United States Seventh Circuit
US v. Tanner, 09-2370
District court's conviction of defendant for his involvement in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of cocaine and imposition of a life sentence are affirmed where: 1) the prosecutor's comments during closing argument did not plainly implicate, even directly, defendant's constitutional right to remain silent; 2) except for certain testimony regarding defendant's possession of a firearm, all of the challenged evidence were clearly admissible, and the one exception was harmless; 3) although the ostrich instruction was given in error, defendant cannot establish that he was harmed by that error; 4) defendant's claim that the district court erred in failing to provide "Sears" instruction and limiting instructions is rejected; and 5) defendant's sentence of life imprisonment was reasonable.
Appellate Information
- Argued 09/08/2010
- Decided 12/17/2010
- Published 12/17/2010
Judges
Court
- United States Seventh Circuit