CA1: another false statements to gun dealers case

US v. Whitney, No. 07-1934. This is another 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) (false statement to a gun dealer) case. The big question is whether the jury was properly instructed on the “willfulness” element. In this case, the defendant was not only under some restraining order, but he had been previous arrested for violating that order. Relying on United   States v. Edgerton, 510 F.3d 54, 57 (1st Cir. 2007) (our coverage here), the First says that no “willful blindness” charge to the jury was necessary and cites a few other cases for support.

Finally, it wasn’t an abuse of discretion to admit the earlier arrest, as it showed knowledge of the order.