United States v. Thomas James Devlin

13 F.3d 1361 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Thomas James DEVLIN, Defendant-Appellant. No. 93-30000. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Nov. 5, 1993. Decided Jan. 12, 1994. Roderick K. Ermatinger, Attorneys, Inc., P.C., Missoula, MT, for defendant-appellant. Robert J. Brooks, Asst. U.S. Atty., Butte, MT, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Montana (Missoula). Before: GOODWIN, HUG, Circuit Judges, and McKIBBEN, * District Judge. HUG, Circuit Judge: 1 Thomas James Devlin appeals his jury conviction and sentence for unlawful possession of firearms by a felon, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922 (g)(1). He argues that the district court erred (1) in denying his request for a transcript of his suppression hearing, and (2) in imposing an indefinite sentence. We agree that the denial of the transcript violated Devlin's equal protection rights, and reverse and remand for a new trial. Because we reverse on this ground, we do not reach Devlin's claims about his sentence.I. 2 On October 18, 1991, police searched Devlin's home and found two firearms. Devlin, on probation for a state drug offense, was charged…