U.S. v. Robinson

In prosecution on unlawful possession of firearm charge, Dist. Ct. erred in refusing defendant’s request to give limiting instruction to inform jury that defendant’s prior felony conviction could only be considered for purposes of establishing element of instant unlawful possession charge. Failure to give said limiting instruction improperly allowed jury to believe that convicted felon was more likely to carry firearm than someone without criminal past. Moreover, error was not harmless where there was no evidence directly linking defendant to gun, and where defendant’s contention that gun was planted by police had some support in record.