United States v. Meza
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
701 F.3d 411 (2012)

- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
Chris Sanchez stole four guns from a pawn shop. In a statement to the police, Sanchez said that he had sold one of the guns to Cristobal Meza (defendant). The police searched Meza’s property and found the gun. The government (plaintiff) charged Meza with unlawful possession of a firearm. At Meza’s trial, the government called Sanchez as a witness. However, Sanchez testified that he did not sell the gun to Meza. The government sought to introduce evidence of Sanchez’s statement to the police. The district-court judge admitted the statement under Federal Rule of Evidence 613(b). Sanchez explained that he lied in his statement to the police because he had been scared and did not know what to do. Further, Meza cross-examined Sanchez, and Sanchez explained again that he lied in his statement to the police. Subsequently, the jury convicted Meza. Meza appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Higginson, J.)
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