Opinion ID: 3020017
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Definition of “Carry in Furtherance”

Text: Price argues, finally, that the jury instructions failed to define the “in furtherance” component of § 922(c), and thus allowed the jury to infer that mere possession of a gun while committing a crime is sufficient for conviction. As with the previous claim, we review this claim for plain error because Price did not object to the instruction at trial. The District Court correctly instructed the jury that the mere presence of a gun during commission of a crime is not enough for conviction, and that instead, “[i]t is sufficient [for conviction] if the proof established that the firearm furthered the commission of the crime or was an integral part of the underlying crime being committed.”4 By specifying that the gun must have “furthered” or been “integral” to the underlying crime, the instruction adequately conveyed that possession of a gun while committing a crime is not, in itself, enough for conviction under § 922(c). 4 We note as a purely logical matter that the phrase “it is sufficient if” might be clearer if emended to “it is sufficient only if” or replaced with the phrase “it is necessary for.” But we do not hold the given instruction to have been error, and still less to have been plain error. 24