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Firearms – FIPOF – sufficiency of the evidence

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 18, 2014//

Firearms – FIPOF – sufficiency of the evidence

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 18, 2014//

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U.S. Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Firearms – FIPOF – sufficiency of the evidence

A defendant can be convicted of felon in possession of a firearm, even if only his co-conspirator handled the firearm.

“Newman maintains that Pinkerton never supports criminal liability in a prosecution under §922(g)(1). Some language in United States v. Walls, 225 F.3d 858 (7th Cir. 2000), supports that position, but it is not what Walls held.

Rawlings describes Walls this way: ‘Pinkerton ascribes the crimes of co-conspirators to each other, not a conspirator’s acts that when combined with the acts of another conspirator might add up to a crime.’ 341 F.3d at 660 (emphasis in original). The panel in Walls was concerned about the possibility that Conspirator A might possess a gun—lawfully because A had a clean record—while Conspirator B, who had a felony record, performed other acts having nothing to do with weapons. The panel thought that it would be ‘ridiculous’ (225 F.3d at 866) to conclude that A, who lacked a felony conviction, had committed the felon-in-possession offense. That approach does not help Newman. Both Newman and Misleveck had felony convictions before their cooperative venture started.

Misleveck unquestionably committed the felon-in-possession crime, which per Rawlings can be imputed to his confederate Newman.”

Affirmed.

13-3467 U.S. v. Newman

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Conley, J., Easterbrook, J.

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