August 01st, 2018

US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions
United States v. Chhay Lim

Docket: 17-30469
Opinion Date: July 31, 2018
Judge: Jerry Edwin Smith
Areas of Law: Criminal Law

Defendant conditionally pleaded guilty of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien and then appealed his pre-plea rulings denying his motions to dismiss the indictment, to admit evidence relevant to his immigration status, and to suppress evidence. After determining that defendant had preserved all his appellate rights, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's refusal to dismiss the indictment because an illegal alien must first refute that status before obtaining a firearm. The court affirmed the district court's refusal to admit evidence of his immigration status because the evidence he sought to introduce was irrelevant and potentially confusing to a jury. The court affirmed in part and reversed in part the denial of the motion to suppress, holding that an exigency existed only as to the pistol discovered in the bedroom, but not as to the rifle in the laundry room. Finally, the court vacated defendant's conviction where defendant's pre-Miranda answers should have been excluded, and remanded to allow defendant the option to withdraw his guilty plea.

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