiding-and-abetting instruction related to a possible third participant, despite Turner’s testimony aligning with a two-person scenario; court later held the instruction harmless.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Brady/new-trial standard and materiality	Turner argues post-trial evidence was Brady material and warrants new trial.	Turner contends newly discovered DNA, footwear, and interview data could exonerate or undermine guilt.	No new trial required; evidence not likely to produce acquittal.
Severance of counts	Joinder prejudiced Turner; preferred separate trials for robbery and carjacking and felon-in-possession.	Limiting instructions cured prejudice; joinder of felon-in-possession was permissible.	No abuse of discretion; severance not required.
Rule 404(b) evidence admissibility	Popeyes/Title Loans robberies constitute extrinsic acts to prove motive for carjacking.	Acts are intrinsic and part of a single episode; admissible with limiting instruction.	District court did not abuse discretion; intrinsic-acts rationale approved.
Voluntariness of confession	Coercive tactics and promises rendered confession involuntary.	Police conduct was not coercive; totality of circumstances supports voluntariness.	Confession voluntary; suppression denied.
Batson challenge	Prosecutor’s race-based strike of a Black potential juror violated Batson.	Prosecutor provided race-neutral, credible explanations for the strike.	Batson challenge rejected; race-neutral explanation affirmed.

Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (U.S. 1963) (favorable evidence must be disclosed if material to guilt or punishment)
Berry v. Georgia, 10 Ga. 511 (Ga. 1851) (Berry rule for Berry Berry Berry)
Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419 (U.S. 1995) (material evidence; probability of different outcome)
Bagley v. United States, 473 U.S. 667 (U.S. 1985) (defining materiality for Brady claims)
Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38 (U.S. 1984) (review of in limine rulings where no testimony occurred)
Hedgpeth v. Pulido, 555 U.S. 57 (U.S. 2008) (harmless-error analysis for instructional errors in multiple theories)
Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619 (U.S. 1993) (harmless-error standard for constitutional errors)
United States v. Botello, 991 F.2d 189 (5th Cir. 1993) (relevance of aiding and abetting instruction; lack of unfair surprise)
United States v. Neal, 951 F.2d 630 (5th Cir. 1992) (aiding and abetting and related instructional analysis)
United States v. Jimenez, 509 F.3d 682 (5th Cir. 2007) (standard for reviewing suppression and prejudice)
United States v. McCann, 613 F.3d 486 (5th Cir. 2010) (harmless-error review and evidentiary standards)
United States v. Fields, 72 F.3d 1200 (5th Cir. 1996) (prejudice and severance standards; Rule 404(b) usage)
United States v. Banegas, 600 F.3d 342 (5th Cir. 2010) (prejudice considerations in joinder and trial strategy)