Opinion ID: 727620
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence on the Felon-In-Possession Count

Text: 42 To support a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), the evidence must be sufficient to satisfy three elements: (1) that defendant was convicted of a felony punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; (2) that following his conviction, defendant knowingly possessed the firearm specified in the indictment; and (3) that the firearm specified in the indictment was shipped in, or affected, interstate or foreign commerce. Gerald only challenges the evidence in regard to the second element, asserting that it was insufficient to support the jury's finding that he possessed the firearm found in the South First Street apartment because the government did not establish any link between himself and the gun at trial, and because the evidence showed that Vivian Earsery, Susan Suarez and Suarez's children also had access to the area in which the gun was discovered. 43 In reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); United States v. Ellzey, 874 F.2d 324, 328 (6th Cir.1989) (quoting Jackson ). Circumstantial evidence may be sufficient to support a conviction and such evidence need not remove every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. United States v. Seaton, 45 F.3d 108, 110 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 115 S.Ct. 2012 (1995). 44 Both actual and constructive possession satisfy the possession element for purposes of § 922(g). United States v. Craven, 478 F.2d 1329, 1333 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 866 (1973). Actual possession exists when a person has immediate possession or control of an object. Id. Constructive possession exists when a person knowingly has the power and the intention at a given time to exercise dominion and control over an object, either directly or through others. Id. Possession may be exclusive or joint. Id. 45 The testimony of both Gerald and Suarez indicates that they were jointly occupying the South First Street apartment at the time of the search and had done so for approximately eleven months previously. The evidence also establishes that the gun was found in their bedroom in the apartment. In fact, the chest of drawers in which the gun was found was owned by Suarez, and she testified that the chest contained some of Gerald's personal belongings. Finally, Suarez testified unequivocally that she did not know about the gun and that it was not hers. This evidence provides an adequate basis for the jury's conclusion that Gerald constructively possessed the firearm in question.