United States v. Watson, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 16870

Watson was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and sentenced to 48 months' imprisonment followed by three years' supervised release.
Officers Saylor and Getty responded to Watson's residence based on a report he possessed a firearm and encountered Sabrina Williams, who claimed Watson shot at her, later revising to say he fired into the air; a photo of a handgun and a handgun holster were observed by officers.
A loaded 9mm handgun and two rounds were later found inside Watson's residence, with an empty 9mm casing near the rear door.
Watson was charged on February 3, 2010, tried by jury in September 2010, and moved to exclude certain testimony and exhibits prior to trial.
The district court admitted evidence including the holster, the cell-phone photo, two videotaped interviews, and an Oklahoma penitentiary packet to prove Watson's felon status.
At sentencing, the PSR placed Watson in criminal history category III; Watson argued for three points rather than four, contending the Oklahoma conviction was not a crime of violence under § 4B1.2(a).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Confrontation Clause impact of officer testimony	Watson argues admission of holster/photo testimony violated confrontation.	State contends cross-examination preserved reliability and the testimony did not restrict defense.	No Confrontation Clause violation; defense cross-examined effectively.
Admission of portions of videotaped interviews	Watson asserts evidence is irrelevant and prejudicial under Rules 401-403.	Evidence was highly relevant to proving possession of a firearm and was not unfairly prejudicial.	No abuse of discretion; admission was harmless given overwhelming guilt evidence.
Self-authentication of Oklahoma penitentiary packet	Packet is not self-authenticating due to vague certificate and potential misidentification.	Certificate and accompanying certifications suffice under Rule 902(4) to make the packet self-authenticating.	Packet admissible as self-authenticating public records under Rule 902(4).
Guidelines calculation – crime of violence status of Oklahoma conviction	Oklahoma conviction for possessing a firearm while committing a felony is not a crime of violence under § 4B1.2(a) residual clause.	Conviction constitutes a crime of violence under the residual clause, justifying an extra criminal history point.	Watson's Oklahoma conviction is a crime of violence under the residual clause; district court did not err.

Delaware v. Fensterer, 474 U.S. 15 (1985) (Confrontation cross-examination needs, not unrestricted cross-exam.)
Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974) (Cross-examination broadly permissible to test credibility.)
United States v. Zierke, 618 F.3d 755 (8th Cir. 2010) (Broad discretion on relevancy and Rule 403 balancing.)
United States v. McIntosh, 200 F.3d 1168 (8th Cir. 2000) (Rule 902(4) self-authentication standards for public records.)
Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137 (2008) (Definition of crime of violence and the residual clause interpretation.)
Craig v. United States, 630 F.3d 717 (8th Cir. 2011) (Interpretation of 'crime of violence' under residual clause; similarity in risk standard.)
Linson v. United States, 276 F.3d 1017 (8th Cir. 2002) (Firearms in drug-trafficking context increases violence risk.)
Ruiz v. United States, 412 F.3d 871 (8th Cir. 2005) (Firearms and drug trade; heightened violence risk.)
Sykes v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 2267 (2011) (Guidance on residual clause interpretation for 'crime of violence'.)
United States v. Weiland, 420 F.3d 1062 (9th Cir. 2005) (Public records authenticity and custodial certification impact on admissibility.)