Hughes v. United States

• Decision Date: 09 March 1925
• Docket Number: No. 6577.,6577.
• Parties: HUGHES v. UNITED STATES.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

4 F.2d 686 (1925)

HUGHES v. UNITED STATES.

No. 6577.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

March 9, 1925.

Oppenheimer, Peterson, Dickson & Hodgson, of St. Paul, Minn., for plaintiff in error.

W. A. Maurer, U. S. Atty., and J. W. Scothorn, Asst. U. S. Atty., both of Oklahoma City, Okl.

Before SANBORN, Circuit Judge, and TRIEBER and PHILLIPS, District Judges.

PHILLIPS, District Judge.

William T. Hughes, hereinafter called defendant, was indicted, tried, convicted, and sentenced for embezzlement of postal funds under section 225 of the Penal Code (U. S. Comp. St. § 10395, 35 Stat. 1133), which provides:

"Whoever, being a postmaster * * * shall * * * use, * * * or convert to his own use, * * * except as authorized by law, any money or property coming into his hands or under his control in any manner whatever, in the execution or under color of his office, employment, or service, whether the same shall be the money or property of the United States or not, * * * shall be deemed guilty of embezzlement."

The defendant was postmaster at Ft. Cobb, Okl. On April 19, 1923, his office was checked by a post office inspector and he was found to be short $404.72. The shortage was due to the fact that the defendant had made collections on certain C. O. D. packages and had used the moneys so collected in payment of his personal obligations. Defendant admitted the shortage, but offered as a defense that he had intended to resign as postmaster, had arranged a sale of the office furniture to his successor, and from the proceeds of the sale had expected to make good the post office money which he had appropriated to his own use.

The court instructed the jury in part as follows:

"If you believe beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant took and appropriated any part of the postal funds of the United States for his own personal use and benefit, he would be guilty of embezzlement, although he had moneys owing to him upon the sale of furniture thereafter to be delivered and in that way available to replace the funds so used, and intended to do so, and had no intention of defrauding the government of the United States."

The defendant requested the following instruction:

"In this case, gentlemen of the jury, the defendant is charged with having unlawfully, willfully, fraudulently, and feloniously secreted, embezzled and appropriated to his own use and benefit the sum of four hundred four and 72/100 dollars postal funds which came into his hands as postmaster at Ft. Cobb, Okl.; and in this connection you are instructed that, before you would be justified to convicting the defendant, you must find that,...