United States v. Gerald Davis

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge.

The defendant Gerald Davis was convicted of a seven-year scheme to defraud in which he forged and converted to his own use 227 United States Treasury checks payable to his deceased relatives. Prior to trial the government filed a motion in li-mine to exclude the defendant’s proposed insanity defense based on the claim that he was a compulsive gambler. After conducting an extensive evidentiary hearing, the district court excluded the evidence on two independent grounds. The trial court ruled the evidence irrelevant and inadmissible under Rules 403 and 702 of the Federal…