Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gary E. CHESNEY, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1996-06-14
Citations: 86 F.3d 564
Docket Number: No. 95-5203
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gary E. CHESNEY, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Federal Reporter 3d Series
Volume: 86
Pages: 564–582

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gary E. CHESNEY, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 95-5203.
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.
Argued Nov. 8, 1995.
Decided June 14, 1996.
Hugh B. Ward, Jr. (argued and briefed), Office of U.S. Atty., Knoxville, TN, for plaintiff-appellee.
Leah J. Prewitt (argued and briefed), Federal Defender Services, Knoxville, TN, for defendant-appellant.
Before CONTIE, BATCHELDER, and MOORE, Circuit Judges.
MOORE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which CONTIE, J., joined.
BATCHELDER, J. (pp. 574-82), delivered a separate opinion concurring in all parts of the majority’s opinion and in the results of Parts II.B and II.C.

Opinion:
MOORE, Circuit Judge.
Defendant-Appellant Gary E. Chesney appeals his conviction and sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). We find no merit in Chesney's assignments of error and affirm.
I
On June 5, 1992, two men robbed Jerome Wingfield at gunpoint. One of the robbers beat Wingfield about the body with a gun, which Wingfield described as a chrome-plated .38 or .357 revolver. Wingfield shot at the robbers, who shot back, but the robbers escaped. Wingfield described the robbers to police, who identified the robbers as Chesney and Ricky Golden.
On June 10, 1992, Ann Myers ("Myers"), Chesney's state probation officer, informed the Knoxville police that Chesney was at her office. When the Knoxville police officers arrived at Myers's office, Myers told them that Chesney had left in a 1980 Pontiac Bonneville. The Knoxville police stopped the automobile that Myers had described. Chesney was a passenger in the automobile, which Golden was driving. The Knoxville police officers searched the vehicle and found a .357 revolver among Chesney's state prison clothes in the trunk of the car. The car belonged to Chesney's girlfriend.
Chesney was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 924(e). Chesney stipulated that he had been convicted of a felony, and that the firearm was a .357 magnum revolver that was not manufactured in Tennessee and had been shipped or transported in interstate commerce. Chesney was found guilty after a two-day jury trial, and was sentenced to 262 months of incarceration and five years of supervised release.
Chesney raises five issues on appeal. First, Chesney argues that § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional because it allegedly exceeds Congress's power under the Commerce Clause and because the government failed to prove a substantial nexus between the crime charged and interstate commerce. Second, Chesney claims that the district court erred by admitting evidence about the June 5 robbery of Wingfield. Third, Chesney argues that the district court erred by instructing the jury on joint possession. Fourth, Chesney argues that his proposed jury instruction on credibility of witnesses should have been given by the court. Finally, Chesney asserts that he should have been permitted to argue to the jury about the punishment he would receive if convicted.
II
Section 922(g)(1) provides:
It shall be unlawful for any person . who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year . to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
Chesney claims that the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Lopez, — U.S. -, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995), requires us to invalidate his conviction pursuant to § 922(g)(1) because he claims that § 922(g)(1) is beyond Congress's Commerce Clause powers, and because the government failed to prove that Chesney's possession of this particular gun had a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Chesney thus appears to challenge the statute both on its face and as applied to him.
A
Chesney did not raise the issue of the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1) below. Normally, such a waiver would preclude our consideration of the issue on appeal. Foster v. Barilow, 6 F.3d 405, 407 (6th Cir.1993). However, we may exercise our discretion to review an issue not raised below in " 'exceptional cases or particular circumstances,' " or "when the rule would produce 'a plain mis carriage of justice.'" Id. (quoting Pinney Dock & Transport Co. v. Penn Central Corp., 838 F.2d 1445, 1461 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 880, 109 S.Ct. 196, 102 L.Ed.2d 166 (1988)).
