Controlled Substances Act – Sufficiency of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Naeem Mahmood Kohli

Case No.: 15-3481

Officials: POSNER, MANION, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges

Focus: Controlled Substances Act – Sufficiency of Evidence

Dr. Naeem Kohli, an Illinois physician who specialized in pain management, was convicted on multiple counts of prescribing narcotics without a legitimate medical purpose in violation of § 841(a) of the Controlled Substances Act. On appeal, he argues that the district court should have granted his motion for acquittal based on insufficient evidence. He also challenges the district court’s jury instructions and several of its evidentiary rulings at trial. We conclude that the jury’s verdict is supported by sufficient evidence and that the motion for acquittal was properly denied. We further hold that the district court’s jury instructions provided a fair and accurate summary of the law, and that its challenged evidentiary rulings were not an abuse of discretion. We therefore affirm Dr. Kohli’s conviction.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.