Based on this Court's harmless error jurisprudence and that of seven other circuits, the government must establish beyond a reasonable doubt that an error did not contribute to the verdict. But the Third Circuit declined to apply this rule to errors involving a failure to instruct the jury on a contested element of the offense (knowledge) – even in the face of conflicting evidence – because, in the Circuit's view, the government's proof was "overwhelming." Should this Court address this exception to the harmless error standard given its precedent and the division among the circuits?

Whether the harmless error standard should apply to a failure to instruct the jury on a contested element of the offense