A jury instruction proposed by Hunter Biden, filed with the court, indicated in part that his attorneys will argue that charges against him ignore the fact that he was not actively using drugs at the time he purchased the handgun.
Hunter Biden’s attorneys argued that two separate circuit court decisions “require that any jury instruction specify” that the law is violated “only when a person is simultaneously armed and actively intoxicated, and using the weapon in some way” that terrifies or endangers others.
“As there is no evidence that Mr. Biden ever loaded or fired the weapon, displayed it publicly, or threatened anyone with it, and was not in actual possession of the firearm throughout the entire eleven days from the time of purchase to disposal, the Special Counsel cannot meet that burden,” Hunter Biden’s counsel said in a trial brief.
The trial opened after a recent series of pretrial rulings by Judge Noreika that largely went against Hunter Biden, including rejection of one of his proposed expert witnesses and reserved judgment on a second expert.
