U.S. v. Bamman

Decision Date18 June 1984
Docket Number83-5281,Nos. 83-5280,s. 83-5280
Citation737 F.2d 413
Parties15 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 2037 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Charles Allan BAMMAN, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Claude Howard HARLOW, Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Stanley K. Joynes, III, Richmond, Va. (Rilee, Cantor, Arkema & Edmonds, Richmond, Va., on brief) and John B. Mann, Richmond, Va. (Levit & Mann, Richmond, Va., on brief), for appellants.

James T. Lloyd, Jr., Student Asst. to the U.S. Atty. (Elsie L. Munsell, U.S. Atty., Gregory Welsh, Asst. U.S. Atty., Richmond, Va., on brief), for appellee.

Before WINTER, Chief Judge, and HALL and PHILLIPS, Circuit Judges.

K.K. HALL, Circuit Judge:

Charles A. Bamman and Claude H. Harlow appeal from their convictions by a jury of counterfeiting obligations of the United States and aiding and abetting counterfeiting in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 471 and 2. We affirm.

I.

In mid-August, 1982, the United States Secret Service and the Department of the Treasury began an investigation of the printing and passing of counterfeit $100 bills in the Richmond, Virginia, area. This investigation led to the questioning of several inmates at the Virginia State Penitentiary, including Robert Layne and Robert L. Grooms, Jr.

Layne informed the government investigators that he had seen Charles Bamman, a fellow inmate, printing an image of a bill on the prison press in July, 1982. Layne also reported seeing Bamman tearing up sheets of counterfeit bills and mixing green ink 1 in the print shop. A search of the prison print shop revealed, on multilith number two, an off-set rubber printing blanket bearing the face impressions of three counterfeit $100 bills. Bamman was the only operator assigned to multilith number two.

Another inmate, Claude Harlow, ran the print shop darkroom. Harlow reviewed jobs coming into the print shop for photographing and was in charge of plate making. According to Layne, in July, 1982, he saw Harlow place counterfeit plates in a drawer in the print shop darkroom. Layne said that on two occasions, Harlow asked him to delay taking the trash out until he could place some items in the trash and that the trash was subsequently taken directly to the garbage truck, thereby preventing any search of its contents.

Robert Grooms admitted to the government investigators that he had been personally involved in the counterfeiting operation, and stated that in early August, 1982, Bamman had informed him that he was printing $100 bills. Grooms said that he subsequently met with Bamman and Harlow to discuss the printing of the bills and the splitting of the proceeds. He also stated that he was present when Harlow soaked the counterfeit bills in green dye and when the bills were distributed. Upon Grooms' information, the Secret Service confiscated $19,000 in counterfeit $100 bills hidden in the penitentiary.

On August 23, 1982, Virginia State Penitentiary officials concluded that Bamman and Harlow posed a security threat to the prison due to their counterfeiting activities. Accordingly, to safeguard the institution from "being flooded with counterfeit money" and to keep the conspirators from having ready access to one another, the prison officials placed both defendants in administrative segregation. The state authorities subsequently transferred Bamman and Harlow to the Powhatan Correctional Center, in Powhatan, Virginia, on November 19, 1982.

Federal authorities indicted Bamman, Harlow, and three codefendants on June 21, 1983, for counterfeiting and aiding and abetting in the counterfeiting of obligations of the United States. On July 7, 1983, pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum, the United States Marshal's Service took custody of defendants from the Powhatan Correctional Center and placed them in cells in the United States Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia. Defendants were arraigned--but not tried--and returned to the custody of the Correctional Center that same day. Bamman and Harlow subsequently filed motions to dismiss their indictments on the ground that the prosecution had violated Section 2, Article IV(e) of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act 2 (the "IADA") by failing to try them before returning them to state prison. Their motions were denied.

Pursuant to a second writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum, the United States took custody of the defendants on September 19, 1983, for their trial before the district court. At trial, defendants attempted to impeach the testimony of Layne with the testimony of a staff psychologist at the Virginia State Penitentiary. The psychologist had had little contact with Layne and sought to base his opinion that Layne was inclined to say or do things to ingratiate himself to others on progress reports covering the period from 1976 to April, 1982. The district court refused to allow this testimony due to its secondhand, speculative nature.

Bamman and Harlow were found guilty as charged and now appeal their convictions.

II.

Appellants' central contention on appeal is that the district judge erred in denying their motions to dismiss on the ground that the government had violated Article IV(e) of the IADA. We disagree.

Under Article IV(e) of the IADA, when a prisoner is taken from state custody into federal custody pursuant to a detainer

[i]f trial is not had on any indictment, information, or complaint contemplated ... prior to the prisoner's being returned to the original place of imprisonment ... such indictment, information, or complaint shall not be of any further force or effect, and the court shall enter an order dismissing the same with prejudice.

18 U.S.C., App. Sec. 2, Art. IV(e) (1982). Both the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia are parties to the IADA.

Appellants were taken from the custody of Virginia for arraignment pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum. In United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340, 98 S.Ct. 1834, 56 L.Ed.2d 329 (1978), the Supreme Court specifically concluded that "a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum is not a detainer for purposes of the [IADA]." Id....

To continue reading

Request your trial
12 cases
  • St. John v. State of NC Parole Com'n
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina
    • May 2, 1991
    ...court judge in finding that a study conducted by an expert was inaccurate and would not assist the jury. Id.; see also United States v. Bamman, 737 F.2d 413 (4th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1110, 105 S.Ct. 789, 83 L.Ed.2d 783 (1985) (admission of expert testimony is in sound discretio......
  • Thomas v. Whalen
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)
    • May 1, 1992
    ...United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340, 358, 98 S.Ct. 1834, 1845, 56 L.Ed.2d 329 (1978) (footnote omitted); accord United States v. Bamman, 737 F.2d 413, 415 (4th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1110, 105 S.Ct. 789, 83 L.Ed.2d 783 (1985); see also H.R.Rep. No. 1018, S.Rep. No. 1356, 91st Co......
  • U.S. v. Weaver
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)
    • September 8, 1989
    ...... Mauro, 436 U.S. at 343, 98 S.Ct. at 1838; United States v. Bamman, 737 F.2d 413, 415 (4th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1110, 105 S.Ct. 789, 83 L.Ed.2d 783 (1985). The Agreement itself does not define a ...at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065. .         On the record before us, Schmanke has not overcome the strong presumption of reasonableness accorded his counsel's actions. It is impossible for us to determine whether ......
  • Stewart v. Bailey
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)
    • September 29, 1993
    ...IV(a) (Michie 1991 & Supp.1992) (emphasis added).4 See United States v. Booher, 752 F.2d 105, 106 (4th Cir.1985); United States v. Bamman, 737 F.2d 413, 415-16 (4th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1110, 105 S.Ct. 789, 83 L.Ed.2d 783 (1985); United States v. Bryant, 612 F.2d 799, 801-02 (4......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT