Source: cases/18usc922/f4th-142-1075-us-v-deng.case
Case source: https://www.neochart.com/catalog/cases/f4th/volume_142/1075/index.html
“The record is replete with other evidence that would allow the jury to conclude that” Deng knowingly possessed the Smith & Wesson gun found in his car.
casedsl 1.2 # author: Flash3 (gemini-3.8-flash-high) # triaged-by: Fable (2026-11-10) case /f4th/142/1075 name United States v. Bandak Deng cite 142 F.4th 1075 (2025) court Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit date 2025-07-09 url catalog/cases/f4th/volume_142/1075/index.html source ir/caselaw/f4th_142.jsonl sha1=f6679d54f4b47aaf67505e2a967e5fa383448bc4 chars=27623 opinion op : majority by Benton @481..22037 controlling opinion dis : dissent by Shepherd @22037..27623 party p1 : Bandak Wiyual Deng count c1 : 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) law 18usc922 role applied posture criminal appeal after jury conviction under § 922(g)(3); issues on appeal were Batson, exclusion of parts of the defendant's interview (harmless-error), and a facial Second Amendment challenge raised by motion for acquittal; affirmed (one judge dissenting on Batson) result claimant-won element status.g3.user : satisfied [proved] decider jury review none party p1 count c1 route _whole pattern admitted drug use since 2012, marijuana and cocaine within days of the stop; marijuana in the car fact @2452..2553 [supports] | There, Deng admitted to using drugs since 2012, including marijuana and cocaine in the last few days. fact @2152..2215 [supports] | With his consent, officers searched the car, finding marijuana. gloss Jury finding only. The unlawful-user element was not contested on appeal and the opinion does not analyse it; the motion for acquittal the court affirms was the facial Second Amendment challenge. element knowledge-possession : satisfied [proved] scope procedural party p1 count c1 route _procedural pattern gun hidden under the dashboard of the car the defendant drove; he denied it was his but admitted touching and test-firing it and knew its load fact @2216..2333 [supports] | They also found a gun under the dashboard—a Smith & Wesson 40-caliber pistol, loaded with three 9- millimeter rounds. fact @1755..1899 [supports] | During the recorded conversation, Deng told the informant that he could not sell the gun then because he needed it for a funeral on February 26. fact @2898..2963 [supports] | But he later admitted touching it and test-firing it into a lake. fact @2964..3016 [supports] | Deng also said he had only three bullets in the gun. fact @20517..20623 [cuts-against] | Detective White also testified that in the interview Deng asked him what type of gun was found in the car. held @21166..21318 | “The record is replete with other evidence that would allow the jury to conclude that” Deng knowingly possessed the Smith & Wesson gun found in his car. gloss Not a sufficiency ruling: the court holds any error in excluding parts of the interview harmless because the other evidence of knowing possession was ample. Deng's theory was that he may have possessed a gun but not knowingly the one hidden in the car. ? other: the original block was filed under `possession` (constructive, gun in a car he controlled); the court's only ruling is on KNOWING possession, in a harmless-error analysis misfit The facial Second Amendment challenge to § 922(g)(3) (rejected on circuit precedent, Veasley/Cooper) has no law-side id: `hemani-as-applied` is an as-applied limit and post-dates this opinion.