U.S. v. Thornton

In prosecution on drug distribution and unlawful possession of ammunition charges, Dist. Ct. did not err in limiting defendant's cross examination of key govt. witness who had accepted certain FedEx packages containing marijuana on behalf of defendant, where defendant had attempted to show that said witness played larger role in drug conspiracy than what govt. had otherwise portrayed. Defendant failed to clearly articulate in Dist. Ct. that purpose of disputed cross-examination was to reveal that witness was lying about size and frequency of her package deliveries to defendant, and govt. had already conceded at trial that not all marijuana in one of subject packages was earmarked for defendant. Moreover, any error was harmless given evidence of defendant's receipt of packages that included marijuana quantities that would defeat his claim that he only received marijuana for personal use.