U.S. v. Baker

• Decision Date: 09 November 1982
• Docket Number: No. 82-1086,82-1086
• Citation: 224 U.S. App. D.C. 68,693 F.2d 183
• Parties: , 11 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1550 UNITED STATES of America, v. Frank BAKER, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

Page 183

693 F.2d 183

224 U.S.App.D.C. 68, 11 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1550

UNITED STATES of America, v. Frank BAKER, Appellant.

No. 82-1086.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued Oct. 6, 1982.

Decided Nov. 9, 1982.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (D.C. Criminal No. 81-0329).

David C. Venable, Washington, D.C. (appointed by this court), for appellant.

E. Anne McKinsey, Asst. U.S. Atty., with whom Stanley S. Harris, U.S. Atty., John A. Terry, Asst. U.S. Atty., Washington, D.C., at the time the brief was filed, and John R. Fisher and Deborah A. Robinson, Asst. U.S. Attys., Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for appellee.

Before TAMM, WILKEY, and SCALIA, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge TAMM.

TAMM, Circuit Judge:

Defendant was convicted of selling government property in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 641. He contends that the indictment was defective because it failed to charge that he knew that the property had been stolen from the United States and because it failed to charge that the sales were unlawful. He contends that mistakes made in the judge's instructions to the jury constituted plain error. He also contends that it was error to admit certain claim forms into evidence. We find merit only in defendant's last argument, and this evidentiary mistake was merely harmless error. Accordingly, we affirm.

On June 1, 1981, a United States Secret Service special agent assigned to undercover duty purchased two treasury checks in the amounts of $1,008 and $807 from defendant for $350. The next day the agent purchased treasury checks in the amounts of $10,000 and $1,008 from defendant for $1,000. The following day the agent purchased a treasury check in the amount of $10,000 from defendant for $500. By having each of the intended payees fill out and return Form 1133, the Secret Service confirmed that the payees did not receive the checks nor authorize anyone else to negotiate them. Defendant was indicted on September 3, 1981, on three counts of selling government property in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 641. After a jury trial on December 14 and 15, 1981, he was found guilty on all three counts and was sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two and not more than six years.

First, defendant argues that the indictment was fatally defective because it failed to charge that he knew that the checks had been stolen from the United States. Title 18 U.S.C. Sec. 641 provides in pertinent part: "Whoever ... knowingly converts to his use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys or disposes of any ... thing of value of the United States ... [s]hall be fined ... or imprisoned ...." Defendant relies solely on Findley v. United States, 362 F.2d 921 (10th Cir.1966), which held that an essential element of the offense of selling government property is "that the defendant knew that the property involved belonged to, and was stolen from, the government." Id. at 923. Defendant's reliance on Findley is improper because the case was overruled in United States v. Speir, 564 F.2d 934, 937-38 (10th Cir.1977) (en banc), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 927, 98 S.Ct. 1495, 55 L.Ed.2d 521 (1978). The Speir court held that its prior decision in Findley "requiring knowledge of the jurisdictional facts cannot be sustained." Id. at 938. It is now well established that the statutory requirement that the stolen property belonging to the government merely furnishes the basis for federal jurisdiction and that defendant's knowledge of this jurisdictional fact is irrelevant. See, e.g., United States v. Jermendy, 544 F.2d 640, 641 (2d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 909, 97 S.Ct. 1181, 51 L.Ed.2d 585 (1977); United States v. Crutchley, 502 F.2d 1195, 1201 (3d Cir.1974); United States v. Smith, 489 F.2d 1330, 1334 (7th Cir.1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 994, 94 S.Ct. 2407, 40 L.Ed.2d 773 (1974).

