United States v. Anthony Darrell Lesina

TANG, Circuit Judge:

Defendant Anthony Darrell Lesina appeals a conviction of second degree murder. Lesina argues that the district court’s jury instructions deprived him of his Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process. We agree, reverse and remand for a new trial.

I

Lesina lived with Marvena Meanus, his fiancee, and Elarrio Medina, his best friend and Meanus’ cousin, in a house on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon. Lesina and Meanus had been living together for over a year, and had a baby who was only a few days old at the time of the incident. On the morning of December 12, 1985,…