United States Eighth Circuit

Defendant's convictions for second-degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, denial of his motion for a new trial, and his sentence are affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) the exclusion of evidence that the victim shook his head in the negative when asked whether defendant was his attacker; 2) a conclusion that the victim's intoxication diminished the trustworthiness of his statement for purposes of the residual exception to the hearsay rule sentence; and 3) the sentence's reasonableness.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/14/2007
• Published 08/14/2007

Judges

• JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge., Before WOLLMAN, JOHN R. GIBSON, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Orell D. Schmitz, Assistant Federal Public Defender, of Bismarck, North Dakota. Also appearing on the brief was Jeffrey L. Viken.


• For Appellees:
  
• Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was Rick L. Volk, Assistant U.S. Attorney, of Bismarck, North Dakota. Also appearing on the brief was Drew H. Wrigley.