Gettings

MEMORANDUM **

Appellant Jimmy Gettings challenges his conviction for assaulting Beverly Wilson, a United States census employee, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111 (a)(1). Gettings contends that the jury instructions permitted the jury to convict him of simple criminal assault, thereby constructively amending his indictment and also depriving the district court of subject matter jurisdiction. Additionally, Gettings contends that the district court erred by admitting opinion testimony about his character for untruthfulness. We AFFIRM.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Gettings with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111 (a)(1), an offense that contains two elements: (1) that the defendant assaulted a public employee, and (2) that the public employee was acting within the scope of her official duties at the time of the assault. 18 U.S.C. § 111 (a)(1). Jury Instruction 4 clearly instructed the jury that it could not return a guilty verdict unless it found that the prosecution had proved both of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt.

Despite the clear language of Instruction 4, Gettings contends that Instructions 9-13 1 were inconsistent, and that the cumulative effect…