In U.S. v. Presley, No. 05-16778 (May 31, 2007), the Court decided two consolidated appeals, affirming a district court’s imposition of a sentence on revocation of supervised release, and likewise affirming a conviction and sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm.
The Court rejected the argument that the district court lacked jurisdiction to sentence Presley for revocation of supervised release. Presley noted that the summons that was issued to him in connection with his revocation hearing was based on unsworn allegations, and that the hearing occurred after the term of supervised release expired. The Court found that these circumstances did not affect the district court’s jurisdiction. The Court found that a person on supervised release is in "constructive custody," and therefore enjoys less rights than a person who is free. Therefore, the absence of sworn allegations did not affect the district court’s jurisdiction.
The Court also rejected the defendant’s argument that he was erroneously denied a "necessity" defense for his unlawful gun possession charge. Presley claimed that he took the firearm from children who were playing with it and hid it the gun 30 minutes before his arrest. The Court pointed out that the defendant had a cell phone when he possessed the firearm, and therefore had an opportunity to notify police of his possession of a firearm, that is, he had a reasonable legal alternative to violating the law. Consequently, the necessity defense could not apply and the district court was not required to tell the jury otherwise.
