United States v. William Stivers

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

After a seven-week trial, a jury convicted Douglas C. Adams, Russell Cletus Maride, William E. Stivers, Charles Wayne Jones, Freddy W. Thompson, William B. Morris, Stanley Bowling, and Debra L. Morris on every charge levied against them by the government. Based on cumulative error from the district court’s evidentiary rulings identified in this opinion, we VACATE defendants’ convictions on all counts and REMAND for a new trial.

I. BACKGROUND

On July 9, 2009, defendants were named in a thirteen-count indictment that charged them with, among other things,…