US v. Duroseau: Duroseau was a native of Haiti who came to the United States, became and US citizen and a Marine. After a tour in Afghanistan (from which he returned with PTSD and a "possible traumatic brain injury"), Duroseau conceived of a scheme whereby he would take weapons to Haiti and train authorities there to help them deal with increased violence. After having his girlfriend (a Marine reservist) fake travel orders for him, Duruseau boarded a plane in North Carolina with eight firearms and ammunition, all of which were declared. He was arrested when he landed in Haiti. He was charged with (among other things) of the unlicensed transfer of firearms to another unlicensed person, specifically the Haitian Army. He was convicted on that charge (and others not relevant to the appeal) and sentenced to 63 months in prison.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit vacated the unlawful transfer of firearms conviction. Before reaching that substantive conclusion, the court rejected the Government's argument that Duroseau's argument was not property preserved, because his motion for acquittal before the district court had not specifically raised the same argument as he made on appeal. The court disagreed, concluding that the motion, combined with the district court's handling of questions from the jury on the issue, properly preserved it. On the substance of the issue, Duroseau argued that a conviction for unlawful transfer of firearms only covers a completed transfer - that is, when the firearms are delivered to the other unlicensed person. The court agreed, noting that the statute did not include attempt and that its plain language required a transfer to another person.
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