Second, defendant contends that the indictment was fatally defective because it failed to charge that the sale was unlawful. The indictment charged that defendant "willfully and knowingly did sell, convey, and dispose of without authority ... United States Treasury Checks, ... the same being property of the United States, said property having a value in excess of one hundred dollars." See Brief for Appellant at 6. Defendant relies upon Morissette v. United States, 342 U.S. 246, 72 S.Ct. 240, 96 L.Ed. 288 (1952), and United States v. Denmon, 483 F.2d 1093 (8th Cir.1973). In Morissette the Supreme Court held that intent, although not mentioned in the statute defining theft and sale of government property, is nevertheless a necessary element of each offense. While not indicating that any specific language is necessary to allege intent, the Court did endorse "unlawfully, wilfully and knowingly" as sufficient. 342 U.S. at 270 n. 30, 72 S.Ct. at 253 n. 30. Following Morissette, the Eighth Circuit in Denmon held that an indictment charging simply that defendant had sold government property "without authority" is insufficient to allege intent. "[T]he failure of the indictment to charge that the defendant acted knowingly, unlawfully, and wilfully [was] fatally defective to the Government's prosecution of [the] indictment." 483 F.2d at 1095. Defendant Baker erroneously maintains that the exact language of Morissette or Denmon must be employed in an indictment. "The point of both Morissette and Denmon, however, is that specific intent is a necessary element that must be alleged in the indictment; neither case required a particular verbal formula." United States v. May, 625 F.2d 186, 190 (8th Cir.1980). In the present case specific intent was clearly alleged in the indictment.

Third, defendant argues that the ambiguous and contradictory instructions given by the trial judge to the jury constituted plain error. Early in his charge to the jury, the judge stated, "If you find that the government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt every element of the offense with which the defendant is charged, then you may find him guilty." Supplemental Record (S.R.) at 166. He also read the indictment: "Frank Baker willfully and knowingly did sell, convey and dispose of without authority ... United States treasury checks, ... the same being property of the United States, said property having a value in excess of one hundred dollars." S.R. at 169. He repeated his earlier instruction concerning the importance of finding each element of the offense: "If the offense consists of two elements and the government proves one and you have some doubt about whether or not it has proved the other one, you must find the defendant not guilty." S.R. at 170-71. Nevertheless, when the judge listed the elements of the offense, he omitted that the act had to be done knowingly and willfully. S.R. at 171. After this omission was called to his attention, he attempted to correct the mistake: "[W]hoever knowingly or without authority sells, conveys or disposes of any ... property of the United States, shall be deemed to have violated the statute." S.R. at 174 (emphasis added). Unfortunately, he said "knowingly or without authority" rather than "knowingly and without authority." S.R. at 174. Earlier in the charge, he instructed, "[I]f you're satisfied that the government has established those elements of the offenses, as they're outlined in the indictment, beyond a reasonable doubt, or any one of them, you may find the defendant guilty." S.R. at 171-72 (emphasis added). Defendant contends that the jury may have understood this instruction to mean that only one element of an offense need be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. After the judge completed the charge, defendant's counsel said he was satisfied with the court's instructions. S.R. at 178.

Rule 30 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that no party may assign as error an instruction to which he has not objected before the jury retires. A narrow exception to this rule is that plain errors affecting substantial rights may be noticed even though they were not brought to the court's attention. Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b). "The Courts of Appeals long have recognized that the power granted them by Rule 52(b) is to be used sparingly, solely in those circumstances in which a miscarriage of justice would otherwise result." United States v. Frady, --- U.S. ----, ----, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 1592 n. 14, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982). The plain error rule should be invoked only when the weakness of the evidence against defendant indicates that a serious injustice was done or when there are errors that "seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings." United States v. Brown, 634 F.2d 819, 829 (5th Cir.1981) (quotation marks omitted); see United States v. Giese, 597 F.2d 1170, 1199 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 979, 100 S.Ct. 480, 62 L.Ed.2d 405 (1979); 3A C. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure: Criminal 2d Sec. 856 (1982).

There was no plain error in the present case. Defendant's assertion that the jury may have understood the instruction to mean that only one element of an offense need be proven beyond a reasonable doubt is unconvincing. Not only is this a most unlikely interpretation of the instruction, but also the judge on two other occasions clearly stated that every element of an offense must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. S.R. at 166, 170-71.

Likewise, the judge's omission of the intent element of the offense and then, when attempting to correct the mistake, stating "knowingly or without authority" rather than "knowingly and without authority" is not plain error. In considering claims of error, appellate courts must examine the instructions as a whole, not as isolated passages. United States v. Martin, 475 F.2d 943, 947 (D.C.Cir.1973). In his instructions to the jury, the judge read the indictment, which correctly stated the intent element. S.R. at 169. Also, he defined "knowingly" and "willfull...