US v. Gentles, 09-1431, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for distributing crack cocaine and a sentence of 64-months’ imprisonment, followed by four years’ supervised release, with a special condition of substance abuse treatment counseling. In affirming, the court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s motion for a mistrial as although prosecutorial misconduct occurred, there is no evidence that it prejudiced the outcome of defendant’s trial. The court rejected defendant’s claim that the prosecutor improperly vouched for the government’s witness is rejected. Also, the probative value of defendant’s prior drug transactions with the government witnesses, which demonstrated their prior familiarity with defendant, was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Lastly, defendant’s sentence was not unreasonable as the district court was well within its discretion to sentence defendant to 64 months’ imprisonment.
Related Resources:
- Full text of US v. Gentles, 09-1431
- Full text of US v. Ellis, 09-1485
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