Trial Skills

Mother of minor children named as victims in an indictment testified that she believed her children and that her children wouldn’t “lie about anything like this.” You don't see many plain-error rulings that invalidate triple life sentences, but the Tenth Circuit takes the opportunity to remind us that you really super-duper can't have one witness vouch and testify that she believes other witnesses are telling the truth. No excuse for this. Conviction vacated. New trial.

Disappointed after arriving at the Social Security Administration's office in Philadelphia and finding it closed by the pandemic, local man gets into a scrape with two of the security guards. He's convicted of assaulting federal officials. The man: But they were private security guards contracting with the feds. So they're not really federal officials. Technically. Gov't: Yes, they are. District Court: Yes, they are. Third Circuit: No, they're technically not! Enter a judgment of acquittal.

The case is United States v. Washington, 21-3299 (3d Cir. Aug. 24, 2023).