United States v. James Ray McDonald

POLITZ, Circuit Judge:

James Ray McDonald was convicted by a jury on one count of dealing in counterfeit currency in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 473 and on one count of conspiring to deal in counterfeit currency in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. On appeal he claims the prosecutor transgressed his Sixth Amendment right to counsel by eliciting testimony that his lawyer was present when Secret Service agents executed a search warrant at his home and by commenting on that fact during closing arguments. We find merit in this challenge and reverse his conviction.

Count One of the indictment charged that…