Opinion ID: 78154
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Anton's Affirmative Defenses

Text: Anton argues next that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment right to present a meaningful defense, and the Fifth Amendment requirement which places the burden of proving all elements of an offense upon the prosecution. We review constitutional claims de novo. United States v. Nash, 438 F.3d 1302, 1304 (11th Cir.2006). Anton argues that the district court erred in barring Anton from presenting evidence that his civil rights were restored after his probationary period expired, and that his nolo contendre plea was not a criminal conviction. However, these arguments are meritless. Anton's restoration of rights argument was based upon his erroneous interpretation of Florida Statute 948.01(2) as having restored his civil rights upon his completion of the probationary period. As previously discussed, Anton's 1989 nolo contendre plea was a felony conviction. No other evidence demonstrating that his civil rights had been restored was presented. If a defendant offers no relevant evidence to support a defense, the court may properly bar its presentation at trial. United States v. Thompson, 25 F.3d 1558, 1560 (11th Cir.1994). Accordingly, the district court did not err in barring this argument. As far as his status as a convicted felon, the district court correctly concluded that this involved a question of law, rather than a question of fact for the jury. Willis, 106 F.3d at 967. Further, the district court did not engage in improper burden shifting because, had the case proceeded to trial, the government would still have been required to present evidence establishing Anton's conviction. The district court's ruling merely determined what constituted a criminal conviction as a matter of law, a legal finding to which the jury would then have applied to the facts of the case at trial. As such, the district court did not err in barring this defense, or engaging in improper burden shifting.