Donatus Iriele v. United States

Donatus Iriele was indicted for violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) based on a superseding indictment that failed to allege a knowing violation of the statute, and was subsequently convicted by a jury that was erroneously instructed that they could base their decision on objective, rather than subjective, knowledge. Following Mr. Iriele’s conviction and direct appeal, this Court held that violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) can only be supported where evidence of a defendant’s subjective knowledge or intent is established. Ruan v. United States, 597 U.S. 450 (2022). This petition presents the following question: whether reasonable jurists would find it debatable, under Ruan v. United States, 597 U.S. 450 (2022), that a criminal defendant’s constitutional rights were violated when he was convicted of violating 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) based on a defective indictment and incorrect jury instructions which failed to inform the jury that the Government was required to prove subjective, not objective, knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt?