Lockhart v. United States
| Decision Date | 11 August 1961 |
| Docket Number | No. 16848.,16848. |
| Citation | 293 F.2d 314 |
| Parties | Paul Louis LOCKHART, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Paul Louis Lockhart, pro se.
Before JOHNSEN, Chief Judge, and MATTHES, Circuit Judge.
The trial court permitted appellant to file notice of appeal without payment of fee but denied him leave to proceed further in forma pauperis, certifying that the appeal was without merit and so not taken in good faith.
Appellant challenges this certificate and seeks leave from us to prosecute the appeal in forma pauperis. He also asks for the appointment of counsel to represent him.
The appeal is from an order, which made denial on its face of a motion by appellant for vacation of his sentence, under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255.
Appellant had waived indictment under Rule 7(b) of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, 18 U.S.C.A., and had pleaded guilty to an information charging him, under 18 U.S.C. § 2114, with having robbed a clerk, in charge of a Post Office Contract Station, of $180.87 in funds belonging to the United States, of which such clerk had lawful charge, custody and control, and having in effecting the robbery put the clerk's life in jeopardy by the use of a loaded automatic pistol. The court had imposed the mandatory 25-year term required by § 2114 for this aggravated degree of the offense.
The basis of appellant's motion under § 2255 was that, on the facts stated by the Government at the time of the sentencing, the robbery involved was not able to constitute an offense under § 2114 of the Criminal Code. The Assistant United States Attorney, in his comments to the court, had remarked that the robbery occurred at 5:45 p. m. The agreement between the Government and the robbery victim, covering the location of the contract station in the latter's drug store, required the victim to "conduct postal matters" only between the hours of 10:00 a. m. and 5:00 p. m. Hence, appellant argues, at the time of the robbery, the victim "was conducting business other than postal matters," and the robbery and putting of his life in jeopardy therefore did not occur in his status of a postal employee.
Section 2114 does not make the robbery a matter of commission against persons of particular title, position, or duties, but of commission against "any person having lawful charge, control, or custody of any mail matter or of any money or other property of the United States."
Any characterization in an indictment or information of the victim's title, position, or duties beyond the responsibility set out in § 2114 is surplusage and of no consequence. Banks v. United States, 7 Cir., 239 F.2d 409, 410; Jones v. United States,...
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