101843P.pdf   12/09/2011  United States  v.  Thomas Petters
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  10-1843
   U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul   
   [PUBLISHED] [Shepherd, Author, with Loken and Melloy, Circuit Judges]
   Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. District court did not
   abuse its discretion in prohibiting defendant from introducing a witness's
   Witness Security Program file as the information in the file was collateral
   to the crimes alleged in defendant's indictment and admitting it would
   have confused the issues presented to the jury; further, defense counsel
   was able to vigorously attack the witness's credibility without the file;
   limits on cross-examination of the witness's connections to organized
   crime and other criminal activities did not violate defendant's Sixth
   Amendment rights; sealing the WITSEC file did not deprive defendant of
   a public trial; instructions adequately stated defendant's defense and
   rejection of his proposed instructions was not error; no error in denying
   motion for change of venue based on media coverage of Petters' offenses
   and business collapse as the publicity had died down before trial, and the
   district court took adequate steps to identify and eliminate any
   veniremember who had formed an opinion about defendant's guilt; district
   court gave adequate consideration to the 3553(a) factors.