United States Tenth Circuit

A sentence for being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm is affirmed where: 1) given the type of weapon, defendant's criminal history and addiction to methamphetamines, and the district judge's credibility determination, it was not clear error to find that defendant failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that he had not considered using the gun for non-sporting purposes; and 2) thus, denying a "sporting exception" sentence reduction was not error.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/28/2008
• Published 07/29/2008

Judges

• McCONNELL, Circuit Judge., Before TACHA, McWILLIAMS and McCONNELL, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Howard A. Pincus, Assistant Federal Public Defender (Raymond P. Moore, Federal Public Defender, with him on the briefs) Denver, CO, for Defendant-Appellant., Gregory A. Phillips, Assistant United States Attorney (John R. Green, Interim United States Attorney, with him on the briefs) Cheyenne, WY, for Plaintiff-Appellee.