## Facts

- A sheriff’s sergeant stopped a maroon Dodge Stratus in Salt Lake County, Utah, for non-functioning taillights.
- The stop occurred in a well-lit gas-station lot; four occupants were inside, including Christopher Jameson in the rear passenger-side seat.
- The sergeant observed Jameson drop his shoulder and lean forward toward the rear passenger-side floor area, consistent with retrieving or concealing an item.
- An inventory search later revealed a pistol on the right rear floorboard in the area where Jameson’s foot could have covered it during an earlier look into the vehicle.
- The firearm had no fingerprints or other direct indicia of ownership.
- Jameson, a convicted felon, was charged and convicted by a jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
- At trial, testimony also linked Jameson to a bayonet found in the vehicle; the district court denied a defense motion for mistrial based on alleged unfair prejudice.
- Jameson received a 41-month prison sentence and 36 months of supervised release.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Jameson knowingly possessed the firearm, under a constructive possession theory, for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
2. Whether the district court’s constructive-possession jury instruction accurately stated the law and prevented conviction based on mere presence or proximity.
3. Whether the district court abused its discretion by denying a mistrial after testimony linked Jameson to a bayonet found in the car.

## Decision

- The Tenth Circuit affirmed the conviction.
- The court held the evidence was sufficient to support constructive possession, relying on Jameson’s observed movement toward the floor area and the gun’s location at his feet.
- The court held the constructive-possession instruction adequately conveyed that knowledge and control were required and that proximity alone was insufficient.
- The court held denial of a mistrial was not an abuse of discretion because the bayonet testimony was not shown to have substantially influenced the verdict in light of the government’s core firearm evidence and the jury’s focus on the charged elements.

## Legal Principles

- Constructive possession may be shown by proof that the defendant knowingly had ownership, dominion, or control over the item, or dominion or control over the premises or area where it was found, coupled with evidence of knowledge and access.
- In joint-occupancy settings, proximity to contraband is not enough by itself; additional evidence supporting knowledge and the ability and intent to exercise control may establish constructive possession.
- Sufficiency of the evidence is reviewed in the light most favorable to the government, asking whether any rational trier of fact could find the essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Denial of a mistrial is reviewed for abuse of discretion, focusing on whether the challenged evidence had a substantial influence on the verdict or created unfair prejudice not cured by trial management and instructions.

## Conclusion

The Tenth Circuit upheld Jameson’s felon-in-possession conviction, concluding that circumstantial evidence tied him to the gun strongly enough to prove constructive possession, the jury instructions correctly required knowledge and control rather than mere proximity, and the trial court reasonably denied a mistrial over limited bayonet-related testimony.


United States v. Jameson, 478 F.3d 1204 (10th Cir. 2007)