Opinion ID: 795375
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: standard of review

Text: 29 The parties in this case dispute the standard of review. Defendant argues that this Court applies de novo review to constitutional challenges to evidentiary decisions whereas the government argues that this Court applies the abuse of discretion standard of review to all evidentiary decisions. While the government is correct that we review all challenges to district court evidentiary rulings, including constitutional challenges, under the abuse of discretion standard, see United States v. Schreane, 331 F.3d 548, 564 (6th Cir.2003); United States v. Mick, 263 F.3d 553, 566 (2001); United States v. Middleton, 246 F.3d 825, 837 (6th Cir.2001), the abuse of discretion standard is not at odds with de novo interpretation of the Constitution inasmuch as district court does not have the discretion to rest its evidentiary decisions on incorrect interpretations of the Constitution, see United States v. Johnson, 440 F.3d 832, 842 (6th Cir.2006); see also United States v. Baker, 458 F.3d 513, 516 (6th Cir.2006) ([T]hese two standards of review are not in fact inconsistent because it is an abuse of discretion to make errors of law or clear errors of factual determinations.)