Lawrence J. Gerrans v. United States
FirstAmendment
May a district court prohibit a defendant from possessing and consulting a Bible during a criminal trial?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. May a district court, upon the prosecutor’s demand that a defendant’s Bible be removed from the courtroom during a criminal trial, constitutionally prohibit a defendant from possessing and consulting a Bible while the jury trial is in session? 2. Should this Court overrule Ninth Circuit law, and resolve a Circuit split, by holding that in rare cases, a federal circuit court may remand for further development of the record on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel? 3. May an appellate court disregard the unequivocal instructions in the Sentencing Guideline Worksheets for the timing and order of calculating sentencing guideline enhancements, and rely on citations to wrong guideline sections, in support of a cursory opinion on a guideline calculation that increases a defendant’s prison sentence by years? i