Crawford

MEMORANDUM *

Wesley Lane Crawford appeals his conviction following a jury trial for burglary, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1153 and Mont. Code Ann. § 45-6-204 . Crawford contends that the district court erred by failing either to give a missing witness instruction or to grant a continuance of the trial. 1 We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

The term, “missing witness instruction,” refers to an instruction that permits a jury to draw an adverse inference from a party’s failure to call a witness. See United States v. Carreno, 363 F.3d 883, 888 (9th Cir.2004) (stating that the district court properly rejected the defendant’s request for a missing witness instruction “advising the jury that it could draw adverse inferences from the government’s failure to call Sanchez as a witness”), vacated, — U.S. -, 125 S.Ct. 1000 , 160 L.Ed.2d 1000 (2005), in light of United States v. Booker, — U.S.-, 125 S.Ct. 738 , 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). “It is well settled that ‘[a] missing witness’ instruction is proper only if from all the circumstances an inference of unfavorable testimony from an absent witness is a natural and reasonable one.” Id. at 888-89 (quoting United…