We find that such exceptional circumstances exist here because the Lopez case was decided after the district court entered judgment in this case. Thus, Chesney's Lopez challenge to § 922(g)(1) was not available below. Moreover, the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1) is purely a legal question that has been briefed fully by both parties. United States v. Real Property Known & Numbered As 429 South Main Street, New Lexington, Ohio, 52 F.3d 1416, 1419 (6th Cir.1995) ("Although [claimant] did not raise this issue below, we address it on appeal, because the question presents a purely legal issue not available to [claimant] below____ In addition, both parties have briefed the issue.").
B
Since the submission of Chesney's appeal to this panel, another panel of this court has held § 922(g)(1) to be constitutional. In United States v. Turner, 77 F.3d 887 (6th Cir.1996), a unanimous panel held that "§ 922(g)(1) represents a valid exercise of legislative power under the Commerce Clause." Id. at 889. As this court wrote in Turner, "Every court of appeals that has been faced with this question since Lopez has held that the jurisdictional element of § 922(g) provides the requisite nexus with interstate commerce that § 922(q) lacked." Id. (citing United States v. Sorrentino, 72 F.3d 294, 296 (2d Cir.1995); United States v. Hinton, No. 95-5095, 1995 WL 623876, at *2 (4th Cir. Oct. 25, 1995) (per curiam) (unpublished), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 116 S.Ct. 1026, 134 L.Ed.2d 104 (1996); United States v. Lee, 72 F.3d 55, 58 (7th Cir.1995); United States v. Shelton, 66 F.3d 991, 992-93 (8th Cir.1995) (per curiam), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 1364, 134 L.Ed.2d 530 (1996); United States v. Collins, 61 F.3d 1379, 1383-84 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 116 S.Ct. 543, 133 L.Ed.2d 446 (1995); United States v. Bolton, 68 F.3d 396, 400 (10th Cir. 1995), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 116 S.Ct. 966, 133 L.Ed.2d 887 (1996)). See also United States v. Gateward, 84 F.3d 670, 672 (3d Cir.1996); United States v. Bradford, 78 F.3d 1216, 1223 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 1581, — L.Ed.2d - (1996); United States v. Bates, 77 F.3d 1101, 1104 (8th Cir.1996); United States v. McAllister, 77 F.3d 387, 389-90 (11th Cir.1996); United States v. Bennett, 75 F.3d 40, 48-49 (1st Cir.1996); United States v. Bell, 70 F.3d 495, 497-98 (7th Cir.1995); United States v. Rankin, 64 F.3d 338, 339 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 577, 133 L.Ed.2d 500 (1995); United States v. Hanna, 55 F.3d 1456, 1461-62 (9th Cir.1995). Thus, all ten courts of appeals that have considered the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1) since Lopez have upheld the statute.
Courts uniformly have rejected facial challenges to § 922(g)(1) because § 922(g)(1) contains a jurisdictional provision that requires the government to prove that the firearm was possessed "in or affecting commerce." E.g., Turner, 77 F.3d at 889 ("Requiring the government in each case to prove that a felon has possessed a firearm 'in or affecting commerce' ensures that the firearm possession in question affects interstate commerce and saves § 922(g) from the jurisdictional defect that doomed § 922(q) [the statute invalidated in Lopez]")', McAllister, 77 F.3d at 389-90 ("This jurisdictional element defeats McAllister's facial challenge to the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1)."); Bell, 70 F.3d at 498 ("Section 922(g)(1) does not suffer from the same infirmities [as § 922(q)]. It contains an explicit requirement that a nexus to interstate commerce be established."); Hanna, 55 F.3d at 1462 n. 2 ("Section 922(g)'s requirement that the firearm have been, at some time, in interstate commerce is sufficient to establish its constitutionality under the Commerce Clause."); Bolton, 68 F.3d at 400 (same). We agree with these courts that the presence of the jurisdictional element defeats Chesney's facial challenge to § 922(g)(1), particularly in light of the Lopez Court's approval of former 18 U.S.C. § 1202(a), as interpreted in Unit ed States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336, 92 S.Ct. 515, 30 L.Ed.2d 488 (1971).
