United States v. Ridner

Facts

Scotty, the defendant, and Freddy Ridner, his brother, were sitting on a front porch. Officers had an active arrest warrant for Scotty and went to the home. Upon seeing him, they chased him and eventually apprehended him. The officers proceeded to search him and found shotgun ammunition. At a residence he was at, they found a shotgun. Because he was a felon, he was not legally allowed to be in possession of ammunition or the shotgun. A jury indicted him for being a felon in possession of a shotgun and ammunition.

Scotty claimed that a friend told him that Freddy “was acting funny again, talking crazy” which traditionally meant, according to Scotty, that Freddy is “talking suicide” or “fixing to take a seizure.” Scotty also testified that Freddy “was talking that morning that he was going to kill hisself [sic]. He said he would be better off dead than having to live like he was.” Scotty’s other brother shot and killed himself a few years prior. Scotty claimed that Freddy had the ammunition, and when Freddy looked away, Scotty quickly put them in his pocket “just a few minutes” before the officers arrived. His concern was that his brother would attempt to kill himself if he had the ammunition.

The government filed a motion in limine to prevent Scotty from arguing a necessity defense. The district court granted it. Scotty appealed.