United States v. Bledsoe case brief

United States v. Bledsoe

1. 1. Facts: The Defendant beat and killed a black person in a state park. The state brought a prosecution under 245, claiming that he was motivated by race… the only reason why this was allowed in federal courts is because it occurred in a state park… 245(b)(2)(B)
   2. Issue: Whether the jury instructions regarding the motivation for the crime were adequate?
   3. The court holds that the jury instructions were adequate, since they instructed the jury that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was motivated by race… a reasonable jury could have found that to be the case because the prosecution had produced evidence to demonstrate that.
   4. Mrs. Z says that this is one of the broadest statutes that she has ever seen, and allows a lot of crimes to be prosecuted federally.