18 U.S.C. § 1202(a) is the predecessor statute to § 922(g)(1), the provision Chesney challenges here. In Lopez, the Supreme Court held that 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), the Gun-Free School Zones Act, was unconstitutional because it was beyond the scope of Congress's Commerce Clause power. — U.S. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1626. As one of its reasons for holding § 922(q) unconstitutional, the Court stated:
Second, § 922(q) contains no jurisdictional element which would ensure, through ease-by-case inquiry, that the firearm possession in question affects interstate commerce____ Unlike the statute in Bass [§ 1202(a) ], § 922(q) has no express jurisdictional element which might limit its reach to a discrete set of firearm possessions that additionally have an explicit connection with or effect on interstate commerce.
Lopez, — U.S. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1631. As this court held in Turner, § 922(g)(1) contains just such a jurisdictional element, and the government is required to prove that the firearm at issue affects commerce.
Moreover, the jurisdictional element of § 922(g)(1), which requires that the gun be possessed "in or affecting commerce" is virtually identical to the jurisdictional element of § 1202(a), which required that the gun be possessed "in commerce or affecting commerce." The Lopez Court evidenced approval of the constitutionality of § 1202(a) in its discussion of Bass, and no significant distinction between the jurisdictional elements of § 1202(a) and § 922(g)(1) exists. See Turner, 77 F.3d at 889 ("While the Bass court did not decide the constitutionality of § 1202(a), the citation of Bass in Lopez strongly implies that the jurisdictional element was sufficient.") Thus, under the very language of Lopez, § 922(g)(1) is constitutional on its face, and Chesney's facial ehallenge must fail.
The presence of a jurisdictional element in § 922(g)(1) is important for several reasons under the Lopez framework. Lopez establishes "three broad categories of activity that Congress may regulate under its commerce power." — U.S. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1629. The third category "includes the power to regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce, i.e., those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce." Id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1629-30 (citations omitted). In explaining "that the proper test requires an analysis of whether the regulated activity 'substantially affects' interstate commerce," the Court stated that two factors are relevant to determine whether a statute falls within this third category. As the Court wrote, "First, we have upheld a wide variety of congressional Acts regulating intrastate economic activity where we have concluded that the activity substantially affected interstate commerce." Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1630 (citing, inter alia, Perez v. United States, 402 U.S. 146, 91 S.Ct. 1357, 28 L.Ed.2d 686 (1971)). It is at this point that the Court noted that § 922(q), the statute in question in Lopez,
is a criminal statute that by its terms has nothing to do with "commerce" or any sort of economic enterprise, however broadly one might define those terms. Section 922(q) is not an essential part of a larger regulation of economic activity, in which the regulatory scheme could be undercut unless the intrastate activity were regulated. It cannot, therefore, be sustained under our cases upholding regulations of activities that arise out of or are connected with a commercial transaction, which viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce.
Id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1630-31 (emphasis added and footnote omitted). The Court then discussed a second factor: "Second, § 922(q) contains no jurisdictional element which would ensure, through case-by-case inquiry, that the firearm possession in question affects interstate commerce." Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1631. Next, the Lopez Court explicitly contrasted § 922(q) with § 1202(a), the statute in Bass that is now § 922(g)(1), the statute involved in Chesney's appeal.
Thus, the existence of a jurisdictional nexus in § 922(g)(1) is significant under both components of the third Lopez category. With respect to the first component, § 922(g)(1) contrasts directly with § 922(q) because § 922(g)(1) "by its terms" explicitly requires a relationship with commerce: § 922(g)(1) makes it unlawful for felons "to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce." Chesney was charged with possession of a firearm in or affecting commerce. Not only was his possession directly linked to interstate commerce under the statutory language, but also the possession in or affecting commerce is directly linked by Congress as part of a statute prohibiting the related economic activities of interstate shipping, transporting, or receiving of firearms. In § 922(g)(1), Congress has prohibited possession of a firearm in or affecting commerce as "an essential part of a larger regulation of economic activity, in which the regulatory scheme could be undercut unless the intrastate activity were regulated." Lopez, — U.S. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1631. Thus, in complete contrast to § 922(q) in Lopez, § 922(g)(1) is a comprehensive statute regulating commerce in firearms by felons.
