Byron Dredd v. United States

Whether petitioner’s acquittals on two counts - conspiracy against civil rights, 18 U.S.C. section 241 and providing false statements, 18 U.S.C. section 1519 – in petitioner’s first criminal trial should have been admitted into evidence in petitioner’s retrial for providing false statements, 18 U.S.C. section 1001. The acquitted counts were directly relevant to the case since the acquitted conduct covered the same occurrences in the second trial.

Whether petitioner’s right to present a defense was violated when he was prevented from testifying about the substance of his contacts, which referenced religion, with his sergeant. This was material to the defense since the government used these communications to show that petitioner conspired with the sergeant. This error helped the government gain a conviction.