Justia U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Appellant appealed a conviction of one count of making a materially false statement and one count of making a materially false statement in an immigration matter. At issue was whether appellant's rights were violated under the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause and whether the evidence was sufficient to convict him. The court held that appellant's Confrontation Clause rights were violated where he did not have the opportunity to be confronted by witnesses against him when a Bosnian judgment of conviction was admitted as testimonial evidence to demonstrate that appellant had lied when he said that he had not killed anyone. The court also held that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding that appellant falsely denied that he had killed anyone before coming to the United States.