DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
211489P.pdf 07/05/2022 United States v. Donavan White Owl
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 21-1489
U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota - Western
[PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Loken and Shepherd, Circuit Judges]
Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court granted defendant's
motion in limine to prevent the government from introducing incriminating
statements defendant made to his wife in private after the fire which is
the subject of the arson and felony murder charges in this case, and the
government appeals. The district court erred in granting the motion
because the statements qualified for admission under the
third-person/spousal exception to the marital communications privilege,
which applies where a spouse is charged with a crime against a
third-person committed in the course of committing a crime against the
spouse; the record showed defendant committed the arson and felony murder
against the two third-part victims believing his spouse was in the house
with them in an attempt to kill her.