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Sufficiency of Evidence

By: Derek Hawkins//August 13, 2018//

Sufficiency of Evidence

By: Derek Hawkins//August 13, 2018//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Keenan Davis

Case No.: 17-2814

Officials: BAUER, KANNE, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges

Focus: Sufficiency of Evidence

Keenan Davis was charged with and convicted of two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), arising from two unrelated incidents. Davis appeals three evidentiary rulings as to testimony from three witnesses, and argues that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove Count Two.

The government argues three facts, taken together, provide sufficient circumstantial evidence to connect Davis to the revolver and support the jury’s conclusion: (1) the government’s establishment of Davis as the head of the household; (2) the discovery of three Crown Royal bags in the apartment, one holding the revolver and a second tied to Davis’s pants; and (3) a reasonable inference that J.R. lied in his testimony to protect his father, as well as the jail calls that allowed a jury to conclude Davis attempted to influence J.R.’s testimony. All of this taken together, the government argues, provides sufficient circumstantial evidence to conclude Davis constructively possessed the revolver. We agree.

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.

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