Fill and Sign the Jury Instruction Possession Form

30.6 Possession Of Firearm By A Convicted Felon 18 USC 922(g) Title 18, United States Code, Sect ion 922(g), makes it a Federal crime or offense for anyone who has been convicted of a felony offense to possess any firearm in or affecting interstate commerce. The Defendant can be found guilty of that offense only if all of the following facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt: First: That the Defendant knowingly possessed a firearm in or affecting interstate commerce, as charged; and Second: That before the Defendant possessed the firearm the Defendant had been convicted in a court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term in excess of one year, that is, a felony offense. The term "firearm" means any weapon which is designed to, or may readily be converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; and the term includes the frame or receiver of any such weapon, or any firearm muffler or firearm silencer. The term " interstate commerce" includes the movement of a firearm between any place in one state and any place in another state. It is not necessary f or t he Government t o prove that t he Defendant knew that the firearm had moved in interstate commerce before the Defendant possessed it, only that it had made such movement. ANNOTATIONS AND COMMENTS 18 USC § 922(g) provides: (g) It shall be unlawful f or any person - -(1) w ho has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment f or a term exceeding one year - - to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or t o receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Maximum Penalty: Ten (10) years imprisonment and applicable fine. When a Defendant offers to stipulate to his or her status as a previously convict ed felon, and the Government declines the stipulation, the issue should be evaluated under the balancing test of FRE 403. While there is no per se rule requiring the Government to accept such a stipulation, it can be an abuse of discretion t o admit evidence of the nature of a stipulated convict ion where the nature of t he crime (as distinguished from the fact of the conviction itself) has potential prejudice outweighing any probative value. Old Chief v. United States, U.S. , 117 S.Ct. 644, (1/7/97), 1997 WL 3230(US).