With respect to the second component, § 922(g)(1) clearly contains a "jurisdictional element which would ensure, through ease-by-case inquiry, that the firearm possession in question affects interstate commerce." Lopez, — U.S. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1631. Numerous circuits, including our own, have upheld § 922(g)(1), focusing primarily on this factor. See, e.g., Turner, 77 F.3d at 889; Sorrentino, 72 F.3d at 296; Bell, 70 F.3d at 498 ("to secure a conviction under § 922(g)(1) the government had to prove exactly what Lopez found missing under § 922(q)"); Bolton, 68 F.3d at 400; Rankin, 64 F.3d at 339; Hanna, 55 F.3d at 1462.
In accordance with the prior decisions of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits, we conclude that § 922(g)(1) is constitutional on its face under the Commerce Clause analysis used by the Supreme Court in Lopez.
C
Chesney, unlike the defendant in Turner, also challenges § 922(g)(1) as applied to him by arguing that his conviction is unconstitutional because the government failed to prove any "substantial nexus between the crime charged and interstate commerce." Chesney stipulated that the gun had moved in interstate commerce, and such a stipulation is sufficient evidence to support Chesney's conviction pursuant to § 922(g)(1). See United States v. Lee, 72 F.3d 55, 58 (7th Cir.1995) (stipulation that gun was in or affecting commerce sufficient evidence to support a conviction under § 922(g)(1)). Chesney argues, however, that Lopez requires the government to prove that Chesney's possession of the revolver in itself had a substantial connection to interstate commerce. Unfortunately, Chesney reads Lopez too broadly.. Lopez did not disturb Supreme Court precedents such as Perez v. United States, 402 U.S. 146, 154-56, 91 S.Ct. 1357, 28 L.Ed.2d 686 (1971), in which the Court held that Congress could regulate purely intrastate activities, as long as the activities affect interstate commerce. See Lopez, — U.S. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1629-30 (citing Perez). See also id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1637 (Kennedy, J. and O'Connor, J., concurring) ("[Perez ] and like authorities are within the fair ambit of the Court's practical conception of commercial regulation and are not called in question by our decision today.") And Lopez also did not disturb the Supreme Court's precedents which indicate that a firearm that has been transported at any time in interstate commerce has a sufficient effect on commerce to allow Congress to regulate the possession of that firearm pursuant to its Commerce Clause powers.
The Supreme Court has held that proof that a firearm moved in interstate commerce at any time is sufficient to meet the government's burden of proving the "in commerce or affecting commerce" element of § 1202(a), the predecessor to § 922(g)(1). Scarborough v. United States, 431 U.S. 563, 566-67, 97 S.Ct. 1963, 1964-65, 52 L.Ed.2d 582 (1977). Although Scarborough was decided as a matter of statutory construction, the Court noted that Congress knew how to assert " 'its full Commerce Clause power so as to cover all activity substantially affecting interstate commerce,'" and that Congress intended to exercise the full extent of its Commerce Clause power when enacting § 1202(a). Id. at 571-72, 97 S.Ct. at 1967-68 (quoting United States v. American Bldg. Maintenance Industries, 422 U.S. 271, 280, 95 S.Ct. 2150, 2156, 45 L.Ed.2d 177 (1975)). The Court did not reach the issue of whether § 1202(a), as construed to reach possession of firearms that had moved at any time in interstate commerce, was within Congress's Commerce Clause power; however, the Court affirmed the conviction in Scarborough. The Court's silence on the constitutionality of the statute, coupled with the Court's language about Congress's intent to exercise its full Commerce Clause authority, indicates that the Court believed that § 1202(a) as construed, and thus § 922(g)(1), clearly was within Congress's power. The conclusion that § 922(g)(1) is constitutional is buttressed by the Supreme Court's decision in Bass, in which the Court construed § 1202(a) as requiring