United States v. Thomas Stanko Marks

BETTY B. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

The government appeals the dismissal with prejudice of an indictment charging Thomas Stanko Marks with possession of firearms and ammunition by a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The district court held that Marks’ predicate state conviction was unconstitutional, because he received ineffective assistance of counsel due to his attorney’s actual conflict of interest in jointly representing both defendants. Since Washington law forbids the use of an unconstitutional conviction as a predicate for subsequent criminal prosecutions, the court dismissed…