201861P.pdf   06/02/2021  United States  v.  Eli Erickson
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  20-1861
   U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - Central   
   [PUBLISHED] [Kelly, Author, with Loken and Benton, Circuit Judges] 
   Criminal Case - conviction. Erickson appeals his conviction fro conspiring 
   to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine. 
   Erickson, a Native American, had no Native Americans on his jury. He moved 
   for a new trial, claiming he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to a 
   cross section of the community. Because he failed to show the number of 
   Native Americans in the jury pool, as opposed to those that showed up, he 
   failed to show their representation was "not fair and reasonable" or that 
   underrepresentation was due to systematic exclusion. Use of voter 
   registration rolls is expressly permitted and there is no requirement that 
   the petit jury actually chosen must mirror the community. He sought new 
   trial in a different venue based on the disproportionate number of 
   potential Native Americans were stricken for cause; Erickson, however 
   agreed to the for-cause strikes and did not contest the reasons for the 
   peremptory challenge offered by the government. The district court did not 
   abuse its discretion in denying the motion for new trial. There was 
   sufficient evidence to convict him based on witness testimony. The 
   district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing counsel to 
   question whether another witness had been under the influence of drugs 
   during his testimony. The district court did not abuse its discretion in 
   denying a new trial based on newly discovered evidence of actual recorded 
   witness interviews, when the recordings did not contain material or 
   exculpatory information.