United States v. Deondrae Jackson

concurring:

I concur in the opinion’s description of the evidence in the record and its determination that no rational finder of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Jackson’s yellow card was “of the design prescribed by the head” of the Maintenance Center or the Marine Corps Logistics Base. See 18 U.S.C. § 701 . Accordingly, I concur in reversing Mr. Jackson’s conviction.

I. BACKGROUND

This is not one of the more significant criminal cases to reach this court in recent years. Yet, because the United States succeeded in obtaining the conviction of Deondrae Jackson without proving its case, Mr. Jackson had little choice but to make every effort to have his conviction set aside. Fortunately, for him and the justice system, Mr. Jackson had the benefit of the Federal Public Defender system, which effectively exposed the obvious holes in the government’s case. The fine imposed on Mr. Jackson was only $150, which may seem insufficient cause for invoking the might and authority of the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but to Mr. Jackson this case is as important as, if not more important than, Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 695 F.3d 1370 (Fed.Cir.2012), rev’g 877 F.Supp.2d 838 (N.D.Cal.2012), is to those parties. Given the United States Attorney’s Office’s insistence on prosecuting his case, Mr. Jackson may well be right, at least from his standpoint.

Mr. Jackson was a maintenance worker at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow, California. To enter the base, all…

I. BACKGROUND

This is not one of the more significant criminal cases to reach this court in recent years. Yet, because the United States succeeded in obtaining the conviction of Deondrae Jackson without proving its case, Mr. Jackson had little choice but to make every effort to have his conviction set aside. Fortunately, for him and the justice system, Mr. Jackson had the benefit of the Federal Public Defender system, which effectively exposed the obvious holes in the government’s case. The fine imposed on Mr. Jackson was only $150, which may seem insufficient cause for invoking the might and authority of the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but to Mr. Jackson this case is as important as, if not more important than, Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 695 F.3d 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2012), rev’g 877 F. Supp. 2d 838 (N.D. Cal. 2012), is to those parties. Given the United States Attorney’s Office’s insistence on prosecuting his case, Mr. Jackson may well be right, at least from his standpoint.

Mr. Jackson was a maintenance worker at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow, California. To enter the base, all employees…