Michael Keith Marechale v. United States

“Courts of Appeals have stated . . . under the ‘invited error’ doctrine that a party may not complain on appeal of errors that he himself invited or provoked the district court . . . to commit.” United States v. Wells, 519 U.S. 482, 487-88 (1997) (cleaned up). In this case, Michael Marechale was convicted of a child pornography offense after the district court erroneously instructed the jury regarding his criminal history. The erroneous instruction derived from a joint proposal by the government and the defense. Because the parties jointly proposed the incorrect instruction, the Eighth Circuit held that Mr. Marechale waived any appellate review. The question presented is whether a defendant invariably waives any appellate review by acquiescing to an incorrect jury instruction. This question has split the circuits.