United States v. James Arthur Moorehead

Mr. James Moorehead appeals his conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g), possession of a firearm by a felon. He makes four claims of error: evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment was submitted at trial; evidence of bad character was presented to the jury in violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b); the district court wrongfully cross-examined one of the defense witnesses; and, lastly, an erroneous sentence was imposed. The third of these claims has substantial merit and requires that we vacate Mr. Moorehead’s conviction and remand for further proceedings. We also decide the first and second of Mr. Moorehead’s claims because these issues are certain to arise again if he is retried. We refuse to speculate as to the outcome of this hypothetical second trial and therefore decline to address Mr. Moorehead’s sentencing argument at this time.

The facts of this case are straightforward. On February 21, 1993, Mr. Moorehead was stopped for speeding. The officer asked Mr. Moorehead for his license. Mr. Moorehead replied that his license had been suspended or revoked, and produced a California identification card. The standard background cheek disclosed an outstanding…