United States v. Orozco

Defendant appealed his convictions for manufacturing 1,000 or more marijuana plants and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. The court concluded that a deputy's single reference to a consulate did not convey anything about defendant's legal status. The court also rejected the argument that the testimony regarding the right to a consulate was undisclosed 404(b) evidence because the testimony did not reveal anything, let alone defendant's status as illegally present in the United States. Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying defendant's motion for a mistrial and new trial. Further, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it refused to reopen the evidence to allow defendant to testify. The court joined its sister circuits in holding that a defendant must generally invoke the right to testify before the close of evidence and the court considered the Walker factors to determine whether a district court abused its discretion in denying a motion to reopen. In this case, considering each of the Walker factors in light of the record, the court could not say that the district court abused its discretion. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Orozco" on Justia Law