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Criminal Law-Firearms Offenses-Motion to Dismiss-Sufficiency of Evidence
Staff Report//April 1, 2026//
Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for two firearm offenses, challenging the denial of his motion to dismiss which argued that the indictment failed to state the essential elements of each charge. Defendant also challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction.
Where the indictment closely tracked the statutory language, the court found the indictment sufficient even though it omitted the mens rea element as the allegations fairly informed defendant of the charges against him, and the evidence was sufficient to find that defendant knowingly possessed prohibited firearms.
Judgment is affirmed.
U.S. v. Opdahl (MLW No. 84530/Case No. 24-2713 – 7 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Kelly, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota, Welte, J. (Christopher P. Bellmore, AFPD, Fargo, ND for appellant) (Richard Michael Lee, AUSA, Fargo, ND for appellee; Katherine Raut, USDOJ, Washington, D.C. on the brief)
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