United States v. Mix

Brief of Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Favor of Appellee and in Support of Affirmance.

Brief filed: 01/23/2015

Documents

United States v. Mix

5th Circuit Court of Appeals; Case No. 14-30837

Prior Decision

On appeal from the U.S. District Court for the E.D. of Louisiana, No. 2:12-CR-171-1 (Hon. Stanwood R. Duval, Jr.).

Argument(s)

The district court correctly presumed prejudice from the jury’s exposure to extraneous, non-innocuous information. In accordance with Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b), the district court properly considered objective evidence in evaluating the extrinsic information’s subjective effect on jurors. In reviewing the district court’s decisions, this court should consider the entire record and should reject the government’s effort to evade exculpatory facts and to cast the evidence in the light most favorable to it.

Author(s)

John P. Elwood, Joshua S Johnson, and Bryan Gividen, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Washington, DC; Rebecca L. Hudsmith, Lafayette, LA.