Jury Instructions

Having been following actual court cases for the last couple of years, I’ve figured out a few minor things.

One of the most important things is that most of the work in a court case is done outside the courtroom and before the first argument is uttered.

In the United States, a court can only hear a case where there is an active dispute. Each person involved in the case has a part to play.

When the case is heard, the rules will be interpreted and enforced by the judge. His job is to control what evidence is presented.

It is then the task of the jury to evaluate that evidence to determine the “truthfulness” of each piece of evidence, then to evaluate if that evidence proves beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.

Which takes us to jury instructions. The jury instructions are the point at which the judge informs the jury of how to evaluate the evidence presented and what it takes to prove a charge.

Count I — False Statement in Purchase of a Firearm (18 U.S.C. 922(a)(6))

Count One charges that the defendant knowingly made a false statement in the purchase of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(a)(6).

To find the defendant guilty of this offense, you must find that the government proved each of the following four elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

First: The seller was a licensed dealer;

Second: That the defendant made a false statement while acquiring a firearm from the seller;

Third: That the defendant knew that the statement was false;

and

Fourth: That the false statement was intended or likely to deceive the seller with respect to any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm.
No. 225 United States v. Biden, No. 1:23-cr-00061 (D. Del.)

There are only three elements that the jury is determining in count I. The parties stipulated that the seller was an FFL.

The second element is whether Hunter Biden was lied about being an Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? — Form 4473 Q21(f). If the jury believes that Hunter was doing crack at the time he filled out the 4473, then he made a false statement.

The third element is whether Hunter knew he was lying. Yeah, that’s an easy one.

The fourth element asks if the lie was done to deceive the seller into selling the firearm in violation of 922(g).

The judge clarifies that the statement is “false” if it was untrue when it was made.

Count I is lying to the FFL. Count II is lying on the 4473. They are the same instructions but worded slightly differently.

Count III is of more interest to us:

To find the defendant guilty of this offense, you must find that the government proved each of the following four elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

First, the defendant was an unlawful user of a controlled substance or addicted to a controlled substance;

Second, the defendant knowingly possessed a firearm, that is a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver with serial number RA 551363, while he was an unlawful user of a controlled substance or addicted to a controlled substance;

Third, at the time the defendant knowingly possessed the firearm, he knew he was an unlawful user of a controlled substance or addicted to a controlled substance; and

Fourth, the firearm was transported across a state line at some time during or before the defendant’s possession of it.
id.

There is no mention in this set of instructions to consider if §922(g)(3) is unconstitutional. That question is a legal question and would be answered by the judge.

The parties stipulated to the firearm traveling across state lines.

Here is the unanimity section.

The indictment charges the defendant with being an unlawful user of a controlled substance or addicted to a controlled substance. The government is not required to prove both that he was an unlawful user of a controlled substance and addicted to a controlled substance. It is sufficient for the government to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he was either an unlawful user of a controlled substance or addicted to a controlled substance.

Each of you must agree with the other jurors as to whether the defendant was an unlawful user of a controlled substance, or was addicted to controlled substances, or both. If you unanimously agree that he was either an unlawful user of a controlled substance, or was addicted to a controlled substance, or was both, and met the other elements as to the offense, you may find the defendant guilty. Unless each of you agree that the government has proven that he was either an unlawful user of a controlled substance or addicted to a controlled substance, then you must find the defendant not guilty.
id.

This is where Donald Trump was screwed in the jury instructions. Here, the court states that the jury must agree unanimously that Hunter was an unlawful user of a controlled substance, OR the jury must agree unanimously that he was addicted to a controlled substance.

If they agree unanimously that he is an unlawful user AND addicted to a controlled substance, then he is both.

In the Trump jury instructions, the court said that there was no need to unanimously agree on a predicate crime. The jury just had to agree, unanimously, that there was A predict crime.

The jury found Hunter Bidden guilty of all three counts.

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The one where I agree with a Bidenist.

Bingo! I guess he did not realize he was just crapping all over the sainted holy relic of the Brady Firearms Background Checks.

 

Pretty much since it was signed, it became a shit show precisely because its violators were very rarely enforced. They still love to give you a mouthful about the millions of felons stopped by the background checks, but they develop a serious case of amnesic ignorance when it comes to the supposedly obligatory prosecution for violating this law.

The Brady Law was never about controlling gun access to criminals but to harass and collect law abiding citizen’s information.

It was fun to watch for a while a DOJ actually prosecuting a gun case rather than giving guns to Mexican Cartels and other enemies of the country.

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Here is to you, Mr. AirBud Concept Designer.

“So you made a very expensive pair of audio ear devices that sound good, are wireless but can be lost easily?”
“Yes, and provided we only sell them by the pair, we got us ourselves a mint.”
“You are an evil genius. Expect big juicy bonus at the end of the year.” 

Seen at my local gym.

I like the wireless comfort, but I know me, and I know (and probably most shooters know) that if the thing is not tied and anchored, it is going to be lost soon enough.  So far, I have managed not to lose these after 3 years and they sound pretty decent.

 

 

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Slavery

So let’s talk about slavery. It’s that thing no one actually wants to discuss, teach, learn from, or admit exists. It’s not nearly as caught up in skin color or religion as people might think. And in every form, it’s wrong.

They taught our kids about slavery in school. They discussed how horrible slave owners were, how the inevitably white people owned the poor, uneducated blacks and abused them. They went over how Lincoln freed the slaves, without ever actually explaining how that could have happened (largely because it didn’t, but whatever… that’s outside the scope of this article). There was a lot of information about the bad treatment of slaves in America. All of the this is very clear, black and white, with no wiggle room.

When they were going through that lesson, I talked to our kids about it. I asked them a lot of questions, like…

  • Were all slave owners bad?
  • Did all slave owners want to be slave owners (and/or bad)?
  • Were all slave owners white?
  • Were all slaves black?

Read More

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This is anti-Zionism

 

The AOCs and Ilhan Omars of the Democrats will swear on a stack of Handmaid’s Tale books that this is not antisemitic, just criticism of Israeli apartheid.

I, on the other hand, am going to buy another gun and more ammo.

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Beware deceptively edited video

This video has gone viral.

 

If that is all you see, than you probably want Jonathan Kaye fired, arrested, and his life ruined.

The problem is, that video only shows half the story.

The New York Post tells the rest of the story.

Millionaire Jonathan Kaye had clashed with members of an anti-Israel LGBTQ group before he shockingly laid out the woman, a source close to Kaye with knowledge of the situation said Monday – as his Park Slope neighbors described him as a rude, antisocial curmudgeon.

“They were marching, they had a flag, and Jonathan simply said something along the lines of, ‘you guys are on the wrong side,’” the source told The Post.

“From there about four people from the group came up to him, they circled him and threw red liquid on him,” the source claimed. “He tried to back away, but he was either chest-bumped or fell to the ground, smashing his knee and slicing his leg.”

The source claimed that he got up and used only the amount of force that was necessary “to get out of there,” noting that Kaye has no history of violence and no criminal record.

Despite the NYPost trying to paint this guy as an awful person, it seems that he was in the right.

He told a bunch if Queers for Palestine that they were wrong. That’s perfectly legal.

They surrounded him, assaulted him, dumped and unknown substance on him.

He punched a tranny in the face to get away.

He was the victim.

Except, this is Pride month, and trannys and Hsmasniks are the new exalted classes, so he got fired and his life if being ruined.

I hope that he sues the piss out of everyone, because self-defense against a bunch of terrorist loving queers isn’t a crime.

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