United States of America v. Alan Howell Parrot

Bangor, Maine criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with assaulting and battering a federal officer.<br>
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A federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 111, makes it unlawful to "forcibly assault[]" a federal officer. The defendant in this case, Alan Parrot, concedes that he "pushed" an FBI agent with his foot when she tried to enter his home. He also concedes that he knew, at the time of the altercation, that the agent was a federal officer. But he insists that he did ot know that the officer had a search warrant to enter his home. He accordingly argues that his conviction was improper because the jury should have been instructed that his ignorance of that fact made a difference.<br>
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There may be situations in which a person's lack of knowledge about facts in the world makes a conviction under § 111 improper -- even where the assailant is aware that his victim is a federal officer. Cf. United States v. Feola, 420 U.S. 671, 686 (1975). But, in our view, the instructions to which Parrot points on appeal do not speak to that kind of factual ignorance.

Affirmed.