Background
Garrito Fort pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon in violation of federal law. The underlying incident involved an altercation where Fort used a pistol he brought to a dispute with his girlfriend’s family, resulting in the death of a family friend and serious injury to his girlfriend’s uncle. Fort appealed, arguing the district court erred in precluding a justification defense and in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment based on Second Amendment grounds.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the district court’s decision to preclude the justification defense de novo. It found that Fort failed to produce sufficient evidence to create a triable issue for the jury regarding duress, necessity, or self-defense. The court noted that even viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Fort, the requirements for the defense were not met. The court also addressed the Second Amendment challenge, noting it turns largely on the justification defense analysis, and found the arguments failed under de novo review.
Our decisions reviewing whether a defendant has made a sufficient threshold showing to warrant submission of an affirmative defense to the jury use de novo review.
United States v. Gottesfeld, 18 F.4th 1, 15 (1st Cir. 2021)
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces the high threshold defendants must meet to present a justification defense in federal felon-in-possession cases and confirms the standard of review for such preclusion rulings.
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