United States v. Bobby Joe Duke

LEWIS R. MORGAN, Circuit Judge:

On February 12, 1975, defendant Bobby Joe Duke was convicted by a jury on a criminal information charging possession of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844. Defendant appeals from that conviction, enumerating as error: (1) the refusal of the trial court to dismiss for prosecution’s unnecessary delay in seeking an indictment; (2) an improper instruction to the jury, shifting the burden of proof to the defendant; and (3) the trial judge’s elicitation of a verdict of guilty from a reluctant juror.

Pertinent facts in this case are as follows. On March 4, 1974,…