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Criminal Procedure Keyed to Allen
United States v. Armstrong
Citation:
517 U.S. 456 (1996)Facts
Respondents were indicted on charges of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and firearm possession. In response to the indictment, respondents filed a motion for discovery, alleging they were selected for federal prosecution because they are Black. The Government opposed the discovery motion, but the District Court granted the motion and ordered the Government to provide a list of all cases from the last three years in which the Government charged both cocaine and firearm offenses, to identify the race of the defendants in those cases, and to explain its criteria for deciding to prosecute those defendants. The Government moved for reconsideration and the District Court denied the motion. When the Government indicated it would not comply with the court’s discovery order, the court dismissed the case.
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