United States v. Michael Connelly, Sr.

MEMORANDUM

Michael Connelly, Sr., a former tribal police officer, was convicted, following a jury trial, of deprivation of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242 , and for making a false statement to the FBI in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 . The jury acquitted Connelly of sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2242 (1) and 1153(a). Connelly was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment and three years supervised release. On appeal, Connelly contends (i) the district court abused its discretion in precluding him from impeaching the victim with evidence of her convictions that were more than ten years old; (ii) there was insufficient evidence to convict him of the false statement charge; and (iii) the jury instructions improperly reduced the government’s burden of proof on the false statement charge. We affirm.

1. As the parties are familiar with the facts, we only briefly summarize them here. On September 1, 2012, Connelly, a police officer with the Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services who was on duty and in uniform, gave a ride in his unmarked patrol car to a woman, E.J.R.C., in Browning, Montana. E.J.R.C. testified that Con-nelly drove her to secluded area,…