Isiah Dozier v. United States

The questions presented for the Supreme Court concern the Constitutional right of a Criminal Defendant to call a witness in his own defense at trial and the elements that must be proven in order to convict an individual of possession of a “prohibited object” under 18 U.S.C. § 1791. This case presents questions including:

1. Can a Trial Court prohibit a criminal Defendant from calling a witness in his own defense, by weighing the probative value of the expected witness testimony, or is such action an arbitrary exclusion of a witness in violation of the Sixth Amendment and the Supreme Court’s Holding in Rock v. Arkansas? See Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 54–55 (1987).

2. Does a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1791 require proof that the Defendant had knowledge that he possessed the “prohibited object” which he was charged with possessing?