a nexus to commerce in part to avoid the constitutional question of whether punishment for mere possession of firearms by felons, without the commerce nexus, would be constitutionally permissible. Bass, 404 U.S. at 339 n. 4, 92 S.Ct. at 518 n. 4. The fact that the Court twice construed a statute to require only a minimum nexus with commerce, but did not discuss whether the statute as construed was constitutional, indicates that the Court clearly believed that the statute as construed was constitutional. It would be illogical indeed to infer a contrary result, particularly when the Bass Court construed the statute to avoid a constitutional question. When the Court construes a statute to avoid a constitutional question, the Court's construction must itself be constitutional. See Gomez v. United States, 490 U.S. 858, 864, 109 S.Ct. 2237, 2241, 104 L.Ed.2d 923 (1989) (court will avoid construction of statute that presents constitutional questions "if a reasonable alternative interpretation poses no constitutional questions"); Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735, 762, 108 S.Ct. 2641, 2657, 101 L.Ed.2d 634 (1988) (where doubts about a statute's constitutionality exist, the court will try to construe the statute "in a manner that renders it constitutionally valid").
All of the courts of appeals to consider the issue since Lopez have concluded that § 922(g)(1), as construed to require only the minimum nexus to commerce approved in Scarborough; is constitutional. See, e.g., McAllister, 77 F.3d at 390; Sorrentino, 72 F.3d at 296; Shelton, 66 F.3d at 992; Hanna, 55 F.3d at 1462 n. 2. As the Eleventh Circuit wrote in McAllister,
In contrast to § 922(q), § 922(g) is an attempt to regulate guns that have a connection to interstate commerce; the statute explicitly requires such a connection. When viewed in the aggregate, a law prohibiting the possession of a gun by a felon stems the flow of guns in interstate commerce to criminals. Nothing in Lopez suggests that the "minimal nexus" test should be changed. Because the government demonstrated that the firearm possessed by McAllister previously had travelled in interstate commerce, the statute is not unconstitutional as applied to him.
McAllister, 77 F.3d at 390. We agree with these courts that Congress constitutionally may prohibit the possession by a felon of a firearm in or affecting commerce as part of a statutory framework prohibiting felons from interstate trafficking in firearms. Prohibiting possession by felons limits the market for firearms, and discourages shipping, transporting, and receiving firearms in or from interstate commerce. Regulation of interstate gun trafficking, which is clearly com mercial activity, is thus facilitated by regulation of possession in or affecting commerce. This satisfies both the spirit and language of Lopez, and can "be sustained under our cases upholding regulations of activities that arise out of or are connected with a commercial transaction, which viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce." Lopez, —- U.S. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1631.
Chesney's stipulation that the gun had been transported in interstate commerce was sufficient to meet § 922(g)(l)'s "in or affecting commerce" requirement. The fact that Chesney possessed a gun that previously had moved in interstate commerce provides a sufficient nexus between Chesney's conduct and interstate commerce to allow Congress to regulate Chesney's conduct pursuant to the Commerce Clause. Therefore, § 922(g)(1) is constitutional as applied to Chesney.
Ill
Chesney also argues that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of the robbery that took place on June 5,1992. In the June 5 robbery, Chesney used a gun identified as being similar to the one found in the car that Golden was driving. Chesney argues that the evidence of the June 5 robbery was inadmissible evidence of prior bad acts, and was so prejudicial as to be inadmissible under Fed.R.Evid. 403. The government argues that the evidence was admissible under Fed. R.Evid. 404(b) and under a "res gestae" theory — that the evidence was admissible to explain the possession crime.
