US v. Jaensch: Jaensch was convicted of producing a false identification document that appeared to be issued under the authority of the US government, based on his presentment of an ID to a state court security official. Although, according to an expert witness from the State Department testified that "almost everything about [the ID] is wrong," Jaensch told investigators he used it to get through TSA checkpoints. He ordered it from a company in Florida. After his conviction (at a second trial - the first ended in a hung jury), Jaensch was fined and sentenced to probation.
On appeal, Jaensch challenged his conviction on numerous grounds, each of which the Fourth Circuit rejected. First, the court rejected the argument that the statute under which Jaensch was unconstitutionally vague because it does not define how one can tell whether the ID "appears to be" issued by the United States. Because the statute requires knowledge to sustain a conviction, there was no vagueness. Second, the court rejected the argument that the district court erred by instructing the jury that a "reasonable person standard" applied when determining whether the ID appeared to be issued by the United States. Third, the court rejected the argument that the district court erred by denying Jaensch's motion for an acquittal after the first jury hung.
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