Sapir v. United States

• Decision Date: 09 November 1909
• Docket Number: 23.
• Citation: 174 F. 219
• Parties: SAPIR et al. v. UNITED STATES.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

174 F. 219

SAPIR et al. v. UNITED STATES.

No. 23.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

November 9, 1909

F. S Chilton, for plaintiffs in error.

Wm. J Youngs (S. B. Strong, Asst. U.S. Atty., of counsel), for the United States.

Before LACOMBE, COXE, and WARD, Circuit Judges.

LACOMBE Circuit Judge.

The first count, which is the only one before us, charged that on August 3, 1908, at the borough of Brooklyn, defendants did knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully receive and conceal certain property, to wit, certain brass composition, which had been theretofore stolen from the United States and from the United States navy yards in Brooklyn, defendants knowing that said property had been so stolen.

Error is assigned to the admission of testimony as to transactions had with the defendants by a person other than the one who sold the stolen piece of brass. It is also contended that such evidence being eliminated, there was not sufficient to send the case to the jury, and that a verdict of acquittal should have been directed.

The testimony as to the piece of brass was given by the witness Ready. He testified that at all the times referred to he was employed in the navy yard, and that he first saw both defendants in their junk shop, which was about three blocks from the Sand street entrance of the navy yard, about two weeks before the 4th day of August, 1908. He went into the shop, taking a few things with him. He does not say what they were. He sold them to the man, the woman being present, for 24 cents. On August 3d he again went into the shop with some old rubbish or junk, including the particular brass casting which witness said was government property 'found' by him in the ditch in the navy yard. He was working in the navy yard that day, went out for noon, and then went into the junk shop. He did not see the woman at all that day. He did see Israel Sapir, to whom he gave the stuff. Israel weighed it and gave him 18 cents for the lot, not asking him for his name or address. This evidence fails to connect Rose Sapir in any way with this particular brass casting, the subject of the first count; and, since the other counts were eliminated before the cause was sent to the jury, we think they should have been instructed to acquit her.

Having shown by the witness Ready the receipt of property which the witness had stolen from the United States, the government undertook to show facts and circumstances from which the jury might infer that, when Israel Sapir received the brass casting, he knew it had been so stolen. It was...