Fed.R.Evid. 404(b) provides:
Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident____
(emphasis added). To admit Rule 404(b) evidence, the district court must first determine as a matter of fact whether there is sufficient evidence that the prior act occurred. We review this factual determination under an abuse of discretion standard. Then the district court must determine as a matter of law whether the other act evidence is admissible as evidence of motive, intent, knowledge, or for some other lawful purpose. We review this legal determination de novo. Finally, the district court must determine whether the probative value of the other act evidence is outweighed by its unfairly prejudicial effect. We review this determination for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Gessa, 971 F.2d 1257, 1261-62 (6th Cir.1992) (en banc), cert. denied after remand, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 827, 133 L.Ed.2d 769 (1996).
The district court's determination that there was sufficient evidence that the June 5 robbery occurred is not clearly erroneous. Chesney pleaded guilty to state robbery charges based on the June 5 incident before his federal trial on the felon in possession charge began.
The district court also was correct in its determination that the evidence of the June 5 robbery was admissible under Fed. R.Evid. 404(b) to show knowledge. The government was required to prove that Chesney knowingly possessed the gun in order to obtain a conviction under § 922(g)(1). United States v. Hatfield, 815 F.2d 1068, 1072 (6th Cir.1987) (government required to prove knowledge under predecessor statute to § 922(g)(1)); United States v. Odom, 13 F.3d 949, 961 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 115 S.Ct. 116, 130 L.Ed.2d 62 (1994) (approving jury instruction on "knowledge element of the offenses" under § 922(g)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2)). Chesney's knowledge was in issue in this case — in fact, whether Chesney knowingly possessed the gun found in the ear was the only issue in this case because Chesney had stipulated to the other elements of the crime. Moreover, evidence of Chesney's knowledgeable possession was admissible because his knowledge was not inferable from the mere presence of the firearm in the car. Hatfield, 815 F.2d at 1072 (knowledge in issue when not inferable from the mere presence of firearm in van).
Finally, the district court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the probative value of the June 5 robbery evi dence significantly outweighed its prejudicial effect. The evidence of the June 5 robbery had substantial probative value. Evidence that a defendant used a firearm in a robbery five days before he was found in possession of a similar firearm would increase the likelihood that the defendant knowingly possessed the similar firearm. The district court also gave a limiting instruction, cautioning the jury that it could use the evidence of Chesney's other acts only to determine whether he knowingly possessed the firearm on June 10. This limiting instruction lowered the prejudicial effect of the admission of the robbery evidence. See United States v. Clemis, 11 F.3d 597, 601 (6th Cir.1993), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 1858, 128 L.Ed.2d 481 (1994) (noting that no abuse of discretion occurred in admitting Rule 404(b) evidence when appropriate cautionary instructions were given). Although the evidence of the June 5 robbery certainly is damaging to Chesney's case, we perceive no abuse of discretion in the district court's determination that its probative value outweighed its prejudicial effect in this context.
1Y
Chesney also claims that the district court's jury instructions were erroneous in two respects. First, Chesney claims that the district court should not have instructed the jury on joint possession because the instruction allegedly nullified the defense theory that the revolver belonged to Golden, not Chesney. Second, Chesney claims that the district court erred by refusing to give his proposed jury instruction on assessing the credibility of witnesses.
We review the instructions given by a district court to determine " 'whether the charge, taken as a whole, fairly and adequately submits the issues and applicable law to the jury.' " United States v. Buckley, 934 F.2d 84, 87 (6th Cir.1991) (quoting United States v. Martin, 740 F.2d 1352, 1361 (6th Cir.1984)). We will reverse a conviction for failure to give a requested jury instruction only when:
(1) the requested instruction is a correct statement of the law;
(2) the requested instruction is not substantially covered by other delivered instructions; and
(3) the failure to give the instruction impairs the defendant's theory of the case.
United States v. Carr, 5 F.3d 986, 992 (6th Cir.1993).
