Sufficiency of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Ronald T. Coleman

Case No.: 17-3636

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and EASTERBROOK and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sufficiency of Evidence

Ronald Coleman is a former Chicago police officer who turned to crime. In June 2014, he was assigned to a federal drug investigation task force, which was about to execute numerous search and arrest warrants. Shortly before the operations were set to begin, Coleman telephoned one of the targets—a high school acquaintance—to warn him about the raid. That call led to a single charge of obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2), and the end of Coleman’s law-enforcement career when a jury convicted him. Coleman now argues that he is entitled to a new trial for two primary reasons: evidentiary errors, and the government’s use of allegedly perjured testimony. He also urges that the district court committed procedural and substantive errors when selecting his sentence. Because we find no prejudicial error in any of the district court’s rulings, we affirm both the conviction and the sentence.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.