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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ALLEN CHESTER LAWSON, Defendant-Appellant. |
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio at Toledo.
No. 03-00739—David A. Katz, District Judge.
Argued: April 24, 2008
Decided and Filed: October 9, 2008
Before: DAUGHTREY, GILMAN, and ROGERS, Circuit Judges.
ROGERS, Circuit Judge. This case is part of a consolidated appeal involving thirteen defendants who were members of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club (“OMC”), an international motorcycle club with chapters across the country and around the world. In 1997, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and state law enforcement agencies began an investigation into the Green region of the OMC, which consists of chapters in Dayton, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As a result of the investigation, a grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio returned a 40-count indictment in 2003 charging the defendants with various offenses, including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), drug trafficking, and firearms offenses. The defendants were tried before an anonymous jury.
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On appeal, Lawson argues that his convictions and sentence should be reversed for the following reasons: (1) because his right to an impartial jury was violated by the district court’s empaneling of an anonymous jury, as well as the district court’s reading of the indictment to the prospective jurors and the pre-trial publicity furthered by the Government; (2) because the district court committed reversible error by admitting evidence that his nickname is “Psycho” and by admitting evidence of the Coulter murder; (3) because his convictions were not supported by sufficient evidence; and (4) because the district court erroneously sentenced him under a mandatory Guidelines regime. None of these claims warrant the reversal of Lawson’s convictions. However, because we conclude that there is insufficient evidence to support the RICO predicate act that was used to determine Lawson’s sentencing range under the Sentencing Guidelines, we vacate Lawson’s sentence and remand the case for resentencing.
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ESTATE OF DOROTHY THOMSON, By and through as Co-Personal Representatives of the Estate of Vicky Rakestraw and Darcy Horvat; COLLEEN MILLER, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION WORLDWIDE; THRIFTY RENT-A-CAR SYSTEMS, INC., Defendants-Appellees. |
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland.
No. 06-02431—Ann Aldrich, District Judge.
Argued: June 5, 2008
Decided and Filed: July 30, 2008
Before: GILMAN and COOK, Circuit Judges; COHN, District Judge.
AVERN COHN, District Judge. This is a tort case. Plaintiffs-Appellants, the Estate of Dorothy Thomson (“the Estate”) and Colleen Miller sued Defendants-Appellees, Toyota Motor Corporation Worldwide (“TMC”) and Thrifty Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc. (“Thrifty”) in the Northern District of Ohio following a car accident in South Africa in which Colleen Miller and Dorothy Thomson were injured. Thomson subsequently died from her injuries. The district court granted TMC’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and sua sponte dismissed plaintiffs’ claims against Thrifty under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.