Opinion ID: 622034
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Sanders's 1988 Marijuana Conviction

Text: After this testimony, the government renewed its Rule 404(b) request to admit Sanders's 1988 conviction for selling 1.4 grams of marijuana. The government argued that the conviction was probative of Sanders's intent to enter into the drug conspiracy. Sanders responded that the 22-year-old conviction was too remote to be probative and that a street-level sale of 1.4 grams of marijuana was too dissimilar to the international drug-trafficking conspiracy at issue to be probative of Sanders's intent. The district court admitted the 1988 conviction but gave a cautionary instruction. The court instructed that the jury could consider the prior conviction only for the very limited purpose of determining whether Sanders had the state of mind or intent to commit the crimes charged in the indictment. The government rested. Sanders moved for a judgment of acquittal. The district court denied the motion. Sanders presented no evidence.