United States of America, Cross-Appellee v. Alvin Barker

A grand jury in the District of Oregon indicted Alvin Barker for being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(1). Through a motion in li-mine, Barker requested bifurcation of his trial. Specifically, he moved to bifurcate the “possession” element of the crime from the “felon” element of the crime. The district court granted Barker’s motion to bifurcate; the United States appeals the district court’s order pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3731 , or in the alternative, through a petition for mandamus, 28 U.S.C. § 1651 (a). We grant the petition for mandamus, reverse the bifurcation order, and remand for further proceedings.

I

Immediately prior to his trial for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Barker filed an “In Limine Motion to Bar the Government From Proving Defendant’s Prior Felony Conviction and to Strike the Reference to the Felony Conviction from the Indictment.” Barker argued that he would be prejudiced by the evidence of his prior conviction. The government agreed to stipulate to Barker’s felony status but argued that the jury should be instructed on all elements of the crime.

The district court granted Barker’s motion. As trial procedure,…