United States v. Highgate

OPINION

COOK, Circuit Judge.

A .jury convicted Charles Highgate of drug- and firearm-possession charges, and the district court sentenced him to an aggregate prison term of 360 months. High-gate appeals his conviction, arguing that a defense witness who invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege was improperly dismissed because the court did not inquire into the witness’s reasonable fear of prosecution. While we agree that the district court erred in accepting the witness’s blanket assertion without further probing, we affirm Highgate’s conviction because we find any resulting error harmless. High-…