United States Ninth Circuit

Defendant's conviction for involuntary manslaughter is reversed and remanded, where: 1) the version of the Ninth Circuit model jury instruction given by the district court was improper because it did not require the jury to find that the defendant acted with gross negligence, that is, "with wanton or reckless disregard for human life"; 2) the instructional error was not harmless; 3) the district court should have admitted the defendant's testimony about the victim's prior violent acts; and 4) the district court should have admitted, as evidence impeaching the testimony of witnesses who had testified that they had never seen the victim with a firearm, photographs that had been posted on the victim's MySpace page.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/19/2013
• Published 07/19/2013

Judges

• FLETCHER

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel