US v. Anderson, No. 09-50559 - Criminal Law - U.S. Ninth Circuit
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US v. Anderson, No. 09-50559

By FindLaw Staff on November 16, 2010 4:14 PM
Felon in Possession Indictment Dismissal Reversed

In US v. Anderson, No. 09-50559, the court reversed the district court's dismissal of defendant's indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm where 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(1) required only that the defendant was "convicted" of a previous felony, as defined by the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held, and California law treated a plea of nolo contendere as equivalent to a guilty plea.


As the court wrote:  "The United States appeals the district court's dismissal of Defendant-Appellee Dante Anderson's indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The court concluded that the defendant's two predicate felony convictions were insufficient to support a federal indictment because each resulted from a plea of nolo contendere in a California state court and, therefore, did not conclusively establish Anderson's guilt."

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