Chesney's claim that the district court erred by giving an instruction on joint possession is without merit. The district court instructed the jury on joint possession using Sixth Circuit Pattern Instruction 2.11, which states that two or more persons may share possession of an item, and that the law considers each of them to have legal possession of the item. The district court also gave an instruction requested by Chesney, which informed the jury that it could not rely on Chesney's proximity to the gun or his association with someone else who possessed the gun to find that Chesney knowingly possessed the gun. Chesney nonetheless argues that the jury should not have been instructed on joint possession at all. However, a joint possession instruction was applicable in this case, given that two people were riding in the car in which the gun was found, and the district court's instruction correctly states the law. Therefore, the district court's instruction on joint possession was not error, let alone reversible error.
The district court's failure to give Chesney's requested instruction pertaining to the credibility of a particular witness likewise was not error. The district court gave a lengthy instruction on assessing the credibility of witnesses, which instruction included factors the jury could consider and how the jury should weigh those factors. On appeal, Chesney characterizes his requested instruction as being drawn from Sixth Circuit Pattern Instruction 1.07. Although Sixth Circuit Pattern Instruction 1.07 is a correct statement of the law, the credibility instruction given by the district court conveyed substantially the same information as contained in the pattern instruction. In fact, giving Chesney's requested instruction essentially would have duplicated portions of the instructions given by the district court. Therefore, the district court did not err by failing to give Chesney's requested instruction.
Y
In his final assignment of error, Chesney claims that the district court violated his Fifth Amendment right to a fair trial by refusing to permit him to argue to the jury about the punishment he would receive if convicted. Chesney relies on United States v. Datcher, 830 F.Supp. 411 (M.D.Tenn.1993), in which a district court permitted the defendant to inform the jury of his mandatory sentence to provide the jury with information upon which the jury could exercise its nullification power.
While the Datcher decision supports Chesney's argument, the Datcher decision is contrary to Supreme Court pronouncements on this issue. The Supreme Court has stated that, unless juries have roles in sentencing, such as in capital sentencing proceedings, juries should be instructed not to consider defendants' possible sentences during deliberations. "It is well established that when a jury has no sentencing function, it should be admonished to 'reach its verdict without regard to what sentence might be imposed.' " Shannon v. United States, — U.S. -, -, 114 S.Ct. 2419, 2424, 129 L.Ed.2d 459 (1994) (quoting Rogers v. United States, 422 U.S. 35, 40, 95 S.Ct. 2091, 2095, 45 L.Ed.2d 1 (1975)). The Shannon Court went on to note that jurors generally are not informed of mandatory minimum or maximum sentences or instructed on probation, parole, and sentencing ranges for lesser included offenses. — U.S. at-, 114 S.Ct. at 2428. See also United States v. Thigpen, 4 F.3d 1573, 1578 n. 3 (11th Cir.1993) (en banc), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 2746, 129 L.Ed.2d 865 (1994) (stating that courts have "no duty" to inform juries of the consequences of their verdicts absent statutory requirements) (quoting White v. United States, 387 F.2d 367, 367-68 (5th Cir.1967)).
In Chesney's trial, the jury had no sentencing function, and no statute required that the jury be informed of the consequences of its verdict. Thus, argument about possible punishment in Chesney's case is foreclosed by well-settled precedent, and the district court did not err in refusing to permit Chesney to argue about his possible punishment.
VI
Because § 922(g)(1) is constitutional, and because the district court did not err by admitting evidence of the June 5 robbery, in giving its jury instructions, and by refusing to allow Chesney to argue about his punishment to the jury, we AFFIRM Chesney's conviction and sentence.
. Section 1202(a) read:
Any person who . has been convicted by a court of the United States or of a State or any political subdivision thereof of a felony . and who receives, possesses, or transports in commerce or affecting commerce . any firearm shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
See Scarborough v. United States, 431 U.S. 563, 564, 97 S.Ct. 1963, 1964, 52 L.Ed.2d 582 (1977).
. The other two Lopez categories, not relevant here, are regulations of "the use of the channels of interstate commerce" and regulation and protection of "the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities." -U.S. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1629.