United States v. Fraser

GORSUCH, Circuit Judge.

James Fraser shot and killed Milton Brown. That much is not disputed. What is disputed is whether the district court should have allowed Mr. Fraser to present evidence of the homicide as part of his defense against a federal weapons charge. How could evidence that he killed a man have helped Mr. Fraser? Mr. Fraser says that the facts and circumstances surrounding the shooting would have demonstrated how and why he needed to possess a gun— even if it meant breaking federal law to do so. But whether or not a necessity defense can be raised to a federal gun charge — a…