Watkins v. United States

Summary

The court held that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting a detective's testimony about unauthenticated, unavailable surveillance footage and by admitting prejudicial testimony that the victim feared Watkins. Considering those errors cumulatively, the court concluded they were not harmless as to the firearm-dependent convictions, but were harmless as to the unauthorized-use-of-a-vehicle conviction because the evidence supporting that charge was overwhelming. The court also held that the evidence was constitutionally sufficient to support the firearm-related convictions when all admitted evidence was considered, including improperly admitted evidence.