Legal Opinion
Owens v. United States
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Decided April 12, 2007No. 05-1784, 05-1785PublishedCited by 181 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge.
It has long been true that “[a] defendant is entitled to a fair trial but not a perfect one.” Lutwak v. United States, 344 U.S. 604, 619, 73 S.Ct. 481, 97 L.Ed. 593 (1953). The trial of Dwayne Owens on a variety of racketeering, murder, assault, and drug trafficking charges has tested that proposition. On balance, we find that Owens’ trial may have crossed the line from imperfect to unfair.
I. Background
The Government’s case against Owens is not particularly relevant to the issues on appeal. To summarize briefly, the Government presented evidence at Owens’ trial that…
2Cases cited84 opinions
- Strickland v. WashingtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Brady v. MarylandSupreme Court of the United States · 1963
- Apprendi v. New JerseySupreme Court of the United States · 2000
- Gilbert B. Martinez v. Eddie Ylst, Superintendent, California Medical Facility SouthCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1991
- Coleman v. ThompsonSupreme Court of the United States · 1991
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3Cited by181 opinions
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- State v. WiseWashington Supreme Court · 2012
- United States v. WithersCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2010
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