United States v. James Russell, AKA Gaith Junior Douglas, AKA Steven Shawn Jones, James Russell, A/K/A Steven Shawn Jones

OPINION OF THE COURT

LEWIS, Circuit Judge.

James Russell was convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and conducting a continuing criminal enterprise (CCE) in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848. He was sentenced to two concurrent life terms.

Russell’s appeal presents a number of challenges to his convictions, the primary one being that the district court failed to instruct the jury properly on the CCE count. We will discuss each of Russell’s challenges in turn, focusing in more detail on his claim that the CCE instruction deprived him of his Sixth…